Theorycrafting: AQ Modifier Easy Mode Selection Strategy for Everyone

If you're a theorycrafter or min/maxer, this probably isn't for you. This is mostly for people who don't want to put a lot of thought into AQ modifiers, but still want to get something out of them.


Strategy One: Super, Super Easy Mode

So you don't want to do math, you don't want to coordinate, you don't want to theorycraft, but you don't want to get left behind. Here's what I think should be the Baseline Modifier Strategy:

Heroic: Role Reversal.

That's it. Just set that for every battlegroup, regardless of map (at least up to Map 5, presumably Map 6 and 7 alliances are going to think about this more). Role Reversal just reverses class relationships. It doesn't in any other way hurt or help the player. You won't even notice this node unless you are in a situation where you would ordinarily have class advantage, and you can (almost) always pick an attack team that "reverses" those advantages and disadvantages. You're just playing in the Bizarro universe where the class wheel went the other way.

This isn't a great strategy. It probably isn't even a good strategy. It is certainly not optimal But it is way better than nothing, and it doesn't require any real thinking when you start AQ. Just remind your members classes are reversed in AQ. It shouldn't take long to adjust to this, and then you'll at least be getting bonus points and honor points with essentially zero increase in difficulty.


Strategy Two: Kinda Easy Mode

Okay, what if you're willing to do a little more than almost nothing, and want to do a little better than that. In my opinion, for I think most alliances doing Map 5 or lower, this is a better strategy that generates more points, and isn't *that much* more difficult:

Heroic: Optimist; Heroic Pessimist; Heroic: Role Reversal; Heroic: Role Reversal; Heroic: Role Reversal

This gets you to the Heroic x3 column, and on the last three days of AQ you have what I consider to be the easiest node to work around. And this is still not that much harder than no modifiers at all: Optimist and Pessimist only matter if you're getting hit in the face a lot. This might be problematic on certain fights on the highest maps, but again, if you're in one of those alliances I don't think your officers are going to be using any strategies from this post.


Question: My alliance can do Master mods, but not every day. Should I?

Probably not. In general, it is better to do more different mods of the same class than only one of the higher class, and you really want to be running modifiers on all five days. For Map 5 and higher (assuming I'm calculating points correctly), you need to be able to do at least three different Master mods (and Master mods on all five days) to beat doing three different Heroic mods (and Heroic on all five days). On Map 4 and lower, you need to be able to do at least two different Master mods (and Master mods on all five days) to beat three different Heroic mods (and Heroic mods on all five days).


Question: Should I ever use Normal mods?

For the vast majority of alliances, I can't imagine why. I did, on day two (just to see how the system worked) but after thinking about it, it seems to me that as easy as they are, the Normal mods add more difficulty than Role Reversal, and on every map it seems Heroic overtakes Normal x5 after two or three different Heroic mods. I think most alliances, even very low and super casual ones, can handle at least two or three different Heroic mods.


The system is new, the math is still new, and it is possible I've made a mistake somewhere. Comments and corrections are welcome. Is anyone else using some super-easy modifier selection strategy that would be applicable to a wide range of alliances that don't want to think about it too hard?