Bunch of questions about loadouts and moves in general

[PHPP]

Hello guys! In this post I want to address something that I think might have held me back even as a lvl 70 player, and I wanted to know what really is worth to do and at which point it would really make a difference (I'll explain it better)

As you saw in the title, I wanted to talk about moves and loudouts. First I wanted to ask you guys something. The best way to get most from moves in general is to have like maybe like 2-3 sets of moves (not necessarily totally different, maybe with a change in 1 or 2 moves depending on what's best for the variant) and really upgrade these moves, right? Or do most people try to have each fighter have each individual move set for them (like instead of having one gigantic arm that you swap between the let's say 4 beowulfs you use, you have 4 gigantic arms that you upgrade for each of them)?

And is there a way to identify the loadouts you made? I wish we could organize it better, it's kind of boring that we need (apparently) to have loadouts instead of letting each variant have it's own moves. And honestly it's easy to lose track of which move was in which variant, with many characters to remember, It would be nice to be able to swap the moves out in the loadout screen, the way it is now we have to unequip it from the variant it is on to put it on the one we want, then search for the other in our collection to fix it's missing move slot. Plus there are 10 different loadout slots, like I said it's easy to forget where it was (at least if you have a vast collection).

But are loudouts really the way to go? I feel like the very addition of them in the game (came recently from a 5 year break, they didn't exist back then) suggest so, but maybe that's not how top players do... At least for deffensive characters we need to have specific sets for them, or our defense would be much worse. (Also, bonus question, when are defensive characters worth investing in? maybe when you already can get to like 50 win streaks constantly or something?)

When does the level difference in moves really justify using loudouts? It's much easier and less annoying to just select you variant and play instead of having to change movesets and keep track of these changes so you don't mess up and go to a fight without the right moves (happened recently to me). Maybe when all our 5 moves are like lvl 6?

And finally (this question kind of relates to the last one), let's say you have 5 moves that give great stats, like attack, piercing and so on, but these moves are like 2 bursts, 1 taunt, 1 weird special move that is hard to connect and bad to use like cerebella's lock n' load... You get the idea, you have good stats on these moves but they just don't have a good synergy for combos and with the variant's SA, do you guys generally just go for these moves because of the stats or prioritize having good combo and SA synergy instead? At which levels do you think having good stats should be prioritized over having this synergy I just mentioned?

 

[SvenZ]

As you saw in the title, I wanted to talk about moves and loudouts. First I wanted to ask you guys something. The best way to get most from moves in general is to have like maybe like 2-3 sets of moves (not necessarily totally different, maybe with a change in 1 or 2 moves depending on what's best for the variant) and really upgrade these moves, right? Or do most people try to have each fighter have each individual move set for them (like instead of having one gigantic arm that you swap between the let's say 4 beowulfs you use, you have 4 gigantic arms that you upgrade for each of them)?

In the beginning, yes. It's far more optimized to focus on just a handful of moves, than spread yourself thin. But, as you get more coins and variants with different demands, you start to create more personalized builds. Like max accuracy, high crit, hight crit damage, etc...

And is there a way to identify the loadouts you made? I wish we could organize it better, it's kind of boring that we need (apparently) to have loadouts instead of letting each variant have it's own moves. And honestly it's easy to lose track of which move was in which variant, with many characters to remember, It would be nice to be able to swap the moves out in the loadout screen, the way it is now we have to unequip it from the variant it is on to put it on the one we want, then search for the other in our collection to fix it's missing move slot. Plus there are 10 different loadout slots, like I said it's easy to forget where it was (at least if you have a vast collection).

Sadly, as of right now, no. The only way to differentiate them is if you open the Stats sheet, or you've personally memorized the order of what builds is for what. Quite annoying, I know. People having been asking for the ability to rename loadouts for a very long time. Hope we get it one day. Also, as mentioned, the more resources you get, the more varied moves and loadouts you can make. Some loadouts can share moves with others, but have a different move or stat prioritized. Loadouts are a great addition and have only 2 downsides
1 - you don't get enough. If you want to have a loadout for each variant, it's simply impossible.
2 - you can't rename them. So figuring out for which variant you used it a certain loadout after a break can be annoying.

And finally (this question kind of relates to the last one), let's say you have 5 moves that give great stats, like attack, piercing and so on, but these moves are like 2 bursts, 1 taunt, 1 weird special move that is hard to connect and bad to use like cerebella's lock n' load... You get the idea, you have good stats on these moves but they just don't have a good synergy for combos and with the variant's SA, do you guys generally just go for these moves because of the stats or prioritize having good combo and SA synergy instead? At which levels do you think having good stats should be prioritized over having this synergy I just mentioned?

That's a tricky question, and really depends on the variant imo. For Beat Box, you really want that maxed out Tuba Tuba, even if the stats are lackluster, and for the rest of the moves you can be creative, since your soft infinite is secured. I personally like to go the Move efficiency, in both applied effect and combo efficiency, over stat efficiency route. But again, it also depends on the variant you're using, since some can get away with sacrificing a move slot, for the extra damage

 

[Kheul]

(like instead of having one gigantic arm that you swap between the let's say 4 beowulfs you use, you have 4 gigantic arms that you upgrade for each of them)?

I mostly use the same set for a character, for example most of my Filias use the same all +12 moves set as it is waaaay more cost-efficient this way. I just don't use the same character in a team most of the time so it doesn't hinder me. But there are also specialists that can require or just work better with different builds/stats, like Blue Streak she has an unique moveset just for her. For example most of my Filias use ATK+PIERCING+METER GAIN stats, but my Blue Streak uses ATK+CRIT RATE+CRIT DMG instead.

And is there a way to identify the loadouts you made?

You just get used to it, it becomes a reflex at some point. This one uses that, and that one uses this.

But are loudouts really the way to go? I feel like the very addition of them in the game (came recently from a 5 year break, they didn't exist back then) suggest so, but maybe that's not how top players do... At least for deffensive characters we need to have specific sets for them, or our defense would be much worse.

It is just QoL, like a quick sort, quick equip. The sets of defensive units stays on them, I don't change them at all.

(Also, bonus question, when are defensive characters worth investing in? maybe when you already can get to like 50 win streaks constantly or something?)

Possibly when you wanna get to Diamond 3-1 in rifts. It was quite easy to get to Dia 4 without any defensive units back then, dunno how it is right now.

When does the level difference in moves really justify using loudouts? It's much easier and less annoying to just select you variant and play instead of having to change movesets and keep track of these changes so you don't mess up and go to a fight without the right moves (happened recently to me). Maybe when all our 5 moves are like lvl 6?

There is an option in the settings that when you are about to start the fight it warns you when an unit in your team has empty move slots. Some of my golds who I use in early streaks in PFs has some leftover moves on them, but only my golds. I don't bother changing their stuff, but when I am around +16 streak I start using my stronger units and do manual loadout changes. When you want to change your moves is totally your call. For me a decent set is at least all +12 lvls.

And finally (this question kind of relates to the last one), let's say you have 5 moves that give great stats, like attack, piercing and so on, but these moves are like 2 bursts, 1 taunt, 1 weird special move that is hard to connect and bad to use like cerebella's lock n' load... You get the idea, you have good stats on these moves but they just don't have a good synergy for combos and with the variant's SA, do you guys generally just go for these moves because of the stats or prioritize having good combo and SA synergy instead? At which levels do you think having good stats should be prioritized over having this synergy I just mentioned?

If the move itself is useless the stats on it won't matter when you can't utilize the character to the fullest. Retakes help a lot when you are trying to perfect your build. Preferably you want to level up your desired move first then reroll its stats so you can calculate what stat you need and reroll accordingly. You want to do this when a move is around +12-+15 levels if you don't want to waste retakes again in the future. Some people also really care about the stat distribution on the moves, for example they want a +15 move with +11, +3, +1, stat distribution but I don't care about it that much to start leveling another one again.