Hi there, I'm trying to get more into battling, but my pet has had the same set for quite a few years and tiers. Any advice on how to best improve/upgrade it would be appreciated.

Stats: Level: 1388 Health: 3460 / 3460 Strength: 3502 Defense: 3460 Speed: 2302 AP: 183 Tier: 12

Weapons equipped Blessed Trident of the Banished One Volatile Energized Mecha Intricate Energized Helmet Malignant Rift Staff Recycle Blaster Soma Tablets Reviver of the Lion Phoenix Quill

Scrolls equipped: Divine Denizhen Cobalt Eternal (4) Perilous Whirlpool (2) Morosbane (2) Shriek of Despair (3) Fatal Fire (3) Terra Focujin

Other scrolls in my armory: Singed Stuffing Sticky Webs

Other weapons in my armory: Reborn Icewand of Doom Rapier of Error Replica Minotaur Knocker Scythe of the Widow Shinwas Temple Shard Forj Tempered Shield Item Hunters Bomb Blunderbuss Brass Clockwork Grenade

Tier 12 is about where you can earn pretty much any weapon loot that opponents give out. Ones you should start trying to collect are:

• Aftershocks Scroll from Crithbolcan • Captured Eternal Flame from Flamagia • Corrupted Shadow Sword from Final Corruption • Cronus Blade from Meatslab, the Furious • Gift of the Forj Scroll from Forj Matriarch, the Erupting • Hand of Goddessbane from Goddessbane • Insektdammerung from Kain • Manifesting Weapon from Rouland during Morostide next month • Panzer Hydra Gauntlet from the Panzer Hydra during Masquerade • Unstable Sample Syringe from Mutant Scientist

Earning them from challenger loot is often wildly cheaper than buying them off the shop search.

Then there are the big purchases like The Ether and Natasha. But if you don't want to buy those yet, Plague Claw and Prodigy Staff (or Cursed Liquid Fire Torch) are cheaper alternatives.

You've outgrown the Divine Denizhen, Singed Stuffing, and Terra Focujin scrolls so you can sell them if you wish. At your tier, Aftershocks, Ocean Currents, and Feather Explosion will serve you better. You only need to equip one infinite use scroll at a time, but you can swap them around depending on which elements the opponent does. However, Aftershocks is the best one if you want a "set it and forget it" type of scroll.

Other than that your sets look pretty solid. I would focus on learning how to build a good set for a challenger. By that I mean looking at the challenger's info before you go into battle and tailoring your set to them. For instance, if freezing is disabled, you probably don't want to bring in freezing scrolls because they'll just sap your health without freezing anything :P If the opponent does ice (:dmg🧊) and magma (:dmg:magma:) attacks, like Flamagia, you'd probably want to bring in the Unstable Sample Syringe because it blocks ice (:block🧊) and magma (:block:magma:). Something like Blessed Trident wouldn't be as useful there because it's a wind blocker (:block:wind:) and Flamagia doesn't use any wind icons (:dmg:wind:) in her attack. Just things like that can make a world of a difference when you're battling impossible challengers. It means building a diverse armory though, so I would start collecting as many of those weapons I listed as you can :D

thank you so much for your insights. I sure have my work cut out for me with earning all the challenger loot you outlined! Two follow up questions:

1. Should I be modding the weapons in my set with those baguettes and crystals or is than not much of a help?
2. Are all the weapons listed in my reserve armory still useful for me (ie Reborn Ice Wand, Shinwas Temple Shard, etc) or should I try to sell them to get better weapons/unlock new challengers?

Thanks again!

1. Mod crystals are great! I have a guide to them over here: The Guide to Mod Crystals (v2) Typically parched, rose, and blessing of natural armor crystals are going to be good picks because they protect against freezing and stealing, respectively. You can also use the elemental crystals to add more defense or attack to your weapons. Or even something like freezing crystals for an extra freeze chance. There are lots of ways you can use mods, it just depends on your preferences :P But yes, it’s generally a good idea to use them.

2. Shinwas Temple Shard, Replica Minotaur Knocker, and Item Hunters Bomb I would keep, but you’ve outgrown the rest. Unless you’re planning on raising another battle pet in the future, feel free to sell them.

thank you so much! You've been very helpful.

No problem :D