Ithar Empires and Puzzles HotM August 23 (The 6-Star Agenda)
Ithar is Empires and Puzzles’ August 2023 Hero of the Month (HotM) and in this post, I wanna find out if this box of pixels is worth the time and effort it takes to level her.
I’ll be making some changes to the blog which I hope will work for both you and me, so be on the lookout for that post in the coming week.
But for now, DJ put on my song! And Security, clear the Dance Floor, ’cause I’m about to get my Old Man Jig on!
Let’s see if I still got the moves…
This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
Ithar’s Stats and Special Skills (Hero Of The Month)
Key Facts: Holy (Yellow), Very Fast, Rogue, Legends 2023
Special Skills (Stupendous Break In): 1. Steals all dispellable Buffs from the target and randomly distributes them on allies. 2. Steals 35% Mana from the target and distributes it to allies. 3. All allies get +30% Attack for 2 turns. 4. [Element Link] Gives +10% Mana generation to all Holy allies for 4 turns (can not be dispelled).
Passive: 1. DODGE SPECIAL DAMAGE ~ This character has a 10% chance to dodge Special Skills that deal damage. 2. RESIST STATUS AILMENTS FROM MINIONS ~ This character has an innate resistance against Status Ailments that are from Minions.
Talent: EVADE ~ +20% chance to dodge direct damage from offensive Special skills.
Aether Power: ATTACK UP ~ +20% Attack for 6 turns.
Legends 2023 Family Bonus: 1/2/3 Heroes: +10%/+15%/+20% Defense. Bonus for 2+ Heroes: Element Link affects all allies.
Is Ithar Worth It? (Empires and Puzzles)
Ithar looks great on paper, I mean, imagine stealing a great Buffers’ bag of tricks! And, at Very Fast! All your mates are gonna be going crazy;
~Patting you on the back, calling you a T2, and flipping off the sorry bugger that you just shafted.
But what about the rest of the time? -When there’s nothing to steal, or when you keep missing your moment?
“Sorry guys, I’ll catch Furdinand next time round”.
Meanwhile, your roomies are gonna be slapped silly waiting for “next time round”. Pixy dust flying everywhere. Little squeaks of pain coming outta my phone speakers. I don’t need that sort of pressure!
“But, But, But I steal Mana, too”.
Alright, alright, let’s take the bass outta our voices and have a sensible discussion here.
Because Mana theft is something that really interests me…
Ithar Vs. Empires & Puzzles (Mana makes the World go round)
I have no doubt that you’ll remember these words from another Hero’s Special:
“Steals 35% Mana from the target and distributes it to allies.”
Simply take out the ‘35%’ and insert ‘50%’ and you have Roughian & Nurgib.
And for me, when testing Ithar, I found this part of her Special to be the most universally useful, because it wasn’t situational.
I mean, just look at the rest of her complete Special, and imagine there’s no buff to steal.
-Then there’s nothing doing; The Empress is naked!
And even if there is something to steal, it’s only from the target.
I get it. Ithar could steal the crown jewels and that may be reason alone to level her. But as someone who rarely gets a new 5-Star Hero, I really need my new Heroes to be versatile.
But going back to the Mana Theft, I could feel the difference between the 35% and 50% in Beta and didn’t find it enough to make Ithar compelling.
In fact, I asked for a Buff, as did many others.
I’ve also seen the Margaret comparisons and agree. -Let’s start the calls for the Buff now and save some time!
Ithar can’t compare to R&N in my eyes. R&N is Fast and will slap the snot outta her target. And the more health they have, the more embarrassed they’ll be.
Meanwhile, Ithar’s flexing a knife, has 904 Atk, and has ATTACK UP as her Aether Power, but has absolutely no intention of actually harming anyone!
She ain’t looking for a fight.
She’s just a first-class s#*t-stirrer. Talking ’bout, “they dissed your mum, but I got your back; here’s +30% Atk. -Go conk that fool!”.
Meanwhile, she ain’t doing much but sitting in the background screaming “BINGO!” every time she charges.
The 6-Star Agenda (Empires and Puzzles)
*Somebody commented recently;
-The Devs have started to release 6-Star Heroes, but simply didn’t tell us…
I make that observation very astute. It’s a perfectly reasonable way of describing the current Power Creep.
The Ithar I tested in Beta had 825 Power. That’s:
Atk: 865 Def: 741 HP: 1359
Compare that to the Ithar that’s at the portal (867):
Atk: 904 Def: 780 HP: 1481
And again, compare that to an ‘elite Hero’ (936):
Atk: 887 Def: 859 HP: 1858
That’s a world away from an uncostumed Season 3 Hero, which was in the 787 Power area (Norns):
Atk: 770 Def: 718 HP: 1369
Off the top of my head, I think Ithar is ranging in the Season 5 area with 860 Power. Although, with the Big Balance Update, it’s proving hard to verify.
But that should give you some idea of just how powerful and chunky these new HotMs are becoming. And this is why we have to take each one so seriously.
That said, Ithar’s power leans heavily towards Atk, -of which she doesn’t utilise in her own Special Skill!
*Good point, Henrik!
Ithar Empires and Puzzles – Hero of the Month August 23
My final thoughts:
I don’t wanna be the bad guy here. I know people are gonna love Ithar on sheer speed alone.
Her Special Skill could read, “Randomly sprinkles petals on all allies for 2 turns”, and folk would love her at that speed. [It’s a joke, I’m playing!]
And I do concede;
- She’s Holy (perfect in any E&P Meta)
- She’s closer to a 6-Star Hero than a 5-Star Hero (Power Stats)
- And yes, she’s Very Fast!
It’s just, while other Very Fast Heroes are doing the Tango, Ithar is doing the Waltz.
Ithar does offer an element of Control, taking 35% of the Mana from the target. And in certain situations (the ideal targets), she’s gonna look fantastic as she charges and waits for her moment to shine.
But overall, I didn’t find her to be very effective.
Still, new Heroes represent an unbreakable Wall of HP that the average player will soon find too challenging to manage (if not already).
And that’s why every new HotM is so important. Because while not ‘fully Made up’, they are at least part way there. They too are from Krypton.
So we can’t discount them on Special ability alone.
There is some use here, but she’s just not a game-changer or a superstar (well, besides when all the stars align).
Of course, as always, I could be wrong.
Ladies and gentlemen, until we meet again…
Peace & Love!
[-Insert complementary caveat that subject will be better on Offence than in Defense. Is worth consideration for specific tasks, Stacking, and Raids. And if a God-Buff is released, Ithar could steal it and share the light of divinity with all her pixel buddies.]
Hero Grade for Ithar (Empires and Puzzles)
So for my grading, the question is:
Is this hero’s Special capable of/likely to change the outcome of a battle? No.
If not, do they still bring enough to the party to help defeat the deities? No.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Warrior
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
Enjoyed the post? Then please help me, -share it with your alliance!
Want more Empires and Puzzles? Click here.
Don’t forget to check out my Hero Ranking Page!
Looking for a new mobile game (iOS or Android)? Check out my new review section.
Follow me on Facebook: Visit Old Cynic’s page
Copyright: oldcynic.com (including initial images)
Images used by way of review/tutorial – Copyright owned by Empires & Puzzles: Small Giant Games
I guess buff steal is nice, but what buffs are you gonna steal anyway? Taunt or counter attack would probably be a good choice as well as something niche such as Guardian Hippo’s ability, but that just makes her extremely situational as she doesn’t hit anyone. If Hippo gets to fire, you’re already in big trouble. You’d be better off having a dispeller or a buff blocker who also deals damage. There are plenty to choose from.
Hi Yorka, I agree. That’s my position. If you don’t have another option, then she is something, but in my tests I didn’t think she did enough to justify her seat.
Thanks for sharing!
I see here first and foremost task to be a solution against auto-taunters (who very quickly bring a true taunt) and the ever frustrating undispellable immunity from Aramis.
She is the poor mans option against level 90 Ludwig and Phorchys, and together with a decent couple of friends you can pick of one after another of the Aramis-buffed baddies. She can set your two fast yellow hitters up for action after 6 tiles, when she can fire her self, and then have readied the target and increased your attack.
(okay, getting the fast down to 6 requires both a good troop and some extras, but it is doable)
As such, she can be very effective for those without the biggest roosters, and I think her utility in such a team will be quite good
On power: Athos and Milady are at 864 and 866!!!
The costumed S4 are at same level, and before the big balance update quite a few of the S5 heroes, which I have not verified new level of yet…
Hey Tobov, absolutely. I think a key point you make highlights different roster sizes and styles of play. And of course, I can only share my worldview…
I also think that if you’re more interchangeable in your team-building, she’s a specialist in nature who could play a role. I’m very open about the fact that I only trust a few Heroes with my cups!
Thank you for the insight and I look forward to verification…
The more you think about it this hero is more and more underwhelming…probably the worst HOTM the last two years?
About 6 star heroes…we totally have them already. I got Sif and Galapago lately while I also hot Bera from the Fated Summon. Bera at full ascension level 80 has less power than both of them at 3rd ascension 70 level. 80 whole levels and 1 ascension down and the new heroes are stronger than the fully ascended classic ones! that’s just dumb…at least make it cheaper to level them up if they gonna be totally useless nowdays.
To explain my comment of her being the worst HOTM of the last two years. Let’s say she plays against Ludwig – even then she will only steal the buff from the target alone, so she will just give Taunt randomly to one of your players and she won’t even steal the mana generation of rhe ones next to Ludwig…even in that case she is not that much uaeful. She would be OK if she stole 50% mama and did some damage or if she would at least steal all dispellable buffs from all enemies.
Hey Grigoris, you make some fair points. In fact, that was my experience in Beta…
When I first saw her I thought she’d be solid. Then I tested her and was disappointed. Tried again, still disappointed. That said, my personal roster covers her abilities pretty well so I always offer a gain of salt.
Re. the worst of the last 2 years? I love Control Heroes and ‘Magic’ Heroes, so she’s always gonna out do Balur and Klaern… She offers some hope 😄. But I can see your thinking. The situation she finds herself in could make her look like an Archangel or the fallen Meek.
Thanks for sharing Grigoris!
Thanks for your comment, I actually said it cause I was thinking of your passionate love fir Balur and Klaern haha…I think she seems even a bit worse than them in my opinion haha Even the fact that she is very fast doesn’t add up to her skill…she will charhe and noone will have any buff yet… (or OK in some cases maybe she will charge in the rounds that double limit broken heroes will have their initial buff…but still, how many times would someone spend a position from their roster just for that? she is only good against a few players that have a ton of buffs all together e.g. Furdinand)
Thank you for your review and reply OC!
I still want her. Simply because she has Very Fast mana. In addition, most of my legendary heroes are snipers, I will need a additional support hero. 🙂
Hey PHLOL6, she will stack well and as you allude to, we all have our own rosters to service. I can see how she’ll aid a bunch of snipers so good luck.
Thanks for sharing!
i just got her… 🙂
Congrats! Level her to 3/70 and try her out. See what you think and let us know!
Im more interested on the mana steal. Based on your testing in Beta, does the 35% mana steal worth it?
For example: Bring Ithar + 4 fast speed yellow all with sufficient mana/styx/magic troop. Ithar will goes off with 6 tiles. Proceed to steal buff and mana. If she’s able to steal enough mana to get the other 4 fast speed heroes to go fully charged (with sufficient troop, they should goes off at 7 tiles), then its a 6 tiles mono yellow team and 4 fast going off can surely end the game right then and there. Im actually trying to get her to experiment on that. But the portal right now sux (salmon loki featured) so im waiting for better portal. lol
Do tell if you can confirm it. Thanks OC!
Hi MIB, I do think Ithar is polarizing in that I’ve seen some consideration that she’s a top notch hero. For me, with my tests and roster, it wasn’t a fit and I wasn’t impressed.
The mana steal (35%) felt weak, especially compared to R&N. If I’m honest, I think Ithar, at her speed, was never gonna get a Buff (so to speak) because it’s a dangerous game making a VF HotM any better than this… Just look at R&N’s impact. -But I’m a Cynic!
Anyway, if you tend to get the HotM I’m sure you’ll test her in the 3/70 range and see what you think.
I’d welcome feedback from any readers on this Hero. I’m satisfied with my grading but am really interested in what others feel after using her a bit.
“If she’s able to steal enough mana to get the other 4 fast speed heroes to go fully charged”… I can’t confirm the numbers there – It’s a low percent each ally gets but I’ve not gone over it… My R&N post has a breakdown of the 50% number so might help here… But 7% top-end with a quick calc. -Feels lower because it’s hard to get a target with 100% mana.
If you run a Fast Squad, I can see her use there and it is true that my reviews are more general in there outlook, with a mix of hero speeds in mind. So, it may be possible that this hero offers more elite/specific Squads a significant mana advantage, but that’s outside the scope of my reviews.
Anyway, I’ve rambled.
Thanks for stopping by MIB!
Heya,
So, I have Ithar at 60+2 chevrons. Alongside Guardian Hippo, and I am quite happy with her. Once Hippo is up, I can semi-reliably proc her ult every turn for three turns. Hippo gives +34% mana gen and she gives +10% atm. So, for me, even though she herself is not dealing damage, she is I am getting more value out of Hippo with her. My goal has been to put 4 very fast heroes with Hippo to crank out the damage. She was my only very fast until I got Horis yesterday. I don’t have a perfect team or anything: Ithar, Hippo, Basil, Frong Prince, and either Dominita or Evil Tree or (now) Horis. My team lacks healing currently and is a bit dependent on the initial board, but I am Ithar does seem to help facilitate my wins (around Hippo). If Hippo dies, I’m praying Frog Prince will proc. … to me, her long-term value may depend on what her 2023 team passive will be. If it allows the + to mana generation for all teammates with 2+ 2023 heroes, she will def shine to help my slow members proc their ults faster.
I looked at her card yesterday and was totally underwhelmed but thought “no, wait until you see what Old C has to say”.
It turns I may be right in my first view of her. If I pull her she can go into the next Soul Exchange for someone I will at least partially want!
Cheers OC, useful write up as ever.
Cheers Steve, you read the card better than I did first time round. Thanks for stopping by!
Great you are back!
The leader of my alliance had the same thought when he saw her: Where is the damage?
Even worse, she is a Rogue which is a class I already have several heroes and she is not worthy to take them from another hero. She is not the best, but could have been much better.
I like the design, but you do not win raid with designs.
Hey Mig-El! I wrote 4 posts last month 😅
My mind was made up after testing her but I didn’t know if they’d improve her like they normally do; by just enough.
-The build makes no sense to me too but someone will love her and find her utility.
Thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate the support.
You are right, but since the last one it felt forever 🙁
Thank you for your work. But think about it: There cannot only be elite heroes. However, mana control is one of the most important things in the game. Pair with R&N, Neith or Onatel. Play with the passive skills and the family bonus. I think it could work perfectly that way.
Hi NecronLord, absolutely, there is definitely something here to utilise under the right circumstances/conditions.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey old cynic, thanks again for your insight and especially the lighthearted turn you give them. That Will also be the best part of this Hero, the Fun review you gave 😅. Any chance on writing reviews of untold stories Heroes? I just got ultrox, and as a f2p i was so surprised and happy about that that i immediately went looking on your site to see if you reviewed him😁
Hey Duende! It’s impossible to cover all these Heroes and I was burning myself out trying. E&P got staff; I got coffee. I have to better manage my time/efforts… That said, I’m currently trying to get another post out and have a lot of good stuff coming soon.
I appreciate the support; it’s truly a great motivator!
Tot be honest, i think you’re doing great and you’re already putting more time and effort in it than i do. There is still a life outside of this game and unless SG is gonna start paying you for it you are doing more than enough. As long as you are typing reviews, i’ll keep reading them. With the occasional useless comment to go with it 😉
😄 Awesome, thank you.
Adding to that can someone say to Small Giants that we would all be so much happier with you getting paid by them for what u do so that u would be able to provide even more materials. You d be the (are actually) the best ambassador/critic! They would be surely benefited if the would hire you!
Just pulled her – I will have her on a team with R&N, Aramis, and Myoin-ni.
Congrats Nash-t!
In my opinion, she’s just a worse R&N. Doesn’t do any damage at all, steal less mana, and is very situational. Meh.
I totally agree. She has her usage but she’s no R&N in my books either.
I got her yesterday and now I am doubtful.
I had chosen Onatel and then your favourite Malosi from the fated Summon. My idea was level them until 4.80 to reinforce war attacks, since most of tanks are purple.
But I also have Gilligan, Celidana and now Ithar. My brain tells me I should follow the original plan and level up Malosi (I am afraid the costume for Onatel is coming soon, leaving the current one obsolete), but one of my comrades in the alliance tells me Ithar is worthy for their passive skills.
I hope I can make a decision after leveling up the 4-star duck.
😄 Hey Mig-El, the thing I’m learning more and more is that everybody has their own style of play.
I’ve had Malosi since he was a rookie. Over the years I’ve tried to bench him, but he remains part of my unchanging Raid Squad that’s still able to beat most defenses reasonably consistently (albeit, it’s harder for me to get to the top level to test nowadays due to the underwhelming nature of my own aging defense).
But that’s where my personal experience and playstyle comes into effect: I play 3/2 Holy; ideal for the meta since 1989, I run 4 control heroes, and thank goodness, I have LW. -All random of course; other players will have their own heroes they’ll flex with.
Malosi is a scalpel for me, and with my roster and playstyle, is worth 5x Ithars and change. I just wish he had her Stats. But that’s me!
Not only will he tame LW but he’ll control a bunch of the rest of these monsters out here.
Anyway, this is sounding like Malosi is my mate and peeps been talking ill of him 😁.
Good luck deciding, but my 2c is to try them out before committing!
Good to see you.
Hold up, let me link my old friend…
As soon as I posted that they decided to nerf LW! NoOoonooooo!
LW is Ludwig and you mean the level 90 taunt?
Yes & yes
It seems to me she would be a great hero to use against Ludwig or any taunter. You are guaranteed to hit them since they start the battle off with taunt if they got their aether limit break. She would definitely be better on offense rather than defense.
I have leveled her to almost 70 and have been absolutely smashing some stout raid defenses, including ones in the top 100.
The combination of stealing mana, stealing buffs, AND buffing your whole team is pretty darn deadly. Once I get her limit broken, that’s a whole new can of whoopass that just got opened.
Agreed, I’ve got her to 4/43 and have been using her. I think she’s awesome and very helpful. I’ve read most of old cynics reviews and almost always agreed with all of them, but I couldn’t be further from agreeing with his review of Ithar. He might just fit into the group of people who think no damage=bad hero. But just like Malosi she helps you win raids, in a different way.
Hi Anonymous, to be fair to me, I think highly of many non hitters, like Ludwig, M&M, Furdinand, Power Creep, etc, etc.
I wonder if the nerfing of the Alpha Taunt, which came shortly after Ithar’s release, is making it seem like she’s the one alleviating the hurt?
I just pulled her and frankly I think she’s probably better than my other 5* Holy: Hanitra.
Personally, I find Hanitra useless. She doesn’t hit as well (like Ithar) but her % dodge is just outright pathetic.
I’m gonna level her up to 3/70 and see. I might max her since I got enough to level up 2 holies. Darts for me are easy to come by since getting 6 from this game is way way way way easier than to get a 5* holy. Sigh…..
Hi Chris, this was held up in my Spam folder for reasons unknown to me. Congrats! Defo, she is useful, especially for folk who don’t have other options. I hope she is awesome for you!
Hey, OC. I love your blog, appreciate the insight, and really enjoy your humor and approach to this game. Thanks for all you do!
Not sure if you are still checking in on this one, but I’m trying to decide next yellow ascension.
I’ve got Ithar, Meresankh, and Sif (+costume) all at 3/70. I’ve got materials to ascend 2 of the 3…
I’m FTP, but have a pretty deep bench after 3 years. Sekhmet, Ahmose, Eset, Azmia, Congalach, Theobald, a few Ninjas, etc. Yellow is deep, with those 3, plus Inari, Joon, Gullinbursti, G Jackal, C Kvasir, and you convinced me to get Malosi from last SE.
So, I don’t have a clear immediate “need”. I tend to mix and match for raids or wars, and tend to be a bit more haphazard than planned. Haven’t really used these 3 much while levelling. Did some testing with Ithar yesterday, and found her very situational and quirky as noted. Sif has been back-bench, and I’ve only used Meresankh a handful of times… would love any ideas?
Hi Westfried, thanks for the support, I appreciate it!
Re. your question, first I will refer you to this post, it lists many of my views on levelling and ascension pertaining to individual rosters.
Looking at Ithar Vs Meresankh Vs Sif, I would go with Meresankh. I think she’ll be good on D, is newer, and has an annoying passive.
I’m not a huge fan of Sif/C (tho she might be fun on Offense), but appreciate she can do a job. That leaves Ithar. If you run a Fast Raid Squad there may be legs in it, but she’s not doing enough for me. Malosi is old but a fantastic hero.
Anyway, none of them are screamers for me. I wouldn’t Alpha any unless they met the requirements of the post I linked to above. At a glance, Meresankh looks the most elite, but her skillset is underwhelming when not surrounded by other real elite heroes.
Please get other opinions too!
Thanks, you old Cynic, you!
I opted to ascend Ithar and Meresankh, will leave Sif waiting for another year…
I had an extra Tome, and tons of Yellow aether, so I did LB1 and some talent grid for Ithar.
I usually run a mini-stack, 2 of one color and mix the rest. So I’m trying Ithar and Melosi, then Sekhmet/Azmia/mix-in. It’s been interesting. Ideally, Malosi prevents the buffs, and Ithar backs him up for the ones that get through. So far, I can either beat teams 300-500 above me (2/3), or fail miserably (1/3).
I’ve been surprised that Ithar”s Mana steal doesn’t seem to help much, but the stolen buffs can be fine
As for Meresankh, as Steven notes, I’ve been very disappointed. Just feels like a slightly buffed Li Xiu. I generally love the dunes heroes (I regularly use Sekhmet, Azmia, Ptolemy, Ahmose, Junaid, and Eset), but Meresankh just isn’t impressing me.
Anyways, again, thanks for all you do!
Hi Westfried
I have Meresankh and she is a waste of space. Must be the worst 5* out of the Dunes season. I have her fully levelled up but she isn’t worth the time and expense. Leave her at 4/70 and focus on someone else.
Thank you for your review on this hero! I enjoy reading all of your content and much appreciate your hard work.
Whilst I tend to agree on the vast majority of your thoughts on E&P heroes, I think Ithar is promising much fun and some impressive wins as an attack hero. I took her in with: Laohu, Kara, Erlang Shen & Vivica. Stealing mana fired up her fast companions, plus stealing a counterattack and giving it to a hero with an active dodge caused carnage. Currently she’s not fully levelled but she withstood all hits and I will max her etc. A matter of personal choice of course 🙂
Thanks again…
Thank you Sirius, and congrats on getting her, I’m glad she’s working out for you.
Thank you for stopping by!