Puzzle & Dragons, a mobile puzzle strategy game for Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire devices that was developed by Gungho Online Entertainment, is somewhere along the lines of a mix between, Bejeweled, Pokemon, and Candy Crush.
But as any veteran knows, this increasingly popular mobile game has been getting a hefty amount of updates on a monthly basis since its release — including evolutions, new game mechanics, new Awakenings, and much more. These new updates not only bring exciting and useful content into the game, but they also allow players to craft various mid-game to end-game teams to tackle the most challenging of dungeons. The meta constantly changes, meaning that every team type eventually becomes “king” when it comes to dealing with tougher dungeons.
In this guide, we’ll offer team building advice to veteran players of Puzzle & Dragons. We’ll be digging into ideal team compositions, breaking down Godfests, and even examining the meta itself.
Team Building and Composition in PaD
It’s almost impossible to have the perfect team in Puzzle & Dragons. Why? As new evolutions and monster cards get added into the game, the meta constantly shifts because of those updates. At one time, the meta was all about rainbow teams — but now, the meta is hovering around combo teams.
But as a result of the meta constantly shifting around, it’s a good idea to try and stay in touch with it so you can keep up and use the meta to your advantage to clear tough content. For example, when Diablos was released last month, he tremendously helped combo teams and helped push the combo meta. His leader skill, which turns the entire board into a 7×6 board, really helped Reincarnated Anubis and Reincarnated Kushinadahime teams clear challenges, because they could make way more combos than before.
Example Teams for the Current Meta
There’s no telling when things will change again, but here are a few teams that are pretty powerful in the current meta for Puzzles and Dragons.
Reincarnated Kushindahime Team
In this team, Reincarnated Kushindahime’s leader skill benefits her and all the Hakus because of the “Healer” type. Diablos’ leader skill transforms the puzzle board into a 7×6, which gives you more combos to work with since Reincarnated Kushinadahime’s leader skill restricts skyfalls.
With everyone except Reincarnated Kushinadahime having “Enhanced Combo” Awakening, their attack is doubled when you reach 7+ combos. And of course, the Hakus transform your board into a tri-color for even more combos.
This is a luxury team because all of its members require RNG to obtain (if you’e lucky). If you have 3 or less Hakus, you can substitute the fourth one for a support type monster card. However, it’s advisable to at least have 2 Hakus. Here’s the team list:
- Reincarnated Kushinadahime
- Haku
- Haku
- Haku
- Haku
- Diablos
Dark Athena Team
This is another team that’s very relevant right now, even though it doesn’t exactly align with the meta at the moment.
With this team, you can dish out lots of damage with barely any effort. Again, the Hakus’ active skill provides a tri-color board, of which the two elements are water and dark — something that Athena needs to activate her leader skill.
Loki’s active skill doubles the attack of the whole team, so you’ll deal even more damage against enemies. And of course, Dark Athena herself gives an HP and attack boost to all God, Devil, and Attacker types (where in this case, all monsters meet the requirement), and another attack boost, as well as a recovery boost when you match water and dark orbs.
This ideal team is extremely tanky, durable, and can clear the majority of end-game content, but sadly, relies on RNG (except for Athena since you can buy her with MP). Here’s the team list:
- Dark Athena
- Haku
- Haku
- Haku
- Loki
- Dark Athena
As you can tell, Haku is a staple sub on almost any combo team because of her active skill, type, and awakenings. But generally speaking, any monster that has skills and awakenings that benefit combos will definitely work on your combo team. That said, some are more desirable/preferred than others.
It’s also wise to note that you can inherit other monsters’ skills that can either support (shield, delay, bind clear, etc.), or have other offensive benefits.
With the meta constantly shifting, advanced players need to have teams that are able to take advantage of each different meta. Of course, that requires having the ideal leader, as well as the subs that will benefit a player’s leader and the team as a whole.
But how exactly can players craft meta-relevant teams or powerful teams in general?
Godfests and Collabs
Every time there is an in-game event, a Godfest is announced. Godfests are also announced whenever there are collabs like Bleach, Final Fantasy, etc. For new players, this is a great opportunity to try and obtain a rare and powerful monster that will help them clear early content — and get them into the game.
But what about veteran players? Unlike new players, it’s a good idea to conserve stones for Godfests that will have monsters carrying the most benefit on veteran players’ teams. For instance, let’s take the combo meta as an example. For newbies, the meta doesn’t exist simply because they just started the game and don’t have enough monster cards or the experience to be part of the meta. But for veteran players, they need to roll only on specific Godfests that have monster cards that will greatly benefit their teams.
Looking at the image above, a newer player would be set with any of the monster cards featured above. As for veteran players, they would want to aim for Diaochan, since she is a very useful sub on Reincarnated Anubis teams. As a result, veteran players would have to ask themselves the following question: “Should I spend all my stones hoping to get Diaochan, or wait for a future Godfest?”
In the end, it’s really up to the player. Specific teams require specific monsters relevant in the meta and beyond. But it’s also a good idea to note that just because a meta exists, it does not mean that you should only aim for monsters that will benefit from that meta. There are numerous teams outside of the meta that are just as powerful and reliable for clearing tough dungeons.
It all depends on who players need and what players can work with.
Knowing What’s Coming
If there is one thing that western players can benefit the most from, it’s the fact that we get all the stuff that the Japanes version of Puzzles & Dragons gets at a later date. How so? Because updates and new releases are first available in Japan, Western players can get a sneak peek at what’s to come. This also allows Western players to save stones if there’s an incredibly useful Godfest Exclusive or MP monster, begin crafting and upgrading a current team because of the meta that is emerging in Japan, and etc.
Whether the updates are good or bad, Western players (especially experienced ones), get to know in advance what awaits them, and what they can look forward to (or not). This kind of prep time is a huge advantage.
This all ties in with teams, since new and more powerful monsters are being released very often. About a month or so ago, Japan got yet another Godfest Exclusive monster named Ney. Whichever evolution of hers players go for, it’s certain that that evolution will prove to be an extremely useful leader or sub. As of now, she is not available in the west — but western players are already looking forward to her and are saving up their stones for her when she debuts.
Advanced Players and Their Teams
You can never build a strong, everlasting team in Puzzle & Dragons. As newer content is released, “accommodating” dungeons are released as well, with each one being tougher than the previous one. Luckily, there is no single meta that lasts forever in this game — every few months or so, a new meta arrives and replaces the current one.
Since Puzzle & Dragons is an RNG game, every person who has played the game for a long time will have different monsters, teams, leaders, subs, etc. Thus, the meta will either play in their favor or not.
There really is no reason to be discouraged though — with Japan getting updates first, we get to see what they get, and plan accordingly with our Magic Stones and MP. Who knows? Maybe that patience will be awarded when you get that one monster who will replace the meta!
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Make sure to check out our other Puzzle & Dragons guides! Here a few to get you started:
- Top 10 Tips for Puzzle and Dragons Beginners
- Puzzle and Dragons Beginner’s Guide: Tips for Starting Your Own Puzzling Adventure
Published: Aug 19, 2017 01:42 pm