Is Act 6 even worth exploration at this point?

ADDIS0N

First, hats off to all those who’ve already completely explored this dumpster fire — especially pre-nerf.

Second, I am Thronebreaker. I’d consider myself in the “slightly above-average” player category. I’ve done a single pass through Abyss and 7.1. I beat the Champion pre-nerf and have fully explored 6.1. Although I’ve recently decided to cut WAY back, I’ve spent a considerable amount of money on the game in the 4 years I’ve been playing, and my 6* luck might be considered “better than most” by many of you.

With that said, here’s my dilemma. I’m looking at Act 6 exploration and I’ve started to test some of the more difficult gated paths. I’m looking at possible 5* rank-ups to help me get through some of this, asking myself if I should rank up 5* champs who I already have as 6* R2 and even R3 and I’m like, ummm ... WTF am I even doing?

My first run through Act 7 was challenging and fun and I was allowed to use anyone I wanted to complete it. Why on earth would I use rank up resources I desperately need to rank up 6* champs to explore Act 7 on 5* champs to explore Act 6, in order to get rewards that really will only help me rank up one 6* champ?

The cosmic path in 6.2.5 is absolute trash content. I hesitate to get into why, because everyone already knows how terrible the design is ... debuff immunity on “Do Not Go Gentle” with “Counter Tactics”? Adding bleed and incinerate nodes on the same path as wellI? With a boss that requires a full team without any KO’s? I mean, c’mon. 🙄

Anyway, this got me thinking ... is it even worth it for me to rank up 5* champs I don’t even like or need, burn revives, energy refills and units to explore content that gives me what amounts to a fully formed T5CC and a 6* awakening gem?

Most of this dilemma comes from my progression in the game. Stressing out over 5* rank ups and using valuable resources to complete BS content when I’m already well into developing a robust 6* roster seems like a huge step backwards to me. I really don’t even want to deal with it.

So, I ask you - with where I’m at in the game, does Act 6 exploration even make sense anymore?

Etjama

No

Not for me anyways. I've moved on to Abyss, Act 7 exploration, and Variant explorations. There's still just so much BS in Act 6 that I have no intention of purposely putting myself through.

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Kill_Grey

No

Act 6 is utter horse **** now. No matter what "nerfs" were done. For the fact that you literally have a placement which "requires" you to bleed them, but yet retaliates with an even powerful bleed (do you bleed gwenpool) even with the fact there's only one bleed immune bleeder in the game; and another placement where you have a champ with 70% debuff resistance on diss track and bubble shield on top of energy adoption ice (6.4.4 rogue), among many many many other niche and completely ridiculous node comboes scattered across in multitudes.

Needless to say, act 6 is basically on its way to become the Variant 1 of story quests. People would at least complete to get a sense of accomplishment (in the case of act 6, to progress to subsequent acts), but you just look around at the paths and placements, and you're just like: "who the hell is that sadistic quest designer(s) who would even decide that these were good ideas at the time?"

Masterpuff

Not really tbh, the rewards were heavily devalued after Cyberweekend.

Hera1d_of_Ga1actus

Yes

Act 6 exploration is only worth it if you are able to use an extremely minimal amount of units. I've kinda been doing an "itemless" approach where if I die on like the 4th enemy on the path (or an earlier enemy) I quit out and don't use any items before then. I'll tend to build a small stash of 5-7 revives and those can usually clear out a boss if I'm struggling a lot on it.

Mauled

Yes

At this stage in the game it’s still only the second of two sources of fully formed T5CC, so yes it’s still worth it.

In terms of a player’s progression I would put it after AoL completion, perhaps exploration depending on how much arena you’re willing to do or how much cash you’re willing to spend. I’d also put it after exploration of 7.1.

Despite this, it’s still giving up 100% of a T5CC spread across the classes and a fully formed T5CC. I’ve 100% 7.1, Act 6 and completed AoL and I’ve either formed to received 2 Mutant, 2.5 Cosmic, 1 Tech, 1 skill and 90% science and mystic. I don’t play map 7, so my main rolling source of T5CC is only AW. Had I not explored Act 6 I’d be a lot further from forming these catalysts.

6.2.5 is the only really awful part of 6.2 now and I agree it is truly awful. (Use Void)

6.3 and 4 weren’t too bad, especially if you’ve got Magneto.

SwarmOfRavens

Yes

Most of the pain of act 6 exploration can be alleviated with proper planning. With the exception of 6.2.5 the paths are generally not that bad.
Leaving a 6* awakening gem, generic rank up gems and so much t5cc on the table isn't very smart.
7.1 exploration should be prioritized since it's much easier but if you haven't explored act 6 you have a while before the next content drop to get it done

-sixate-

No

Nope, never gonna explore. I'm fine with that.

Squirrelguy

No

I would 100% explore 7.1 before putting in any effort to explore Act 6. In my opinion, the content is more fun, not to mention much more straight forward, and you only have to explore 1 chapter instead of 3 for still really great rewards.

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No_oneuk

Yes

7.1 100% > variant 5 and 6 100% > act 6 100%. It's worth doing but do those first.

GinjabredMonsta

Yes

Why would it not be worth it though?

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Pizzabeat

Yes

Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind, maybe come back to it later when it won’t be as torturous in your eyes

SwarmOfRavens

Yes

ADDIS0N said:

SwarmOfRavens said:

Most of the pain of act 6 exploration can be alleviated with proper planning.

If you said “some” instead of “most” I’d agree with you.

High up on the list of requirements are “the right 5* champs for the job that are also ranked up,” “lots of skill” and “enough resources or units stashed to compensate for lack of the first two, or for simply having a bad day.”

All the planning in the world alone can’t get you through some of the paths that require exploration.

You're right, planning can only get you so far if you're trying to get it done shorthanded. Act 6 exploration isn't really meant to be done without a developed roster though. Even if you only have decent options for the specific encounters you shouldn't get roadblocked. It'll cost more units but not enough where it's not worth attempting.

SwarmOfRavens

Yes

ADDIS0N said:

Mauled said:

At this stage in the game it’s still only the second of two sources of fully formed T5CC, so yes it’s still worth it.

I totally get that, but I’m weighing the final cost of exploration vs. the reward.

I’m talking resources to rank up 5* champs that I might never really use again, units, energy, and time vs. a random T5CC and a random awakening gem.

T5CC is becoming more and more available ... I’m having a really hard time seeing the long-term value here.

What 5* do you need to take up that you won't use again?

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DanielYork

Yes

Progression wise I am in the same space you are. Skill wise I would say slight above average like you. And it definitely is. You are looking at things slightly twisted. You get tons of gold, resources that can rank up your 6- stars and act 6 got very doable. Before it was a struggle and now I can complete paths without using resources. The gates on 6.2 suck but if you have completed all the variants you should be able to use those rank up gems to get your roster up to fill in the gaps. Act 6 gives you another R3, awakening gem, and 2 6* 1 to 2 gems. Act 7 will progress like Act 6 did and get increasingly difficult so expansion of your roster will be necessary. So it’ll be either money or grinding the monthly if you don’t want to explore act 6.

SwarmOfRavens

Yes

ADDIS0N said:

SwarmOfRavens said:

ADDIS0N said:

Mauled said:

At this stage in the game it’s still only the second of two sources of fully formed T5CC, so yes it’s still worth it.

I totally get that, but I’m weighing the final cost of exploration vs. the reward.

I’m talking resources to rank up 5* champs that I might never really use again, units, energy, and time vs. a random T5CC and a random awakening gem.

T5CC is becoming more and more available ... I’m having a really hard time seeing the long-term value here.

What 5* do you need to take up that you won't use again?

I’m mainly talking about champs that I already have ranked up as 6* that would really have helped me with the 5* gates if they were ranked up as 5* champs.

The big ones are Magneto, Colossus, Doom and Corvus, but there are others.

It just seems silly to dump resources into ranking a bunch of 5* champs that I already either have as a 6* or that are available in the 6* pool.

Yes, I understand that many 5* champs are still worthy of a rank-up and if you look at my top champs you can see that I’ve planned those rank-ups pretty carefully.

I get what you mean, the class gates are actually a pain in later quests. I don't like repeat rank ups since I can't justify them for most champs.
Explore 6.3 and 6.4 first for the rank up gems, 6.2 healthpools are low enough to where r4 champs can get lanes done.

SkyLord7000

Yes

As a FTP Cav without 5star or higher Ægon that T5CC is juicy. If your TB or are planning abyss it doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Mauled

Yes

ADDIS0N said:

SwarmOfRavens said:

ADDIS0N said:

Mauled said:

At this stage in the game it’s still only the second of two sources of fully formed T5CC, so yes it’s still worth it.

I totally get that, but I’m weighing the final cost of exploration vs. the reward.

I’m talking resources to rank up 5* champs that I might never really use again, units, energy, and time vs. a random T5CC and a random awakening gem.

T5CC is becoming more and more available ... I’m having a really hard time seeing the long-term value here.

What 5* do you need to take up that you won't use again?

I’m mainly talking about champs that I already have ranked up as 6* that would really have helped me with the 5* gates if they were ranked up as 5* champs.

The big ones are Magneto, Colossus, Doom and Corvus, but there are others.

It just seems silly to dump resources into ranking a bunch of 5* champs that I already either have as a 6* or that are available in the 6* pool.

Yes, I understand that many 5* champs are still worthy of a rank-up and if you look at my top champs you can see that I’ve planned those rank-ups pretty carefully.

If you already have them I'd say fair enough - I'd be reluctant to rank up a duplicate but if you don't have them, you may as well rank them up. It's not like rank up resources are hard to get these days, especially at your stage in the game. Widening your roster is not a thing to scorn either. I'm sitting on around 30 R5 5* and the majority of the champions I used for 7.1 were 5*s and because it's not quite so niche you can use some of the more 'niche' rank ups that you may be strong-armed into making to reach the gate requirements.

I'm not going to disagree with you with the gating; it's a farce that it's not 5*+ rather than specifically 5*

Moosetiptronic

No

ADDIS0N said:

SwarmOfRavens said:

ADDIS0N said:

Mauled said:

At this stage in the game it’s still only the second of two sources of fully formed T5CC, so yes it’s still worth it.

I totally get that, but I’m weighing the final cost of exploration vs. the reward.

I’m talking resources to rank up 5* champs that I might never really use again, units, energy, and time vs. a random T5CC and a random awakening gem.

T5CC is becoming more and more available ... I’m having a really hard time seeing the long-term value here.

What 5* do you need to take up that you won't use again?

I’m mainly talking about champs that I already have ranked up as 6* that would really have helped me with the 5* gates if they were ranked up as 5* champs.

The big ones are Magneto, Colossus, Doom and Corvus, but there are others.

It just seems silly to dump resources into ranking a bunch of 5* champs that I already either have as a 6* or that are available in the 6* pool.

Yes, I understand that many 5* champs are still worthy of a rank-up and if you look at my top champs you can see that I’ve planned those rank-ups pretty carefully.

I'd say that until you hugely out level content, the only act that you *have* to 100% as it has rewards that will never be anywhere else is act 4 due to the mastery points.

I'm elders, but did that when I had one 5/65 already that steamrolled it. Lots of people are in the same position for elders now. You do it when you can't get further in act 6 and want the extra t5b.

Act 6 is a different game. Not even 3/45 6 stars make parts of it easy, some will still be a challenge for rank 4 6 stars for probably over half of the player base.

People will do one run through then go straight to act 7 and not look back. And focus on variants, act 7, and monthly cavalier. Progress in those, does not require multiple 3/45s that makes act 6 even remotely tempting.

Want your first t5cc? Abyss. Want more t5cc? Abyss! Act 6? No thanks.

They didn't just make Everest when they made act 6. They said you had to climb up the East face, bare foot, in shorts and a cravat, or it didn't count. Only certain types find that kind of challenge fun.

DanielYork

Yes

Moosetiptronic said:

ADDIS0N said:

SwarmOfRavens said:

ADDIS0N said:

Mauled said:

At this stage in the game it’s still only the second of two sources of fully formed T5CC, so yes it’s still worth it.

I totally get that, but I’m weighing the final cost of exploration vs. the reward.

I’m talking resources to rank up 5* champs that I might never really use again, units, energy, and time vs. a random T5CC and a random awakening gem.

T5CC is becoming more and more available ... I’m having a really hard time seeing the long-term value here.

What 5* do you need to take up that you won't use again?

I’m mainly talking about champs that I already have ranked up as 6* that would really have helped me with the 5* gates if they were ranked up as 5* champs.

The big ones are Magneto, Colossus, Doom and Corvus, but there are others.

It just seems silly to dump resources into ranking a bunch of 5* champs that I already either have as a 6* or that are available in the 6* pool.

Yes, I understand that many 5* champs are still worthy of a rank-up and if you look at my top champs you can see that I’ve planned those rank-ups pretty carefully.

I'd say that until you hugely out level content, the only act that you *have* to 100% as it has rewards that will never be anywhere else is act 4 due to the mastery points.

I'm elders, but did that when I had one 5/65 already that steamrolled it. Lots of people are in the same position for elders now. You do it when you can't get further in act 6 and want the extra t5b.

Act 6 is a different game. Not even 3/45 6 stars make parts of it easy, some will still be a challenge for rank 4 6 stars for probably over half of the player base.

People will do one run through then go straight to act 7 and not look back. And focus on variants, act 7, and monthly cavalier. Progress in those, does not require multiple 3/45s that makes act 6 even remotely tempting.

Want your first t5cc? Abyss. Want more t5cc? Abyss! Act 6? No thanks.

They didn't just make Everest when they made act 6. They said you had to climb up the East face, bare foot, in shorts and a cravat, or it didn't count. Only certain types find that kind of challenge fun.

Yes Abyss is faster but the cost is twice as much if not more for what it would cost resource wise to explore act 6 after the nerf.

Texas_11

Yes

It has a T5cc in there. But eventually it will not be necessary within a year

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OMGJimbo

No

I 100% explored most of the contents (Abyss, 7.1, Variant 6, etc.) except for Variant 1(definitely not worth it) and 6.3 and 6.4. I'm starting to think that 6.3 and 6.4 are not worth all the resources given how ridiculous they are. That said, if somehow Kabam links the Act 6 full exploration to a new title/tier after Thronebreaker, then we'll have no choice but to grind it out. After all, we've all seen how they screwed Cavalier players in the past two months. I hope that day will never arrive.

And as painful as 100% Abyss was, it was far more fulfilling every time I finished a path. For Act 6, it's that never-ending dread. So for those of you who are trying to pick one of the two to explore, go for the Abyss.

SwarmOfRavens

Yes

ADDIS0N said:

Mauled said:

If you already have them I'd say fair enough - I'd be reluctant to rank up a duplicate but if you don't have them, you may as well rank them up. It's not like rank up resources are hard to get these days, especially at your stage in the game.

Just a quick example of one of the many dilemmas I’m dealing with right now.

6.2.5 Cosmic Path

Big hurdles on this path are bleed, incinerate and 1% regen IMIW.

My R4 Cosmic 5* champs: Carnage, Ronan, Proxima
My R5 Cosmic 5* champs: Venom, Medusa, Hyperion

Non Cosmic 5th Spot Options:
Void: Good for incinerate, IMIW and Mordo boss
Torch: Good for incinerate and Mordo Boss
Colossus: Good for Bleed and Incinerate

Now, most people take Corvus to cover the bleed node AND take care of IMIW using a cosmic power boost. I never even pulled a 5* Corvus until after my 6* was already R2, so Corvus is out for me unless I rank my 5*, which ain’t gonna happen.

This means that I either take Colossus to cover incinerate and bleed, leaving me without a great Mordo counter, or I take Void or Torch for Mordo, but I’m stuck without a bleed immune for that node.

Now, some of you more clever strategists might be thinking, well, what about Terrax? He’s a bleed immune cosmic!

Well, I have Terrax as a 6* and a 5* ... neither are ranked. And with the buff coming up, it would be idiotic to rank my 5* over my 6*.

So, basically, I’m just stuck with getting punished — either by the bleed node or by Mordo — and there’s really no way around it unless I make poor rank-up decisions.

Take Void as your 5th slot.
You can burst Starky down with venom, If you boost you can get him down in 1 revive. You don't need to rank anyone up

Elwind

No

I %100 explored act 7.1 and it is fun.
I Completed Abyss of Legends (it is good)
And I Never Explore Act 6 But Unfortunately Act 6 is worst content in the game...

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Hammerbro_64

Yes

It’s not worth it for me currently since my roster still has tons of room to grow, but once I get skill up and get a better roster there weren’t THAT many completely impossible paths. Definitely a low priority atm, but still worth it eventually.