Your Ultimate Guide to Dungeons on Day One ​

These ideas I will present to you aren't revolutionary, and I am not omniscient.

A lot of you have probably been talking about all of this already. The big Guilds probably already know all of this and are preparing appropriately. Many of you will see all of this as obvious.

I am sharing because I want to offer a place of discussion, and to hopefully get this thread pinned so that everyone will be able to participate, not just the highest-tier players.

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That being said, one more important note:



This is "day one" meta only, and I will warn you if anything I write is a prediction.

What does that mean exactly?

The items and nature of the Dungeons update will drastically alter this meta after day one, and a lot of what I am doing is guesswork anyways.

If this thread is popular enough/gets pinned, I will update it or write a new one with the new meta the day the update comes out.

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I do believe that up to half of these strategies will stay in the meta, but that is an arbitrary prediction and will likely be proven wrong.

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Part 1: Understanding What Dungeons is Going to Be

NOTE: Skip this if you're only interested in the meta!

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TL;DR: Team-oriented, randomly-generated labyrinths with unique mobs (and subsequent loot) that have a boss you need to defeat to advance to the next floor and get exponentially more difficult as you progress.



Additional tidbits Hypixel staff has confirmed:

Individual floors will be small; you won't spend a lot of time on each individual floor, rather the act of advancing from floor-to-floor will be the most important part. Prediction: expect a few minion-type mobs roaming the premises, ~10 rooms (not including winding passages), secret areas with loot chests, and a boss chamber. Prediction: there will likely be deviation to this; I imagine the final boss floor (should there be one; more on that later) will be much larger, or "landmark floors" (5s, 10s, etc) will be somewhat different (possibly with more powerful bosses and larger floors).

Every mob is unique and has a chance to drop a valuable item. Prediction: by "unique" they're talking about differing "moves" (abilities), pathing systems, behaviors, and statistics. Prediction: expect them to make use of the wounded condition (reduced healing; BRING MILK!) and similar debuffs, true damage (IMPORTANT!), and water-based mobs and thus floors, etc.

There is an associated skill (Dungeoneering) that levels up classes (more on that later) and buffs dungeon-looted items. Prediction: classes are by far the most important word in this and the largest indication of gameplay the staff has given us on the Dungeons update thus far; the entire rest of the thread will discuss this in more detail. Prediction: There are a few different paths this "progression system" can take. The two most likely are: The damage, strength, defense, health, etc. of items looted from dungeons will be directly increased by your dungeoneering skill. For example, a sword might have a base 50 damage and will increase by 5 for every dungeoneering skill level you have, or the sword's damage will be equal to 6 * your dungeoneering skill, etc. Your items will be class items (similar to how certain items are attributed to certain slayer bosses) and as your dungeoneering skill levels up, your class items will unlock certain new abilities. Your classes will also have individual levels. For example, once you hit level 22 dungeoneering, your "Insert Tank Armor Name Here" will unlock a new Full Set Bonus in which you gain +5 True Defense for 10 seconds when damaged by a boss mob. It is known that your individual classes will have separate leveling systems; as such you will gain experience for that class after you choose it on each dungeon run. In this case, you'd have to hit level 22 "tank class" to upgrade "Insert Tank Armor Name Here."

This meta is as good as gone; devs have already admitted that "some of" the strongest weapons will be in this update, and you can assume that the rest of the armor, tools, etc. will at least be matched and likely exceeded by their dungeon equivalents. Prediction: I imagine that the cap for the best sword's default stats will only be a little stronger than 50m Midas. Most of the newfound highest-tier meta will be centered around " Ultimate Enchantments ," " item modifiers ," and " new reforges ." The reason I say "only a little stronger" is because of the nature of Midas; its absurd cost and "spending money = power" makes it important to keep it as a benchmark for sword strength because it loses viability if you can get a lot of better swords "very easily" by high-tier standards. I imagine the strongest sword will be extremely rare and 50m Midas will be second to it (purely statistically; you'll need to get the new sword buffs to "re-max" your Midas). This is one of my least confident predictions. The devs could easily blow up the entire meta and pump the game full of entirely new realms of stats (thousands of base damage for swords, thousands of base hp and defense on armor, etc), but I don't see that happening. The devs aren't trying to reset Skyblock; they're trying to make it more dynamic. They're not trying to delete progress; they're trying to present more pathways of improvement. Blowing everything up makes far less sense than just presenting a lot more options (that will lead to improvement in every single tier of play, not just the highest-tier). Prediction: Expect some more strong bows, but don't get too excited for an "archer class," as it is unlikely. Being an "archer" right now is not viable for dungeons; bows really do suck compared to swords for damage, which makes sense. You'll want them for when you need to wave-clear weak mobs or fight flying enemies obviously, but their damage is just far too low compared to their sword counterparts to be useful for fighting bosses with them over swords, especially since it seems that the devs are trying to limit "bad mobs" in favor of interesting, dynamic mobs. The hypothetical that there will be no "archer class" (and rather bows will always be secondary to swords) is strongly reinforced by the items that already exist in Skyblock; there is very little in the realm of advancement for bows as it is, so there is little to build off of in dungeons. If they wanted to build the idea of being an archer into SkyBlock, they would have made a skeleton-based slayer boss and archery-related slayer items to provide us with pathways beforehand! Also a less confident prediction. I could be totally off. There is hope for our distance-damage-dealing-inclined friends yet. Prediction: Superior armor will still be one of the best sets, but classes will become integral to the meta as new armor sets become better at doing particular things instead of being good overall. Superior will be dethroned as the most expensive and rare armor set, and the top-tier sets from each class will become the "best sets." Medium-level confidence in this one.

Puzzles, traps, and mini-bosses that are technically optional. Prediction: Expect this to be where a lot of the mid-tier and class specific loot comes from. Prediction: Speed at which you clear the dungeon probably won't matter. Take your time. Get all the loot.

Dungeons are only semi-random; floors will be themed (almost a certainty) and consistent in their progression.

Your party is vaulted from the dungeon when you are all dead, but you keep all gained items (and likely coins).

There are five classes with specific strengths. Prediction: The maximum number of people in a party will be 5 or 10, with 1 or 2 of each class. I think this because 15 would be a lot of people based off of the way the Dungeons looked in the photos they showed us; they don't want it to be too cramped.



What we don't know for sure:

By logical deduction, there should be a final boss. Prediction: It will require near-perfect optimization and skill to defeat, possibly on the 100th floor (or a similar "landmark" number). The best items will be looted from this boss. It will probably take a few weeks for any group to defeat this boss, and it will likely be a top guild that does it first. This is the most interesting pathway, and that's why I think the staff are going to do it this way. This makes it a sort of race/competition and that will get more people interested.

How death will work. Prediction: There will likely be a class with the ability to revive people. Players may have limited lives (which would be a very valuable resource; "lives" system less likely than revival).

What the five classes are. This is what the rest of the thread will be about. Prediction: You will not be able to enter the dungeon without having every class, or it will be strongly recommended that you don't. Prediction: They will limit what you can bring into the dungeons based off of your class. This may include only one set of armor, one weapon, a few potions, a pet, maybe just your hotbar full of items, no backpacks, etc. You may only be able to even bring in "dungeon items," making everyone close to the same exact power day one, thus totally nullifying my entire meta idea!



To sum it up:

Dungeons will be "a game within a game," but that doesn't mean they won't let the progress you've already made transfer over. I do believe items from the "main game" will be usable, but even if they aren't, that doesn't change the strategies that I'm going to bring up and my predictions for the classes and what you can expect out of them. We can't be certain, but we should discuss all possibilities, and one of the biggest possibilities is that you will be able to enter a dungeon with any items that already exist in the main game.

NOTE: The Legendary Sheep pet's ability confirms that to some capacity you will be able to bring in outside items, even if only pets. Slayer items' specificity, the power orbs, and the "jingle bells" item further proves this.



Part 2A: The Meta (Builds and Classes)

What even are the classes!?!?

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Insert me being 100% wrong.

Here are my approximate class predictions:

The Warrior (Melee DPS-based) The Mage (Ranged DPS-based) The Tank (HP/Defense + Aggro-based) NOTE: While I do think "Jingle Bells" will be necessary for this, I also believe the admins might make it foolproof by making mobs auto-agro to the highest HP player. The Healer (Healing-based) The Wildcard The Paladin (jack-of-all-trades, "party leader") The Ranger (bow-based) The Engineer (tools-and-buffs-and-contraptions-based) The Rogue (clearing-traps-and-sneaking-and-solving-puzzles-based) Something else?

One of these is not like the other. Let's get into it.



We know classes will have:

A progression system.

Class-specific items that are tied to said progression system.

Abilities of sorts. Prediction: Expect a main ability, a secondary ability, and/or a passive. Prediction: Expect to be able to swap out abilities to get the best build (maybe). Expect to unlock new abilities. Expect to have your abilities get stronger as you level up. This is confirmed by the near-necessity of resurrection and the lack of that mechanic existing in the game currently. The Healer class will probably have the resurrection ability. Could be wrong if everyone has a set number of lives or it is permadeath (unlikely).



What we're missing is specifics. Let's fill in the blanks!

The Warrior will want a build that optimizes DPS. There are a million threads on this, so I'm not going to bother going into detail on this build, but Superior/Strong/Frozen Blaze armor, tarantula boots build, etc. are decent places to start.

The Mage is looking at Wise Dragon armor and every spell-based item in the game that gets its damage buffed by high intelligence. Expect a WHOLE LOT of magic-based items in dungeons, and a limitation on what armor can be worn in some way.

The Tank is going to be the guy who you aggro the evil dudes to. Please bring jingle bells and milk (everyone should have milk, but you in particular). I literally think milk will be so important that I expect a "magical milk bucket" item that is an infinite milk bucket. Obviously, maximal defense is integral, but I think having mastiff armor is good too because I think it is almost certain the first "deadly floor" that kills everyone on their first run will be a true damage floor; it is the only thing that will catch people off-guard enough for high-tier players to immediately get their butts kicked. Expect this on floor five-ish or ten-ish.

The Healer is looking at basically the entire Revenant slayer collection for its items. Healing wands, power orbs, healing ring, revenant armor, ornate zombie sword, and even the reaper scythe (double zombies if you're already wearing Reaper's Mask and gives you some damage output!) etc. are all integral to this class's build.

Probably will be a semi-support to some degree. Let me explain why, through the science of MOBAs. Game devs like to have "positions" almost inherently when it comes to party-building. I don't mean "roles," I mean numbers. Positions 1 to 5. The Healer, for example, is clearly position 5; "stay back, heal, and support." The Healer is the hard support, and they don't deal much damage, but if they die, the party is done for. They are the foundation that makes the party work. Position 1 is the Tank, and position 2 is the Warrior. They are the frontliners. Tank takes the damage, Warrior deals it. They are sword and shield. The Mage is position 3 or 4; close to the action to deal damage and cast cool and useful spells, but far enough away to not die in the process. This leaves only another position 3 or 4 character available, and thus splits us into two pathways: If Mage is position 3, that means Mage is almost pure DPS with only some utility. They are the ranged damage, with a few cool bonus abilities. That means the last class must be position 4; a half-support, if you will. Example: Paladin (can heal, take a bit of damage, gets a few rallying cry party buffs, deals a bit of damage, etc). Example: Engineer (can build cool contraptions that do cool things such as buff the party and damage the opponents, is a semi-tank, etc). If Mage is position 4, that means Mage is also a utility character. They are the ranged damage, which is less than the melee damage, but they're also the guys who cast spells like "light" in dark rooms, "clairvoyance" when you want to find the secrets, "freeze" when you want to stop the enemy from moving, etc. That means the last class must be position 3; a damage dealer with some utility. Example: Rogue (sneaks, disables traps, does great Crit Damage, etc) Example: Ranger (bow guy; that's about it, might be useful in some puzzles)



Part 2B: The Strategy (Getting Prepared)

You're kitted out. Now what?

Choose your pet. That's what.

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Pets are going to be one of the most integral parts of your build, but they also change how you play with your group. I will classify which pets are the best for each class below. Asterisks** means optimal or semi-optimal for this class.



NOTE: Some pets are not yet released!



Warrior pets:

Pigman (strength, giant slayer, Pigman Sword buff) Phoenix (a LOT of strength, int, basically can't die, damage ability, no coin loss)** Tiger (double attacks, strength, Crit Chance, Crit Damage, more unknown)* Snowman (strength, damage, Crit Damage, fights with you) Lion (strength, speed, damage to weapons, +50% first strike, +30% damage lvl <80 mobs)*

Mage pets:

Sheep (int, ability damage, mana saving, shield, mana pool increase)** Guardian (int, damage ability, mana regeneration near water)

Tank pets:

Blue Whale (Hp, potion hp buff, def, and more hp)* Turtle (Def, Hp, more defense, defense and hp regen near water, immunity to knockback)**

Parrot (Int, intimidation levels, potion duration buff, strength party buff)** Blue whale (if splash potions also heal others, this is mediocre)?

Anything versatile, support-y (parrot is by far the best support pet), etc. Depends on the class.

Hive strategy. Everyone has a bee and benefits from its Hive ability. Bees give strength, int, and speed. Hive gives more strength and int. Weaponized Honey (25% damage converted to absorption hearts) is a fantastic tanking ability. Bee is very versatile, and "Hiving" may be a very viable strategy, while probably not optimal compared to everyone having their class's best pet.

This isn't all blatantly wrong and I'm horribly missing a lot of information. People actually like these ideas, and want to see more from me. Others contribute some of their own ideas, so it isn't just me thinking of all of this stuff. You will be credited!

What can you do to help me make this thread awesome?



Support my ideas that you like. Challenge the ones that you don't. Extrapolate on what I've written.



Let's try to predict the entire Dungeons game mode together fellow Hypixelians!

Also, if anyone wants to fix all my typos, grammar, etc. that would be nice, and if you would like to make the thread look professional that would be cool too

Hey everybody! I've been thinking long and hard about what the meta is going to be like when Dungeons is released, and I've decided it would be interesting to see what other people think as well as share my own thoughts on this new, spicy, and upcoming meta.For one thing, I want to begin by offering a disclaimer:If anything, I would go as far as predicting that the Hypixel teamto break this meta by varying our options and giving us higher bars to reach for.That being said, if you want tothose higher bars faster than everyone else, you'd do well by following this guide. My goal is to lessen the learning curve by giving you many different things to expect and ways to work around the obstacles while maximizing the gains.In my opinion, the classes are slightly too obvious.And so, we get to the wildcard, the only not-obvious class.Healer pets:Wildcard pets:Alternative method:The actualstrategy will be fairly obvious based off of this, but you shouldIt is a good idea to carry backup items; items for water-based levels, true damage-based enemies, Debuff-based enemies (MILK!), etc. You're going to need to kit out your talismans, get a ton of potions, etc.At this point, I am going to post this thread, despite it feeling somewhat incomplete. Why? I want to update it, make it awesome, fill in more blanks, etc., but I'm only going to do so if: