Puzzle & Dragons, the captivating blend of puzzle gameplay and monster collecting, is a game of constant progression and strategic depth. One of the key mechanics that differentiates experienced players from casual adventurers is the Assist System. Mastering assists can significantly boost your team’s power, survivability, and overall effectiveness, allowing you to conquer even the most challenging dungeons. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about adding, utilizing, and optimizing assists in Puzzle & Dragons.
Understanding The Assist System
The Assist System allows you to equip monsters onto other monsters, transferring a portion of their stats and, more importantly, their awakenings and active skill to the base monster. This adds layers of customization and strategic planning to team building. Think of it as equipping powerful gear onto your team members.
Why Use Assists?
Assists provide a multitude of benefits:
- Stat Boosts: A percentage of the assist monster’s HP, ATK, and RCV is added to the base monster. This can be a significant boost to your team’s overall stats, especially HP, which is crucial for surviving difficult encounters.
- Awakening Skills: The assist monster’s awakenings are granted to the base monster, adding valuable passive abilities like Skill Boosts, Resistance to specific binds or poisons, and enhanced orb enhance awakenings.
- Active Skill Inheritance: The assist monster’s active skill becomes available on the base monster, but with a caveat: the base monster’s active skill must be used first, and then a certain number of turns must pass before the inherited skill becomes available. This allows you to overwrite undesirable active skills or add utility that your base monster lacks.
Assist Restrictions And Considerations
While powerful, the Assist System has some limitations:
- Assist Evolution: The assist monster must be at or beyond its final evolution to be used as an assist.
- Same Monster Restriction: You cannot assist a monster with another copy of itself.
- Assist Inheritance Cost: Certain monsters may be more difficult to use as assists due to their rarity or the cost associated with obtaining them.
- Skill Delay: The inherited skill’s cooldown is delayed based on the assist monster’s skill turn count. A longer cooldown on the assist monster means a longer wait before you can use the inherited skill.
Adding An Assist: A Step-by-Step Guide
The process of adding an assist is relatively straightforward. Here’s a detailed breakdown:
- Navigate to the Monster Menu: From the main screen, tap the “Monsters” button.
- Select “Assist”: Within the Monster menu, choose the “Assist” option.
- Choose Your Base Monster: You’ll be presented with a list of your monsters. Select the monster you want to add an assist to. This is your “base monster.” Remember, the base monster should be at or near its maximum level for optimal stat transfer.
- Select Your Assist Monster: After selecting your base monster, you’ll be shown a list of your eligible monsters that can be used as assists. Keep in mind the restrictions mentioned earlier regarding evolution and duplicates.
- Confirm Your Selection: Once you’ve chosen your assist monster, a confirmation screen will appear, displaying the stats and awakenings that will be transferred. Review this information carefully before proceeding.
- Confirm the Assist: Tap the “Assist” button to finalize the process. Note that there might be a small cost in coins associated with adding an assist.
- Reversing the Process: To remove an assist, follow the same steps and select “Remove Assist.” This will detach the assist monster from the base monster.
Preparing Your Monsters For Assists
Before you can successfully add an assist, you need to ensure your monsters meet the requirements:
- Evolved Monsters: The assist monster must be at its final evolution. Evolving your monsters requires specific evolution materials.
- Leveling Up: While not strictly required, leveling up both the base monster and the assist monster maximizes the stat transfer benefits.
- Awakening Skills: Unlocking awakening skills on the assist monster is crucial, as these awakenings are directly transferred to the base monster. Awakening skills are unlocked using Tamadras.
Finding The Right Assist Monster
Choosing the right assist monster is crucial for maximizing the benefits of the Assist System. Consider the following factors:
- Desired Awakenings: Identify which awakenings your team lacks or needs more of. Skill Boosts are almost always valuable, as they allow you to use active skills earlier in the dungeon. Resistance awakenings (Bind Resist, Poison Resist, etc.) can be crucial for specific dungeons.
- Useful Active Skill: The assist monster’s active skill should complement your team’s strategy. Look for skills that provide utility, such as board changes, delays, shields, or damage enhances.
- Stat Contribution: While awakenings and active skills are the primary focus, don’t neglect the stat contribution. High HP assists are generally preferred, as they provide the most significant boost to your team’s survivability.
- Team Synergy: Consider how the assist monster’s attributes and typing interact with your team. Attribute coverage can be important for dealing with specific enemies.
Strategic Assist Usage: Beyond The Basics
Once you understand the mechanics of adding assists, you can start to think strategically about how to use them to enhance your team’s performance.
Early Game Assist Strategies
In the early game, focus on using assists to cover your team’s weaknesses. If your team lacks Skill Boosts, prioritize assists that provide them. If you’re struggling with specific enemy mechanics, look for assists that offer relevant resistance awakenings. Stat boosts are also helpful for increasing your team’s overall survivability.
Mid-Game Assist Strategies
As you progress, you’ll have access to more powerful monsters with a wider range of awakenings and active skills. Experiment with different assist combinations to find what works best for your play style and the types of dungeons you’re tackling. Consider using assists to enhance your team’s damage output or to provide specific utility, such as board changes or delays.
Late-Game Assist Strategies
In the late game, assists become an essential part of team building. You’ll need to carefully optimize your assists to maximize your team’s potential for specific dungeons and challenges. This often involves using assists to cover very specific weaknesses or to enhance very specific aspects of your team’s strategy. For example, you might use an assist to provide a specific type of damage enhance or to counter a specific enemy mechanic.
Specific Assist Examples And Scenarios
Let’s consider some examples to illustrate how assists can be used strategically:
- Skill Boost Stacking: If you need to activate a powerful active skill on turn one, you can stack multiple Skill Boost awakenings through assists. This allows you to bypass the initial cooldown and immediately unleash your team’s full potential.
- Resistance Coverage: If a dungeon is filled with poison orbs, you can use assists to reach 100% poison resistance, making the dungeon significantly easier. Similarly, you can use assists to counter other types of enemy debuffs, such as binds or skill delays.
- Active Skill Overwriting: If your base monster has an active skill that is rarely useful, you can overwrite it with a more versatile skill through an assist. This allows you to adapt to a wider range of situations.
- Damage Enhancement: Use assists with active skills that enhance your team’s damage output, such as attribute buffs or type buffs. These skills can be crucial for bursting down tough enemies.
Optimizing Assists For Specific Dungeons
The key to mastering the Assist System is to tailor your assists to the specific challenges of each dungeon. Before entering a new dungeon, take some time to research the enemy encounters and identify any potential weaknesses or threats. Then, choose your assists accordingly.
- Analyze the Dungeon: Identify the types of enemies you’ll be facing, their attack patterns, and any specific debuffs or mechanics they use.
- Identify Weaknesses: Determine which areas your team is lacking in, such as damage output, survivability, or specific resistance awakenings.
- Choose Assists Strategically: Select assists that address your team’s weaknesses and enhance its strengths. Consider the active skills, awakenings, and stat contributions of each assist monster.
- Experiment and Adapt: Don’t be afraid to experiment with different assist combinations to find what works best. If you encounter unexpected challenges, adjust your assists accordingly.
Advanced Assist Techniques
Beyond the basic principles of assist usage, there are several advanced techniques that can further enhance your team’s performance.
Skill Charge Assists
Some monsters have active skills that charge other skills on your team. Using these monsters as assists can significantly reduce the cooldown of your team’s active skills, allowing you to use them more frequently.
Delay Assists
Monsters with delay active skills can be invaluable for stalling or interrupting enemy attacks. Using a delay assist can buy you valuable time to set up your board or recover from a difficult encounter.
Shield Assists
Shield active skills can significantly reduce the damage you take from enemy attacks. Using a shield assist can be crucial for surviving powerful preemptive strikes or resolving difficult enemy mechanics.
Board Change Assists
Board change active skills can be used to create favorable orb setups or to remove unwanted orbs. Using a board change assist can give you more control over the board and increase your damage output.
Healer Assists
Assist monsters with healing active skills can provide valuable sustain for your team. A healer assist can help you recover from damage or survive attrition-based encounters.
Conclusion
The Assist System in Puzzle & Dragons is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your team’s performance. By understanding the mechanics of adding assists, choosing the right assist monsters, and using assists strategically, you can conquer even the most challenging dungeons. Mastering the Assist System requires experimentation, adaptation, and a deep understanding of the game’s mechanics. As you progress, continue to explore different assist combinations and refine your strategies to unlock your team’s full potential. Remember to always consider the specific challenges of each dungeon and tailor your assists accordingly. With practice and dedication, you’ll become a true master of the Assist System and a force to be reckoned with in the world of Puzzle & Dragons.
What Exactly Is An Assist In Puzzle & Dragons, And Why Is It Important?
An Assist in Puzzle & Dragons refers to equipping one monster onto another, primarily to grant the base monster the Assist’s active skill and awakenings. This is a crucial mechanic because it allows you to customize your team’s skills and resistances, overcoming specific dungeon mechanics and optimizing your team’s overall performance.
By strategically selecting Assists, you can drastically alter your team’s utility, adding vital actives like delays, damage absorbs, or stat buffs to monsters that might otherwise lack them. Furthermore, the awakenings inherited from the Assist can bolster your team’s HP, damage output, or resistance to specific debuffs, making Assists an indispensable tool for tackling challenging content.
How Do I Choose The Right Assist Monster For My Team?
Choosing the right Assist depends entirely on the needs of your team and the specific dungeon you’re tackling. Consider factors like the dungeon’s enemy skills, your team’s damage output, and any weaknesses your team might have. Look for Assists that provide active skills that can counter specific mechanics or offer essential utility, such as board changes or damage nullification.
Don’t overlook the importance of inherited awakenings. If your team struggles with poison or blind resist, prioritize Assists that grant these resistances. Similarly, if you need a damage boost, look for Assists with offensive awakenings like Enhanced Combos or God Killer. The key is to find an Assist that complements your team’s strengths and addresses its weaknesses, creating a more well-rounded and effective team.
What Are Some Common Assist Strategies Used By Experienced Players?
Experienced players frequently employ strategies like inheriting powerful board change actives onto leaders to guarantee optimal boards for maximum damage. Another common tactic is to equip monsters with skill boosts to expedite the activation of crucial skills early in the dungeon. Delay actives are also popular Assists for delaying enemy attacks or stalling for time to charge up skills.
Resistances are also heavily utilized. Equipping an Assist with specific resistance awakenings, such as jammer or poison resist, can significantly reduce the risk of being defeated by status effects. Skill charge awakenings can rapidly recharge your team’s skills, granting access to key actives more frequently. The best strategy depends on the dungeon, but understanding these core tactics is crucial for optimizing Assist usage.
How Does Skill Leveling Work For Assist Monsters?
When a monster is used as an Assist, its skill level does not directly affect the active skill that is inherited. The base monster inherits the active skill of the Assist, but the skill’s cooldown and activation time are determined by the Assist’s skill level at the time of the Assist.
This means you should always max skill your Assist monster before equipping it. A higher skill level translates to a shorter cooldown, allowing you to utilize the inherited active skill more frequently. Neglecting to skill up your Assist can result in significant delays and hamper your ability to respond to critical situations in the dungeon.
Are There Any Restrictions On Which Monsters Can Be Used As Assists?
Yes, there are restrictions. Generally, monsters can only be used as Assists if they are of a higher rarity (star rating) than the monster they are being equipped onto. There are some exceptions, such as specific collaboration monsters or certain cards with unique Assist evolutions.
Furthermore, certain monsters cannot be used as Assists at all. These are usually specific, powerful monsters with critical team roles. Always double-check the monster’s details in-game to confirm whether it can be used as an Assist. Pay attention to any restrictions or limitations specified in the monster’s description, as these can significantly impact your team-building options.
How Do I Inherit An Active Skill From An Assist Monster?
To inherit an active skill, you need to navigate to the “Assist” option within the Team tab. Select the monster you want to equip the Assist onto, then choose the Assist monster from your box. Confirm the Assist selection. This transfers the Assist monster’s active skill to the base monster.
Keep in mind that the Assist monster is temporarily bound to the base monster and cannot be used on other teams until the Assist is removed. Removing the Assist will cost a small amount of Monster Points or in-game currency, but it allows you to reuse the Assist monster freely. Also be aware of Assist cooldown inheritance time. The number of turns it takes for the inherited skill to be available is determined by the length of the skill you inherit.
What Is A “Skill Delay” And How Does It Affect Assists?
A “Skill Delay” is a dungeon mechanic where enemies can delay the activation of your team’s active skills by a certain number of turns. This delay affects both the base monster’s active skill and the inherited active skill from the Assist.
When an enemy uses a skill delay, it adds turns to the cooldown of all active skills, including the inherited ones. This can be particularly problematic if you rely on the inherited skill to counter a specific mechanic or deal crucial damage. Strategically selecting Assists with low cooldowns or using active skills that remove skill delays can help mitigate the impact of this mechanic.