Cupido: Season of Love (Empires & Puzzles)
Cupido is busting outta the Empires and Puzzles Season of Love portal with the rest of the Cupid Family right behind him, and he’s about to cause a shift in the Mindless Attack metric, -Slapping 3 targets at a relatively zippy, Average Speed.
Yesterday, I mentioned Cupido in my Empires and Puzzles Museum roundup post, and sure enough, he’s emerged unchanged from his second stint in Beta.
And as a result, this shouldn’t take too long, so let’s crack on!
This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
Cupido’s Stats and Special Skills (Love Conquers All)
Element: Fire (Red) Class: Ranger Mana Speed: Average
Cupid Family Bonus: Supports other families and realms. Solo Heroes (Heroes with no family or realm members in the team) get +20% increase for any healing received.
Passive Skill: RESIST SPECIAL SKILL BLOCKING ~ This character has innate resistance against Status Ailments that block Special Skills.
Special Skill (Love Conquers All): 1. Deals 295% damage to the target and nearby enemies. 2. The target and nearby enemies automatically cast Healing Gift when Mana is full at the start of a turn during 3 turns. Healing Gift: Recovers 20% health for the enemy with the lowest remaining HP in proportion to their max health.
Talent: PIERCE ~ +25% chance to bypass defensive buffs when attacking. This includes counterattacks.
How good is Cupido? (Empires and Puzzles)
It’s Valentine’s Day! Booooooo!
I swear, I was just sitting in front of the window looking out at a tree, and these 2 birds were sitting on a branch, all fluttering and playing with each other.
It was proper sickening.
I’m joking, I love romance…
Remember back in the day, when people used to send roses to their sweetheart’s office or workplace? Then they’d come back from lunch and see them on their desk, all surprised and whatnot. Ahhhhh! 💗
I’d love to do that job; go ’round delivering roses so I could see the look on people’s faces as they secretly hoped I was there for them.
And then their faces when they realised I’m not. 😁
That said, it’s been a good few years since I’ve seen something like that first-hand. Back in the 80s and 90s, the movies were stuffed with grand gestures of love.
Then Titanic came out and made it clear; I’ve gotta be willing to pluck your stiffened fingers from the liferaft and set you adrift.
Never let go… right. Gotya.
I kid, I kid!
OK, on to Cupido, the new master of Mindless Attack… AKA, Healing Gift.
Cupido’s Special Skill (Empires and Puzzles)
I’ve reworded the Special Skill slightly in my description, mainly because I think it can be hard to understand what’s going on here.
As explained yesterday and as you’ve no doubt seen from playing the Season of Love Event, “Healing Gift” is effectively Mindless Attack, but instead of slapping an Ally on charged Mana, the victim will heal an Enemy for 20%.
The main thing with Cupido, from my point of view, is that he moves the metric forward for what you can expect from a Mindless Attack Hero (targeting 3 enemies on an Average charge for the first time).
Additionally, he changes the mechanism; by no longer causing the victim to hit out at one of their own allies, and instead causing them to heal one of their foes.
Of course, the most important element of the Mindless Attack/Healing Gift is that it uses up the victim’s Mana, stopping them from using their own Special Skill when fully charged.
Cupido Vs. The Mindless Attackers (Empires and Puzzles)
Let’s line up the Mindless Attackers side by side:
| Hero | Mana Speed | Damage | Mindless Attack (MA) | MA Turns | Other |
| Cupido | Average (10 tiles) | 295% to the target and nearby enemies | Target & NB (3) | 3 | Instead of hitting ally, target heals enemy for 20% |
| Costumed Misandra | Fast (8 tiles) | 280% to the target | Target & 42% chance of up to +3 random enemies (up to 4) | 3 | Additional hits deal minor damage (140%) |
| Hohenwerf | Fast (8 tiles) | 450% to the target | Target (1) | *4 | Fiend stealing 30% max-health/ Explodes after! |
| Bubbles | Fast (8 tiles) | 480% to the target | Target and shift to another enemy if triggered within the 4 turns, resetting the duration | 4 | The target gets -44% Defense for 4 turns. |
| Waddles (4-Star) | Fast (8 tiles) | 365% to the target | Target and shift to another enemy if triggered within the 3 turns, resetting the duration | 3 | |
| Kullervo | Average (10 tiles) | 300% to the target & 470% to a random enemy | Target and random hit enemy (2) | 3 | MA is uncleansable and lasts 2 turns longer against Dark Heroes |
| Zocc | Average (10 tiles) | 300% to the target | Target (1) | 3 | Increases the mana of target by 50% |
| Quintus Cx2 | Slow (12 tiles) | 300% to target & NB | Target & NB (3) | 4 | |
| Alfrike | V. Slow (13.5 tiles) | 200% to hit targets | 5 random enemies | 3 | Reduces max health of hit enemies by 224 (up to a min. 30% health) |
Cupido and C2 Quintus…
Cupido’s offering near everything C2. Quintus is, -just quicker (Ave Vs. Slow).
For those keeping count, C2. Quintus has a base-stat Att of 753, while Cupido enjoys 826.
Although, looking at C2. Quintus in-game, he also gets a Costume Bonus of +15% Att.
The main difference is that Quintus will run Mindless Attack for 4 turns, while Cupido is only flexing for 3 turns.
And on the side, these Cupid Heroes share a strong Passive; an innate resistance against Status Ailments that block Special Skills.
If I’m honest, I expect Mindless Attack will continue to be attached to faster and faster Heroes, so I make no apologies for it leaving me nowhere to go grading-wise…
Cupido, and any that arrive after him, will be graded highly until I have time to review all Heroes and rebalance them based on this significant change (which is unlikely given the resources available to me).
T-3 is meant to delineate the OP monsters from the rest, and I’m only too happy to list them here as and when they arrive!
Cupido, Himeros, & Phthonus (Empires and Puzzles)
My final thoughts:
There’s not really much to add, we all know how strong Cupido is.
On the subject, I also like Himeros, a real big hitter (460%) at Very Fast. It’s cool the way she dispels Buffs from the target before sticking the boot in. -Plus a +40% Buff for herself and nearby allies.
For reference, Erebus does 520% damage at a similar speed (first charge).
Himeros looks like a great Hero for stacking on Offence. Of course, snipers always struggle in my grading system, but that doesn’t change how effective they can be.
Phthonus is another solid Hero, although he’s not really designed to be effective. I mean, hitting all for 360% and then dispelling Status Effects, isn’t great.
And then, he recovers health based on each Effect removed… What, after Counterattack catches him?
Still, when the stars align he’ll look fantastic. Plus, compare him with the old guard, and he’s a decent hitter for Slow. And with all the Status Effects currently being used, he’ll probably get in some decent healing, too.
Anyway, for me, this portal is all about Cupido. And to imagine, he was first introduced to Beta at Fast!
As always, thank you for reading, and please feel free to have your say in the comments below.
💕 Happy Valentine’s Day! And yes, send the flowers! 💕
Hero Grade for Cupido
So for my grading, the question is:
Is this hero’s Special capable of/likely to change the outcome of a battle? Yes.
If not, do they still bring enough to the party to help defeat the deities? N/a.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Deity ⭐⭐⭐
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Thanks Old Cynic! Great analysis as always. I didn’t really appreciate Cupido until I saw him in action.
The passive and family bonus also sound really useful (and make him sound better than C2 Quintus) but I didn’t get to see those in action. What do you think about the resistance and healing bonus?
Thanks again!
Hi Lam, thank you for reading.
Imv, the FB is so-so, but the Passive is incredibly strong, especially given the MA he’s able to deliver. I also think we’re likely to see more MA in faster Heroes based on this guy showing up at Fast for testing. But then that’s the name of the game; progression on all fronts.
Thanks again for visiting!
Thanks Old Cynic, definitely agree with your insight about MA. Every group of new heroes seems to have at least one MA hero (even outside 5-stars too–I still need Waddles in my life).
So Cupido would be immune to MA from Alfrike (not that I’ll be able to level him anytime soon, but would love to have a counter for all the rush wars Alfrike tanks), not just the silencers? Would he still be vulnerable to mana blockers like Proteus or thieves like Onatel?
Re the FB: a player with Cupido tested him with Charon, who boosted the entire team by 650…on his first charge. 650 BOOSTED for an entire team in 5 tiles (I think over 1k in 10-11 tiles on the third charge)! So any team with an overhealer is going to have great synergy with the Cupid family. How I wish I had Charon, but am looking forward to using him with Wang, C Ariel, and Steropes.
Have a great day/evening!
That’s certainly more healing than I anticipated, awesome stuff. As for immunity, based on the wording on Poseidon’s card, I imagine he’s immune to MA and Silence, but not to Mana Effects… Poseidon offers both protections. That said, I haven’t tested this!
He’s looking even better, thanks for sharing Lam and congrats on the great pull.
Well…..I hope you’re grading is 100% spot on because I just pulled him today…..lol! I think his Average Mana speed will limit him a little. He won’t get as much of a chance to fire off in the high end wars and raids…..most of the top end teams are firing off with Fast to V.fast mana heroes. I can say, that after experiencing him in the Season of Love event…..he’s a major pain in the ass once he fires off. Happy to have him, but I’m not sure he is quite 3 Star Deity material.
😁 No way, my grades are always tongue in cheek! Congrats on the great pull True North, I hope he’s fun.
I am not a fan that this portal really only brings 2 heroes who are powerhouses, 1 who is a decent accessory team member, and the rest of your gold coins or diamonds have a 98% chance of pulling season 1 heroes.
Cupids mindless heal is a very cool twist, but as you say, the attack part of mindless attack was minimal. The wasted special and mana drain back to zero was the painful part. This takes away a mostly un-noticed attack and will make it mostly un-noticed healing. AT fast speed it was probably devastating, Average sounds like a better place to put it.
Im a fan of Himeros. The big hit w pre-dispel are reminiscent of Kageburado back in the day. His issue was of course he was only a big hit till the target reached 50%, at which point he became a small hit. No closing ability. Himeros doesnt have that drawback, and the 40% buff to her nearest companions could set up knockout punch ability for a teammate before the enemy even gets into gear. She is a very solid piece to set between 2 fast or very fast shooters. If a team can knock off 1 enemy before any of em shoot, it would be very odds tilting,
I just wish the odds werent so low at pulling any of em. I dropped my handful of coins, didnt pull any of the 5 stars, and Im not desperate to throw diamonds because the odds are so low and the likely pull for diamonds is season 1 feeders. Seems like a waste.
Hi Old Cynic, let me thank you for all the great reviews and expert opinions. As a relatively new I still have dilemmas about how to use and how to pair different heros.
Players in my Alliance are talking about using Cupido as a tank, but I am a little bit hesitant and would prefer to use him together with a healer like Arco or Charon, because I saw in challenge events that if you isolate Cupido, he is beatable. Ok, it takes time, but he is. I also see him more in defence, not really sure about raids or war attack. Any thoughts on that, please? Coupling (or trippling) above mentioned three would be like a cheating code, or I exaggerate? Best!
When I listed the current (at the time) best Tanks in E&P I was surprised to see so many hitters. I can see why you’d just stick Cupido front and centre/or as one of two; he is powerful and could quickly shut down 3 (if you’re lucky) enemies.
His protection against Special Skills SA is also beneficial up front. I guess for me personally, I’d like something more defensive, however, the rule is always to test it to see what happens! So, is he a tank? If it works; in the same way El Naddaha is. At average speed, it could well be worth the gamble of triggering him…
I remember they used to do that with Alfrike at V. Slow! -If you didn’t kill her first, she’d likely win the battle.
Thanks for sharing Relentless. Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been busy!
Here I am, after 3 weeks of fully leveling up and limit breaking of Cupido. Not a tank or big hitter, but his forte is in “Healing Gift”, as you said. When using him, you have to be careful with timing, because 3 turns are many times too short period for enemy heroes to reach their full mana and launch their special, aka “healing gift”. He also needs bodyguard in form of i.e. Arco, but all this being said, I am using him a lot. He almost replaced Sekhmet, another great fire/red hero, my first serious 5*, who you haven’t mentioned in your analysis (yet).
Am I understanding you correctly that one might have 2 cupido’s in their team? One as tank and another next to him flank or wing? Perhaps I misunderstood? I only ask as I have 2 cupido’s and overhealers also etc. I’ve yet to see 2 cupido’s on a team? Thanks as always for your great service to us all
Hello Domne’sDaisyDukes, I can’t see the exact reference but on Offence, it’s an option. On Defense; the entire structure would have to make sense to run two fire heroes.
Cupido is easily one of the best Heroes in the game in my view so congrats! And thank you for supporting my blog!