Zidane: Empires & Puzzles October 24 HotM

Let the record books reflect that Zidane was Empires & Puzzles’ October 2024 Hero of the Month (HotM).

Sadly, for all those excitable soccer fans out there, it’s not the Headbutting Monk we all grew up watching, but rather a cool-looking character who obviously gets his belts at a reputable establishment somewhere near the North Pole.

Wow, that was a busy opener; let me unpack a couple of things:

1. I said “Soccer” fans rather than “Football” fans, and I know some of my British readers might be irked. That’s it. I did it knowingly. Feel the pain!
2. For those who don’t know, the Headbutting Monk is a reference to an awesome Footballer from back in the day. His name is Zinedine Zidane. [Wiki] Back then, his hairstyle made him look like a monk, and he once famously headbutted another player in a big game, hence the joke.

Yes! I’m back to talk about the new HotM, but No! -I don’t know if I’ll do every HotM. We shall see.

I actually had a horrifying encounter with Shimmerscale that made me want to get on here. -That guy has zero respect for HP.

If you’re new here, don’t scroll by my Caveat icon without clicking on it first… Go on, just for fun. TAP IT!

Zidane’s Stats and Special Skills (Hero Of The Month)

Key Facts: Fire (Red), Very Fast, Ranger, Legends 2024

Special Skills (Tricks of the Trade): 1. Deals 355% damage to the target. 2. Steals the latest dispellable buff from the target and grants it to the caster. 3. Randomly cast one of the following alternatives: Barbed Bolt (The target receives 504 Bleed damage over 3 turns). Poison Bolt (The target receives 537 Poison damage over 3 turns). Fire Bolt (The target receives 570 Bleed damage over 3 turns). 4. [Element Link] Gives all Fire allies +20% critical chance for 6 turns (can’t be dispelled).

Passive Skills: 1. INCREASED ATTACK per Non-Fire Enermy ~ At the start of a battle, this character’s attack is increased by +5% for every enemy that is not of Fire element. In battles with multiple waves, the effect is refreshed at the beginning of each wave. 2. RESIST BUFF IMMUNITY ~ This character has an innate resistance against ailments that give immunity to new buffs.

Talent: PIERCE ~ +25% chance to bypass defensive buffs when attacking. This includes counterattacks.

Aether Power: GAMBLE ~ +60% Attack with -20% accuracy for 6 turns.

Zidane: The Empires and Puzzles October 24 HotM

I should have written about last month’s HotM, Chloris. -I pulled her twice, and she looked fantastic.

On the other hand, Zidane is not my type of Hero!

First of all, there are SOoOoooOOooo many words in that Special Skill, but about 70% of it is pointless!

It’s classic HotM JibbaJabber!

What in the hell is this all about:

Randomly casts one of the following alternatives: Barbed Bolt (The target receives 504 Bleed damage over 3 turns). Poison Bolt (The target receives 537 Poison damage over 3 turns). Fire Bolt (The target receives 570 Bleed damage over 3 turns).

They must pay by the word.

And if that’s the case, I’m totally available for remote work. Just off the top of my head, I can think of another 2 Bolt possibilities:

1. Lighting … BOLT (See? You really should have come to me first, guys. You get what you pay for)
2. Twisting BOLT (…because you Twist a bolt and you can twist your victim’s… arm… and OK, it’s a little weaker, but it’s a work in progress!)

In all sincerity, what am I missing?

How do you create reliable synergy with this Hero?

Or is he meant to confuse the target so that they don’t know what ointment cream to get from the pharmacy when it starts to itch?

And what is “GAMBLE”? When did they start issuing out that gem of an Aether Power?

GAMBLE ~ +60% Attack with -20% accuracy for 6 turns.

Does that mean that my one-hit Sniper has a 20% chance of missing his target altogether?

Why did I bring him then? To make up the numbers? That’s gonna be an awkward drive home should he miss, just saying.

Don’t ask for no loo stops. Hold it in; I don’t wanna hear it.

But OC, he’s Very Fast.

You’re right. And we’ll put that on his gravestone when he misses and gets coshed with the butt of his own Crossbow!

Zidane’s Usefulness (Empires and Puzzles)

Not gonna lie, that felt good.

Going in like that was very cathartic.

However, I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong impression, Zidane is still a useable Hero.

Every Hero that is new and comes out of that Portal on the swift Power Creep journey we’re on, is useable.

The simple fact that they can take a hit is what makes them viable.

It’s all well and good having a semi-skilful Sniper like Bai Yeong, but he should be drawing his pension at this point. -I know mine was responsible for preparing the half-time orange slices before his unceremonial departure into the Soul Exchange.

But Zidane is new. That means he’s not gonna play dead like some possum. [YouTube]

And he has a decent hit, too.

Let’s do some Power Stats. Here’s base Zidane:

Atk: 1120 Def: 955 HP: 1606

He does have a high Attack Stat.

Compare that to Bai Yeong, released in 2020:

Atk: 749 Def: 735 HP: 1314

And finally, let’s compare that to one of the current top-end monsters (Sludgus):

Atk: 1122 Def: 1081 HP: 1987

There’s a cutoff line for usefulness when it comes to Power Stats; at some point, old Heroes simply act like 4-Star Heroes filling in for the day.

Thankfully, for Zidane, he’s got fresh blood coursing through his veins.

So, what does Zidane actually do and what is his place within the E&P landscape?

Zidane Vs. Empires and Puzzles

Zidane is a Very Fast Sniper with the promise of Damage Over Time (DoT) on the backend.

He reminds me of Zarga, the April 2024 HotM, who I happen to have.

Zarga pretty much does the same thing, but at Fast. She slaps the target for 435% (at 1030 Atk) and has a 50% chance of dishing out 1086 Bleed damage over 6 turns. Both are Fire.

Zidane’s Special Skills:

First, we have a 355% hit (at 1120 Atk). ~That’s a great hit, and when fully levelled, his Attack Stat can increase to 1647. And we haven’t even added all the other Attack buffs he might receive (+0% to 25% Non-Fire buff, +60% Gamble buff, and Troops when assigned).

Next, he steals the latest dispellable buff from the target and grants it to the caster. ~This mirrors Ithar and has the potential of being incredibly powerful or annoyingly wasteful, depending on the timing of his Special Skill activation.

Ithar is Very Fast as well, however, in her case, she steals all dispellable buffs from the target and randomly distributes them to allies.

I suspect the theft of one dispellable buff isn’t going to change the outcome of many battles. It will look great when Zidane’s stealing something powerful, and completely pointless at other times.

That said, if you’re a newer player, this skill could represent an angle to work from.

Now we have the random Damage Over Time (DoT), which for some unknown reason to me, has differentiating values. ~I don’t understand how this is useful for synergy. It seems to be offering a chance at synergy.

If you know how this mishmash is beneficial, please enlighten me in the comments below!

Otherwise, speaking of the DoT, it just isn’t enough to impact the big players; however, it is a nice follow-up to the big hit.

-And it’s guaranteed, unlike with Zarga.

Finally, we have the Element Link, the chance at +20% Crit Dam for 6 turns. ~This can be powerful against Squads and Titans, and that’s why I like it.

Overall, Zidane looks solid, so far as budgeted Snipers go.

That said, I really don’t like the Gamble Aether on him because it could render him completely redundant.

This is not a Premium Hero with overreaching Passives. This is a single-target slapper. So, a miss would be devastating.

Zidane Empires and Puzzles – Hero of the Month October 24

My final thoughts:

Looks like I’ll have to get onto Shimmerscale another day.

As for Zidane, I think he’s OK/good. The hit looks really solid at Very Fast.

However, it’s well known that I’m not a fan of this sort of Sniper because they don’t bring enough to high-end battles.

While this basic Sniper is focused on one enemy, a knuckle-dragging pixel-snatcher claiming natty is gonna be slaughtering your entire squad while taking selfies and waiting on their next “Balance Update Buff”!

The monster Heroes are currently laying waste to all us chumps, and Zidane ain’t gonna help the cause.

That said, it all depends on your current squad and where you are in the game.

Zidane is a great Hero to level if you don’t have many 5-Star Fire Heroes or you’re a lower/mid-tier player.

He’s Very Fast with a great right hand. I love the idea of KO’ing a lineup one by one. -If fully levelled and all the buffs kick in, that’s exactly what might happen.

This is not a complete dud, but he’s nowhere near a top-end elite Hero. -He is not trying to do anything that’s smart enough to contribute to the overall potency of your squad like an elite Hero would.

And, the major problem with Zidane is that he needs to be fully levelled to reach his full potential, and that’s hard to justify with a HotM Sniper.

Whereas Chloris is already useful to me at 3/70.

Anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Zidane. Would you LB2 this guy for “Gamble”?

Have a great month, everybody!

Hero Grade for Zidane (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

For those interested in something a little different, why not read the post and take the quiz: What Would Stifler Do?

[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]

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