...This thread hasn't been updated in some time, but I figure I should bump this to let people know that max stats have been changed to be x5 the base value of a Robot Master's stat at level 100, not 9999. With also the fact that swaps and shuffles are currently broken regarding stat bonuses, I have found that the next best option is to get into a Bonus Battle II with a set of six robots that do not resist your primary attack for disabling robots quickly (or maybe have one that does so you do not accidentally finish a mission using robots with multi-target moves).

You should get roughly 30 stat points for all three stats per battle, so you can get 1000 points added to all three stats in a matter of about 30-40 battles. A bonus of 2000 per stat will probably be enough to max out stats that got nerfed more than others, and probably another 1000 will finish out the rest of the stats. It is a lot longer to do grinding this way, but should you not be able, or do not want to, use swaps and shuffles, doing the extra Robot Master battle in the Bonus Chapter will be a fair enough alternate method.

...I'm just glad you're back and keeping in contact with us, Adrian. It has been an interesting few months trying to get people coming back, when I knew that updates would be the easy way to do so, but you were not capable of that due to real life issues.

I was around when you mentioned the Dark Comet idea, and I think part of that happened due to my constant "whining" about the inflated BP, especially since I was worth so much BP back then. As selfish as that might have sounded on my part, I felt it was something we really needed to address. I'm personally all for the Dark Comet idea. The people that like to BP grind can still do so, and it also allows the Leaderboard to reflect the top users in the game being active. I just wish there was a way to let the inactive or dormant users know this game is still alive and (becoming) well.

...Thanks again for the changes, Adrian. While I think elemental-based moves on an even playing field have kind of been nerfed a bit too hard (though greatly improved compared to Player Battles and Starforce in the other beta), I do like the fact that I am now forced to think in terms of how I must prepare my own bots for a longer fight, enabling some strategies like Field Support or even Energy Support to come in play. Rain Flush was definitely hit too hard this update, though, for the reasons that other people have already mentioned, plus I consider the damage it does to be lackluster, making Rain Flush honestly not a good choice anymore for serious Player Battles.

I figure while I'm on the topic of Player Battles...there could perhaps be other reasons to participate in Player Battles other than gaining BP. That system was quite abusable and made me dislike Player Battles in general. It should instead be a system of how well a player can defend oneself against attacking players. After all, defending players win if their own bots defeat the attacking team. I talked about this a lot in the past, but improved AI for robots is a must. I think AI in Player Battles should think more like an actual player. If there's a super effective move that could be used, make the robots favor it more, but do not make it consistent, or players can just switch to a robot that resists the move to take advantage of this. Perhaps players should win items instead of BP from battles like these. I do like Player Battles as they can be a true test of strength and smarts, but at the same time it shouldn't be used for personal gain. If there's a system that can work like that, then I think Player Battles should stay. If that doesn't seem to be possible, I'm ok with that.

...Just a reminder for anyone interested that the game itself will begin in about an hour. I will go over the rules again and see who will get to pick first. Also, I will be setting a time limit of 30 seconds per clue instead of a minute. The purpose is to see how much you really know the games, not how quickly you can look up the answer. So if things go smoothly, each round should take roughly 25-30 minutes. See you all there!