Okay, so I tried Murkeye/Murky/Mutanus against Popsicooler and got utterly wrecked. Turn 1 like Pezman said - Murky gives Popsicooler taunt and all greens attack. However, this is immediately countered by Popsicooler gaining health equal to cart's health. So basically a zero-sum thing. Next turn, Popsicooler one-shots Murkeye (deal damage equal to cart's health) and from then on, my damage output simply cannot do anything to ever endanger Popsicooler which is alternating between health gain and damage dealing (45 to all) turns.
Is it all about the right treasures (+x/+x murlocs, windfury on Murkeye) and about getting lucky (Murkeye not being slowed and insta-killed in turn 2)?
I hate to say it, but yes it comes down to the treasures. I wasn't lucky enough to find windfury, but still got by with stat buffs. Are your murlocs maxxed out? That helps too. My Mutanus and Murk-Eye are. Which equipment you use makes a difference too. Then there's just good old perseverance.
Heck, N'Zoth Task 9 is fricking difficult - I cannot complete it, no matter how hard I try! Any tips please? <3
Check out my comment two above yours: I used a Murloc/Dragon hybrid squad that worked great. The key is using Murky to give Popsicooler taunt so your fighters can all swing right in on turn 1. Good luck!
I'm trying to beat Heroic Drek'Thar to unlock Balinda's equipment. He just keeps kicking my ass. Anyone have a suggestion for this one? I own all Mercs except Rexxar, Garrosh, Sylvanas and Gul'Dan.
Most optimal in my opinion is fire team because of the boost you get from one of the minions. Focus fire on the statue boosting drekthar's speed. Once the statue is dead, you should be on your way to a win courtesy of geddon's massive AoE.
I think I went with Antonidas/Geddon/Cornelius, mainly because cornelius has a good chance of getting a defensive passive over the better taunt in mutanus. ChiJi/Rag for replacement in case antonidas goes down. If Geddon goes down early this might just be unwinnable, unless the statue is dead.
Haven't went there with any other comp, but heroic drekthar is insanely difficult and there's really not many caster teams that can realistically take down the statue fast enough.
Thanks! That did the trick. I think I got pretty lucky with treasures and winning some crucial speed ties, but it was a breeze. I went with Chi'Ji, Rag, Antonidas, Geddon, Cornelius and of course, Balinda. Only Antonidas died in the final battle
I'm guessing you're thinking about Hailstorm, which stops firing once all enemies are dead. I'm talking about Snowball, which stacks up damage over time whenever you play a Frost ability. If you can drag out the fight long enough, you could get Snowball to do a huge amount of damage, which would be a single shot that would count damagewell past lethal.
After the most demoralizing and frustrating series of losses (sometimes by losing a key Merc along the way, but more often to the boss itself), I finally beat the Murlocs vs. Popsicooler task.
My squad: Murky (equip: plus attack when hitting taunt), Old Murk-Eye (equip: attack boost and divine shield), Mutanus (equip: extra damage reduction), Cookie (equip: appetizers), Brightwing (equip: extra healing) and Alexstrasza (equip: Gambit healing).
The dragons made the map encounters doable (Alex just melts those fighters). Do not underestimate Mutanus as a defender. I won MANY matches simply by having him taunt every turn while others healed him and shot the enemies.
Boss fight started with the 3 greens. Murky forced taunt on Popsicooler, then Murk-Eye and Mutanus swung in for LOTS of damage. I had picked up a couple of the +5/+5 for Murlocs treasures. Was hoping for Windfury for Murk-Eye, but didn't find it. Still took a few turns to finish him off. The others weren't too hard with him gone. I ignored the trolley, and it dies once the last enemy dies.
I hope this helps anyone who's struggling with this one.
I just discovered a nice little "cheat" for everyone's Task 18: Deal 450 damage to heroic bosses. You can grind Bounty One super quick and easy, then face the boss with Trigore and Deathwing and any shooter in slot 3 (I'm currently using Balinda). Backlash on turn 1, maybe throw some damage at the healer doesn't matter. Turn 1, Backlash again, shoot the boss with whoever your third merc is, then attack with Deathwing. DW deals his attack damage plus his combo, then Trigore shoots him, then the boss hits all of your mercs in reaction to being attacked, and Trigore shoots him 2 more times. I dealt over 200 damage to the poor bastard who only had 60 to start with. With a little luck, you can clear the task in 2 fights.
I do it with Vanndar and a Merc whitch can damage your own stuff. Shoot at Vanndar to get him as low on health as possible. Then use Avatar on the Boss. It may not be 200 dmg, but I combine this with the "Complete x (heroic) Bounties" task for other Mercs. So it does not matter if it takes 2,3 or 4 runs.
More than 150 dmg is guaranteed turn 3, but you could delay it right to do more damage by using the first Avatar on the blue add.
Yeah, that would be good too! I just thought about Lokholar as well. Balinda can shoot an ally with Frost Dart so you can build up Snowball to an insane amount. It would take awhile, but probably still better than grinding the whole bounty 4 or more times.
I just discovered a nice little "cheat" for everyone's Task 18: Deal 450 damage to heroic bosses. You can grind Bounty One super quick and easy, then face the boss with Trigore and Deathwing and any shooter in slot 3 (I'm currently using Balinda). Backlash on turn 1, maybe throw some damage at the healer doesn't matter. Turn 1, Backlash again, shoot the boss with whoever your third merc is, then attack with Deathwing. DW deals his attack damage plus his combo, then Trigore shoots him, then the boss hits all of your mercs in reaction to being attacked, and Trigore shoots him 2 more times. I dealt over 200 damage to the poor bastard who only had 60 to start with. With a little luck, you can clear the task in 2 fights.
I'm trying to beat Heroic Drek'Thar to unlock Balinda's equipment. He just keeps kicking my ass. Anyone have a suggestion for this one? I own all Mercs except Rexxar, Garrosh, Sylvanas and Gul'Dan.
this is probably a very dumb question so i apologize but i Really need Malfurion. Is there a way to directly aquire a merc you dont have yet, or do you just have to get lucky with pack pulls?
This is the thing about Mercenaries that really frustrates me. You can craft them once you've earned enough of their coins, but that can take a lot of grinding (especially for legendaries). Plus, then you have no coins left to upgrade them. I am currently only missing 4 Mercs, and I have 1300-1500 coins for each one, but I'm holding off on the craft so that I can upgrade their abilities if I get lucky enough to unpack them. That's been working pretty well for me.
Slightly related topic: I feel like they said there was no non-duplicate rule for Mercs, but I have yet to unpack a repeat Merc, and I only get portraits for rares and epics, which I already own all. Every time I am lucky enough to unpack a legendary, it's a new one. Am I just super lucky? Or is there in fact a non-duplicate rule after all?
also, unrelated, but is there a fast way to level up mercs? my method right now is to bring low level mercs in a team without playing them vs easy high level bounties, but id love to hear if theres a more efficient method
Have you bought the training grounds? You can level 2 mercs at a time up to level 30, only takes about 2 days.
Really appreciate the coverage, as always! I was probably going to jump right into the new bounties when I get home today, so I'll wait until I hear that things are fixed.
Also, if trigore doesn't get a cooldown nerf on backlash I'll be very surprised. This one merc dominates pvp with none but one move and unsurprisingly it doesn't attack. That's what separates it from mr smite, which has nearly the same move. Wonder when team5 will start noticing that attackers are at a huge disadvantage in mercs.
You're so right. I've been abusing Trigore so hard by using the Long'Xin swap (using the equipment so it has no cooldown). Turn 1: Long'Xin swaps Trigore into the center, Backlash, then I run in with either Diablo or Illidan to force more Trigore damage. It was going great until opponents started figuring out how to play around it. If you know Long'Xin is about to swap, target him and you'll hit Trigore instead.
Attackers are often at a big disadvantage. However, those who can ignore taunt (Valeera and Krush, for example) can still do some serious damage.
Quote From dapperdogAnd perhaps more importantly, bug fixes. A major problem as of late. Among which are both sylvannas in mercs, and blue gill warrior's pics being cursed apparently. All Im seeing are black pics, and whenever they come out the game hangs for about 10 seconds. That, and the infamous nellie bug. Can't wait to see what's next.
I'm not aware of the Sylvanas bug. What is it?
I think I encountered a bug yesterday where my Long'Xin swapped places with Trigore and took a hit, but Trigore's Backlash did not trigger. Has anyone else seen this? I've been using this strategy a lot in PvP because it absolutely dominates the early game. I wish I could remember what ability it failed on, as it works with everything else.
Sinestra can heal Onyxia on speed 2, also giving her damage reduction for the turn. YuLon gives all dragons damage reduction. LongXin can do the health buff/swap ability to keep Onyxia alive.
Oy, this did not go well for me. Out of 4 matches (very small sample size, I know), I lost to aggro twice (secret mage and murlock) and control twice (deathrattle priest and N'Zoth rogue). The deck is super fun to pilot, as expected, but has not yet won for me.
Once I discovered Kun the Forgotten King off Worthy Expedition and played him twice (with Floop). It was super strong, and I wonder if he should make the list?
I LOVE Untapped Potential! It feels so good getting double value from all those cards, especially Hidden Oasis. Let's see if the Cenarius cost reduction makes him playable here.
Wow, I remember when Mech Mage was top tier many years ago, with Goblin Blastmage as a premium card! He doesn't even make the cut now, which I guess shows how much powercreep there is.
Great article! I beat this one on normal easily, but haven't attempted Heroic yet.
Just a reminder for you Merc-heads trying to maximize your PvE experience: REROLL the map if you don't have a clear path. If you're going on Heroic, you want to avoid elite encounters at all costs. No matter how strong your comp is, elite encounters almost always cost you a merc or two, and you might not be able to afford that.
Just want to share a visual bug here: I silenced my enemy's Okani, but the icon indicating his counter remained. When I played my next minion, it was not countered, so it was purely visual. I had already tested a spell previously before silencing (with a spell), so I know it was set to counter a minion.
I hate to say it, but yes it comes down to the treasures. I wasn't lucky enough to find windfury, but still got by with stat buffs. Are your murlocs maxxed out? That helps too. My Mutanus and Murk-Eye are. Which equipment you use makes a difference too. Then there's just good old perseverance.
Check out my comment two above yours: I used a Murloc/Dragon hybrid squad that worked great. The key is using Murky to give Popsicooler taunt so your fighters can all swing right in on turn 1. Good luck!
Thanks! That did the trick. I think I got pretty lucky with treasures and winning some crucial speed ties, but it was a breeze. I went with Chi'Ji, Rag, Antonidas, Geddon, Cornelius and of course, Balinda. Only Antonidas died in the final battle
I'm guessing you're thinking about Hailstorm, which stops firing once all enemies are dead. I'm talking about Snowball, which stacks up damage over time whenever you play a Frost ability. If you can drag out the fight long enough, you could get Snowball to do a huge amount of damage, which would be a single shot that would count damagewell past lethal.
After the most demoralizing and frustrating series of losses (sometimes by losing a key Merc along the way, but more often to the boss itself), I finally beat the Murlocs vs. Popsicooler task.
My squad: Murky (equip: plus attack when hitting taunt), Old Murk-Eye (equip: attack boost and divine shield), Mutanus (equip: extra damage reduction), Cookie (equip: appetizers), Brightwing (equip: extra healing) and Alexstrasza (equip: Gambit healing).
The dragons made the map encounters doable (Alex just melts those fighters). Do not underestimate Mutanus as a defender. I won MANY matches simply by having him taunt every turn while others healed him and shot the enemies.
Boss fight started with the 3 greens. Murky forced taunt on Popsicooler, then Murk-Eye and Mutanus swung in for LOTS of damage. I had picked up a couple of the +5/+5 for Murlocs treasures. Was hoping for Windfury for Murk-Eye, but didn't find it. Still took a few turns to finish him off. The others weren't too hard with him gone. I ignored the trolley, and it dies once the last enemy dies.
I hope this helps anyone who's struggling with this one.
Yeah, that would be good too! I just thought about Lokholar as well. Balinda can shoot an ally with Frost Dart so you can build up Snowball to an insane amount. It would take awhile, but probably still better than grinding the whole bounty 4 or more times.
I just discovered a nice little "cheat" for everyone's Task 18: Deal 450 damage to heroic bosses. You can grind Bounty One super quick and easy, then face the boss with Trigore and Deathwing and any shooter in slot 3 (I'm currently using Balinda). Backlash on turn 1, maybe throw some damage at the healer doesn't matter. Turn 1, Backlash again, shoot the boss with whoever your third merc is, then attack with Deathwing. DW deals his attack damage plus his combo, then Trigore shoots him, then the boss hits all of your mercs in reaction to being attacked, and Trigore shoots him 2 more times. I dealt over 200 damage to the poor bastard who only had 60 to start with. With a little luck, you can clear the task in 2 fights.
I'm trying to beat Heroic Drek'Thar to unlock Balinda's equipment. He just keeps kicking my ass. Anyone have a suggestion for this one? I own all Mercs except Rexxar, Garrosh, Sylvanas and Gul'Dan.
This is the thing about Mercenaries that really frustrates me. You can craft them once you've earned enough of their coins, but that can take a lot of grinding (especially for legendaries). Plus, then you have no coins left to upgrade them. I am currently only missing 4 Mercs, and I have 1300-1500 coins for each one, but I'm holding off on the craft so that I can upgrade their abilities if I get lucky enough to unpack them. That's been working pretty well for me.
Slightly related topic: I feel like they said there was no non-duplicate rule for Mercs, but I have yet to unpack a repeat Merc, and I only get portraits for rares and epics, which I already own all. Every time I am lucky enough to unpack a legendary, it's a new one. Am I just super lucky? Or is there in fact a non-duplicate rule after all?
Have you bought the training grounds? You can level 2 mercs at a time up to level 30, only takes about 2 days.
Really appreciate the coverage, as always! I was probably going to jump right into the new bounties when I get home today, so I'll wait until I hear that things are fixed.
You're so right. I've been abusing Trigore so hard by using the Long'Xin swap (using the equipment so it has no cooldown). Turn 1: Long'Xin swaps Trigore into the center, Backlash, then I run in with either Diablo or Illidan to force more Trigore damage. It was going great until opponents started figuring out how to play around it. If you know Long'Xin is about to swap, target him and you'll hit Trigore instead.
Attackers are often at a big disadvantage. However, those who can ignore taunt (Valeera and Krush, for example) can still do some serious damage.
I'm not aware of the Sylvanas bug. What is it?
I think I encountered a bug yesterday where my Long'Xin swapped places with Trigore and took a hit, but Trigore's Backlash did not trigger. Has anyone else seen this? I've been using this strategy a lot in PvP because it absolutely dominates the early game. I wish I could remember what ability it failed on, as it works with everything else.
Try some dragon synergy:
Sinestra can heal Onyxia on speed 2, also giving her damage reduction for the turn. YuLon gives all dragons damage reduction. LongXin can do the health buff/swap ability to keep Onyxia alive.
Oy, this did not go well for me. Out of 4 matches (very small sample size, I know), I lost to aggro twice (secret mage and murlock) and control twice (deathrattle priest and N'Zoth rogue). The deck is super fun to pilot, as expected, but has not yet won for me.
Once I discovered Kun the Forgotten King off Worthy Expedition and played him twice (with Floop). It was super strong, and I wonder if he should make the list?
I LOVE Untapped Potential! It feels so good getting double value from all those cards, especially Hidden Oasis. Let's see if the Cenarius cost reduction makes him playable here.
Wow, I remember when Mech Mage was top tier many years ago, with Goblin Blastmage as a premium card! He doesn't even make the cut now, which I guess shows how much powercreep there is.
Great deck and guide as usual, Swiz!!!
Great article! I beat this one on normal easily, but haven't attempted Heroic yet.
Just a reminder for you Merc-heads trying to maximize your PvE experience: REROLL the map if you don't have a clear path. If you're going on Heroic, you want to avoid elite encounters at all costs. No matter how strong your comp is, elite encounters almost always cost you a merc or two, and you might not be able to afford that.
Happy hunting everyone!
Just want to share a visual bug here: I silenced my enemy's Okani, but the icon indicating his counter remained. When I played my next minion, it was not countered, so it was purely visual. I had already tested a spell previously before silencing (with a spell), so I know it was set to counter a minion.
Man, that recipe is super SALTY! Must have just lost to Kazakusan-Druid!