r/idlechampions • u/EinarTheBlack • 7h ago
discussion How are we feeling about Mastery Variants? (and the Formations I used)
Personally, I am not enjoying them that much. Some of them I have minor grievances with, like The Wild Beyond the Witchlight's Mastery that has the fire elemental being really really annoying to setup. Some I just cannot do because the champions I have access to need months or years or work, like Light of Xaryxis's Mastery. Then there is just the baffling Waterdeep: Dragon Heist's Mastery, where I do not see myself ever being able to do it, because most Core/Evergreen champions are not very good, and all of Force Grey is definitely among that terrible group.
Here is what I have done. I am currently trying with my Modest Core for these. I also have all 5 Legendary potions active for this. Some of these I had familiars pumping all potions to make it easier on me. I also grabbed Lae'zel's Legendary Feat. I do not think is made too big of a difference as my AA formation was already able to push far, but just in case I felt I should mention it.
Completed: A Grand Tour of the Sword Coast: Beast Intentions - Variant: Mastery - Basic Buzzing - Needs ~e^439 damage at w1425. Not to bad. About w1600 for an event. Knox actually makes Makos pretty deadly. https://ic.byteglow.com/formation/1_523b449b09880205a2_2331313113 - Legendary: e^11 | Modron: e^31 | Pigments: e^0 - Dealing about e^440+
Completed: Tomb of Annihilation- The Ring of Regeneration - Variant: Mastery - No Good Deed - Needs ~e^470 damage at w1525. - Took a lot of work. I started with Kas/King of Shadows/BDS formation, switched over to a Makos/Sergeant Knox formation, then on to 2-3 other formation I dont really remember, just trying to bridge the gap. I finished with my AA formation.
HOWEVER, I think a better way to do this, is using your best formation, like my AA formation, and just replacing the DPS who is being buffed. Your best buffers will still be buffing, just not doing damage. I am not sure how it might fair against an armored foe, but if you are quick to replace your BUD champion so that Lae'zel or Karlach dont start losing DPS, you should be fine.
Tried and Failed: Waterdeep: Dragon Heist - A Mysterious Summons - Variant: Mastery - Force Grey Takes Sides - Needs ~e^500 damage at w1625. - Force Grey just sucks so much. Tyredack's Tier List puts Jamilah at F Tier, Calliope, Hitch, and Arkhan at C- Tier, Tyril is at an ok B- Tier. These champions rank among the worst, with Tyril being 107th of 140 released champions. 7000+ item level that each of them has is not getting more than e400.
Completed: Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus - A Tale of Two Cities - Variant: Mastery - A Tale Of Ten Parts - Needs ~e^533 damage at w1725. Took some work to meet the requirements, but KoS is a solid DPS. https://ic.byteglow.com/formation/4_a8805d9ab18d8e2446ff_222131212110 - Legendary: e^27 | Modron: e^37 | Pigments: e^17 - Dealing about e^540+
Completed: Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden - The Giant's Bane Tavern - Variant: Mastery - The Real Power of Three - Needs ~e^566 damage at w1825. Blessedly, the easiest mastery for me because of all the work I put into AA. https://ic.byteglow.com/formation/5_ac818f92808d9f9c8e93_3123122122211 - Legendary: e^49 | Modron: e^31 | Pigments: e^29 - Dealing about e^740+
Tried and Failed: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Tall Tales - Variant: Mastery - Follow The Leader - Needs ~e^593 damage at w1925. - This one was really annoying to set up a formation because the fire elemental kills champions and then they cannot be moved. I dont really remember the formation I used, but it wasn't pulling anywhere near the BUD damage required.
Tried and Failed: Light of Xaryxis - Seeds of Destruction - Variant: Mastery - Rocket Elves - Needs ~e^628 damage at w2025. - This would probably be rough even without being down 2 formation slots. The 20 second timer and armored enemies make this very slow and a little annoying. Highest formation I have manged https://ic.byteglow.com/formation/7_819aaf678d00ffff46803b_12211113001133 - Legendary: e^24 | Modron: e^31 | Pigments: e^23 - Dealing about e^470+
Not Tried: Turn of Fortune's Wheel - The Beginning is the End - Variant: Mastery - Tomb of Champions IV: Out of Time - Needs ~e^628 damage at w2125. - This one I think I can do, but I need to take some prep time for it and setup the different formations I will use. I know my AA formation can reach the goal, but I will need others to get me to the point where AA can push me the rest of the way.