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Kahless and Gauntlet Advice
Captain SMR
✭✭✭
in Ready Room
I have been playing for about 18 months and trying in Gauntlet about a year (2934 rounds.) I usually can string together 12-15 wins and end up in the 70s. That is where I run into the wall of Kahless, Caretaker, Locutus, etc. I have never won any of the key players (i.e., Caretaker, Guinan, etc.). So, my best crew based on the spreadsheet is usually some combination of Surak, Mirror Troi, Mirror Picard, with a rotation of Lt Valeris, Romulan Kirk, etc. based on traits. I do have Mademoiselle de Neuf and Mirro T'Pol that I am leveling up.
So, here is my question. I have saved almost 300,000 honor. My overall crew list seems to be working for voyages, missions, etc. Should I get and FF/FE Kahless? Will the benefit in Gauntlet be worth the investment? Will it push me high enough to be more likely to earn one or more of the special crew (Caretaker, etc.)?
Thanks to all for any advice. PS, the alternative is that I would spend the honor on other 5 stars to increase their star level, but don't have any obvious needs at this time.
So, here is my question. I have saved almost 300,000 honor. My overall crew list seems to be working for voyages, missions, etc. Should I get and FF/FE Kahless? Will the benefit in Gauntlet be worth the investment? Will it push me high enough to be more likely to earn one or more of the special crew (Caretaker, etc.)?
Thanks to all for any advice. PS, the alternative is that I would spend the honor on other 5 stars to increase their star level, but don't have any obvious needs at this time.
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Even with a 1-disadvantage, I will usually run Kahless. Head to head, they are mostly a tossup in that scenario.
Kahless isn't a magic pill that makes your team an instant winner, but he will make it better. In the long run, he is also very strong in voyages (#12 score in the game when FFed).
Maybe, kinda just a little. If you’re ranking higher and getting the better boxes you supposedly have a better chance at him dropping. I say supposedly because they don’t offer up drop rates and there are plenty who always get the best boxes and still don’t have him (I'm almost always top 10 and frequently top 1-3 and only have one Caretaker). It could be a very very small better chance for all we know.
Note that for gauntlet you only need him at 1/5. More stars don’t make him any better for that part of the game. FFing him would be beneficial for voyages as he’s top notch voyage crew when FF.
If your goal is solely to improve your performance in The Gauntlet, then an option for you to consider is to spending only 100,000 on a 1/5* Kahless. That is, having a 1/5* Kahless will do as much for you in The Gauntlet, as my 5/5* Kahless does for me, and so perhaps you might want to spend the other 200,000 Honor to improve your Crew in another manner.
FYI, I do find my 5/5* Kahless quite handy for Voyages.
-Do I spend 100,000 honor to acquire Kahless to help in the gauntlet?
Before we had a ubiquitous Mirror Picard and others like Revolutionary Damar, Kahless was the angry 800-pound gorilla of the Gauntlet for COM alone, the COM/SEC combo, and even the COM/DIP combo if any traits were involved. These days, he helps but isn’t nearly as necessary as he once was. My estimation is that the additional help he provides is not worth it given the honor expense - walls of Mirror Picard and Kahless can be avoided with merits or by redshirting one of your gauntleteers. And even if you had Kahless and beat a wall, now your Kahless is tired and probably won’t beat the next wall.
-Should I spend 300,000 honor to FF Kahless for voyages?
Probably. Personally speaking, I have avoided Kahless because the same amount of honor to FF him could be spent on two other 1/5* crew to get them to 4/5* and because I have a stout collection of COM/SEC crew for voyages. If you have trouble getting good length on COM/SEC voyages or want to bolster those skills in other voyages, Kahless would be an extremely helpful addition to your crew.
While the 5 character crew I chose had a lot of duplication of abilities (e.g., Trelane’s best combo was a close match with what I already had available from Locutus of Borg), what they also had was a good amount of offensive pop for me to exploit. I think my decent Ranking of 5th in this most recent Gauntlet further speaks to how you can have success by focusing on offense and not worrying about defense when picking your 5 character crew. If you are struggling to reach the higher ranks in your Gauntlets, I encourage you to experiment with some creative choices when picking your Gauntlet crews, and see if you might be able to find more success by making less popular selections.
Ultimately the more options you have available, the more creative you can get, and so equipping Mademoiselle de Neuf should also prove helpful. And while you will not use him all the time, investing in a copy of Kahless will over the long run give you an advantage over all of the other players who do not acquire him.
If you really want it easy, try entering an hour or two before a gauntlet expires. And as a bonus, you only have to play that gauntlet for a little over a day.
I’m sure that would be easier. Also it’s not hard to climb to the top of a gauntlet quickly. I bow to your sager advice
On Kahless: I got him when he was the 800-pound gorilla, and he was great for me. He's less of an advantage now; in fact I often use Mirror Picard or Admiral Nechayev instead when he/she has a bonus trait. But if I were you, I would probably still get him. I wouldn't necessarily cite him up, however. It depends on the rest of your crew.
On how to improve your crew: if you have the ability to occasionally break into the top 1000 in an event (or if very rarely you will spend on an event pull), save up until an event with a really excellent new gauntlet crew. Then go all out to get him/her. A crew that can consistently win on a few combos has been key for me. For example, the recent Augment O'Brien is one I missed, but others have been using him to beat me up for ENG/SEC combos. Even though he lacks a third skill, being able to win on that combo makes him quite valuable. I did go after the recent Interfaced La Forge, and he's been great for winning ENG/DIP combos.
One more piece of advice: Don't waste time on Mirror T'Pol if you already have Surak. She's the same three stats, but weaker.
Captain Level: 95
VIP Level: 12
Unique Crew Immortalized: 525
Collections Completed: Vulcan, Ferengi, Borg, Romulan, Cardassian, Uncommon, Rare, Veteran, Common, Engineered, Physician, Innovator, Inspiring, Diplomat, Jury Rigger, Gauntlet Legends