Decoding the Mystery: Understanding Favored Troops in Gems of War
What exactly is a Favored Troop in Gems of War? In simple terms, it’s the troop you’ve deployed most frequently in Player vs. Player (PvP) battles – both ranked and casual – and within your Guild Wars attack teams. The game tracks the frequency with which each troop appears in your team compositions and designates the one used most often as your Favored Troop. This isn’t necessarily your strongest troop, but rather the one that’s been your go-to for attacking various opponents.
Digging Deeper: How Favored Troops Work
The Favored Troop mechanic is a simple data-tracking element within Gems of War, primarily intended for player information rather than providing any gameplay bonuses. It serves as a record of your preferred fighting style and team composition strategies.
What Determines a Favored Troop?
The system tallies each instance a troop is included in a PvP (ranked or casual) or Guild Wars attack team. The troop with the highest count becomes your Favored Troop. It’s important to note:
- Defense teams are not counted. Only attack teams in PvP and Guild Wars.
- The game likely keeps track of the historical data, meaning previously favored troops are considered.
- There are no in-game benefits for having a specific Favored Troop.
Why is it Important to Know Your Favored Troop?
While it doesn’t directly impact gameplay, knowing your Favored Troop provides valuable insight:
- Self-Assessment: It highlights your dominant playstyle. Are you reliant on a specific type of damage, mana color, or troop ability?
- Team Building Improvement: Analyzing your Favored Troop can reveal potential weaknesses. Perhaps your team is overly reliant on that one troop, making you vulnerable if it’s countered.
- Guild Wars Strategy: Identifying the troops your guildmates favor can help coordinate attacks in Guild Wars, maximizing efficiency and coverage.
- Fun Fact: It’s just a fun way to reflect on your Gems of War journey and see how your preferences have evolved over time.
Building a Powerful Team: Synergies and Strategies
While having a Favored Troop is interesting, building a well-rounded and synergistic team is crucial for success. Here are some key elements to consider:
Mana Generation: The Engine of Your Team
A consistent source of mana is essential. Include troops that generate mana for your other team members. This could involve:
- Direct Mana Generation: Troops that directly fill mana pools (e.g., using abilities that grant mana).
- Gem Creation: Troops that create specific gem types, allowing you to make advantageous matches.
- Gem Destruction: Troops that destroy excess or undesirable gems, increasing the chances of cascades that fill mana quickly.
Damage Dealing: Focus and Flexibility
Your team needs reliable damage dealers. Consider the following:
- Single-Target Damage: Troops that excel at taking down specific enemies quickly.
- Area-of-Effect (AoE) Damage: Troops that can damage multiple enemies simultaneously, useful for clearing boards quickly.
- True Damage: Damage that bypasses armor, essential for dealing with heavily armored opponents.
Support Roles: Buffs and Debuffs
Support troops can significantly enhance your team’s effectiveness by:
- Buffing Allies: Increasing attack, armor, life, or magic.
- Debuffing Enemies: Reducing attack, armor, life, or magic, applying status effects like poison, burning, or disease.
- Healing: Restoring health to damaged allies, extending their survivability.
Team Bonus Considerations
Many troops gain bonuses when teamed with others of the same type. Common bonuses include increased stats, extra mana, or enhanced abilities. Consider the strategy in the provided snippet:
- Dragon Teams: A team of all dragons can gain significant bonuses, such as increased magic or attack. The Dragon Egg troop is useful for summoning more dragons.
- Faction Teams: Teams consisting of troops from the same kingdom faction will also get bonuses that increase the stats of your troops.
Hero Class Selection
Choosing the right Hero Class can drastically impact your team’s performance. Consider the Dragonguard Class as noted, or other classes that synergize well with your team’s composition. Each Class has a particular mana color for a Gem Mastery bonus that might be different than the weapon mana color.
The Pursuit of Power: Acquiring Troops and Resources
The core of Gems of War revolves around collecting and upgrading troops.
Chests: Your Primary Source of Troops
Chests are the most common way to acquire new troops. Keys, earned through various activities (Daily Tasks, Guild Tasks, Tribute Collection), are used to open these chests.
- Gold Chests: Offer the most basic troops and resources. Find Gold Keys by purchasing them with Gold (1 Chest costs 300 Gold), collecting Tribute, earning battle rewards, completing Daily Tasks, completing Guild Tasks and playing Treasure Hunt.
- Gem Chests: Offer a higher chance of obtaining rare and legendary troops.
- Event Chests: Focus on specific troops tied to ongoing events.
- Guild Chests: Provide troops related to specific kingdoms, offering a good source for upgrading kingdom-specific teams.
Resource Management: Gold, Gems, and More
Managing resources effectively is crucial for progress.
- Gold: Used for leveling kingdoms, purchasing Gold Keys, and contributing to Guild Tasks. Leveling all your Kingdoms to Level 10 gives an increased stat bonus on all Troops.
- Gems: A premium currency used for purchasing armor, souls, and other valuable items. Earn Gems by collecting your Tribute from multiple Kingdoms, playing Treasure Hunt, playing Weekly Events and collecting the rewards from Guild Tasks.
Upgrade Troops Using Medals
Medals are essential for upgrading troops to increase their stats and effectiveness.
Troop Stats: Understanding the Numbers
Each troop possesses four primary stats: attack, armor, life, and magic.
- Attack: Determines the damage dealt in skull matches.
- Armor: Reduces the damage taken from skull matches.
- Life: Represents a troop’s health.
- Magic: Increases the power of a troop’s abilities.
Understanding Troop Bonuses
The Bonus is given to all Troops times by each Troop that uses the Mana color. For example: Troop A has Magic Spirit unlocked which gives +1 Magic for all Troops that uses Purple Mana. The team also has Troop B which uses purple Mana. So Troop A will gain +2 Magic from Magic Spirit.
FAQ: Your Questions Answered
1. Does my Favored Troop grant any special bonuses?
No, your Favored Troop is purely a statistical reflection of your playstyle. It doesn’t grant any in-game bonuses or advantages.
2. How often does the Favored Troop update?
The Favored Troop likely updates in real-time as you play, reflecting the most current usage data.
3. Can I change my Favored Troop?
Yes, by using a different troop more frequently, you can eventually change your Favored Troop.
4. What is the rarest troop in Gems of War?
Mythic Troops are the rarest and most powerful in the game.
5. What makes Mythic Troops so special?
Mythic Troops have high mana costs, complex spells, stronger Legendary Traits, and very high skills.
6. What is the best way to get Gems?
Collecting Tribute, playing Treasure Hunt, playing Weekly Events and collecting the rewards from Guild Tasks.
7. What is the best use of gold in Gems of War?
Leveling all your Kingdoms to Level 10, giving you an increased stat bonus on all Troops.
8. How do I increase my Gold income?
Completing Kingdom quests and reaching higher Kingdom Power Levels.
9. What is Gem Mastery?
Gem Mastery increases your chances of a Mana Surge every time you match colored Gems.
10. What does Magic do?
Magic is the basis of a troop’s ability strength.
11. What is the maximum level I can achieve in Gems of War?
The maximum level is 10,000.
12. What are Chaos Shards used for?
Chaos Shards are used to open Chaos Portals in Faction delves.
13. How do I raise my team score?
The further into the game a player gets, the more their team score will increase due to kingdom levels or troop progress.
14. Where can I find more in-depth strategy and analysis?
The Gems of War community is incredibly active. Look for resources like the official forums, fan-made wikis, and YouTube strategy guides.
15. Are there educational aspects to playing Gems of War?
Yes, Gems of War can indirectly promote strategic thinking, resource management, and pattern recognition skills. These skills translate to various learning contexts, as explored by organizations like the Games Learning Society. You can explore more about the educational aspects of gaming at GamesLearningSociety.org.
Conclusion: Embrace the Journey
Understanding the nuances of Gems of War, from Favored Troops to team building strategies and resource management, is a journey in itself. Embrace the experimentation, learn from your victories and defeats, and most importantly, have fun! The ever-evolving meta ensures there’s always something new to discover in the world of Gems of War.