Looking for a guide to use for a new player (never played DD)

[deadspawn]

Is there a current guide I can use? I looked at a couple of guides, but most seem outdated. I finished the campaign and just started the quest for expeditions. I checked the wiki out, and it gives definitions more than explanations. I would prefer something I can read rather than watching someone's video with advertisements.

I am assuming that this game is like other grinding games in that the beginner/starting gear is junk and you have to grind for better gear and upgrades. Just trying to figure out some mechanics, since this appears to be a blend of tower defense with some individual DPS. I can see a parallel between this and ESO in respect to storage.

[DerAuer]

gear is not really a thing in this game as it is in other games.
this game is 70% shards, 20% mods, 10% heroes.
if you find a (good) 10/10 mod on a chaos 1 gearpiece, its just as good as on a chaos 10 piece (in terms of value to you and also cash value on market) since you can upgrade gear to whatever chaos tier u want.

my advise to you as a new player: invest your first 1000 defender medals in a defense rate shard (chaos 4 shard) upgrade the shard and use it on your main dmg defense. play whatever u like and start climbing through the chaos tiers. make sure to farm a destruction shard in chaos 1 and a deadly strikes shard in chaos 3.

this will set you up for all your early game

[deadspawn]

Thank you for the reply. THe best mod I found was a level 8 so far. I've been doing a mix of adventure and expedition runs so far, basically getting carried by the higher levels there. Solo maps have been a mixed bag with substandard drops compared to multiplayer.

I will be looking for the defense rate shard, I should have about 1500 medals so far.

Thanks again.

[DerAuer]

ignore mods for now. safekeep 10/10 mods you find, sell the rest.

focus on finding shards and just have fun i guess.

there will come a point where you will know what a ancient power reset is and want to do one. remember this: make sure you have beaten one chaos 9 expedition before you ever do your first reset. lots of players fell in that trap because they didnt understand the system/ never bothered to check how it works.

win your first chaos9 expedition - do your first ancient power reset

[DerAuer]

you get extra loot in multiplayer. but it does not matter.
the only loot that matters are materials (especially reroll tokens for mods) and the boss weapons on boss maps. those are not affected by multiplayer bonus

[DerAuer]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1618164144

[deadspawn]

Originally posted by DerAuer:

you get extra loot in multiplayer. but it does not matter.
the only loot that matters are materials (especially reroll tokens for mods) and the boss weapons on boss maps. those are not affected by multiplayer bonus

I noticed that while joining some other players maps. I just don't understand the difference in drop levels. I was getting 600 gear on one multiplayer map and most were legendary and mystic, then I get nothing more than 300-400 greens and blues on some other multiplayer maps. The difference being the higher gear has better damage and armor/health/ability stats as you already know. I get and understand rng, but if I get one more of those stupid knife shards I think I might quit. I am scrapping them and rerolling the shard through the vendor.

Thank you for pointing out that holding some of those mods pieces was bad, freed up inventory space. Running some adventures because I read that you can get the stuff to buy bags with.

I appreciate the input. It is just so odd to struggle on a map solo, then go into a multiplayer and I can barely kill anything because they are nuking the map. This is all chaos 1. I didn't buy anything from the store, so maybe they have shards I can't get yet (or friends giving them gear). Not to be read like I am begging for handouts. I would rather struggle then get freebies, it is more challenging and rewarding that way.

Thanks again.

[DerAuer]

yes starting chaos for the first time can be a struggle. thats why i suggested to you to buy the defense rate shard for 1000 medals. you cant get it before chaos 4 otherwise and its a gamble if you even get it then.

as for loot drops: the quality of the loot is random. higher quality=better gearscore.
in multiplayer you get guranteed legendary items in the victorychest for more players.
item level in expedition works in a +-2 way. so if your gear is on average 4/10 (on your highest hero) gear will drop 2/10-6/10. the drops will prefer items for the hero you actively use in the moment it drops and then the heroes in your deck. rarely you drop items for heroes that are not in your deck.

shards are a massive grind. dont get frustrated. your drop rates are super low. especially in the beginning this is painfull.

as for people oneshotting maps: the main reason people do that is because they want shards from that area. so people in chaos 10gear might run chaos 1-9 maps just because they need shards from that area. combining 11 of the same shard will guild it. unlocking small further boni on the shard. you can imagine the grind.

for shard grinding there is a winstreak bonus. if you dont leave the map to town/tavern but instead press random map/ replay you will get a bonus shard from your 4th win on every map you keep winstreaking. that basically halfs your grind time on shards.

[deadspawn]

Originally posted by DerAuer:

for shard grinding there is a winstreak bonus. if you dont leave the map to town/tavern but instead press random map/ replay you will get a bonus shard from your 4th win on every map you keep winstreaking. that basically halfs your grind time on shards.

Hadn't read that elsewhere, I've been going to town at the end of every map. I guess with my limited storage space I have to.

Thanks again, you have been more than helpful.

[DerAuer]

yes somehow people dont know that.

you can sell your stuff before you finish the map/ between waves, even jsut let it go to the scavenger. he keeps them for like 3 hours

[Tex]

First and foremost it is a tower defense game, a lot of the power you get in early in mid game comes from having the proper shards on towers, hero shards and mods are not as important in the beginning. Make sure to follow the quest line the game has as it will give you a free destruction, defense rate and deadly strikes shard. The best place to spend the free gems you get from doing adventure mode is on inventory space during a bag sale. You can get an easy Mass Destruction shard from getting 50 stars in mastery mode. It is one of the most powerful shards in the game. As someone already said before you touch ancient power make sure you have beat one chaos 9 expedition this can be done easily by joining a public game. Oh and read each chaos enemy description as countering enemies with the right defenses is the core gameplay.