My badging strategy

JayZ

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Lasted edited June 18 to add some new thoughts.
I frequently see a lot of posts on the forums about how to badge certain survivors. I also get a lot of questions from guildmates, so I'm going to share my thoughts here so that I never have to retype this
In general, my strategy with badges is to (1) enhance the strongest aspects of survivors, and (2) allow my survivors to survive at high levels which means maxing out damage reduction at 80% between your gear, badges, and survivor traits.
I have three categories of badges:
1. Defensive badging to create a tank: 3 damage reduction, 3 health
2. Offensive badging to create a killer: 3 damage, 3 critical damage
3. Balanced badging for the toughest missions: 3 damage, 2-3 damage reduction, 0-1 health (if you can get 75-80% damage reduction with only 2 DR badges, then slap on a health badge to add some bulk)
Here is how I badge (and use) my survivors. Keep in mind that I'm an end gamer that regularly plays to RSL37-38 and finish the Distance every time, which is what motivates my badging strategy.
Scouts: I use both balanced and offensive badging.
- Scouts with Strong/Ruthless/Power Strike are great to badge offensively in order to build up massive charged attacks.
- Scouts with Iron Skin/Retaliate (e.g., Gabriel) are great to badge in a balanced manner. These are the Scouts that I use with Michonne on high levels as threat reducers.
- Survivalist Rick is a stud, and can be badged either way. I originally badged him offensively and enjoyed the 150k+ critical damage on a charged attack. However, I realized I don't NEED him to deal that much damage, so I switched to balanced badging. However, now that I'm getting to the 40s in the challenge, I have again found that I do actually need huge damage output from him, so I'm back to offensive.
- Huntsman Daryl can also go either way. Similar to Rick, he was originally defensive for me but is now full offense. This depends a lot on how far you go in challenges. Up to 40, balanced Daryl will help save you a star or two. After 40, you need more firepower, so you should go full offense.
- Carol is a great Scout to go full offense because she has extraordinarily high base damage, but she needs her traits to be rerolled to be more useful.
- Top heroes that I like to badge (in order): Survivalist Rick, Huntsman Daryl, Gabriel, Carol (with rerolled traits)
Bruiser: Defensive badging all the way.
- Maybe with the release of the new special Bruiser weapon, there could be a case for balanced badging. However, Bruiser damage is currently so low that it's more important to take hits and stun.
- In some cases, not killing Z's is better on some maps where you have to open a gate and escape. If you can stun a circle of walkers around your survivors, then newly spawning walkers can't reach you.
- Top heroes that I like to badge (in order): Riot Gear Glenn, Morgan, Eugene
Warriors: I prefer balanced badging on my Warriors, but offensive badging is starting to be more useful.
- Because Warriors are on the front line and don't have a ranged weapon like the Pitchfork for Scouts or an escape mechanism like Swift Strike, you'll want them to be able to deal damage but also take hits.
- Update: With the release of the Chainsaw and the Dragon's Tongue, there are useful cases for going full offense with Warriors.
- Top heroes that I like to badge (in order): Michonne, Jesus
Assaults: Either balanced or defensive badging is best for Assaults.
- With the recent boosts to melee survivors, Assaults are best used for their ability to stun.
- Assaults have a high base health compared to other ranged survivors, so use them to stun and to take hits on high levels when you are playing with all ranged teams.
- Assault damage is too low to make it worth using Critical Damage badges. Their charged move is also NOT a guaranteed critical attack, so it's even less worth it.
- For farming and grinding out low levels, balanced badging is nice. At high levels, go full defensive.
- Top heroes that I like to badge (in order): Abe, Rosita, Rufus
Shooters/Hunters: Offensive badging, with a few exceptions.
- Shooters and Hunters have a guaranteed critical attack on their charged attacks, so enhance that damage with badges and Ruthless armors.
- Shooters and Hunters don't have enough health to withstand too many attacks. It's not worth trying to maximize their damage reduction.
- Sasha is a notable exception. Because Sasha's leader trait is so useful in so many different situations, some people like to give her a balanced badge set. Like Rick, I previously used a balanced badge set on Sasha but am finding that the increased damage is more valuable at the highest levels where she gets into one-hit struggles regardless of how much DR she has.
- I also like to give one Shooter and Hunter a balanced badge set for Guild Wars and maps with ranged Freemen. Personally, I prefer Merle and Dwight for this. Both of them already have a great set of traits for PvP (Iron Skin, Retaliate, Bullet Dodge), so I badge them for the purpose of using them against human enemies.
- Tara is the lone exception. She is a good candidate to go with full defensive badges to be used with Bruisers.
- Top Hunter heroes that I like to badge (in order): Sasha, Dwight, Daryl
- Top Shooter heroes that I like to badge (in order): Aaron, Maggie, Tara, Merle
As you can see, Critical Chance badges are the least desirable. However, with the introduction of the melee Razor trait, they may have a more viable role in high level combat than they previously did.
As always, you can see my badges and survivors in action on my Youtube channel. I upload videos for almost every challenge, so feel free to subscribe and watch videos for strategy tips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSePrANMyf_S_YKJyfJodg/playlists
Hope this helps you and your guildmates. I'd love to see if people have drastically different strategies with their badges.

Deadheads

JayZ said:

As you can see, Critical Chance badges are the least desirable. However, with the introduction of the melee Razor trait, they may have a more viable role in high level combat than they previously did.

Great post @JayZ ! Agreed on CC badges (thee most frustrating part of the game when these pop up!) but I use them in one spot, scouts with a spear. I've found with one CC badge (other 3Damage/2 CD) I either get a body shot or a crit hit. I like it especially on SR, I hide him behind two tanks and take everything out with crit after crit using the SS/Razor spear.

capibara

Awesome!!

Andrea

This is a BIBLE!!

Killdozer187_

no idea how you get 250k out of new rick. I have 65/65% on him all offensive and never hit 200k

my high is 185k

JayZ

@Killdozer187_ did you have another hero in the lead? I was testing my limits with shooter Rick as the leader

WellyLuga

Agree on all aspects, nice work! @JayZ. I especially like the term balanced badging, it seems so simple when you say it but when I'm asked how I badge Michonne, Sasha, Jesus and co I always say 3 damage/3 DR cause I don't know how else to say it

I understand what you're saying with Rick and his ungodly charge attacks but I like a pure offensive build, if not just for his charges then for his normal attacks. I have 3 damage, 2 crit damage and 1 crit chance and if razor triggers it's not unusual for him to do 30-40k damage with a normal attack. That's normally enough to take down a walker as high as RSL40

msapaev

Great work, @JayZ. It's almost mine badging strategy with several exceptions
Such a guide will be very helpful for both beginner and advanced players.

Killdozer187_

> @JayZ said:
> @Killdozer187_ did you have another hero in the lead? I was testing my limits with shooter Rick as the leader

Ok gotcha bud

JayZ

@msapaev just curious, what are those exceptions? I always love to hear new strategies from people! I wouldn't have thought to put DR badges on stabby Rick until someone else suggested it to me.

@WellyLuga that certainly makes sense to me! I must admit, I am fairly risk averse, so I've been afraid of using critical chance badges because I like the guarantee of knowing exactly how much damage I'll do with each strike instead of gambling on Razor and then a Crit attack. However, with the Pitchfork, it's easy to keep stabby Rick out of the way, so I might play around with rebadging him this week.

Deadheads

Yep, my basic strategy for scouts is if using a spear I badge them offensive but if using a normal weapon I badge more balanced (3 damage, 1 CD, 2 DR)

Burmeliinis

Great post and interesting to see that my own badging strategy is very similar to yours.

WellyLuga

JayZ said:

@msapaev just curious, what are those exceptions? I always love to hear new strategies from people! I wouldn't have thought to put DR badges on stabby Rick until someone else suggested it to me.

@WellyLuga that certainly makes sense to me! I must admit, I am fairly risk averse, so I've been afraid of using critical chance badges because I like the guarantee of knowing exactly how much damage I'll do with each strike instead of gambling on Razor and then a Crit attack. However, with the Pitchfork, it's easy to keep stabby Rick out of the way, so I might play around with rebadging him this week.

If you're like me, you might have the luxury of having a crit chance and crit damage badge in the same position. I tried the CC one knowing that if I felt like he lacked damage I could just pay 15 gold to swap it with it just being one badge. I really liked it so haven't gone back.

msapaev

@JayZ, mainly with heroes
I realized that at +12 level and above, balanced survivors can take only 2-3 hits before struggling. It's not enough for me Also it's hard to kill a walker of 37-lvl and above with a charged attack of a balanced warrior. So defensive bruisers and damage dealers are more useful for me at such levels than balanced warriors and scouts. My Michone and Gabriel are also equipped with balanced sets but that's enough. I also don't like balanced badge sets for Sasha or Dwight because hunters' base health is the lowest among the other classes.

LoneWanderer360

I put 3 crit chance and 3 crit damage badges on Merle. Add in his damage bonus leader trait and I'm hoping he can start one shotting tanks and armored walkers.

JayZ

Bump for weekend event

Billdinger

Bump

Gunny_Highway

It would be really great, if someday it would be possible to filter or sort the badges, if you want to create them.

Urgoldth

I just got all my heroes to 25, 5 days of full gas helped, but how do you get such high damage? I dont think i have ever seen hits over 20k, and 15 is high. Also what is the base crit rate?

Wiushi

This really helped. I'm tagging this to my posts for speedy reference. Thank you all.

JayZ

Bump! For the weekend event!

Fred_The_Savage

Soooo, I removed all badges last week because I really used no set strategy. Now I've created an excel sheet where I'm trying to manage and place strategically. Am I going too far?? How important is having 4 from the same "class"?

rogueDS

Very important @Fred_The_Savage the bonus makes a difference. Keep an eye go not over badge DR can only go to 80% don't waste gold badges with characters with iron skin if not needed.

rogueDS

I get mac DR on michonne with iron skin as trait and iron skin on armor and all epic badges

Fred_The_Savage

> @rogueDS said:
> Very important @Fred_The_Savage the bonus makes a difference. Keep an eye go not over badge DR can only go to 80% don't waste gold badges with characters with iron skin if not needed.

Thank you!

MFJigsaw

Can i add to this conversation?

Also to take into account is whether you are using someone with Tactical Weapon (10/15% Damage Resistance) and Armour with Iron skin (10/15).

Potentially having a character with base Iron Skin (15%) and max traits from equip (up to 30%) means you only need 35% to reach the 80% cap. Very easy with set bonuses (A,B,C etc).

NB Any Bruisers with Punish should really be Max Damage Resistance for maximum effect. Good Luck.

mopa4000

MFJigsaw said:

Can i add to this conversation?

Also to take into account is whether you are using someone with Tactical Weapon (10/15% Damage Resistance) and Armour with Iron skin (10/15).

Potentially having a character with base Iron Skin (15%) and max traits from equip (up to 30%) means you only need 35% to reach the 80% cap. Very easy with set bonuses (A,B,C etc).

NB Any Bruisers with Punish should really be Max Damage Resistance for maximum effect. Good Luck.

Great post @JayZ ! Agreed on CC badges (thee most frustrating part of the game when these pop up!) but I use them in one spot, scouts with a spear. I've found with one CC badge (other 3Damage/2 CD) I either get a body shot or a crit hit. I like it especially on SR, I hide him behind two tanks and take everything out with crit after crit using the SS/Razor spear.Youjizz Pornhub Tubegalore

JayZ

Recently updated for new gear, traits, etc. Hope this helps!

TWDaddiction

So your thought on DR is, instead of adding another badge to make sure it’s 80%, you’d rather throw on a health? Aka say you’re sitting at 75 DR. Is there that big of a difference in making it a full 80?

Johnbert

I agree with everything except for the defensive scout thing. For me, a scout needs to kill. I have bruiser / assaults to take hits. Everything else than 3x damage / 3x critical damage is a waste imo. Except Carol, because of her leader trait a critical chance badge is an option as well.

They still have to improve organising badges massively. It's cool we can filter them now in craftsman but when putting them on survivors it's still a pain in the ass.

WellyLuga

Gabriel is good to have in a defensive build. His leader trait means he can tank a lot of hits if dodge triggers and his scout movement means he can get to gates quicker. I used him right to the end of the challenge on closing time.

They were also handy to have for guild wars. If that ever returns.