by Blossom Talri
ID# 26130
Missions. Patrols. Fight Clubs. KOTM. These are four of the daily options heroes have to improve their abilities outside of a straight up battle between one another. Each one follows a specific structure on how it helps a hero progress on their journey. Fight Clubs often contain the most competitors. Missions and Patrols have those who favor them and avoid them. What about KOTM?
How often do heroes participate in KOTM challenges? Do they try to get into enter each new event that starts or only the ones they think they might have a chance at winning? There are several different tactics to participating in these challenges that competitors use. Which is best? What is in it for any hero to want to participate in the KOTM?
1) Rewards: First things first, let's look at what you get as rewards for participating in a KOTM event. Each division has different rewards for each tier of winners. Division One has the best and they descend in quality and amount into the lower divisions. The person who finishes in the first GOLD rank wins the highest value rewards, the next four competitors earn Silver with a combination of lower value prizes, and the next ten competitors earn BRONZE, the last level with any boons to those who participate. Any who ends up lower that the top fifteen doesn't receive anything for their efforts.
Depending on they type of KOTM event being held, the rewards might also include other rewards. For example, some events are themed around the different Avatars/Elements heroes might use during their challenges. These KOTM events will usually offer one or more of the Power Cards featuring the image of one of the Avatars. Two of these Power Cards are Movement Cards and four of them are Attack based. You can identify these qualities by the color of the border surrounding the card. In Divisions One thru Three, both Gold and Silver qualifiers earn this reward, otherwise, only the single Gold finisher in each event will earn one in Divisions Four through Six.
The prizes offered for each individual KOTM can vary in the quantity of cards given out. Some events offer more rewards than others, so it is a good idea for heroes to inspect the prizes being offered before determining the effort they want to put into each event.
2) Participants: The six different divisions of KOTM vary in the average number of participants. The range of levels between events varies frequently, but for the most part, each division will have between 30-50 competitors.
Some divisions see more competition than others. Typically, Division One through Four see many participants challenging one another to battle. If you watch the Tracking Box on the top of the Leaders/Enter or Events tab, you will see relatively immediate results for activity. Divisions Five and Six tend to see less challenges issued and fewer turn-overs in position. This is due to the fact that each won fight comes with added experience gains for the winner, which can lead to a combatant being moved into higher divisions because their threshold for leveling is shorter.
In fact, many entrants into Division Five and Six do not challenge their opponents at all. If you enter the KOTM challenge early enough, you immediately hold a rank in the event. If nobody challenges this hero, or they hold the rack from challengers until the event closes, they can win the final prize without gaining any experience at all.
3) Timing: New KOTM events always start at the top of the hour. The exact hour isn't know ahead of time, but typically there are two active events (occasionally up to three of four), so if a competitor pays attention and is willing to check at the double-00s, it is possible to frequently be the first or one of the first to enter. This plays a significant role in reducing the amount of earned experience and in the potential for holding one's position. If the top fifteen ranks or more are full, some entrants won't even bother to try to climb the rungs into higher positions. This often holds more true in Divisions Five and Six, but sometimes in others as well, especially in Chrono battles.
The timing of your entry point can be enhanced by league or alternate cooperation efforts. If a specific participant is in a prime ranked position, by bolstering the ranks beneath them with placeholder challengers, it can essentially create a barrier that other challengers have to force their way through in order to steal the position. Participants will notice that frequently groups of league members bunch together in several KOTM theaters.
Choosing when a participant makes their move to rise in the ranks matters as well. KOTM events can go on for multiple hours, so if a challenger enters and immediately attempts to capture higher rank positions, that will incur experience gains. Gains they might need to repeat should opponents knock them down the ladder. Back and forth exchanges between challengers repeatedly occur in the final window where a challenge is due to finish. Players wanting to avoid experience gains will often refrain from repeated attempts in Divisions Five and Six, a choice that is often dictated by how close that particular challenger is to crossing a level threshold.
4) Tactics: Those who participate in the KOTM have several techniques for trying to take the top spot.
Being the strongest on in the Division: Take a look at the battles in Division One. More often than not, the top 5 ranks are filled by WMD: Black Order. A majority of them are the highest level in the game. In every other division, you will find that often the top winners are competitors whose levels and ability to equip gear somehow within the apex of the range. This makes some of the divisions much more difficult for those near the bottom to find much success.
The ranges vary from event to event, but it is fairy easy to understand that some have a much larger spread. Effective ability builds can make a huge difference in how well a contender might do. Paying close attention to Power Card counts, tiering of Power Cards, Gear choices, and HQ boost can help, but trial and error is the best way to know how you will do as you level up.
The Slow Roll/Jump Start: As a participant, is the hero in it to dominate a level or to quickly level out of the junior clubs and into the big leagues. Level campers want to maximize their gain while remaining in their sweet spots. Earlier this year, PAINguin surprised many others by his rapid ascent from low level to high. The choices are up to the individual.
There isn't a right or wrong way, but some competitors have been at their current level for quite some time.
Winning in the KOTM events is reminiscent of an elementary school playground in some ways. Some kids just like to lay claim to the monkey bars or swing and keep everyone else from having a turn. Occasionally, when they aren't looking or a challenger can get their first, there is an opportunity to nab some quality time, but the next day, they will be their once again until they are forced to graduate and go to a different school.
Any competitor who participates in a KOTM event has a chance at winning something, but the top GOLD positions take effort. Being mindful of your competition is important. Timing is critical, both in terms of when a combatant should enter as well as when they should strike. And knowing the characters overall build goal is key. A strong starting player can easily rise into a division that will take a lot of time, effort, and spending to dominate in.
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