The final blows have been dealt. The Ring has been conquered. The power of Elysium rests in the hands of SquareXII!
Alex: A riveting battle. I must have exploded four… maybe five Torstens!
Emma: Your bragging is minor indeed, pyroclastic one. I have defeated nine Torstens.
Alex: Oooho, I’m usually the spicy one Emma! Bwuahahahahaha!!!
Emma: This Conquest was indeed eventful. Many interesting gambits were tried. Only one was victorious.
Alex: Thank you for, once again, stating the obvious Emma! Now I believe we have some business to get to?
Opening Moments
Conquest begins with only the 16 ruins in play, and over half a dozen guilds were quick to get to work trying to get in place and start climbing the leaderboard.
Firmly controlling the eastern quadrant and several other ruins, SquareXII got a commanding lead early on.
Top 5 scores at first bonus (:30)
The Ring Enters Play
As The Ring of Ruin opened, it was still really anyone’s game. XII was holding a strong lead, but BTB, GFX and EPx weren’t too far behind to catch up. With the big points from the ruin starting, the battle was still far from over.
XII secured The Ring early on after it opened, ready to fight off any resistance that came at them (even with that nasty -30% defense debuff!). No one was coming to contest it anytime soon though.
XII was able to not only sit in the ring safely, but also they held onto three or sometimes four other Ruins consistently. It’s no surprise they started to run away with it on the scoreboard.
BTB and GFX both almost evenly doubled their scores during this period, but EPx had far less luck putting points on the board this period and fell to 4th.
Top 5 scores at second bonus (1:00)
Final Push
GFX and BTB gained almost the same number of points through the third period, but the early lead kept a solid advantage for BTB ending them firmly in 2nd.
EPx fell behind in the second, but in the final period they nearly doubled their score leading to a solid finish. More importantly…
🫡
XII continued to occupy The Ring… and rack up the points. It wasn’t only The Ring though – they held two, three or even four ruins consistently throughout the match while also holding The Ring of Ruin. It was a fantastic performance and a well earned victory.
Congratulations to XII on both their victory and long reign over The Ring in this battle!
Final standings
A Battle to Remember!
Alex: Honestly I don’t know why no one attacked XII for so long in the RIng! If my Captain would’ve sent me in, I’d have bombs aplenty to take care of the job!
Emma: You are incorrect, pirate. Their defenses were strong, and their zone of control consistent on both the North and East side.
Alex: I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that I couldn’t raid that ring. I was ready and chomping at the bit!
Emma: Impetuousness is often the door to disaster.
Alex: Oh forget your stupid riddles. Act now, think later.
Emma: Luckily not all Captains are like you, pirate.
Alex: Alright, that does it you–
And that’s all the time we have today! Thanks Alex and Emma!
Don’t forget the season isn’t over yet! There’s still the final arena competition to wrap up in a few days. You all have a little less than three days to bulk up that battle power! It’s not over until it’s over!
We’ll see you again very soon to discuss the winners of Season 5 and the dawn of Season 6!
Roughly three days remain before the final Conquest of the season. Are you prepared? Will your forces carry the day or be crushed by your opponents?
Conquest 101
Quick review for those who haven’t fought hard in a Conquest in the past:
Conquest is vastly different from the rest of the season. If you’ve only scratched the surface of these epic battles so far, it’s definitely worth it to dive in and fight for your guild. If you haven’t joined a guild, Conquest is one of many great reasons to do so. War is a team sport!
During the Conquest, guilds will compete for control of the 16 Ruins positioned around the map. Normally these can be explored by any player, but during Conquest they become positions that can be occupied. Guilds will plan which to attack and make large rallies to fight off the competition.
Guilds gain points for each second they occupy a Ruin, but they’ll also get a large chunk of bonus points every 30 minutes for the 90 minute duration of Conquest. After the first 30 minute period, the Ring of Ruin will open for conquest in the center of the map. This provides more points than each Ruin and is often a critical factor in determining the winner.
Points gained in Conquest are based on the rank of your guild, and each guild’s members will get a portion of those points equal to their contribution percentage, which is viewable on the “Share” screen in the guild menu. At the end of the season, 60% of all season rewards will be distributed to individual players according to their Conquest rank.
The Battle for Season 5
Now that we’re all caught up with each other, let’s break down where we’re at in season 5. SquareXII is firmly in the lead with their members occupying more than the top 30 spots on the leaderboard!
BTB isn’t going down without a fight though, and they’re not too far behind. EPx and GFX could still be players in the top ranks yet with some fireworks in this last Conquest.
Dome seriously dramatic action will need to happen to unseat XII from the Season 5 throne… but unexpected things happen in Conquest.
Conquest Tips
Let’s run down some quick tips and best practices for Conquest.
Even if this is the first time you’re going to join the fight, there’s more battles in the future. Season 6 is just around the corner. Give it all you’ve got this time to sharpen your tactics for bigger battles ahead!
All you seasoned veterans may find one or two things in here to improve your game… no captain knows everything!
Synergy, synergy, synergy…
War Synergy is everything in Conquest. Hunting Synergy does not count in PvP combat.
This is very important. This means your 9m power fire troop will be much less powerful than your 7m light troop with 40% War Synergy. Light and Dark are crucial in Conquest, and don’t mix them in your troops when possible.
No T1s
During normal gameplay, a lot of captains will mix in a few T1s with their troops to absorb any losses they may take. The lowest tier soldier dies first.
Don’t do this in Conquest. It lowers your troop power by a lot, but also your War Synergy. There are no light and dark T1s. If you are very short on high tier soldiers, use T6 light and dark. Make a pile of them the day before Conquest and mix them into your saved troops.
Follow the Leader
If everybody in the guild is doing their own thing, you won’t get very far. Designate rally leaders, then designate backup rally leaders. Listen to your rally leaders – argue about strategy before and after Conquest. Make sure you’ve got at least a few groups working on different goals at the same time, but coordinate them towards one greater goal.
At a last Conquest like this, most players will have at least three if not all four operational slots unlocked. That means you could potentially have your whole guild involved in four battles at once. Some of those troops will get locked up in Ruins scoring points though… be careful to not put all your power into holding ruins and not be able to fight back against attackers!
Defend the Rally Points!
A rally disbands when the rally leader’s fortress warps. This means that if you’re holding the Ring of Ruin solidly with only minutes to go, an enemy can make your rally disband by attacking the rally leader’s fortress.
Save some arrows for when those attackers come. Try to hide your rally leaders if you can. Iif the enemy knows who they are, make sure you can defend them!
In season 1, SXII created a signature strategy to hide their rally leaders!
Don’t forget you can support an ally’s fortress with your own troops! It takes an operational slot to do so and you won’t score any points for your guild from it, but if it saves an entire rally from disbanding it could be an amazing help.
For Elysium!
The battle is almost here. Good luck captains!
Of course Alex and Emma will be back to recap all the action next week. Get out there and give them something to talk about!
Miss the last conquest? Check out the recap below!
Alex: You know, this mysterious voice is always asking if we’re ready. I’m pretty sure you can tell from my bombs that I was born ready! BWAHAHAHAHAHA
Emma: Yes, that bomb is indeed already lit. How irresponsible.
Alex: Oh they’re always lit. I just make sure and pass them along before the party starts.
Emma: Hmm… it would seem that you are wise, even if insane.
Alex: It took you that long to realize my genius, Emma?
Emma: We are prepared, voice!
The Road to Conquest
The second Conquest event wrapped up the early gameplay of the season over the weekend. We’re headed into the finale now.
During the second conquest, several guilds distinguished themselves on the field of battle. We saw some familiar names top the leaderboard, but there were also a few surprises.
Congratulations to all top finishers!
SquareXII ran away with this one. With over a 50% lead compared to second place, they were the undisputed champions of this Conquest event! Congratulations to them for all their hard work and strategic thinking.
The real fireworks during this battle, however, happened between places 2-4. With BTB, EPx and GFX neck and neck headed into the final bonus tally, there was a critical moment to make one last push.
EPx wasn’t going to let that opportunity go. They launched a furious assault in the last moments against GFX, destabilizing their control over ruins and directly attacking the GFX hive to throw off rallies they could use to recover.
Hard to maintain pressure on the Ruins when your base is in absolute chaos.
While EPx was not successful in their bid to shift upwards into the number 2 or 3 rank, their attacks did successfully prevent GFX from being able to challenge BTB in the last moments of the battle.
A big battle with big consequences.
XII goes into this coming Conquest with a huge point advantage, but there’s still room for other guilds to close the gap!
The Coming Battle
The final Conquest is when things will really reach their glorious climax. With players no longer able to convert prisoners beyond their own barracks level, T10 soldiers are very rare to see in the first two conquests.
Some of the biggest and baddest Captains out there may have been sporting some T10s, but the ultimate power of T10 Dark and Light soldiers will be in quite a few players’ hands in the upcoming battle.
Bigger forces means bigger battles. Some tips to remember:
The bonus points for holding a Ruin at :30, 1:00 or 1:30 into Conquest are HUGE. Plan your strategy around these and know that others are doing the same.
Hunting synergy means nothing vs other players. War synergy can get you up to +40% power against your opponents. Dark and Light Mercenaries and Soldiers are the best here.
Pay attention to Mercenary Command Skills when you’re making your teams.
Sometimes T1s in your troop are nice to minimize losses. This hurts your war synergy and troop power though. If you want to minimize losses in conquest, make some T6s of the appropriate Dark or Light soldiers ahead of time.
If the rally leader’s fortress warps, the entire rally is disbanded… even if in a Ruin.
Battle Looms
Alex: So Emma, who are you looking to cross off your list this next Conquest? Are we both racing for a chance to KO Torsten again?
Emma: I will be seeking to battle Bianca. I do not trust that pirate. She knows more than she lets on.
Alex: Oooo, coming after us pirates, huh? That may not end well for you!
Emma: All is fair in Conquest boomy one. I shall relish a chance to meet you fairly on the field of battle.
Alex: It’s a date, Emma! MWUAHAHAHAHA! Now, if you don’t mind mysterious announcer… I seem to have some preparation to do.
Thanks Alex and Emma. Good luck to you in the upcoming final battle, and good luck to all the Captains out there. Make your guilds proud!
Want to hop in and prepare for Season 6? The upcoming fresh start at the season transition is a great time to start playing Eternal Paradox!
Greetings Captains! Today we’re here to dive deeper into Arena strategy and discuss some of the winning combos that players frequently use to rise up the ranks.
There are many ways to win in the Arena, but as with any competitive game, some meta trends develop. These will fluctuate depending on updates and season features over time.
Below, we’ll walk you through some of the strategies that can lead to Arena success, but you’ll need to experiment to find out what works best for you.
Val Speed
This is by far the most popular Arena strategy at the time of writing this article. Valentine is a Mercenary that can only be achieved in-game through the end of season rewards based on HQ Level. She’s fast, hits hard and has two area of effect skills that blast the entire opposing team with tons of damage.
Valentine has one weakness though… she’s often so fragile she crumbles as soon as she’s hit! If you have a fast, high enough attack Valentine though, she won’t need to do anything beyond that first devastating hit to win.
That brings us to one other key component of this strategy… Akari! Akari’s Leader Skill is Blade Unleash: “In Arena combat, increase ally ATK by 20% and ATK SPD by 10%.” Regardless of Akari’s level, everyone on the team will receive these bonuses. This is great for Valentine, which is why you’ll often see a very low level Akari at the head of an opposing team. She doesn’t need to do anything but lead at the start to be a game changer.
Big Boys
This strategy has been growing more popular in response to the previously mentioned technique. In this strategy, you prioritize bulk on your team so you can survive Valentine’s match-starting nuke. You don’t care as much about going first. Your game is to survive the first wave and knock them down one by one.
Perhaps the most fun part of the big boy strategy is that occasionally you run into another team of big boys. Epic battle ensues.
A usual staple of this team will be William and/or Lucas. Their ability to create shields and defense boost while also soaking up a ton of damage can’t be overlooked. Most of these Mercenaries will feel like Val’s first hit is a scratch at best.
You still need to do some damage though, which is where Mercenaries like Torsten, Alex or Zahra could come into play. Torsten’s Berserker Rage deals more damage the more damage he’s taken… so if Valentine hits him early, she could be signing her own death warrant! Alex’s AOE bombs finish the battle for you if you can just stay alive long enough. Zahra will take extra damage from Valentine due to type advantage, but she’s bulky enough to survive and she claps back with some powerful hits.
Torsten big. Torsten hit HARD.
Perhaps the most crucial lynchpin of this strategy is Jin Ryu. In the leader spot, he’ll slap a stun on the entire enemy team when they first hit you. This may miss a few, but often you’ll absorb that first hit then find the entire opposing team sitting ducks. It also doesn’t hurt that Jin Ryu can deal MASSIVE damage with his Dragon’s Might Skill – this will hit three times, remove all the enemy’s buffs AND call a joint attack with two allies. Between this and Torsten’s Berserker’s Rage, you usually have two one-shots to toss around.
Debuff to Death
This strategy isn’t quite as popular as the two above, but it has some definite merit if you can build your team right. It won’t KO people as fast as the above options, however, which means you’ll have to work harder to hold that top spot in the last moments of an Arena Season.
To make this work, you’ll need to employ Mercenaries that specialize in debuffs. Think Laction, Emma, Zarkhan, Wang, etc. You’ll use them to paralyze the enemy and easily walk to victory.
Zarkhan is big here. His ability to slap sleep, heal blocks and damage over time on all enemies simultaneously makes him a great choice for an opening salvo.
Behold, the king of debuff stacking!
Emma can also play a critical role. Her attacks deal more damage per debuff on the enemy, making her absolutely deadly single target damage once you’ve stacked a healthy amount of status effects on the opposing team. Perhaps most enticing, her Taboo Wave can spread debuffs from the target to everyone else. When pointed at sleeping or stunned enemies, this can be game-changing.
Some less often thought of debuffers that can round out your team are out there too. Camilla’s Boulons Multiple AOE can silence everyone. Alex’s bombs can tick away while the enemy is sleeping before explosively finishing them off. Feeling too squishy? Wang’s Judgement Day is one of the most powerful stunning attacks in the game, and also has the potential to revive an ally.
Awwww, Akari didn’t get any bombs 😢. We can fix that.
Tons of Ways to Win
The arena is a bit more nuanced than it seems at first glance. Just because everyone is using one set of tactics doesn’t mean you have to. What’s your winning formula in the arena?
You never need to lock into one style. You can always switch your team up in the arena… and indeed you should based on who your opponents are in that match!
We’ll be back next time to focus on the Guild Arena. Until then, get out there and fight for that rank! That God of the Arena title isn’t going to win itself!
Eternal Paradox Season 5 is well underway. How go your battles, Captain?
The first Conquest event of the season took place last weekend, with the top three spots being claimed by SquareXII, BTB-I and Eternals. Of course, there’s a lot of battle left in the season. Time will tell if these early leaders can hold their advantage through the next two Conquest battles.
Today we’ll set aside Conquest, however, and focus on another aspect of the fight for the Ring. The Arena is different from meeting on the field in a large set piece battle. Eight Mercenaries enter the Arena… no soldiers to hide behind, just two teams duking it out to see who is best.
Arena Overview
The Arena measures the strength of your Mercenaries, but also your battle tactics and persistence to achieve victory. Each Arena season lasts one week. You’ll have seven days to climb the leaderboard and improve your ranking.
As you win in the Arena, you’ll advance through five ranks – each with three tiers within them:
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Master
Legend
As your rank increases, so too will your rewards from each win and your eventual prizes at the end of the Arena season. While these ladder ranks boost your resource and Honor gains, what matters for Arena Victory Points is your rank versus other players.
You can always see your relative rank displayed on the front page of the Arena. At the end of each Arena season, players will receive AVP based on their final position. At the end of each full season of Eternal Paradox, players will receive $ETIME based on their AVP rank. 20% of the total seasonal ETIME reward goes to the Arena. The top finisher gets 15% of that portion of the seasonal prize, scaling down to .02% at rank 120.
Each battle costs one Arena Point, which can be refreshed through Arena Point items or by spending Diamonds to get additional points. 10 points will cost 500 Diamonds the first time each day, but each consecutive purchase will make the price go up.
When you win Arena battles, you will receive Honor Points. These can be spent in the Honor Shop to get Mercenary Gear rewards or Summoning Stones.
Arena Edge
The Arena relies mostly on the strength of your Mercenaries. This is your Mercenary’s overall stats, however, which can be boosted in several key ways:
Mercenary Level
Mercenary Rank
Skill Level
Mercenary Equipment
Mercenary Research
Awakening boosts
Rarity bonuses
Immortal Stats
Obviously, pumping up your Mercenaries and Mercenary Research is always a good policy to perform well in the Arena.
There are other ways to get an edge, though. Many of the other ways to boost your Mercenary stats for the Arena are frequently overlooked by players. These are a little bit harder to reach than the above, and it’ll take more grind typically to get less bonus. For the top of the leaderboard though, this kind of refining endgame stats is another crucial tool in their kit.
Land
One of the buffs that can be assigned to Legendary or Ancient Land is “Arena Mercenary Speed +10”. Speed is a very small stat typically, with 10 being comparable to a decent piece of Mercenary Gear.
With only four Mercenaries on the field, getting to take the first shot can be the difference between victory and defeat. Keep your eyes peeled for great land to park on and soak up some speed buffs.
Contribution
The “Mercenary” section of Mercenary Group Attributes contains big bonuses for your team. Contribution doesn’t come easy, however, so you’ll have to make some critical decisions about what to prioritize.
It is worth noting, however, that Mercenary Group Attributes can be refunded and respent easily. Maybe at those crucial points in the Arena it’s worth reallocating your points?
Titles and Skins
Certain titles and skins give boosts to large groups of Mercenaries. This will also affect their performance in the Arena, and even a little bit can be a lot of help.
These items don’t come around often, and you may have to work hard to get your hands on the best titles. If you can get them they’ll provide a welcome boost to your Mercenaries.
Collection
The Mercenary Collection can be accessed through the Tavern. Here you get to assign Mercenaries to certain pre-set groups based around a theme. When you complete a set you’ll receive a bonus. The size of the bonus depends on the Rank of the Mercenaries assigned.
There is only one Mercenary Collection currently available that influences the Arena… but it’s a direct boost to Mercenary Speed. As we’ve already stressed, the chance to strike first is potentially a huge advantage.
Fighting for Glory
The Arena is a different sort of test for a Captain, but great rewards await the victors!
Aside from the obviously nice prize of $ETIME based on your AVP at the end of a Season, you can also fight for the prestigious titles and skins awarded to the victors:
God of the Arena title: +5% Mercenary Attack, 1st place in AVP
King of the Arena title: +3% Mercenary Attack, 2nd or 3rd in AVP
Lord of the Arena title: +2% Mercenary Attack, 4th through 10th in AVP
First place in AVP will also receive the Dragon Castle skin for the next season, granting +5 Mercenary speed!
There are many rewards to be gained in the Arena… but you’ll never grasp them if you don’t get in there and do battle!
We’ll be back next week with a brief breakdown of the meta in the Arena, along with some tips on how to build a winning team. Until then, level up those Mercenaries and get after that leaderboard! There’s only two days left in this week’s Arena competition!
Have you taken your fate into your own hands in Elysium yet? The battle can’t be won alone… to rise to this great of a challenge, you need a team at your back.
Grab Your Squad
While there’s definitely individual glory to be gained in each season’s battle for dominance, Eternal Paradox is, at its core, a team game. If you’ve taken to the battle in Elysium but haven’t jumped into a guild to fight for common goals, you’re missing out!
There are many guilds in Elysium. You could peruse Discord communities to find the right one for you, or you could just grab an open spot right in the game! Each guild sets specific requirements to join. You’ll find some guilds that require a certain headquarters level or Captain level, but also others that are just happy to have any new Captain among their ranks!
To search for a new guild, just go to the “Guild” menu in game. From there, you can type the name of a guild in or scroll through the list. If you find a guild you’re interested in, you can request to join right away if there’s space. Some guilds will want you to reach out first though, and you can always contact the Guild Leader through a specific guild you’re looking at.
Team Perks
Having a guild means fighting together. You can start or join rallies with other guild members to defeat Black Sun Cultists or Shakram Legions that you could never best on your own. Keep in mind rallies against Black Sun Cults only cost seven stamina… attacking by yourself costs ten. That’s a huge advantage and let’s you save stamina for more battles!
When you’re attacked, your guild will be notified. If you’re in over your head, you can ping your guild for help. Guild members can even support your fortress, sending an entire army to help defend you.
Did you ever notice how resource sites have more than one gathering slot as you get into the higher tier sites? Guilds play a powerful part in the gathering game. If you take a gathering site, inviting five of your friends to work alongside you definitely makes you a much harder target to oust from the location.
Shared Goals
Guild Raids cannot be participated in outside a guild, and they are massively rewarding to players who give it their all.
When your guild attacks the Followers of Doom, you’ll get big rewards based on the damage you’ve dealt. It takes a while to summon the first boss, and grinding your way through each enemy is difficult. Those who persist and work with their guild to triumph, however, will receive resources, speedups and plenty more goodies!
The Guild Arena is another major aspirational task for many guilds out there. In this competition, you square off against another guild to prove you’ve got what it takes to stand tall at the final battle. No one guild member can carry the whole team. To reap the rewards, everyone will have to do their part. The first Guild Arena just started for Season 5… there’s plenty of time to get in there and fight some epic battles!
The Guild Festival also recurs throughout the season. In this event, players accept guild missions that they have 24 hours to complete. That’s not the only time pressure though, as a new mission won’t spawn until you’ve complete your current mission! The rewards for the top guilds can include Gems, titles and speedups. Everyone will get rewards along the way though, and even a guild who doesn’t land in the top of the leaderboard won’t walk away with nothing for their efforts.
The Final Battle
We can’t talk about Guilds without talking about Conquest.
Conquest is the major seasonal battle in Eternal Paradox, played out in three skirmishes throughout the season. If you’ve played but not taken part in Conquest, you’re missing one of the biggest parts of the battle for Elysium!
In Conquest, Guilds battle to maintain control of the 16 Ruins and the Ring of Ruin itself over the course of a 90 minute event. There’s lots of room for creative strategy here, as alliances between guilds and clever coordination can quickly tip the scales of power. Battles are major events, with whole guilds desperately trying to attack enemy Rally leaders to destabilize their opponents’ efforts.
Conquest is only a 90 minute event, and each happens several weeks apart – starting just before the middle of the season. They always happen on Saturdays (by UTC time at least), but each conquest rotates to another part of Saturday so that no time zone is totally left out of the fun. The first Conquest for Season 5 is coming on Saturday, July 6th!
What Are You Waiting For?
Season 5 is just now starting its second week in a 49-day season. The first Guild Festival and Guild Arena have just kicked off, and Conquest is still weeks away. Now is a perfect time to hop in and find your team!
Dozens and dozens of Guilds active in the game are looking for more teammates! Go find a team to help you grow and prepare for the coming battle!
We’ll see you for a glorious fight in the battle for the Ring!
