i think i broke my brain playing the last pvp muahaha

fight4thedream

wow…..that was something else, huh? The last pVp is probably the closest i will ever get to experiencing something like Russian roulette. (yes, my Life is that exciting lol)

Had i known in the beginning i would be competing with members of S.H.I.E.L.D., X-Men, 5Deadlies and other powerful albeit less prominent alliances i probably would not have aimed for T5 (or would i?? hehe) But since i knew i would be working during the last hour of the pVp i decided to enter the event a little earlier than usual to try and build a nice big lead (maybe that was my biggest mistake?)

When i first joined my bracket, the only big names i recognized were WolfmanX25 (who strangely enough, either by prudence or circumstance, disappeared, reappeared and disappeared again from the mad, mad T10) and franckynight. i figured there were probably a couple more big guns lurking in the shadows (boy oh boy was i wrong!) and thought i had a decent shot at T5. Knowing the popularity of Deadpool i figured from the get go i would need about 1400 to guarantee T5 (wrong again). Ha! i even had dreams of hitting #1 (a dude can dream, can’t he?)

The first 30 hours went smoothly enough. i slowly but surely made my way to the top. it was the last 18 hours when the fun had really begun. After climbing past 1100, i was playing hopscotch with letsgetsweaty, max230 and biomarvel trying to chase franckynight who was sitting at 1 with points somewhere in the mid 1200s. i reached number 2 and was within arms reach of franckynight when i needed to shield for the next 3 hours and recharge. i told a friend that it looked like i would need over 1300 points to make it into the T5. Enter: KGN and Terr who decided to join in on the dance and send our bracket into hyperdrive!

i returned to battle after my shield expired to find franckynight now in the 1500s and myself in 6th place! it was then that i realized this bracket was probably going to take it to the limit and within a few nicely timed shield hops i was already past 1400, battling biomarvel and max230 for a spot in the T5. (letsgetsweaty dropped out of the race). imanaged to reach 3rd and once again was one hop away from Franckynight when i decided to get some sweet, sweet shuteye. During that time max230, Franckynight, Terr and KGN made a dash for the finish line.

i awoke to find myself luckily still in 5th place, Terr and franckynight battling it out for the number one spot and max230 and KGN sitting in the 1600s; there was also a new face in the T10: LstHwn with something like 1410 points. At this late stage of the game i knew i had to be careful (one hop for one shield ) and pretty damn lucky (find a beatable target, hope the cascade gods fall in my favor, hope no one hits me at an inopportune time). Me and biomarvel were the only ones in the T10 of my bracket to have only one 166 maxed character, everyone one else had 4+ (as much as i am indebted to my maxed Punisher for getting me into 3* land, i knew there was only one team that could get the job done: my semi-uber Daken/Sentry team).

[i felt like a ninja bunny hopping to and fro in a tank filled with sharks and there was only my mighty magic shield to protect me from their merciless jaws.]､., ⌒ ､., ⌒ ､., ⌒ ､., ⌒ ､., ⌒ ､., ⌒￣(=∵=)￣ don't eat me! ah! don't eat me!

After breaking into the 1500s, i noticed LstHwn was closing in on me. i had a feeling before going to bed i would need 1600 so i was mentally prepared but still i spent half my time mentally yelling “Go away” and “Fail!” but to no avail. With 5 hours left on the clock, i managed to overtake KGN who was 1620 and secure 1640 points while LstHwn was somewhere in the mid 1500s. i lined up a nice 39 point fight (my just in case fight) and went to work.

i get my break with a little under 2 hours left to find that persistent little devil Lst Hwn behind me unshielded at 1627. Not only that, the mighty Jozier had also entered the T10 and was in the 1300s. I wouldn’t put it past him to do something really amazing and break into the T5 with 2 hours left. Those S.H.I.E.L.D agents can do some really incredible stuff when they want to. “This is no good” i think to myself and realizing that both KGN and LstHwn were both just a hop away from knocking me out of T5 (and the mighty Jozier was swimming in these waters) i knew i would have to use my last ace and pray that Lady Luck would not abandon me this day.

i waited for LstHwn to shield up and after seeing her/him shielded proceeded to make my move. Lady Luck once again allowed me to continue my victorious streak and as soon as my match was finished i shielded and headed to the leaderboard screen to make sure the server registered my shield. But lo and behold, what do i find but LastHwn unshielded again! Then BAM! i get a notice that i was hit for 26 points (no points lost) by the pesky devil! However, it was all part of my master plan (not really, i wish i was an evil mad genius that can predict this kind of stuff) as LastHwn forgot to consider that he/she would be hit from the last unshielded push and dropped down to 1601. With my foe vanquished and KGN sitting at 1620, i felt could breathe a little easier and sit out the last hour.

When i finally got my next break, i come back to find that i had indeed made into the T5 at 4th place and that pesky devil somehow managed to claw back from the jaws of oblivion and take 5th at 1648. I don’t know how she/he did it, but i will say i am impressed. that was nothing short of a miracle! so congratulations to you LstHwn, you definitely earned it! (Even if you did try to kneecap me haha!) And of course congratulations to all the other members of T5 and those in my bracket who helped make this a memorable ride!

With that being said, i never want to do that again! lol i love Marvel Puzzle Quest not Marvel HP Pee contest (no disrespect to those Alliances and individuals that like this mini-game. Just not my cup of tea!) i probably burned a little over 2000HP to make it into the T5 (although with better planning I could have made it 1500 HP, i kept using 8 hour shields to try to go to bed and then kept thinking “No, the time is now!” unshielding and wash rinse repeat 3 or 4 times) [and yes i know stronger, more experienced players can do it with half the HP. cest la vie!] Having gotten so far in pVp i finally have come to understand the Vets demands for a new mode, either non-competitive or better rewards/tier system. i’m not going to whine or complain but simply ask the devs: could you please design the next stage for 3* players? There is no one who loves or has given more to this game than them. They (plus me) want nothing more than to see this game grow and improve so please don’t exploit their love of the game, rather use it to continue to improve it.

Was this mad shield hopping with sharks event worth it? Yes, i got the three covers i wanted, an unforgettable memory and a complement from a cute girl at my job. Today she asked me why i looked so tired and i explained that i had competed in a globally competitive puzzle game and was ranked #4. She was very impressed and mistakenly thought i was ranked #4 in the world but i tried to explain the bracketing system (which in hindsight i probably shouldn’t have done! Foolish, foolish little man!) but i still feel she thinks the better of me for it! (+ 3 points for that!)

Aah! And before i forget i need to thank A.R.E.S. for being so generous with his/her points. i wouldn’t have been able to do with out you! i think i love tapped you three times! Hope you were shielded!

Which reminds me, notes for learners of the game:

-It’s true! All you need is a workable Sentry/Daken or Hood, and you too can play chicken with the champions! You don’t even need them maxed! My Sentry is at 132 and Daken 150
-Don’t be greedy. After a certain point, you will need to stick to the one hop one shield rule. You should consider the time (how much time left in the event) and your position (the closer you are to the top the crazier it gets). Also, do you feel lucky? [Well do you punk?] Don’t forget the boosts!
- One should never tango with Sentry/Hood unless one has a decent Hood to counter the other Hood(i.e. 5 blue cover, 5 black is a nice bonus but no big). I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Twice.
- If you have the HP and there is a character you really want, you should at least try shield hopping to oblivion and beyond once. It will really give you new sense of awe and respect for what the X-Men and other top players that like that kind of thing do. But just once! (unless of course, Gambit and Silver Surfer come along. NO! never again)
- If you happen to have the opportunity to tell a cute girl or boy about your gaming adventures try to be as vague as possible! It will make your feats seem all the more amazing! haha

Well ladies and gentlemen, that’s about it from me. If you will excuse me, i have 2 Deadpool covers, some HT covers and of course Spider-Man covers to win! Spider-man, Spider-man does whatever~♪

For those who don’t want to take time to read this shpeel (i know i should put this at the top muahahaha)

tldr: The OP is crazy. pVp past 1100 points is just an HP Pee contest. Spider-man is still number one (just not in the MPQ Universe)! Boo yah!ﾞ☆⌒o(*^ｰﾟ)ｖ

Unknown

Congrats man. Always nice to read someone enjoying the game in spite of D3's desire to dilute it. There were some crazy brackets out there but that was the worst I saw. Finally, yes I hate that Sentry trivializes the entire game. He needs a nerf but it won't happen. Good luck and next time to keep sane, aim for top 25 and you can buy the last cover for cheaper

atomzed

Nice read.

this post gives a clear description of how death brackets appear. Basically, many people who wants top 5 and have the means (sentry and hp for shield hop) gather in the bracket, and the scores escalate upwards as they tried to compete with each other.

I have one or 2 pvp which I aimed for 1100 for progression reward, and seeing that I can compete for top spot, I went and shield hop more than usual. It was as fun as you mentioned. Though I try to keep expenditure to 700, so that I only spend 400 more hp.

noobprime

So let's see.
2000 HP to win - 3 DP covers, 1 MoStorm, 1 IW, 200 HP, say 20K Iso.
Good enough for the experience! But like you said,

fight4thedream wrote:

With that being said, i never want to do that again!

mohio

noobprime wrote:

So let's see.
2000 HP to win - 3 DP covers, 1 MoStorm, 1 IW, 200 HP, say 20K Iso.
Good enough for the experience! But like you said,

fight4thedream wrote:

With that being said, i never want to do that again!

Except how many times did he have to hit that skip button going through 3-5 point opponents to find the guys worth 30+? Doubt he really made it out with anywhere near 20k iso

Unknown

Since you mentioned me as a big name in the OP, I'll explain what happened to me.

At some point I just figured: Forget it, there's no way I can keep up with the guys in Top 5. This was when I saw them all over 1400 already. So I thought about it a bit, looked at the rewards, did the math on the shieldhopping I would have to do, and ultimately decided Top 25 for two covers was enough. I honestly think I took a wise decision.

That's the story why I'm nowhere near the top10 in the end.

Spoit

WolfmanX25 wrote:

Since you mentioned me as a big name in the OP, I'll explain what happened to me.

At some point I just figured: Forget it, there's no way I can keep up with the guys in Top 5. This was when I saw them all over 1400 already. So I thought about it a bit, looked at the rewards, did the math on the shieldhopping I would have to do, and ultimately decided Top 25 for two covers was enough. I honestly think I took a wise decision.

That's the story why I'm nowhere near the top10 in the end.

Yup, same.

fight4thedream

EvilSonGoku wrote:

Congrats man. Always nice to read someone enjoying the game in spite of D3's desire to dilute it. There were some crazy brackets out there but that was the worst I saw. Finally, yes I hate that Sentry trivializes the entire game. He needs a nerf but it won't happen. Good luck and next time to keep sane, aim for top 25 and you can buy the last cover for cheaper

Thanks! Originally, i have (had??) a policy against buying covers outright since i figured the HP is better spent on things you can't receive from playing like slots, shields and alliance spots but admittedly i've been willing to bend that rule to buy boosts and in moments of desperation even health packs (i know, i know haha) so i might have to review that policy. but there is a certain joy in knowing i went through a baptism in fire to get my DP where he is at the moment and the memory is one i am keen to keep!

speaking of memories involving MPQ, i will never forget the first time i ran across your name! it was like one week in when my friend and i started playing and he sent me a pic of your team in PVP on LINE to let me know that levels in this game go beyond 100. You had a 115 Rags, 102 Patch (and 40 hood) We were both pretty blown away at the time!! Hahaha how innocent and naive we were then! (ﾉﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ☆

(○´･д･)ﾉ

---

ｷﾘﾄﾘ線

---

ヽ(･д･`●)

WolfmanX25 wrote:

Since you mentioned me as a big name in the OP, I'll explain what happened to me.

At some point I just figured: Forget it, there's no way I can keep up with the guys in Top 5. This was when I saw them all over 1400 already. So I thought about it a bit, looked at the rewards, did the math on the shieldhopping I would have to do, and ultimately decided Top 25 for two covers was enough. I honestly think I took a wise decision.

That's the story why I'm nowhere near the top10 in the end.

Haha yeah dude! Definitely was the wise choice to make if you weren't trying to play to oblivion and beyond! Mad, crazy times!!


Edited to add: As for my ISO earnings, not even going to lie, i'm a boost addict! haha trying to wean myself off but damn those things get hard to resist when the going gets tough!! (*-,*) boosts give me secret flying powers! kinda like redbull but better!

optimiza

Congrats to you too! I've been contemplating doing that, since I'm now confident enough to try for top 25s, and it seems like top 5 would be the next logical step. My ro(o)ster would appreciate the reinforcements.

You know what wouldn't appreciate it? MY **** BLOOD PRESSURE.

Unknown

That was a great read.

Persistent probably applies, but mostly it was just being plain stubborn. I just couldn't quit after putting in so much effort to get that far.

I joined the event a little earlier than I usually do, but wasn't able to really play much I think I got to 300 and stopped for a bit. Next time I checked the score board the top 5 were all above 1100 and it was waaay early. But it's the Merc with the Mouth so **** are you supposed to do right? So I buckled down and started grinding. With the amount of absurdly high scores out there it was pretty easy to catch up since 40 point matches were pretty easy to come by.

Because of the time difference (I'm in Hawaii - Lst_Hwn = Lost Hawaiian) I can usually sneak up on people since I tend to play when the rest of the US is sleeping. But as I got within striking range of the top 5 I realized you were paying attention, as you would hop everytime I did. I too kept hoping you'd get hit while not shielded or that you'd catch a bad cascade and outright lose one, but it never happened. It must have been while you were sleeping but I got hit for 90 at one point while in a game, I think I only lost 40 something, since I was probably playing a 40 point match, but it definitely was a morale blow. I wondered in our Alliance chat if it would just be cheaper to buy the extra cover. But I just couldn't quit. Not after getting this close.

Every shield hop after that was completely nerve wracking, I knew that if I got hit again while in a game, it would probably cost me T5 as I was running out of time, and was at work as well, so there was a good chance that something might come up and not let me do a last minute hop as the event ended. So I kept pushing, I finished a match, shielded, and went to start looking for my next one, and there you were. I checked to see if you were unshielded, and you were, however you weren't worth that many points comparatively, but I figured it would be like a 50 point match with the point swing. But I hesitated, it seemed rather dickish to "kneecap" you like that, as earlier I had found Terr unshielded, but since there was no way I was catching him, and I didn't want to derail his attempt at #1 I waited till he was shielded again to hit him. But the the realization that this was could get me into T5 was too tempting to pass up.

So I went for it. And Karma **** slapped me. Not only did I not finish the game with you before you got your shield up, I also got hit for 45 or so, and on top of that you won your match, so what had been a 20 point gap turned into an 80 point gap. I was crushed, I'd dropped to 1601, in 6th, 20 points or so behind KGN, not enough time to try and catch you, my only hope was to find as high a point match as I could and wait till the last minute and try and snipe it from KGN, hoping that he/she wasn't paying attention. Then while waiting for the time to wind down, which was excruciating, I got 2 defensive wins!! Not for very many points, but I knew that it would help if KGN did have a last hop lined up. But as it turned out, he didn't have one and I was able to sneak in at the last moment.

It was exhausting, I definitely have no desire to have to go through that again. It was however worth it, with a top 5 finish in the DP PVE event, I had 8 covers total on him, so I threw some ISO into DP and sliced my way through the DP pvp event which was a ton of fun. I can't wait to max him.

fight4thedream

Lst_Hwn wrote:

That was a great read.

Persistent probably applies, but mostly it was just being plain stubborn. I just couldn't quit after putting in so much effort to get that far.

I joined the event a little earlier than I usually do, but wasn't able to really play much I think I got to 300 and stopped for a bit. Next time I checked the score board the top 5 were all above 1100 and it was waaay early. But it's the Merc with the Mouth so **** are you supposed to do right? So I buckled down and started grinding. With the amount of absurdly high scores out there it was pretty easy to catch up since 40 point matches were pretty easy to come by.

Because of the time difference (I'm in Hawaii - Lst_Hwn = Lost Hawaiian) I can usually sneak up on people since I tend to play when the rest of the US is sleeping. But as I got within striking range of the top 5 I realized you were paying attention, as you would hop everytime I did. I too kept hoping you'd get hit while not shielded or that you'd catch a bad cascade and outright lose one, but it never happened. It must have been while you were sleeping but I got hit for 90 at one point while in a game, I think I only lost 40 something, since I was probably playing a 40 point match, but it definitely was a morale blow. I wondered in our Alliance chat if it would just be cheaper to buy the extra cover. But I just couldn't quit. Not after getting this close.

Every shield hop after that was completely nerve wracking, I knew that if I got hit again while in a game, it would probably cost me T5 as I was running out of time, and was at work as well, so there was a good chance that something might come up and not let me do a last minute hop as the event ended. So I kept pushing, I finished a match, shielded, and went to start looking for my next one, and there you were. I checked to see if you were unshielded, and you were, however you weren't worth that many points comparatively, but I figured it would be like a 50 point match with the point swing. But I hesitated, it seemed rather dickish to "kneecap" you like that, as earlier I had found Terr unshielded, but since there was no way I was catching him, and I didn't want to derail his attempt at #1 I waited till he was shielded again to hit him. But the the realization that this was could get me into T5 was too tempting to pass up.

So I went for it. And Karma **** slapped me. Not only did I not finish the game with you before you got your shield up, I also got hit for 45 or so, and on top of that you won your match, so what had been a 20 point gap turned into an 80 point gap. I was crushed, I'd dropped to 1601, in 6th, 20 points or so behind KGN, not enough time to try and catch you, my only hope was to find as high a point match as I could and wait till the last minute and try and snipe it from KGN, hoping that he/she wasn't paying attention. Then while waiting for the time to wind down, which was excruciating, I got 2 defensive wins!! Not for very many points, but I knew that it would help if KGN did have a last hop lined up. But as it turned out, he didn't have one and I was able to sneak in at the last moment.

It was exhausting, I definitely have no desire to have to go through that again. It was however worth it, with a top 5 finish in the DP PVE event, I had 8 covers total on him, so I threw some ISO into DP and sliced my way through the DP pvp event which was a ton of fun. I can't wait to max him.

It seems we both made the mistake of entering too early haha it will definitely go down as one of my greatest battles!! thanks for the crazy chase!! (and let's never do it again lol)

P.S.- Hope you didn't mind me saying "hi" to you in the Hotshot pVp today! (^o^)/(*also hope you were shielded)

Unknown

Thank you LstHwn for not hitting me while I was unshielded That is an extraordinarily kind gesture!

Yeah this was quite a memorable PVP with insane competition not just for top spot but the top 5 in general. I've never had such a tough fight before and don't want to do it again either! All of you guys were scoring so high to stay in the top 5 that I had to as well, I sacrificed quite a bit of sleep by setting my alarm off every 3 hours into the night to hop continuously. Not good for health!!

But strangely, like fight4thedream said, while it was a really draining event (in terms of real-life health and in-game hero points), it was enjoyable in some ways, and really memorable! Just once is enough though! Hope you guys will get better brackets for future PVPs, and keep on trucking!