How to Get Better Answers on the BD Chat

The revamped Battledome continues to bring new battlers to the BD Chat in search of help. Since battling has always been my favorite site feature, I try to answer questions whenever I can, but I’ve noticed there are a few recurring questions that are too open-ended to give a one-size-fits-all answer. Questions about set building and beating certain opponents have lots of different solutions. So if your question falls into one of the categories below, be sure to include the right information and you’ll be much more likely to receive the help you’re looking for.

"What weapons should I get?” / “What’s my next upgrade?"

There are lots of different weapons that do lots of different things at lots of different prices. The “best” set depends entirely on what you want to do in the Battledome. Providing some extra information about your budget and your goals will help us pick the right weapons for you.

Budget – There are good weapons at all different prices, ranging from a few hundred NP to a few hundred million NP. So before we can help you build a set or pick your next weapon upgrade, we need to know your budget.

1P/2P – Are you going to be sticking to 1P opponents or will you be looking to battle other users? This will determine how to pick your weapons and how to prioritize your upgrades. For 1P battles, you’ll generally want to prioritize raw power over everything else—get the biggest bang for your buck and don’t worry too much about shields. But for 2P battles, you’ll want to have a well-rounded set even it means weaker offensive weapons. Icon types also become a major factor when picking weapons for a 2P set. There’s a lot to consider, but don’t worry, the BD Chat will help you build the right set for whichever type of battling you want to do.

Specific opponent – If there’s a specific 1P opponent you’ll be fighting over and over again (for daily prizes or the Obelisk Skirmish, for example) then there will be certain weapons that are much more effective against that particular opponent. You generally don’t have to sacrifice damage to get different icons, so building a set against a specific opponent won’t prevent you from being able to battle other challengers too. Just let us know who you’ll be fighting most and we’ll factor that into your set.

"Where did that damage/healing/whatever come from?” / “Why aren’t my weapons working?"

It can be frustrating to watch your pet’s HP get wiped out and have no idea what happened. Occasionally it might just be a glitch, but more likely there was a weapon or ability involved that has some sort of non-obvious function. Over the years TNT has added more and more weapon mechanics and it can be tough to keep track of it all when you’re not familiar with the BD. Luckily, the BD Chat has some veterans who test and document each new weapon. Just include the information below and we’ll be able to explain exactly what happened.

Combat Log – The combat log tells us what was used, what order they were used in, and the captions sometimes hint at a weapon’s hidden effects. Copy that whole thing and paste it into your post (don’t worry about the formatting, we’ll be able to read it). Screenshots work too. If you left the page already, then try to remember which weapons and abilities were used. Chances are, one of those weapons or abilities is the culprit.

Opponent you were fighting – It’s always helpful to know which opponent was causing you grief. Fan sites have collected info on each challenger, so even if you can’t get the combat log we can at least look up the challenger’s weapons and get an idea of what might have happened. At the very least, we’ll be able to tell you what to look for the next time you battle them.

"Can I beat this opponent?"

Unless you have a maxed out pet, this question can’t be answered by your stats alone. There’s almost always some combination of stats and weapons that can beat an opponent, but the lower your stats, the better your weapons need to be. So long as your stats aren’t too low, there are always options. Just provide us with the info below, and we’ll try to figure out how to get you that win.

Stats –We can always just click on your lookup, but including your pet’s stats in your post is helpful because it keeps all the information in one place (and because some of us are lazy). I recommend going to the status page at one of the training schools to copy your stats because we need to see the actual numbers for each one.

Weapons – List the weapons you have equipped. Perhaps you already have all the weapons you need, perhaps there’s something you need to add just for that opponent, or perhaps you’ll need to upgrade either your weapons or your stats before you can beat them. We won’t know until we have the full picture.

Budget – If you have some extra NP that you’re willing to use, let us know. It might be enough to purchase an upgrade, or you could use it as collateral to borrow a weapon. There are also some powerful single-use weapons that you can use if your budget allows.

So there you have it! Include the right information and you’ll get much better answers to your questions. The Battledome has so many different mechanics that it can be daunting to try to learn, but everyone has to start somewhere. So come give the BD Chat a second chance and you might be surprised by how helpful we can be! Of course, if you still find the BD Chat too intimidating (and I don’t blame you), my Neomail is always open for any questions you might have.