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Why do people spend so much to surge past competition for 1st place in gauntlet?

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  • ~peregrine~~peregrine~ ✭✭✭✭✭
    I would probably do it at least once to get the achievement, if I wasn't in the wrong time zone (this way I can't be sure to actually keep my rank).
    But apart from that I find the gauntlet way too annoying to consistently put resources into it.

    That’s what I did for the Top 1 Achievement, using dilithium to refresh 2 cards with 2 minutes left. After that, having also now claimed Locutus for the 20K Rounds, I am content to let time & occasionally merits preserve streaks for multiples of 3. 🖖
    "In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it's us players who define the game." — Nicky Case, The Evolution of Trust
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    Another update

    t1g190m3wpp9.jpg
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    ByloBand wrote: »
    Another update

    t1g190m3wpp9.jpg

    I, for one, welcome our new Rajin overlord.

    I am really tempted to make a run at him but I keep getting matches for like 30 trophies, so yeah, doesn't look likely.
  • SoupKitchen RikerSoupKitchen Riker ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Not sure? I've always thought it was kind of pointless to smear a Gauntlet. I've just played until I eventually get the legendary. And even if I didn't...meh, I'll live.
    “A committee is a cul-de-sac, down which good ideas are lured and quietly strangled.” —Mark TwainMEMBER: [BoB] Barrel of Bloodwine... We are recruiting and putting the “curv” in scurvy! Best Event Finish: #3 Honor Debt: Inconceivable...Honor Bank Account: Slowly building...
  • Banjo1012Banjo1012 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Paladin 27 wrote: »
    This probably won’t go over well or be agreed with by anyone, but it’s not actually that bad compared to some other non campaign things in the game.

    You effectively can buy each 15+ streak box for 30-40 dil. Even if it took 200 boxes (600 streak) per gold that’s 6k-8k a gold. In that time you can also get a bunch of chrons and save even more chrons farming 2-4* items that drop.

    You’re right about that, and the chrons. You can pick up quite a few chrons by tearing through gauntlets

  • And I find it humorous that this thread is ragin’ about Rajin.

    I'm imagining he just decided TODAY to go join the forums... Sees this post... He is gonna freak out I'm sure!! And I'm sure @ByloBand will be getting a pm XD
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    I keep hoping, but so far, no dice.

    I've managed to hold comfortably in second position, but every time I get even remotely close, Rajin punches it into warp 9 and laps us again. Been pretty fun though, I do enjoy a good chase, it helps motivate me to try a bit harder, which is fun.

    Now granted I am likely to start my inevitable day 2 slide, especially since I've been awake for 27 hours straight and am about to pass out and miss a few cycles :p

    -edit-

    As of an hour ago.

    j6i21ezc7cfn.jpg
  • PenguinJimPenguinJim ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    ByloBand wrote: »
    ByloBand wrote: »
    Another update

    t1g190m3wpp9.jpg

    I, for one, welcome our new Rajin overlord.

    I am really tempted to make a run at him but I keep getting matches for like 30 trophies, so yeah, doesn't look likely.
    Just like the game sometimes throws all-10s, sometimes the game throws lots of high-reward matches at you, 200+, and alongside a sea of Locutuses the most points on the far left are for defeating Hockey Paris.

    Especially in the first few hands, where the lower and higher players are more jumbled, it's possible to rack up loads of points simply because that's what the rounds happen to have offered. Heck, I've ended up on 2000+ points in the first eight hours before, and I would have been targeting streaks, not points!

    Sometimes it happens in the last few minutes, too - hundred-pointer after hundred-pointer drops in your lap, and you end up over a thousand points ahead of number two. Which I always find embarrassing, as it looks like I've spent dil to get there! And then people like AviTrek and Jesus think I'm boasting about my shoe size when all I've done is have the game coincidentally give me a few big-point opponents who my crew just happen to beat.

    I've never spent dil in the Gauntlet, not even accidentally, and I'm on 19 Armuses, 12 Caretakers etc. When Gauntlet started, I thought it was horrifically simple and almost entirely lacking in gameplay, but over the years I've been surprised by just how many little tactics there are that all add up to really help. (That said, I've had a bad week - 3rd place, 4th (!) place, then 2nd place finishes, and only one legendary prize, a Caretaker, this week.)

    When I've seen you in my Gauntlet, ByloBand, I notice you don't seem to go for a top 10 finish at the end? Could try higher finishes for legendaries. Last week and this week I got Caretakers for first and second places, plus an Armus for a 21-streak. I've even had two Locutuses drop together for a top-place finish (two days after one Locutus dropped for a top-place finish!). Try ranking higher, and try considering your playstyle more carefully to proceed more efficiently. Few of the tactics are obvious - which makes them all the more helpful!
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    PenguinJim wrote: »
    When I've seen you in my Gauntlet, ByloBand, I notice you don't seem to go for a top 10 finish at the end? Could try higher finishes for legendaries. Last week and this week I got Caretakers for first and second places, plus an Armus for a 21-streak. I've even had two Locutuses drop together for a top-place finish (two days after one Locutus dropped for a top-place finish!). Try ranking higher, and try considering your playstyle more carefully to proceed more efficiently. Few of the tactics are obvious - which makes them all the more helpful!

    Well, part of that is working on a theory that an 11-15th place finish is actually more beneficial than a 9th place finish, and a bigger part of it is that I usually go to bed in the morning in first place on day 2 and wake up after the Gauntlet has ended (locally it ends at 4:00 PM and I don't get up until around 4:45 PM), so my 14th place finish is actually pretty impressive because I slept through 2 complete cycles and survived.
  • PenguinJim wrote: »
    ByloBand wrote: »
    ByloBand wrote: »
    Another update

    t1g190m3wpp9.jpg

    I, for one, welcome our new Rajin overlord.

    I am really tempted to make a run at him but I keep getting matches for like 30 trophies, so yeah, doesn't look likely.
    Just like the game sometimes throws all-10s, sometimes the game throws lots of high-reward matches at you, 200+, and alongside a sea of Locutuses the most points on the far left are for defeating Hockey Paris.

    Especially in the first few hands, where the lower and higher players are more jumbled, it's possible to rack up loads of points simply because that's what the rounds happen to have offered. Heck, I've ended up on 2000+ points in the first eight hours before, and I would have been targeting streaks, not points!

    Sometimes it happens in the last few minutes, too - hundred-pointer after hundred-pointer drops in your lap, and you end up over a thousand points ahead of number two. Which I always find embarrassing, as it looks like I've spent dil to get there! And then people like AviTrek and Jesus think I'm boasting about my shoe size when all I've done is have the game coincidentally give me a few big-point opponents who my crew just happen to beat.

    I've never spent dil in the Gauntlet, not even accidentally, and I'm on 19 Armuses, 12 Caretakers etc. When Gauntlet started, I thought it was horrifically simple and almost entirely lacking in gameplay, but over the years I've been surprised by just how many little tactics there are that all add up to really help. (That said, I've had a bad week - 3rd place, 4th (!) place, then 2nd place finishes, and only one legendary prize, a Caretaker, this week.)

    When I've seen you in my Gauntlet, ByloBand, I notice you don't seem to go for a top 10 finish at the end? Could try higher finishes for legendaries. Last week and this week I got Caretakers for first and second places, plus an Armus for a 21-streak. I've even had two Locutuses drop together for a top-place finish (two days after one Locutus dropped for a top-place finish!). Try ranking higher, and try considering your playstyle more carefully to proceed more efficiently. Few of the tactics are obvious - which makes them all the more helpful!

    Please understand I never said you or anyone else is 'boasting', I was just wondering why people pay Dil on gauntlet to rank up, that was an answer someone else put.
  • PenguinJimPenguinJim ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Please understand I never said you or anyone else is 'boasting', I was just wondering why people pay Dil on gauntlet to rank up, that was an answer someone else put.
    I'm sorry, yes - I meant 'spending' really. Like you (and me a couple of years ago!), some would think I'm spending dil, and some like AviTrek would think I'm spending it for my ego, but I'm not spending dil and I play Gauntlet for the legendaries, not the fame and glory! (Edit: I mean, when I'm a thousand points in front! Which doesn't happen often, but definitely more than once a month, when the points and opponents align.)

    Even my FO Burnham and Leonardo came from Gauntlet! If you play it well, it's incredibly profitable.
    ByloBand wrote: »
    PenguinJim wrote: »
    When I've seen you in my Gauntlet, ByloBand, I notice you don't seem to go for a top 10 finish at the end? Could try higher finishes for legendaries. Last week and this week I got Caretakers for first and second places, plus an Armus for a 21-streak. I've even had two Locutuses drop together for a top-place finish (two days after one Locutus dropped for a top-place finish!). Try ranking higher, and try considering your playstyle more carefully to proceed more efficiently. Few of the tactics are obvious - which makes them all the more helpful!

    Well, part of that is working on a theory that an 11-15th place finish is actually more beneficial than a 9th place finish, and a bigger part of it is that I usually go to bed in the morning in first place on day 2 and wake up after the Gauntlet has ended (locally it ends at 4:00 PM and I don't get up until around 4:45 PM), so my 14th place finish is actually pretty impressive because I slept through 2 complete cycles and survived.
    Hmmm, you're just not taking it seriously enough. Gauntlet's finishing hours conflicted with my job, so I quit. Instead of one long sleep, I now have three 3-hour sleeps per 24-hour cycle (well, six per 48 really - it's all oriented around the Gauntlet start/finish). My daughter's ballet class was conflicting with one of my Gauntlet refreshes, so I moved her to a more-conveniently-timed boxing class.

    Like I say, these little tactics aren't immediately obvious, but they all add up!
  • PenguinJim wrote: »
    Please understand I never said you or anyone else is 'boasting', I was just wondering why people pay Dil on gauntlet to rank up, that was an answer someone else put.
    I'm sorry, yes - I meant 'spending' really. Like you (and me a couple of years ago!), some would think I'm spending dil, and some like AviTrek would think I'm spending it for my ego, but I'm not spending dil and I play Gauntlet for the legendaries, not the fame and glory! (Edit: I mean, when I'm a thousand points in front! Which doesn't happen often, but definitely more than once a month, when the points and opponents align.)

    Even my FO Burnham and Leonardo came from Gauntlet! If you play it well, it's incredibly profitable.
    ByloBand wrote: »
    PenguinJim wrote: »
    When I've seen you in my Gauntlet, ByloBand, I notice you don't seem to go for a top 10 finish at the end? Could try higher finishes for legendaries. Last week and this week I got Caretakers for first and second places, plus an Armus for a 21-streak. I've even had two Locutuses drop together for a top-place finish (two days after one Locutus dropped for a top-place finish!). Try ranking higher, and try considering your playstyle more carefully to proceed more efficiently. Few of the tactics are obvious - which makes them all the more helpful!

    Well, part of that is working on a theory that an 11-15th place finish is actually more beneficial than a 9th place finish, and a bigger part of it is that I usually go to bed in the morning in first place on day 2 and wake up after the Gauntlet has ended (locally it ends at 4:00 PM and I don't get up until around 4:45 PM), so my 14th place finish is actually pretty impressive because I slept through 2 complete cycles and survived.
    Hmmm, you're just not taking it seriously enough. Gauntlet's finishing hours conflicted with my job, so I quit. Instead of one long sleep, I now have three 3-hour sleeps per 24-hour cycle (well, six per 48 really - it's all oriented around the Gauntlet start/finish). My daughter's ballet class was conflicting with one of my Gauntlet refreshes, so I moved her to a more-conveniently-timed boxing class.

    Like I say, these little tactics aren't immediately obvious, but they all add up!

    Apology accepted, I do have times when I'm 1000 points ahead due to favorable rng (tho due to my schedule I rarely get to finish 1st even with such a high threshold between my 2nd place counterpart) and I of course have no problem with that....it's rng (yay!!! *Sarcasim*) What I can't fathom is spending Dil for a streak or ranking, unless ya want that 20k reward asap. And I'm sure there are some egotistical people that do spend just to be top player. I know I've had a friend jokingly threaten me with his bank account to spend on Dil just to beat me at gauntlet, so I'm sure there are people that will do that for real which even then, I mean it's supposed to be fun, and if out spending everyone is fun who am I to say that's wrong? I'm not of course, but was just wanting to hear possible reasons for this way of play.
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ran one more cycle before passing out last night...

    nvdi3jjzjixm.jpg

    ...and another when I woke up...

    rfltj2d79npr.jpg

    ...could be an interesting finish!
  • ByloBand wrote: »
    Ran one more cycle before passing out last night...

    nvdi3jjzjixm.jpg

    ...and another when I woke up...

    rfltj2d79npr.jpg

    ...could be an interesting finish!

    Look at him go haha!!
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    Then again...

    and4wh5w3ejw.jpg

    ...second place is still pretty good, right?! LOL
  • Dirk GundersonDirk Gunderson ✭✭✭✭✭
    ByloBand wrote: »
    Well, part of that is working on a theory that an 11-15th place finish is actually more beneficial than a 9th place finish

    I think this was 100% true before the gauntlet rewards were reworked but I am no longer so certain. If the drop rate for legendaries (either overall or just the formerly-featured crew) is indeed higher in the top 10, going for quantity over quality for end reward loot boxes may not be the best plan anymore. PenguinJim’s fountain of gauntlet legendaries seems to be a solid datapoint for that.
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    ByloBand wrote: »
    Well, part of that is working on a theory that an 11-15th place finish is actually more beneficial than a 9th place finish

    I think this was 100% true before the gauntlet rewards were reworked but I am no longer so certain. If the drop rate for legendaries (either overall or just the formerly-featured crew) is indeed higher in the top 10, going for quantity over quality for end reward loot boxes may not be the best plan anymore. PenguinJim’s fountain of gauntlet legendaries seems to be a solid datapoint for that.

    Well, in that case, I am VERY glad we had this discussion publicly, hopefully we can all learn something here and translate that into having more fun and having a more enriching experience :)

    See @(CSF) Jesus Is Lord [••••] it was a good thing I hijacked your thread, it morphed into something great!
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    Rajin is out for blood!

    wn78ka7cwvbm.jpg
  • Bylo BandBylo Band ✭✭✭✭✭
    kbmicx9pdrcz.jpg
  • edited December 2019
    ByloBand wrote: »
    ByloBand wrote: »
    Well, part of that is working on a theory that an 11-15th place finish is actually more beneficial than a 9th place finish

    I think this was 100% true before the gauntlet rewards were reworked but I am no longer so certain. If the drop rate for legendaries (either overall or just the formerly-featured crew) is indeed higher in the top 10, going for quantity over quality for end reward loot boxes may not be the best plan anymore. PenguinJim’s fountain of gauntlet legendaries seems to be a solid datapoint for that.

    Well, in that case, I am VERY glad we had this discussion publicly, hopefully we can all learn something here and translate that into having more fun and having a more enriching experience :)

    See @(CSF) Jesus Is Lord [••••] it was a good thing I hijacked your thread, it morphed into something great!

    When a hijacked thread helps everyone!!! Good job and wow...and since I know how much you hate him I have the perfect gif to thank you 😏

    bhcgth9emj4f.gif
  • PenguinJimPenguinJim ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's strange, he was very nice in his emails to me. We mostly discussed Bruce Campbell!

    Bylo, I'm guessing you quit Twitter because of the character limit? :p
  • PenguinJim wrote: »
    That's strange, he was very nice in his emails to me. We mostly discussed Bruce Campbell!

    Bylo, I'm guessing you quit Twitter because of the character limit? :p

    Definitely had to be that! XD
  • Emperor Borg Drone (SC)Emperor Borg Drone (SC) ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    I had to stay up all night yesterday, so I was around at reset time and finally reached rank 1 by throwing some merits and dilithium at it. If you have good gauntlet crew, it doesn't take that many resources (I guess it depends on how competitive the gauntlet is, but in my case 100 dilithium and a few hundred merits were enough to reach rank 1 in the last 20 minutes and with a decent margin, around 500 points more than the player at rank 2).
    But doing it on a regular basis still feels like a waste of time and resources, considered that apart from the slim chance of getting one of the legendaries, there aren't really any useful rewards. Of the 7 crates two had items that I could have easily replicated and 5 were completely useless, which is more or less the same result I usually get from rank 5, 10 or 11.
  • DScottHewittDScottHewitt ✭✭✭✭✭
    ByloBand wrote: »
    True story, on my original twitter account (long since deleted), Wil Wheaton blocked me!

    2hp31u440h17.jpg
    "The truth is like a lion; you don't have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself."
  • AviTrekAviTrek ✭✭✭✭✭
    I had to stay up all night yesterday, so I was around at reset time and finally reached rank 1 by throwing some merits and dilithium at it. If you have good gauntlet crew, it doesn't take that many resources (I guess it depends on how competitive the gauntlet is, but in my case 100 dilithium and a few hundred merits were enough to reach rank 1 in the last 20 minutes and with a decent margin, around 500 points more than the player at rank 2).
    But doing it on a regular basis still feels like a waste of time and resources, considered that apart from the slim chance of getting one of the legendaries, there aren't really any useful rewards. Of the 7 crates two had items that I could have easily replicated and 5 were completely useless, which is more or less the same result I usually get from rank 5, 10 or 11.

    I live in a timezone that works a little better for gauntlet end times. I can often win a gauntlet, I regularly place top 3 and I'm almost always top 5. I only use merits and never DIL. Knowing what I an do with 0 DIL, I have a hard time seeing the justification for placing #1 over 2-5 without spending DIL.
  • AviTrek wrote: »
    I had to stay up all night yesterday, so I was around at reset time and finally reached rank 1 by throwing some merits and dilithium at it. If you have good gauntlet crew, it doesn't take that many resources (I guess it depends on how competitive the gauntlet is, but in my case 100 dilithium and a few hundred merits were enough to reach rank 1 in the last 20 minutes and with a decent margin, around 500 points more than the player at rank 2).
    But doing it on a regular basis still feels like a waste of time and resources, considered that apart from the slim chance of getting one of the legendaries, there aren't really any useful rewards. Of the 7 crates two had items that I could have easily replicated and 5 were completely useless, which is more or less the same result I usually get from rank 5, 10 or 11.

    I live in a timezone that works a little better for gauntlet end times. I can often win a gauntlet, I regularly place top 3 and I'm almost always top 5. I only use merits and never DIL. Knowing what I an do with 0 DIL, I have a hard time seeing the justification for placing #1 over 2-5 without spending DIL.

    I'm usually somewhere in the first 10 ranks too, but since I only stay up until reset two or three times a year, I wanted to make sure that I would get rank 1 this time. I'm sure that it's possible to win gauntlets without using any dilithium, but I guess that to always place first, as some players here mentioned, would be almost impossible that way. It's still not very expensive to do so, but I really can't see the advantages, except for taking less time to immortalize gauntlet legendaries.
  • Fi®3wallFi®3wall ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    You definitely can score 600 points net per round in gauntlet. 11 rounds possible in 48 hours using no dilithium. If you spend alot of merits this score is achievable. I did something similar recently and it just wasn't worth the 7,000 merits I spent or waking up for alarms lol.
  • I am in this gauntlet round where two Captains are trying to out ramk the another.


    xcknmqhqaddv.png
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