After the recent holiday update, there have been some notable new trends in the PVP scene of Exos. As we are still currently in Season 2, most of the trends from my previous article [Guide] Current PVP trends in Season 2 of EXOS Heroes have remained the same. This is mostly due to the fact that the newer content, Brunn and Vagabond nations, and their corresponding Signature Force, have not been available long enough for higher tier players to invest significant time and resources into.

Although the same team compositions seen earlier in the season are still strong today, there has been some shift to diversify due to the recent updates that have been making an impact on the PVP ladder. This includes the updated level of the Unleash Potential enhancements which now boosts fated heroes and fatecores as well. This new stage of the UP enhancement system gives a very large boost to stats that all end game players are currently prioritizing for their strongest team. Coupled with the recently downgraded requirement for Signature Force enhancements, players are reaching max levels of Signature Force allowing them to focus heavily on specific national teams with insane stats!

New signature Force Nations and reachable max Level 2 upgrades

A couple if updates to the Signature Force system have altered the landscape in the PVP scene. The first update being the addition of the Vagabond nation to the Signature Force system. Although not viable to invest in building for seasoned vets and high-ranking PvP players, this does allow newer players to focus on building if they choose to build a team around Schmid who was available for free recently via Eternal Bond.

The second update, which has been more noteworthy, is the downgraded requirements to level up a Signature Force group. Now each level only requires a single duplicate of a fated general for a total of only eight duplicates to completely max to level 2. In addition, as this update came after many players heavily invested into Signature Force upgrades, Line Games has refunded all those who invested into any nation beyond level 1 allowing players to focus on maximizing one or more specific nations to maximize the stats on their specific teams.

Most higher level players kept their Greenland/North Von Frosty teams given FC Rera, FC Bathory, FC Tantalo, and FC Iris still dominate the meta. However, some have switched to other nations such as Lenombe/Wasted Red as they can now gain the full stat benefit from a maxed level 2 Signature Force.   

The requirement for maximum stats through Unleash Potential

For a basic summary of the new Unleash Potential upgrades and their requirements, please view my article Exos Heroes: Unleash Potential upgraded — Fated Heroes and Fatecores enhanced. 

Due to the huge stat improvements to attack/defense/hp from the upgraded Unleash Potential system, most ranked players have started to focus on building units of a nation they can upgrade to a Signature Force level 2. This is because Unleash Potential upgrades the base stats and as a result, the additional 45% stat increase gained from a level 2 Signature Force enhancement will compound a hero's stat increase. Pair this stat gain with Core Memory stat gains, you will now see frontline tank/support types with 50k+ HP and 6k+ Defense and backline attack/chaos types with 25k+ HP and 6k+ Attack. See below for an example of one of the top-ranked players and their team. 

The current trend now in building a competitive team is to essentially reach stats above your competition so you can land marks or apply skills that have stat restrictions associated with them. Conversely, you can try to reach high stats so opponents can’t land marks on your team. Currently, the easiest way to do that is through farming for Ultimate Orbs and focusing on a specific stat under a heroes Unleash Potential tree.    

If you are new to the game and are free to play or a low spender, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by the topics mentioned in this article as most end game content takes time to reach. In order to be competitive and challenge the current meta in PVP here are some tips:

1. Focus on building a team of a specific nation first depending on your hero collection. For example, if the only fated general you have is Rachel, focus on building a Lenombe team. You can see what heroes fall under a specific nation by looking at the expected rewards of a nation recruit in the Door of Creation.
2. Focus on reaching the max Signature Force level of a single nation first. This is because obtaining copies of the fated generals through free to play methods is very resource intensive. This includes Scouting, Nation Recruit Mileage, Eternal Bond, and potentially through fatecore tickets from Core/Quantum Raids.
3. Focus on building heroes with fatecores first. Core Memory only impacts fatecores, and the potential 30% stat gain from Core Memory sharing will have a huge impact on your team.
4. Spend Ultimate Orbs wisely. By this I mean you do not need to maximize every tree in a heroes unleash potential. Only maximize the stats that matter...IE for Rachel to land the Dishearten mark his attack must be higher than his enemies, so only spend orbs to maximize his attack. Ultimate Orbs are a very rare resource and are needed to maximize your team’s stats to be competitive. 
5. Understand all the potential enhancement systems for your hero, this includes the basic progression of Enhancing, Blessing, and Transcending. To the end game progression of Awakening, Element Enhancing, Signature Force Upgrades, Unleash Potential Upgrades, Fatecore Enhancing, and Core Memory Sharing.