by KingMartin123 (talk) 16:37, October 4, 2014 (UTC)
Do this ten times and it really pays off
It’s a challenge, but anyone can do it – that about sums up this guide. It actually applies to all leagues since the top spots are always contested. However, diamond league is certainly the hardest to win. Not only does it reap the biggest reward of 375 gems but it’s also the only way to get the fifth star next to your name.
So far I’ve won diamond league ten times. I’ve got my five stars, and I’ve completed the King of the World quest. In this guide I’ll show you how I’ve done it. It’s not the only way to go at it, but it has worked well for me.
Let’s be clear on this: Winning diamond league can be a real piece of work. However, there are different ways to go at it. The brute force approach just requires you to spend a lot of time, gems, and possibly money. No doubt, it can be done this way, but there are other ways as well.
The strategy I’m presenting in this guide is based on game theory and a little psychology. The general principle is to discourage others from even competing for the top spot. This still requires some effort but, if done right, can be very efficient.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Preparation
Before jumping into a new league some preparation is advisable. This strategy requires you to deliver a strong start so you better make sure you’re ready.
Food
For the perfect start, make sure to have as much food available as possible. If your current league ends too soon, try to store as much in your silo as possible, then hold off on joining the new league to give your farms some time to fill up.
Gems
Winning diamond league earns you 375 gems. As a bonus, the king of the world quest rewards you with 10 gems for the first win, 100 for the fifth, and finally 1,000 for the tenth. This makes it possible to invest gems into winning the league and come out ahead. However, since the rewards are only paid after you’ve won, you should have some gems handy before to be able to buy food when needed. If all goes well you won’t need to spend many of them, but having them gives you more options and more flexibility in general.
Targets
To get ahead in the league you'll need medals and that means you'll need to attack other player's castles. Since your food reserves are limited and new food is expensive, you'll want to make the most of every attack. On the one hand that means you'll have to find players that give a lot of medals, on the other hand you'll need to actually beat them.
Finding these players can be hard. That's why you should start collecting players that fit this profile on your favorites list. If you find more than ten, consider writing their names down. Afterwards, when you attack them over and over, the medals may decrease so you might need some alternatives and to find replacements.
Be aware that those players often won't yield too much gold. Unless you're prepared to spend a lot of gems to attack very, very often, get used to the thought that you won't get rich while winning diamond league.
For me I've found that players with medals in the 200s were often a good choice. A recent update changed how medals are calculated, so this guideline doesn’t work as well nowadays. Even more so, trying out seemingly harder targets can pay off. I've found some bases that used to yield higher amounts that I could still beat. Eventually their medals went down, but until then they were valuable assets.
Choose your time
To begin with the new league you'll need to tap the button join league. Be aware that you never have to do this right away. Instead you can also just quit the game and come back later to be asked to join a new league again. You won't be able to play the game in the meantime, but that's an option, too.
After joining the league, you'll have to play for a while right away. You should also have time to play enough over the next three days so that your food won't go to waste. And you'll need to be able to play in the 1-2 hours before the tourney ends.
Consider these three things when choosing the best time to start a new league. For example, if you get home every day at six o'clock, you might have the time to play right away, but it would also mean that the league ends at six o'clock three days later so you wouldn't have time to play right before the end. Better wait and start at seven or eight.
There’s another aspect you may want to consider when joining a league: The people from your current league are most likely to join a new league right after the current one ends. Consider whether you want to see them again. Especially if there was an exceptionally strong opponent you may want to wait a few minutes.
Playing in the league
Starting out
Dream start: If you're the first in the league you have a little head start to show who's the boss
After joining a league, the objective is to make it clear to everyone that this league is yours. There’s always some crazy person who shoots so high that others have to realize they better wait for the next league. Be that person.
When the right time has come, go and join the league. Then immediately start attacking high medal players from your list. Keep an eye on the leaderboard, but do not stop playing until you’re out of food.
It's hard to compare medal numbers between updates, but having twice as many as the next player is always good
Now the leaderboard can tell you about your chance to win. If you’ve managed to distance everyone considerably, your chances are good. If someone else is in first place and maybe even still going, your chances aren’t that great and you should consider trying again with the next league.
Should you decide to take the first place from someone else, you have to choices: Either do it right away at the risk of encouraging your opponent to stay in the race. Or take a break until your opponent has finished accumulating medals and is likely to have signed off for the moment – then strike and play until you got a healthy lead on him.
Staying on top
After you’ve reached the top rank within your league, see that you keep it. Giving others the opportunity to become number one, even for just a moment, only demonstrates that they have a chance, too. Even giving others the opportunity to come close can be encouraging.
Think about it this way: The winner gets 375 gems, the runner-up gets 150. The difference between first and second place is 225 gems. Now say a player is close to the first place, say within 1,000 medals. Filling up the silo for about 50 gems to win 225 additional ones makes sense for this player. If he manages to take the top spot, the former number one faces the same decision. If all goes wrong, both players start spending gems to fight for the first place. They both have an equal chance of winning and they both have the incentive to stay on longer than the other. In the end, one of them will win, but both will have spent a lot of gems and time. This is what you want to avoid.
No matter what happens on first place, as ranks 2-4 are so close to each other, no doubt players are motivated to get ahead
So continue with a show of strength and keep discouraging people from even trying. Make it clear to everyone that you’ve claimed that league and that overcoming you is either impossible or extremely difficult. Be the crazy one.
Play whenever you get the chance. The earlier you get your medals the easier it is to show off your power. Watch videos to get more food whenever possible. If necessary, spend some gems to refill the silo. Don’t think of it as an investment in the first place. Think of it as an investment in the distance between you and the number two player.
Of course, what happens with the first player's medal count is only one part of the puzzle. Players draw their motivation to get medals from other sources than just the chance to win the league. Struggles for the runner-up places can lead to players gathering medals just for that – 150 gems for the second place is still a lot. And sometimes players just accumulate medals when they're actually just raiding for gold. In any case, keep your distance so they don't get any ideas.
Dealing with rivals
Two players at 10K medals, with two days to go — this will be an expensive win and an expensive loss. Don't get into this situation.
Sometimes a rival emerges from the crowd of the other 14 players. This can be because someone is actively trying to win the league. It can also just be because someone is only after the second place (150 gems are nice, too). In either case: If the other player comes too close, you need to react.
Reacting means restoring the distance by playing. Make sure the other player learns that you won’t let him or her get anywhere near first place. See that you discourage your opponent and all will be fine.
Finding targets
Ideally, your list of ten high medal targets should be enough to get you over the three days of diamond league. In case it doesn’t, you’ll need other targets. Maybe you have a secondary list of names you’ve just written down. Otherwise, use the games’ match making to find new targets. Don’t hesitate to spend gold to get new opponents. Yes, this can mean that a lot of gold runs through your fingers, but the league should be your priority.
The endgame
If you’ve maintained first place with a healthy distance you should be fine. However, I’ve found that sometimes people get the idea that they can steal first place in the last hour of the league. They may be under the impression that there’s a static distance they just have to bridge. Maybe they think that filling the silo once or twice could be enough to get those gems they lack for first place. More likely, they are aware that their chances are slim, but winning diamond league is special and they’ve come so far...
So keep an eye on your opponents in the hours before the league ends. Notice if someone makes his or her way towards first place and react.
Again, discouragement is key. Usually you won’t have to spend gems; you might not even have to play too much. Just see that you make at least one noticeable step: Attack a player from your list and capture a good amount of medals. By doing this you can let your opponent know that you’re willing to defend the first place.
If the other player doesn’t stop you may have to keep playing. If you both keep at it, you should easily win because of the advantage you had in the beginning. This is why the other player is likely to quit before long and save his food and energy for the next league. Then you can do that as well – but keep checking.
This doesn’t always work. One reason can be a fight for the second place which inadvertently causes the competing players to increase their medal counts and come closer to the first place. Another reason can be that a player just doesn’t get discouraged.
A cheap win – but way too close
In these cases you may have little choice but to play and increase your medal count. There may come a time when you can sit back and relax. However, losing a three day league because of resting ten minutes too early isn’t fun – better play it safe.
There was one time when I underestimated another player’s determination and it became very close. If this happens, do what I did: Keep playing and don’t hesitate to spend gems on resurrections and scrolls to make sure you beat your opponents. Since you’re defending first place, this is also about the 225 additional gems compared to second place.
Alternative ways
The hard way
Of course, this is only one way to win diamond league. A brute force approach with lots of gems and hours of attacks can work as well. Just be aware that stealing the top spot at the last minute puts you at the mercy of the current number one, so better don’t wait until then.
The safe way
In the vast majority of cases, I’ve seen diamond league wins go to players who tackle the challenge in the way described above. This means the winner is easy to spot an hour into the league – it’s the crazy one with twice as many medals as anyone else.
Knowing this, it’s possible to take another approach and just look out for opportunities where there’s no crazy one and the league is up for grabs. I recognized such an opportunity once. It was this situation:
Here we were already more than six hours into the league and no one had made a move to dominate the tournament. I hadn’t planned to compete myself, but I seized the opportunity, grabbed the first place and put some distance between the next player and myself:
Taking it from there, I played it the way described above. Some people struggled for a moment, but in the end it was an easy win.
Playing it this way can be easier, but since diamond league wins are in great demand, you will rarely come across a situation like this. Better prepare yourself, dominate the league from the beginning and make sure everyone realizes: You're the crazy one.