Are Uniques Actually Worth It??

So, when it comes to hunting in JWA, many will say their goal is to grind up components to level up a unique hybrid and take it in the arena. And while uniques are a great way to do well in the arena, they may not be the overall best investment in the long run. In fact, uniques might be a pretty poor investment and better off unlocked and left to the side. Why? Well, it’s better off to level their components as these creatures take longer to fall from the meta, with some never falling off at all.

For starters, let’s look at Albertospinos. Albertospinos was initially not that impressive upon release as it had a bad kit, mediocre stats, and mediocre resistances. You were better off leveling Albertosaurus Then, all of a sudden, it got an incredible buff with more bulk, more resistances, and merciless alert. It was now ready to shine as a top threat unique. Then Imperatosuchus was released the next patch and Albertospinos took a big blow, but it was still standing. That is, until Albertocevia, Rexy, and Allodrigues all made their way into the game. Now Albertospinos has been buried. They tried reviving it, but they gave it a band-aide when it needed Penicillin. So, what was that? 2 patches.

Let’s look at the other Albertosaurus hybrid, Albertocevia. Albertocevia is still kicking these days, but it’s time is just about done. It’s majorly outclassed in the arena by creatures like Pyrorixis and swappers like Pteranokyrie, Dracoceratosaurus and Spinoceratops. So while it was around longer than Albertospinos, it’s time in the sun lasted about 5 patches, which is not that bad. However, when we look over at Albertosaurus, it’s still knocking about all fine and good in the rare formats and has been since 2.8, which is nearly Albertospinos’s and Albertocevia’s time in the sun combined and doubled!

Now, let’s look somewhere else, shall we? Let’s really turn back time to Monolorhino. Monolorhino was arguably the best creature in the game at one point with its utility, resistances, and overall strength. Now, it’s nonexistent. However Monolorhino had a better run than the 2 Albertosaurus hybrids. Yet, it still pales in comparison to Woolly Rhino’s time in the sun, which has been going since 2.0 launched and arguably even before that. Is Woolly Rhino as good as it once was? No. But is it still a major threat, especially paired with creatures like Dimodactylus? You better believe it is, especially for all the frailer creatures out there like Procerathomimus. Those cunnings start sweating bullets when that epic carrying over 2700 on the swap starts trotting in. So while it isn’t as good as Monolorhino, Woolly Rhino’s usefulness has far outlasted its unique hybrid’s usefulness.

Seeing as Titanoboa is a featured creature this week, let’s talk Spinoconstrictor. This snake was not the best upon release. However, it then gained evasive wounding strike as well as some new resistances to help it out. And with creatures like Skoonasaurus and Testacornibus ruling the meta, Spinoconstrictor finally made a home for itself bleeding these tanks dry. However, this came to an end when more and more bleed resistance and immunity showed up. Parasauthops and Troodoboa could easily sit there and take down Spinoconstrictor with their bleed resistance. And 2.14 was about when Spinoconstrictor finally died out for good. Meanwhile, Titanoboa has been a high to top tier epic since it was released over 2 years ago. It took a bit of a hit at one point, but when Giganotosaurus was released, it was instantly on top once again.

And speaking of snakes, let’s continue this discussion with a creature that helped boot Spinoconstrictor out of the meta. Troodoboa is still OK in a unique format, but it’s in the same spot as Albertocevia. It’s frail for a counter-attacker and just lacks the pressure that something like Dilorach provides. It was really solid when it got priority on its basic attack a while back, but it only again lasted for a few patches before being tossed out by creatures like Atrocodistis. Meanwhile, its components of Majundaboa and Titanoboa gen 2 are still solid in their formats. Majundaboa can really put the hurt on the flocks that are common in the epic format while also being good with the tanks like Ankylodicurus. As for the rare formats, Titanoboa gen 2 is even better at cleaning up all the flocks that plague that rarity, and these creatures have, again, been solid since 2.0 came out.

Geminititan is another fallen titan of the days of old. It was once pretty good with its rampage and DSA combo, but then 2.0 made it so DSA was a rampage, but had a delay. This did hurt Geminititan as did the loss of total immunity, however it still managed to make it by with what it had. These days Geminititan is in the lower half of uniques despite getting buffed. Meanwhile Diplodocus, like Titanoboa, was stomping all over epic tournaments since day one. Heck, I remember taking first in a legendary tournament with Diplodocus when it gained stun immunity. Diplodocus has been more valuable than Geminititan for the majority of, if not all of 2.0, but there is a new competitor, Geminideus is a powerful apex that is probably the best creature in the game, and can be argued as more valuable than Diplodocus. But, if you read the title, this isn’t concerning apexes, but uniques. And is Geminititan worth it. NOPE.

And speaking of sauropods, let’s talk Ardentismaxima. I remember when Ardentismaxima was the best creature in the game…for the first time that is. It did lose its crown when Geminititan gained DSA and when Entelomoth and Mammolania came into the game, but it was still a must have for most, if not all teams. Then 2.0 came around, and Ardentismaxima once again reigned supreme. But, it was too good, and it was eventually nerfed and has never seen the light of day ever since. Meanwhile, Brachiosaurus has been flying under the radar for some time. While not a major threat in an epic format, Brachiosaurus is still a big threat. And no matter how big and scary your epic cunnings look, they aren’t going to break through something with over 9000 hp and shields. So while not a top tier epic, it can still easily get you high up in an epic format.

Speaking of Ardentismaxima, let’s discuss its sister Ardontognathus. Now Ardontognathus was really good when it first came out and was a top tier in the arena with its frenzy moves and other fierce options, which was unusual for a flock. Ardontognathus remained a solid creature for some time, even arguably outlasting Albertocevia, especially with the nice little buff it got not too long ago. However, it has fallen to the wayside and struggles in this meta with creatures like Dilorach, Atrocidistis, Pyrorixis, and even the resilient Alankyloceratops. However, its components are still doing just fine. Anurognathus, despite not having armor piercing on its frenzy move, actually does more damage as it is a x3 damaging move while secure and threatened while its hybrid is only x3 when secure. It also has great stats and is one of the few counters to the mighty Giganotosaurus. Also, I didn’t mention it in the part about Ardentismaxima, but Secondontosaurus is also a very dangerous epic as well. It’s not as good as it once was, but it can be really deadly, especially in a nonhybrid format where it only has to fear 1 flock. You pump that thing up past 140 speed and dump the rest into attack, and if they don’t have a good switch into you, you can just punch a massive hole in your opponent’s team.

Let's keep the flock train rolling. Compsocaulus is a unique, and yet, it’s in the bottom half of flocks overall when it comes to strength. However, when it comes to value for flocks, it’s fighting for last place with the Dodos. I did an article on how it’s more in line with today’s epics than uniques, which means that you know what I’m about to say. Like Brachiosaurus, Compsognathus is not the best, but it is by no means a bad epic. It still has tools to stick around in the epic meta and can stick around for a long time with all the rally healing. Compsocaulus was good when it was released, but as flocks got stronger, Compsocaulus became far less valuable, dropping to the bottom of the flock barrel.

Here comes another old favorite. Grypolyth was really solid in the early days of 2.0 with its great defenses and passive playstyle. These days, it is about tied for the second worst unique with Magnapyritor and just above Tuoramoloch. As time went on and when flocks were introduced, renders found themselves in a rough spot. Some like Spinoceratops and Thylaconyx are able to do just fine, but Grypolyth is not one of those creatures and struggles a great deal. Meanwhile, Purrolyth is doing alright for itself in a rare format. It did have a bit of a hiccup at one point, but with the introduction of Dreadnaughtus and other resilients like Dracorex still being quite popular, Purrolyth is a far better investment than its unique. Heck, you can go even deeper to say that Lythronax and Purrusaurus gen 2 are better investments in a common format than Grypolyth is. One can keep Triceratops on the field and bring other creatures like Tany into swap range while the other can stare down the many resilients like Glyptodon and Brontotherium and slowly eat away at them.

And lastly, I want to end on the creature that inspired this whole article. Giganyx upon released was fine. Thylaconyx was probably better at the time, but it was close. Midway through the patch, Giganyx went from fine to an absolute monster. Giagnyx was tearing it up left and right. Ref, the creature that turned a fierce’s white pants a different color even had trouble with Giganyx. Ankylos Lux, Imperatosuchus, and so on all had to fear Giganyx. Literally less than one patch later, Compsoraptor showed up, and Giganyx straight up died. It went from a top tier, to a rare sight in less than one patch. And it has never really been seen since. Meanwhile, Giganotosaurus is tearing it up in an epic format. The only reason why it doesn’t completely dominate an epic all format has to do with Megalotops and Argenteryx, but you take those away and your Giganotosaurus counters drop hard. And while those counters may win, they don’t usually stop it from swapping. Heck, even flocks like Dsungascorpios tremble in the sight of Giganotosaurus as it has a way around flocks. Meanwhile its hybrid can easily drop to any unique flock. Giganotosaurus has lasted 10 times longer than its hybrid and is clearly the better investment.

So, are uniques really worth it? Well, you might argue stuff like Pyrorixis or Atrocodistis are worth it, and they are….for now. At a time all the creatures here were worth it, but have since become mediocre or unviable altogether. Meanwhile creatures like Titanoboa and Giganotosaurus are chilling and still highly sought after. The same will soon hold true probably when more powercrept uniques come into the game. Heck, Tyrannometrodon is on its way out. This list also doesn’t take into account all the DNA wasted on one creature that can go to another. Despite Erlikospyx getting a buff, it still isn’t worth the Erlikosaurus gen 2 DNA compared to Erlikogamma. It also takes away DNA from Spinoceratops and Indolycan, which are far superior. And then you also have uniques who have just bad components, like Tenontorex and Trykosaurus. So seeing as this is one of, if not the most powercrept rarity, I would say they are not worth the DNA and it’s better to level up their components than the uniques themselves. I thank you for reading and make sure you dart those legendaries!