The Extreme Program: Not that Terrible
Showdown is difficult but doable; Conquest is easy but tedious.
So … how’s everyone doing after a few days of the Extreme Program?
Responses range from “I don’t want to do this anymore” to “I got Griffey in two hours.”
I’ve waded in slowly, tackling the Showdown and winning a few event games on Friday night. I largely took Saturday off before heading into Conquest last night.
I want to avoid Moments as much as possible. While some of them seem relatively easy (sounds like the Wagner saves and Griffey home run are completely doable), there are plenty that suck. I have no interest in four extra-base hits for Aroldis Garcia or the Elly Cruz mission that includes a triple (why?).
I did beat Showdown on my first try, but I also got lucky. I’d like to say that I cruised through each pitcher, but I had my struggles. I needed a hit off Matt Cain with just one out left to advance. Against Nolan Ryan, I was all but dead when Greg Vaughan hit a solo shot (again with just one out left) for me to survive.
Randy was a pain in the ass as expected but Vaughan bailed me out again, this time with a three-run shot. While I still had about 13 outs left, I was not exactly squaring up Randy, so I was happy for it to end. A few things I noticed that will help along with my Showdown best practices from last week:
The CPU pitchers had better control than in years past. Despite taking until I got two strikes on almost every at bat, I only ended up with a small handful of walks. I don’t think any of my batters got plunked either.
Give Showdown a break after failing once or twice. I was happy to beat Showdown, mostly because I invested so much time in my lone run. I was nearing an hour and a half when I finally got to Randy and the idea of starting all over was sickening. Last year took me several more turns and I made the mistake of immediately jumping into a new entry and was often too over-anxious at the plate to succeed.
From BostonDirtDog21 on Twitter: Look for commons and bronze players with good speed for your bench. They can be used as pinch runners, especially during the first few rounds. That was a great point that I forget in my original article.
As for Conquest, it is pretty easy albeit time-consuming. I won games using my Team Affinity grind squad without much trouble. My 7-year-old son was winning games with the God squad. Put on a movie and just grind it out. Don’t be scared playing on Hall of Fame or Legend if you haven’t in the past. It’s not that hard. Just be patient and wait for good pitches to hit.
Also, here is a map from Facebook group member TJ Hendrickson that I thought was super helpful.
Also, remember that the computer will use the same slotted pitcher as you. If you use your fifth starter (the one literally listed fifth when you select your starting pitcher), you’ll get the other team’s fifth starter. That’s usually a bronze card, making the games just a little easier.
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