This week's puzzle is more of a conversation piece. There are a handful of things that can be learned from this screenshot, be sure to leave your thoughts as a comment.
There is a new set of "beta" features called Blogger in Draft. They look like fun, so I changed the design template and added star ratings.
Right now, there is no way to find top-rated posts...hopefully, Blogger.com will develop that in the future. For now, go ahead and rate the posts. Let other Keepers know which posts you find useful.
I needed to step back and think about the Clan Affiliation List. The whole point of it was to highlight which clans had the most high-end keepers. Since I revived the Clan Affiliation List in May, I got carried away and started sorting the list strictly by Total Score.
Starting with this week, I will return to my original intent of putting the clan with the most keepers at the top of the Clan Affiliation List.
Sigh, this one is so wrong, I don't even know where to begin. But this is all about learning, so here goes:
- attacking with less than 12 creatures
- mixing creature types
- attacking with low level creatures (compared to the defenders)
Another point to learn is how durable creatures are. 4 Dark Elves going up against 12 level 10 Dark Elves only ends up with one casualty (I was surprised). In my experience, your creatures can survive being attacked by the same creature 5 levels higher. You will take a lot of damage and you have no chance of winning, but your creatures will usually survive. The level difference changes when you go up against different creatures - level 5 glowworms will NOT survive against level 10 Dark Elves.
Mixing creature types is a big no-no. Piccolastella was almost guaranteed to lose at least 1 Dark Elf or 1 Deviler. This is how Target Priorities can work against you.
The only loss was 1 level 4 Dark Elf. 6000 gold and 2 days of training time...not too bad. But still painful. If you spend the time to train your creatures, then take the time to scout your targets properly, you can avoid wasting resources. With high level creatures, your attacks will also be more effective.
Yesterday, I noticed that theEliteImps have posted stats on training creatures up to level 18. I don't know how long the info has been in the public section of their forums, and the highest training level I can reach on any of my accounts is still 15.
Can creatures really be trained beyond level 15? or are they just extrapolating the numbers according to how many "level graphics" have been found on the DignFight site?
Does anybody have info on what the requirements are to train creatures past level 15?
This one is a little harder to explain without giving away the answer right away.
This attack takes place on one of the non-mainstream servers somewhere in the Top 300. For now, I consider the English and German to be mainstream (but that's not very important).
The funny part is that piccolastella is the clan founder. I guess a clan is best described as a group of friends, rather than an organized group of dungeon keepers.
Bring on the comments.
I think just about everybody in my clan (Nightlords) is gone. Our forum and website don't work anymore, but somehow, there are still 34 members in our clan.
Well, my main account on the English server is in need of some social interaction. I want to find a clan that has active members, preferably with a few members in the Top 100 so that we can talk strategy and share reconnaissance information.
I can help train your clan members, I can be a flunkie and take orders, I may even consider deleting my English account and starting from scratch (you better have a really good reason for asking me to do this). Perhaps you need a clan leader or a clan webpage...I can do that too.
Anyway, I am looking for a new clan to join. Leave a comment if you like. E-mail in private if your prefer - dignfight(AT)gmail(DOT)com
The next Clan Affiliation List has been uploaded.
Hell Slayer [H.S], a one-man clan popped into the Top 300 this week.
I've been taking hits from a few Keepers for quite a while (that's one thing that sucks in the Top 100). Since I don't have adequate defense, they regularly steal handfuls of gold. Like I've said many times before, I don't really care about the gold, since I can dig up gold MUCH faster than they can steal it.
The problem is one of them regularly uses Berserker level 8. Check out this battle report (I am defending):
This is not quite ordinary, but you get the picture. Twelve level 15 Black Riders attack, my twelve level 15 Black Riders defend. My Riders do LOUSY damage and his Riders to quite a bit. Normally, equal level creatures should NOT even come close to killing each other, but notice how dangerously close one of my Black Riders comes to dying.
Note: I currently am not receiving any combat bonuses for field coverage (coverage is obviously below 50%). Things that can help you defend against Berserker are:
- activate Burning Eye
- have adequate dungeon coverage (I recommend at least 75%)
- Make sure that your Training Room and Arena are upgraded as far as possible
- Train your defenders well
- With these combat bonuses, you may be able to win more battles and prevent attackers from stealing gold. If they can't steal anything, they may give up on you and attack somebody else
Casting a level 8 Berseker costs 2121 gold. Even if you manage to steal over 600 gold, the damage that you receive will probably cost close to 600 gold to heal (without the First Aid Kit premium). You may not earn much, but if you are able to kill one creature, that means your enemy just lost a lot more than 2121 gold.
- researching Berserker to high levels is expensive and time-consuming.
- casting Berserker at any level is expensive (compared to how much gold you will steal)
- The extra damage that you will do with Berseker is amazing.
So what's it going to be?
I am pretty sure that unless you are relatively low on the High Score List, you will NOT be able to turn a profit by casting Berserker and attacking. Even if you are low on the High Score List and you have good targets near you, you might not be able to turn a profit (there's still healing costs).
The damage that you can do to your enemies, however, will probably be worth it. High level Berserker spells are the first time that I have seen a squad of attackers come close to killing an equal-level defender. Any time that you can kill a level 10 creature or higher, is absolutely wonderful!
Oh, so much confusion.
BTW, the Watcher traps are not the problem...even though you might think so. My excuse is that my Trolls were restless and didn't have anything better to tinker. LOL.
In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this week's screenshot. In fact, sending in a lone glowworm is my preferred method of scouting a target. It's cheaper and will find out more information than Evil Eye at any level. Wouldn't it be funny if he learned this strategy from reading this blog? Well, before I strain anything by trying to pat myself on my back, let's review once more why a lone glowworm is such a good method of scouting.
On second thought, just go back and read the post.
Welcome to another episode of DignFight Puzzles. This week's screenshot comes from my main account, which is in the Top 100. Take a look at it and tell me what is wrong with this attack.
Post your thoughts as a comments. Hopefully we can all learn from your input.
This week's Clan Affiliation List has been posted.
Diggaz with Attitude wasn't on the list back in January, but they are now in 4th place with 20 members and 1.7 million points. Brotherhood: Delta (#42 this week) is also crawling it's way up the list.
I also need to recognize a new 1-man clan: [Orc] Shadowclan. They debuted on this list last week, but I didn't notice him/her. Congratulations for jumping onto the Clan Affiliation List last week at #28!
I added a new poll today at the request of one of my loyal readers. Go ahead and vote in the sidebar and tell us how long you've been playing DignFight.
Is there anything that you would like to see in a poll? Add a comment or e-mail me at dignfight(at)gmail(dot)com.
Puzzle #2
The truth is, since the attack was successful, nothing was really wrong with it.
HOWEVER, this is NOT something that I would have done.
Sending in Imps to attack is a high-risk/high-reward situation. Creeping past clueless defenders and making off with 1200 gold may have been a good move today, but the odds are stacked against you.
Here's what is wrong:
- This was jacki's first attack against me for that day. Jacki may have used Evil Eye on me, but I can't tell.
- Even if the Evil Eye was successful, jacki would have known that I have some defense.
- If I had been defending with Devilers, all 4 level 15 Imps would have DIED!
- jacki attacked me 4 more times in the next 3 days with the same group of Devilers and Imps, but did NOT lose any Imps
- At the time, I was ONLY defending with Dark Riders
- By studying Target Priorities, jacki would have lost Imps ONLY if he ran into defending Devilers.
Lessons Learned:
- Don't send Imps to attack unless your are absolutely positive that your target has ZERO defense
- Study Target Priorities, there are times when it is a good idea to mix creature types
- Learn to read the Defense Report or Attack Report, the message at the bottom will give you clues to your target's defenses
Here's your next DignFight puzzle. This time, it is a screenshot of a successful attack. What is the problem here? Nothing has been edited out of the screenshot.
The solution has been posted.
Climbing the High Score list. Our Movers and Shakers list recognizes Keepers in the Top 300 that have risen 50 spots or more on the High Score List in the past week.
| Keeper | Last Week | This Week | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Werewolf | 218 | 157 | 61 |
| Jazcobo | 208 | 151 | 57 |
| GraveRobber | 198 | 142 | 56 |
The distribution of top players remains relatively unchanged in this weeks Clan Affiliation List. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the Elite Imps own the top of the high score list. In the number 1 spot, Kayo can only be attacked by 3 non-EliteImps players. Even if they wanted to attack Kayo, the strongest Keeper only has half the creature score of Kayo. Unless there is a civil war within the Elite Imps, they will continue to sit atop the English server for a long time.
No Matter [NU], a single-member clan has climbed onto the Top 300 list as of this week.