This is a super, SUPER basic introduction to the coliseum for those newbies who really have no idea what guides are talking about! I typed it up last night, and all the links lead to another coli guide to expound on the point or build I'm talking about. This guide does not go in depth, because other guides that are linked do that already and I didn't want to create a(nother) wall of confusing text for newbies to have to go through.
The Coliseum is broken up into 22 different areas called "Venues". Each venue has a difficulty level indicated by the number listed on it. Your dragon(s) have to be at least this level in order to stand a chance within the venue. For example, it is not wise to bring a level 1 dragon into a level 20 venue without an additional dragon in the team that is level 20 or higher! You should also have at least 3 dragons in your group (called a "party") at any given time, except in certain exceptions listed below.
Now, let's say you have the right level dragon(s) for the venue. Great! But wait, they're still being defeated! Why? Well, they have something prominent in all RPG style games: stats! However, the coliseum (also called "coli" for short), is heavily biased. If your dragon has balanced stats, they will be defeated. If your dragon is a tank build, they will be too weak and slow to fight. And if you have all mages in the team, forget it! They are also too slow to attack, and they don't attack enough to win on their own!
"But Eevee! That's so hard! How do I know what stats to use? AND WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE 'STONES' AND WHY IS THAT ONE EXPENSIVE? Do I really need it in order to grind and level in the coli?"
Settle down, hun, I hear you! Let me break it down for you:
Various kinds of stat and stone placements are called "Builds". Each build is good for one thing, and not so good for another. It is important that you determine what you want to do in the coli before you choose a stat placement and stones for your dragons. It is ALSO important that you choose the right element for that venue.
Venues all have different concentrations of enemy elements. They have different enemies (often called "mobs") that will attack you in various ways. Mainly, the element your dragon should be when it is helping other dragons get stronger ("leveling", whether it be for exalt or something else) should be based on the magical enemies. These enemies use a move called "Meditate", which is also present on Mage builds. Why base your dragon's element on mage attackers and not physical attackers? Because mage attackers will, more often than not, hit your dragons with elemental attacks, while physical hitters rarely do. So, you want to choose a dragon that is neutral or resistant to the magical attacker's element. This mainly applies if you are getting something like a Mire Flyer or a Ghostbuster or some other 1 trainer leveler.
Eliminate is a powerful attack that physical hitting dragons can use to do a little over 3 turns worth of damage in one devastating strike! If it successfully defeats the enemy, then you can do it again! If not, it will take up to 6 turns to use the ability once more.
Back in the early days of the coli, the stone was plentiful. People got it often in the coli, because they were often in venues that dropped it. It was considered essential by the two most popular guides to be absolutely necessary in order to properly survive in the coli. However, when the Mire Flyer became popular, many people moved from Eliminate dropping venues to one that doesn't drop it at all. Supplies began to drop, and the stone became a bit rarer. Then, many people like yourself showed up, and slowly, everyone had a need for the stone. But, people kept staying in a venue that didn't drop the stone!
And so, due to little supply, and high demand, Eliminate is a helpful, but expensive, stone. If you are new, it could be much harder to get the stone for your own dragons. However, it is now often cheaper to buy a dragon that already has the stone than to buy the stone outright. Here is a post that explains about it in more detail.
NOTE: Eliminate is no longer as massively expensive as it used to be at the time of writing this guide. (700k back when writing the guide, verses 200k-280k now.) However, it is still 3-4 days worth of Fairgrounds maxing to obtain. Still quite a bit!
"Okay so...what build should I choose??"
That depends! Where do you want to be most of the time and what is your budget?
If you want to level dragons for exalting (such dragons are referred to as "fodder") in order to make money, then there are several options available to you! If you want to just grind for loot in any venue MINUS the Golem Workshop and Forbidden Portal (more on those in a second), then a team of all physical hitters will do well. If you want to be IN the Golem Workshop/Forbidden Portal, then 2 physical hitters and a mage are the ideal team. If you don't have much money, but want to do a mix of all of the above anyway, there is now a build for that, too! Here are the ones I recommend (there are many more, so check them out!):
If you want to level 1-2 fodder or other dragons fast:
Mire Flyer [1 trainer dragon] (119 STR / 70 QCK / 16 VIT)
Ghostbuster [1 trainer dragon] (115 STR / 76 QCK / 17 VIT)
Kelp Beds Kraken [1 trainer dragon] (125 STR / 60 QCK / 11 VIT / 9 AGI)
1-fodder two dragon team (126 STR / 58 QCK / 11 VIT or 126 STR / 59 QCK / 6 VIT)
If you want to level 2 fodder, but don't care about speed too much:
Boreal Brawler (97 STR / 79 QCK / 55 VIT / + AGI)
Crystal Flyer (105 STR / 68 QCK / 55 VIT / + AGI)
Achi's Rooster (108 STR / 85 QCK / 18 VIT)
General Grinding, no money issue:
Standard Glass Cannon (129 STR / 50 QCK / 13 VIT)
Budget Grinding/Budget fodder leveling (No Eliminate build, slower than ones with Eliminate):
Sedona Tank (103 STR / 80 QCK / 35 VIT / 25 DEF)
Budget build (see guide-requires two dragons)
Mages:
Stats for mages vary, but you can generally use any of the above builds for statting a mage. However, you would put the stats in INT instead of STR! Some of my favorite stats for mages that I personally use (copied and pasted from the dragons pages themselves, hence the odd formatting):
Conclusion
I hope this helped you a bit! If you have any questions on anything specific, feel free to ask!
The Coliseum: General Basics
The Coliseum is broken up into 22 different areas called "Venues". Each venue has a difficulty level indicated by the number listed on it. Your dragon(s) have to be at least this level in order to stand a chance within the venue. For example, it is not wise to bring a level 1 dragon into a level 20 venue without an additional dragon in the team that is level 20 or higher! You should also have at least 3 dragons in your group (called a "party") at any given time, except in certain exceptions listed below.
Stats
Now, let's say you have the right level dragon(s) for the venue. Great! But wait, they're still being defeated! Why? Well, they have something prominent in all RPG style games: stats! However, the coliseum (also called "coli" for short), is heavily biased. If your dragon has balanced stats, they will be defeated. If your dragon is a tank build, they will be too weak and slow to fight. And if you have all mages in the team, forget it! They are also too slow to attack, and they don't attack enough to win on their own!
"But Eevee! That's so hard! How do I know what stats to use? AND WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE 'STONES' AND WHY IS THAT ONE EXPENSIVE? Do I really need it in order to grind and level in the coli?"
Settle down, hun, I hear you! Let me break it down for you:
Various kinds of stat and stone placements are called "Builds". Each build is good for one thing, and not so good for another. It is important that you determine what you want to do in the coli before you choose a stat placement and stones for your dragons. It is ALSO important that you choose the right element for that venue.
Venues
Venues all have different concentrations of enemy elements. They have different enemies (often called "mobs") that will attack you in various ways. Mainly, the element your dragon should be when it is helping other dragons get stronger ("leveling", whether it be for exalt or something else) should be based on the magical enemies. These enemies use a move called "Meditate", which is also present on Mage builds. Why base your dragon's element on mage attackers and not physical attackers? Because mage attackers will, more often than not, hit your dragons with elemental attacks, while physical hitters rarely do. So, you want to choose a dragon that is neutral or resistant to the magical attacker's element. This mainly applies if you are getting something like a Mire Flyer or a Ghostbuster or some other 1 trainer leveler.
What is an Eliminate stone and why is it expensive?
Eliminate is a powerful attack that physical hitting dragons can use to do a little over 3 turns worth of damage in one devastating strike! If it successfully defeats the enemy, then you can do it again! If not, it will take up to 6 turns to use the ability once more.
Back in the early days of the coli, the stone was plentiful. People got it often in the coli, because they were often in venues that dropped it. It was considered essential by the two most popular guides to be absolutely necessary in order to properly survive in the coli. However, when the Mire Flyer became popular, many people moved from Eliminate dropping venues to one that doesn't drop it at all. Supplies began to drop, and the stone became a bit rarer. Then, many people like yourself showed up, and slowly, everyone had a need for the stone. But, people kept staying in a venue that didn't drop the stone!
And so, due to little supply, and high demand, Eliminate is a helpful, but expensive, stone. If you are new, it could be much harder to get the stone for your own dragons. However, it is now often cheaper to buy a dragon that already has the stone than to buy the stone outright. Here is a post that explains about it in more detail.
NOTE: Eliminate is no longer as massively expensive as it used to be at the time of writing this guide. (700k back when writing the guide, verses 200k-280k now.) However, it is still 3-4 days worth of Fairgrounds maxing to obtain. Still quite a bit!
Builds
"Okay so...what build should I choose??"
That depends! Where do you want to be most of the time and what is your budget?
If you want to level dragons for exalting (such dragons are referred to as "fodder") in order to make money, then there are several options available to you! If you want to just grind for loot in any venue MINUS the Golem Workshop and Forbidden Portal (more on those in a second), then a team of all physical hitters will do well. If you want to be IN the Golem Workshop/Forbidden Portal, then 2 physical hitters and a mage are the ideal team. If you don't have much money, but want to do a mix of all of the above anyway, there is now a build for that, too! Here are the ones I recommend (there are many more, so check them out!):
If you want to level 1-2 fodder or other dragons fast:
Mire Flyer [1 trainer dragon] (119 STR / 70 QCK / 16 VIT)
Ghostbuster [1 trainer dragon] (115 STR / 76 QCK / 17 VIT)
Kelp Beds Kraken [1 trainer dragon] (125 STR / 60 QCK / 11 VIT / 9 AGI)
1-fodder two dragon team (126 STR / 58 QCK / 11 VIT or 126 STR / 59 QCK / 6 VIT)
If you want to level 2 fodder, but don't care about speed too much:
Boreal Brawler (97 STR / 79 QCK / 55 VIT / + AGI)
Crystal Flyer (105 STR / 68 QCK / 55 VIT / + AGI)
Achi's Rooster (108 STR / 85 QCK / 18 VIT)
General Grinding, no money issue:
Standard Glass Cannon (129 STR / 50 QCK / 13 VIT)
Budget Grinding/Budget fodder leveling (No Eliminate build, slower than ones with Eliminate):
Sedona Tank (103 STR / 80 QCK / 35 VIT / 25 DEF)
Budget build (see guide-requires two dragons)
Mages:
Stats for mages vary, but you can generally use any of the above builds for statting a mage. However, you would put the stats in INT instead of STR! Some of my favorite stats for mages that I personally use (copied and pasted from the dragons pages themselves, hence the odd formatting):
- INT 100 / AGI 23 / VIT 50 / DEF 30 / MND 30 / QCK 60
- INT 115 / VIT 20 / DEF 6 / QCK 75
- INT 103 / AGI 9 / VIT 35 / DEF 25 / QCK 80
- INT 122 / AGI 24 / VIT 16 / QCK 60
Conclusion
I hope this helped you a bit! If you have any questions on anything specific, feel free to ask!