Ashen & Spiff: Lasting Status Effects (Empires & Puzzles)
Empires and Puzzles currently have 2 Fox Family Heroes in Beta, both parading around their ultra-modern “Lasting” Status Effects like a Lottery Winner with a new gold chain.
But it’s Ashen who does something really special with it…
During my hiatus from actively covering Empires & Puzzles, a bunch of new Heroes came shuffling out from behind the digital curtain, all being nudged forward by the Devs.
Rust and Whitefang were two such Heroes, both part of the Fox Family.
And they were the first, to my knowledge, to flex the “Lasting” Status Effect.
But soon, there’ll be a Pack of them, as Ashen & Spiff are nearly done scent-marking all over Beta.
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This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
What is the “Lasting” Status Effect In Empires and Puzzles?
A “Lasting” Status Effect is a Buff or Ailment that lasts until it is Cleansed, Replaced, or Removed:
That means if one of your Heroes is inflicted with a “Lasting” Ailment, like Whitefang’s spreading Frost damage, then you’ll need a Cleanser on your team to remove it.
Or it will fester until Hell freezes over.
Ashen & Spiff – Fox Family Heroes (Empires & Puzzles)
Ashen and Spiff are both great Heroes.
Spiff is a Fast Sniper (585% to the target) who bypasses defensive buffs and then dodges Special Skills at a 50% rate.
For him, it’s the defensive buff bypass and the dodge that get the “Lasting” effects.
As a new premium Hero, when all dolled up he has the potential of 1753 Attack, so having that sort of immediate access to a Hero’s chin could be problematic.
I don’t want to downplay Spiff because, with such a devastating hit paired with his impressive evasive talents, he might be able to wipe out an entire team by himself.
However, it’s Ashen who I find much more interesting.
Remember, this is Beta so nothing’s set in stone:
Ashen’s Stats and Special Skills (Divine Light)
Element: Holy (Yellow) Class: Cleric Mana Speed: Fast
Fox Family Bonus: Summons Sly Fox Minions with 2% health and 100% attack inherited from the Hero. Sly Fox Minions have an 80% chance to dodge incoming attacks. When Sly Fox Minion dodges, it steals the latest dispellable buff from the attacker and gives it to its owner.
Special Skill (Divine Light): If the Caster is recovering Health: 1. Deals 460% damage to all enemies. 2. All enemies get lasting -50% attack. Otherwise: 1. All allies get lasting 200 health regeneration per turn 2. All allies get lasting +50% attack.
Passive Skill: DECREASED HEALING ~ All enemies get -50% healing.
Talent: MANASHIELD ~ +35% chance to resist any negative mana status effects or effects that prevent the use of Special Skills.
Master Talent: This character also recovers 10% health.
Aether Power: FIEND RESIST ~ Immune to new Fiends for 6 turns.
How Does Ashen Work? (Empires and Puzzles)
Ashen’s Special Skills offer synergy with so many different Heroes, but you also have to watch for conflicts.
She’s a fantastic Raid Hero who could also work on Defense.
When you first charge her Mana, her default action will be to fire off the second part of her Special Skills:
- Otherwise: All allies get lasting 200 health regeneration per turn and All allies get lasting +50% attack.
-Which doesn’t seem too impressive. However, in a Raid, the early cycle of healing is quite practical (especially with all the irritating Passives and basic Slapping going on).
And the +50% attack will help with early offence.
However, the next step is to re-charge Ashen so that she can fire the first part of her Special Skills:
- If the Caster is recovering Health: Deals 460% damage to all enemies and All enemies get lasting -50% attack.
As you’d expect, that 460% when married to her 1805 Attack (possibly with an additional +50% Attack), equals a blood bath.
But what about the Synergy and Conflict I mentioned?
Ashen’s Easy Synergy and Conflicts (Empires & Puzzles)
Wouldn’t it be lovely to fire off Ashen’s 460% Damage to all enemies first (rather than second)?
That is achievable and the current HotM Chloris is the ideal candidate to help.
As mentioned in her Special Skills, if Ashen is recovering Health she will get to slapping.
But the ‘recovering health’ has to be reoccurring like Chloris, not a one-and-done like Diaochan.
[According to Beta Feedback, Leadria’s Minions count as well, although I haven’t been able to check myself.]
And what’s great about Ashen is that she gives you options.
If there are no Green tiles, but plenty of Yellow, it’s well worth triggering Ashen’s healing first and letting her reach her own condition for the big hit.
However, the conflict you have to watch out for is when Chloris fires after Ashen has already started her “Lasting Healing” because Chloris will overwrite it.
Empires and Puzzles (Lasting Buffs Vs Diaochan)
My final thoughts:
Ashen is a tremendous Hero who was fun to test. That said, I faced numerous Costumed Diaochans whose Minions were only too happy to appropriate what was not theirs.
There’s nothing worse than toiling for something and then watching someone else come and take it.
-It must be how Warden Norton felt at the end of The Shawshank.
I can’t finish without mentioning the Passive here; a 50% reduction in healing for all enemies.
Given that many Cleansers and Dispellers are also Healers, this Passive partners particularly well with Ashen’s core skills.
Also, being brand new means Ashen and Spiff will possess some of the best Power Stats available.
Ashen when completely leveled, with Talents and twice LB, enjoyed:
Atk: 1805 Def: 1390 HP: 2253
Compare that to Ludwig, the only Hero I have in the same state:
Atk: 947 Def: 1352 HP: 2075
Pretty intimidating stuff.
Anyway, let me know if you enjoyed the post. I hope to write more posts of this type where I chew the fat, but I need your help with spreading it around and letting players know I exist!
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Looking for something more lighthearted? Check out my last post.
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[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Copyright: oldcynic.com
Images used by way of review/tutorial – Screenshots by Old Cynic
Empires & Puzzles is owned by Small Giant Games/Zynga Games
Thank you!
Thank you, Leslie!
Thank you.
Thanks for reading!
Nice review, happy to read them once again. I got pulled back in the game by friends after a relaxing break and even got pepperflame on my first pull so i’ll stick around for a while and see what the game brings. I hope it will keep on bringing your reviews😉
Thank you, Duende. Congrats on PF. I’m definitely going to try and write more for E&P and like you, we’ll see how it goes! Had a long break and feel refreshed but won’t take on too much. Thank you for stopping by. Great to see you!
My Gosh….Slightly more health but double the attack power and crazy abilities.
Makes Ludwig look like an old shoe
I got Rust and I love him. He’s a star!
Thanks for sharing your views again.