Colred's Galactic War Strategy Guide

Colred
4 posts Member
Colred's Galactic War Strategy Guide
Greetings! This guide is intended to help players who may be struggling with their Galactic War campaigns. I wanted the guide to be accessible, so I stuck mostly to the basics: a tiny bit of theory, recommendations on squad composition, and a discussion of battle tactics. One quick note - there are many ways to be successful in Heroes of the Galaxy. My method is not the only, or even the best, way to beat Galactic War campaigns. That being said, my success rate in GW has been near-perfect for months now, so I feel confident that this method can work very well. I hope you find it useful.

Some quick theory:
In Galactic War campaigns, each battle continues from the previous battle. Health levels carry over, as do cooldown timers. Any defeated heroes will be unavailable for the rest of the day. Additionally, battles become more difficult as you progress through the campaign. These facts dictate the basis of our tactical approach. We need to keep our best heroes alive all the way to the final battle. This means durable squads with sustain have a serious advantage over more fragile, high-dps squads. Using a sustain squad means that battles will last longer, increasing the value of control skills (stuns, ability blocks, etc). Dictating the flow of battle becomes essential to keeping your heroes alive.

Core squad composition:
Leader: We need one GREAT healer. Two of the best are Luminara Unduli and Barriss Ofee. In addition to being extremely strong healers, both provide additional sustain through their leadership passives. I prefer Luminara over Barriss slightly because she has better dps and an Ability Block. Barriss has more health and her heal partially bypasses the Healing Immunity debuff. Other healers can work, but most will require a backup healer once you get to mid campaign.

Slot 2: We need a tank with a taunt. I HIGHLY recommend Royal Guard. RG has an automatic taunt with NO cooldown that fires any time an ally drops below 50% health. Just as importantly, RG is the best single-target cc'er in the game. Force Pike has a 50% slow chance AND an 80% stun chance. Every. Turn. Throw in some sustain, passive turn meter gain, and an active defense up, and no one can match Royal Guard's ability to influence the flow of combat. The one downside is that RG's taunt is automatic, so it can sometimes get him in trouble. Good thing you've got a great healer.

Slots 3 and 4: To maximize durability, we prioritize dps heroes with high health, self-sustain, passive resistances, or high-value abilities. Single-target dps are preferred, for reasons I'll explain more later. Two of my staples are Savage Oppress and Count Dooku. Savage has a huge health pool and passive defense up. His dps is decent, but he has an AWESOME finisher. Dooku is a bit more fragile, but his 100% counter chance makes him a perfect dps against aoe squads. He also gets extra attacks, and has ability block and stun skills (better % against Jedi). His Force Lightning can stun two targets. Other heroes can work fine here. Experiment with your roster to find a combo you like.

Slot 5: This is your flex spot. Pick your 5th hero based on the enemy squad. Add a self-healer like Ahsoko Tano for more sustain without sacrificing a dps slot. Use an anti-healer like Jedi Knight Anakin against healer comps. Bring a buff-removal hero like Qui-Gon Jinn to remove taunts. Early on, I used Jedi Consular almost exclusively in this slot. I still frequently find great value in a double healer composition, especially for the tough, late-campaign battles.


Tactics:
There are 4 keys to good Galactic War tactics:
1. Often, a battle is won or lost based on the choice of first target. Remember, you want to keep ALL your heroes alive. Prioritize anti-healers (such as Darth Sideous) first. They threaten your sustain. This is why we prefer single-target dps to aoe – to kill the biggest threats as quickly as possible. Focus nukers next, then aoe dps, then tanks and healers last.
2. You can use your cc's and active abilities to either secure kills quickly, or to protect your squad, so choose wisely. If there are 2 dangerous dps, cc one while you focus fire the other. Ability block or stun enemy healers to secure kills on low health targets. Remove enemy taunts to get to squishies more easily. Don't hesitate to use your finishers to secure kills.
3. Use your heals effectively. Don't waste them, but also don't hold them in reserve too long. The most important part of this strategy is keeping people alive. Especially Royal Guard. If you keep him in good health, it's almost impossible to lose anyone else in the squad. If you have healing trouble, add another healer. Speed is less important than survival.
4. Once you're in control of a battle, start thinking about the NEXT battle. Don't waste cooldowns you don't need, especially cc's and finishers. Heal up a few rounds before the end, so you can start the next fight in good health, but also with your heal off cooldown or close to it. You want your squad to be as strong as possible to start each battle. This is also the reason we use leaders that add passive sustain instead of more offensive leadership buffs.

Here are some general tips:
1. Increasing your squad's power level increases the power of the enemies you'll face. That being said, you generally benefit more from the increased power than the AI, assuming the power is distributed properly. Try to build a roster of 5-8 heroes around the same power levels. That's more effective than having 1 or 2 super strong heroes and the rest much weaker.
2. Using the auto-combat option is usually okay for the first third of a campaign. After that, you may not want to risk full auto-combat. I often manually target my auto-combat for the second third of the campaign, then do full manual combat for the final third.
3. Your squad composition matters, especially late in the campaign, so pay attention to the enemy squad you're fighting. Learn what all the heroes do, and which ones cause your squad trouble and why. It will help you choose counters more effectively and improve your target choices.
4. GW allows unlimited retreats. If you're having trouble with a battle, retreat and try again. One adjustment to try - change your first target. A different kill order may make things easier.
5. Be flexible, and be patient. I once used a double tank, triple healer comp in order to get through a tough battle with everyone alive. It took awhile, but there's no time limit in GW battles, and I knew I'd need some of those heroes later in the campaign.
6. That being said, sometimes heroes may be expendable. If you come up against a really tough squad, consider if it's worth sacrificing one or two less important heroes to get past that battle. Just remember that the wrong choice could mean an end to your entire campaign.
7. For the final battle, don't worry about survival. Just win and get your rewards.
8. Always hit “restart” as soon as you finish a campaign. GW rewards are phenomenally good. Don't miss a restart by accident.
9. All of this information is just a starting point. Don't take it as gospel. Experiment with squad compositions and tactics and find what works best for you. Ultimately, try to have fun with it.

I hope you found this guide helpful. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Feel free to offer your own insights as well. Thanks for reading. ~Colred

Replies

  • Jaedon
    3 posts Member
    This helped me a ton...I had no idea about the retreat option lol
  • RU486
    1686 posts Member
    Jaedon wrote: »
    This helped me a ton...I had no idea about the retreat option lol

    With retreat you can also set up your assist, like QGJ goes and calls Barriss, you can retreat and put a hard hitter in there and get a big advantage right away damage wise
  • It's so easy to complete the GW now. You're a lifesaver
  • A most excellent guide, I would like to add a few points...

    Save the opposing teams healers for last. Use only basic attacks to kill them slowly so that they heal themselves while my cooldowns refresh. This also helps prepare for the next round, as you have your big attacks ready for the major threats.

    Drop Lumi's heal when you know you got about 3 rounds left. It lets her Heal Over Time do it's thing and it is refreshed for the next battle or a late emergency heal if the round goes sour.

    Sometimes sending in a "Suicide Squad" can make all the difference. Simply send in a group of lower level toons so the opposing teams blows all their special attacks. Then go in with your A-team and mow them down.
  • DrKenobi
    4 posts Member
    edited June 2016
    I'm in agreement with Glexanice.

    My GW have become easier as of late, however a big help earlier was to start using "suicide squads" as early as the 7th battle.

    Back then I had 35 total toons, so I would send in a suicide squad of my 5 weakest remaining toons. Each round my suicide squad would get a little stronger, so by the time I reached the 12th battle, my suicide squad was my 6-10 most powerful toons.

  • SamoBudo
    223 posts Member
    I have read that how hard the GW is dependent on your highest arena power rating not the the team u take in. Also I auto the last few battles if u have a decent roster it is fun to watch your sac teams and how they get on.
  • sorry to sound like a noob but where is the retreat and how do you call in an assist?
  • Jedi_Yoda
    928 posts Member
    edited June 2016
    Glexanice wrote: »
    A most excellent guide, I would like to add a few points...
    SamoBudo wrote: »
    I have read that how hard the GW is dependent on your highest arena power rating not the the team u take in. Also I auto the last few battles if u have a decent roster it is fun to watch your sac teams and how they get on.


    its not highest its CURRENT arena team power, also it doesn't matter the POWER it matters the composition.. I have faced squads that were below my power but because they had good synergy and RNG they were tough.

    It gradually gets more challenging, so you start off very low like high 50's low 60's despite your arena power its only that last 3 nodes that are the real challenge, if you have a lower arena hoping to get a better GW chance think again, it still can be challenging because as you progress you will not have protection and the other team has full protection and health.. that's another problem..
  • Jedi_Yoda wrote: »
    its not highest its CURRENT arena team power

    @Jedi_Yoda just curious do you have a source for this claim? If it was "made known" I missed it.
  • I never use a tank in GW. It put a ton of strain on your healers trying to keep him alive. 2 healers 1 utility and 2 dps. I can do all 12 nodes with 1 team no subs no suicides. At level 80 with an arena squad of +38k.
  • I personally never run a tank in GW. I find that it's better to burst 1-2 of the opposing faction as quickly as possible to reduce damage taken rather than try to absorb damage.

    I always run Lumi + JC and the double heals, which is a very powerful combo. The way I use them is Lumi first after the opposing team has had a chance to do their burst, and then JC a little before the match is going to end. I usually find my team near full health going into the next battle with most cooldowns refreshed.

    You always want to save their crappiest player for last. I love it when the opposing team has Chewie.. he's slow.. hits like a wet noodle and gives me so many turns to get my abilities back of CD.

    For players that don't have high level characters. STOP LEVELING YOUR CHARACTERS AT LEVEL 40. This has been huge for me. I want to avoid getting my guys to the point where I'm facing teams with protection on most nodes. I feel like that is a huge disadvantage as you'll never recoup protection on your characters. At level 40 with decently starred heroes.. you should be able to clear a full GW without too much problem.

  • Colred
    4 posts Member
    edited June 2016
    Hey guys, thanks for the responses. Glad to find some people getting use out of this guide. Just a reminder, as I stated at the beginning of the guide, this isn't the ONLY way to complete Galactic Wars. It's just one method I've found very effective. Some quick extra points:

    * This method has worked for me from the very beginning levels, and continues to work at level 78.
    * My arena squad level has never seemed to affect the success rate of this method.
    * I've never had to use a suicide squad with this method. In fact, for most GWs, I don't lose a single toon.
    * I HAVE mixed up teams for fun sometimes. Usually by throwing in new toons to see them in action, or going full dps for speed.
    * My normal roster includes about 8 toons: Dooku, Savage, QGJ, Royal Guard, Ashoka, Phasma, Luminari, and Bariss. I used to use Jedi Consular, Chewbacca, and Sideous as well, but I don't find them that useful any more. I just got 6-star Yoda, so he's going to be added to the mix. I don't have Genosian Soldier geared up yet, but he could be great too.
    * In approx 150 GW's, I've failed on the final victory maybe 3-4 times. And ALL of those were before I figured out about the retreat option. This method works great for me, so I really only change it up when I get bored.
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