January 29, 2020 February 24, 2020
Deckathalon Endurance Mode Review
Truth be told, I was extremely frustrated with the introduction of Endurance Mode to the Deckathalon events. However, my opinion about the entire subject has since evolved. Still, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the event is now perfect, but it definitely warrants conversation. In this article, I will discuss my experiences in the Ice Deckathalon that first introduced Endurance Mode to the live game.
What is Endurance Mode?
Endurance Mode changes how the Deckathalon can be accessed. Instead of having 4 credits a day free (with subsequent credits costing 1000 gold), you can only get 3 credits every day. On the other hand, a credit buys you entrance to the tower from whichever stage you select, but you can keep heading up higher until your treasure cards run out or you are defeated. For instance, if you start at Stage 1, you can keep heading to the next stages after completing it.
One thing worth noting is that you can redeem 3 credits daily, but you don’t necessarily have to use them on that same day. They stack up until you use them or until the event ends. Note that you have to redeem them manually, however.
How Has Combat Changed?
The new Deckathalon largely resembles the old, but it has much more content now. Namely, there is now a total of 10 stages, with each stage having three different battles to vanquish. This makes a total of 30 battles, each tougher than the previous one, but there is more! Obviously, the event has 7 different variations – one for each main school. On the final battle of Stage 10 you will fight that Deckathalon’s school’s professor in a final 1v1 duel
It won’t be easy getting to the professors. Moments of frustration can get you to quit easily. Instead of tilting, quit temporarily, and focus your attention on something else. Perhaps in your downtime you will think of a way to overcome that pesky obstacle. You can also take a look at our Deckathalon tips article for some fresh ideas. Furthermore, you will want to keep a pet with may-casts with you. Although it is not a true requirement, it can come in handy and save your life at times. For instance, for the first six stages I forgot to equip my may-cast pet entirely, and I was still successful.
What about the incentives?
The rewards bar also changed. Now you only need 450 special event points to unlock the class pet. You might say “only????!!!”. After a while, you will find your own method of obtaining points efficiently. Just don’t give up or you might not achieve the pet in time. Despite the very short run time of the event, you can still be victorious in unlocking every reward. Since you only have the 3 credits a day (which you can use at any point in the event), you’re not asked to spend inordinate amounts of time to be successful.
The leaderboard also makes a spectacular return, but this time ’round it’s way different than it was originally. “How so? You can’t change how a leaderboard works?” However, the credit restrictions do just that. Everyone has the same limit, so you need to see how to efficiently allocate your credits rather than no-life the Deckathalon all week. On top of that, the final rewards are now trophies specific to the event, so you won’t miss out on that rare mount or pet that everyone clamors for.
The Deckathalon Decks
In my opinion (and probably everyone else’s), these decks are a must get when you start the higher up stages of the event. Stage 1 to 4 can be beaten fairly easily without them, but it is a different story for what lies beyond. Take a look at each of the Ice Deckathalon Decks:
Each deck is harder to get than the previous one, and the recipes aren’t easy. If anyone has the 10th deck by now, it is solely because they obtained enough reagents from the previous instances of the event. Obtaining the rune reagents now is even more difficult, but not as bad as you might think. The Strengthening runes are still rare, but they can be easily farmed from the final bosses in the higher stages. The issue you will most surely encounter is having enough basic runes to craft with. Each deck requires between 5 – 40 runes from the opposite school (ex. The Ice deck requires Fire runes). Additionally, each deck requires the previous two decks as part of the recipe (ex. Deck 3 requires Deck 2 and 1 as a reagent). Easy, no? 😉 I made it to Deck 6 so far!
To somehow combat this shortage of reagents, you could start each run from stage 1. My record so far has been from Stage 1 to Stage 6 battle 1. That is 16 fights with one deck, one credit, but loads of reagents! Higher stages may have better rewards in a single fight, but you’re likely to complete fewer. So, starting from Stage 1 can be a good strategy
The Challenge & the Rewards
As you can imagine, the higher up the tower you go, the tougher the challenge will get, but so do the rewards. At some point, it might become overwhelming, but take deep breaths and carry on or simply take a short break from it all. In stage 10 you might notice increased instances of stunning (Freeze or Frost Giant) and the fact that mobs had pip conversion. Be prepared for all that!
I even tried summoning a Sinbad minion through a rare TC I obtained from the pack, and when it critical-ed a spell, the mobs instantly blocked every single time. The spells they used on battle 29 had my jaw drop big time…
Nonetheless, don’t be discouraged! A little perseverance can beat the toughest of foes, including Professor Greyrose herself.
Let us now focus on a brighter aspect of this event – the rewards. Once I defeated Greyrose, I was both over and underwhelmed. Overwhelmed because I had just conquered a difficult battle, but underwhelmed with the rewards. I got a single Ice Beetle spellement, which other creatures had already previously dropped, and lots of other reagents. I guess part of me was hoping for a more exciting reward. Still, at the end of the day I was happy, as I gotten lots of useful reagents including a Strengthening rune, if memory serves me right. Throughout the climb to stage 10 you will also discover these ever-so-helpful craftable potions to be used anywhere (except for PvP of course).
Treasure Cards and Gold Barriers
An important tip for this event is to have loads of gold on hand. You’ll need to buy lots of crafting recipes and treasure cards to beat the entire tower! My main wizard barely had 50,000 gold left after this event. You will need loads of TC, and powerful ones too, if you want to defeat creatures at the higher stages.
Something that has never occurred to me before this event is how rare the treasure card versions of some common spells actually are. Sure, we may be used to seeing them every day in the Bazaar, but when everyone needs them, it is another story. Some spells I had in mind were Scald and Rain of Fire. Both spells are lifesavers for the Ice Deckathalon, but try looking them up in the Bazaar… I dare you xD
Speaking of the Bazaar… fellow #Twizard Austin Thorn got this to my attention that you can now access the treasure card section of the Bazaar from none other than Harold Argleston by clicking the yellow arrow on the top right hand side.
Did I enjoy the new Deckathalon event?
I must admit that this event has been a roller coaster for me. At times it was frustrating, but after persevering and trying to think of different ways on how I can beat certain levels felt really rewarding. The very best moments were when I defeated Professor Greyrose and when I reached the 450 special points mark that got me the Ice Class Pet. Both these events got me a badge:
Of course, some of you might not agree with me on this, but overall I think this may have improved the event. Believe me, I never imagined myself saying those words before trying out the event, but somewhere along the way my perception on the new endurance mode has changed. It even makes the leaderboard more balanced than before, as it limits everyone to the same 3 credits, although increasing the credit limit by a bit would be more enjoyable.
