PVP Guide

Unknown

I have a question regarding brackets which some of you may know. I was curious when they start the brackets up since I doubted that the game would put someone who starts the first attack with 6 hours left of an event in the same bracket of someone who started 2 days prior. So 2 days ago so I did an experiment of waiting near the end of the event and I started a push to see what the point values would be of the top players. For the first event I waited until 1 hour left of the event and I did a hard grind and finished at rank 24 with 350 points (I think, but it might have been 400). The second event I started with 30 minutes left and I ended at rank 124 (I finished with 249 points) so I just missed the cover for this event and the top player got 575 points. Judging from this experience it looks like a new bracket starts every hour on the hour. Do you think it would be best to wait until the last hour of the event to start if you are just aiming for the cards?

HairyDave

It's not a terrible idea but you do run the risk - especially if you've got a well developed roster - of getting sharded into an established bracket with people who may have been playing for hours before you started. I'm not so sure about the new bracket every hour idea either but that's probably just personal experience skewing that for me.

loroku

GrimSkald wrote:

The above is the basics of shield hopping, btw. You push, shield, wait a while, then drop the shield and attack. Once you get a few attacks in (there is argument as to how many you can do with minimal risk, most say no more than 2,) you shield again and wait for you to drop off of people's nodes.

Wow - that seems extremely expensive. Given that PvP rewards are about 100 HP for the top ranks, and the progression rewards are still only another 100 or so, how do you afford all that shielding?

wymtime

loroku wrote:

GrimSkald wrote:

The above is the basics of shield hopping, btw. You push, shield, wait a while, then drop the shield and attack. Once you get a few attacks in (there is argument as to how many you can do with minimal risk, most say no more than 2,) you shield again and wait for you to drop off of people's nodes.

Wow - that seems extremely expensive. Given that PvP rewards are about 100 HP for the top ranks, and the progression rewards are still only another 100 or so, how do you afford all that shielding?

Dont forget alliance rewards top 250 get 50 HP. That means 100 HP for progression, 50 HP for top 25 and 50 HP for top 250 alliance for a total of 200 HP. It will depend on when you shield hop and how many points you can line up and what time you hop. Here is an example if you place your first shield with 9 hours left (75) HP and you have a score just under 800. You then start your hop with 6 hours to go. Becuase your score is lower you can probably hop more than if your score was around 1100. The trick is to line up 3 40+ point opponents so you get the most bang for your buck. So lets say you do 3 matches and score 120 points and get to 900 and shield. (75 HP). Now with 3 hours left becuase more people are hopping you can only do 1-2 hops since you are being targeted and your score is higher. so you hop for another 80 points and shield for the duration (75 HP). At 980 points you should hit top 25 and get 2 covers for 25 HP, if you get top 10 you get an extra 50 HP for a total of 25 HP gained. If you want higher placement you either need to place your 1st shield higher or start hopping earlier for placement. Just remember a 3* cover costs 1250 HP so if you spend 25 HP for a cover that you need is a preety good deal. If you want top 5 you need to Hop a couple more times and spend an additional 150-225 on HP. So for you is 200 HP worth the chance to fight for top 5 and get 3 covers? Remember to buy the 3rd cover it is 1250. It might seem expensive but if you compare it to the cost of covers it is a really good bargin. Now weather you have the time to make the shield hops is an individual decesion.

Unknown

So for you is 200 HP worth the chance to fight for top 5 and get 3 covers? Remember to buy the 3rd cover it is 1250. It might seem expensive but if you compare it to the cost of covers it is a really good bargin.

I love the breakdown of how you shield hope, but particularly this comment. I don't really hop, but I do shield hold at the end since I've just recently started to get over 600 points for the hp. Something else you missed tho was during pve events you get hp also. It was during then that I realized that I can use 75-150 hp for a guaranteed cover or spend the 1250. It was a no brained on which I would rather do.

loroku

wymtime wrote:

So for you is 200 HP worth the chance to fight for top 5 and get 3 covers? Remember to buy the 3rd cover it is 1250. It might seem expensive but if you compare it to the cost of covers it is a really good bargin.

It's a bargain if you believe that 1250 HP (~12.50 dollars/ ~11 pounds) is an amount that is reasonable to expect to pay for a single 3* cover.

So I guess the short answer is: yes, it's just expensive.

GrimSkald

ecir2002 wrote:

I have a question regarding brackets which some of you may know. I was curious when they start the brackets up since I doubted that the game would put someone who starts the first attack with 6 hours left of an event in the same bracket of someone who started 2 days prior. So 2 days ago so I did an experiment of waiting near the end of the event and I started a push to see what the point values would be of the top players. For the first event I waited until 1 hour left of the event and I did a hard grind and finished at rank 24 with 350 points (I think, but it might have been 400). The second event I started with 30 minutes left and I ended at rank 124 (I finished with 249 points) so I just missed the cover for this event and the top player got 575 points. Judging from this experience it looks like a new bracket starts every hour on the hour. Do you think it would be best to wait until the last hour of the event to start if you are just aiming for the cards?

I strongly suspect that brackets fill up by people rather than by time. So basically a 200 person bracket opens up, when it gets filled up entirely, they open up a new one. MMR has some influence on bracket, but I'm not sure just how much. I do know when I was fairly early on in my 2* game I very suddenly found myself unable to place in the top 50 with the same scores I had been getting for several weeks. I also know that when I look at my brackets now I see both solid 2* and 3* players (with everything in between.) It may be there is a point that they decide your MMR is high enough to throw you into the big pond, and you never go back.

I also suspect that it isn't quite as simple as there is only one or two brackets filling up at one time. I know if I was setting the system up I would have brackets fill up 80-90%, then have them fill up more slowly (say, send only 1 out of 5 or 10 people to that bracket.) This way the bracket is held "open" for some time toward the end, and it would prevent people from gaming the system by entering the bracket late. I can't say for certain if they do this, but there is some anectdotal evidence that would seem to indicate they do something.

So what I'm saying is - you can definitely get an edge by entering late, but you also risk entering a bracket that has been open for a few hours, and then have to scramble to catch up. What I do is enter the PVP only when I feel like making my first run - I usually make one run to 400 or so, then another to 650 to 700, then shield. If I want to make top 25, I shield hop once, maybe twice. I do know that people more in the 3* area can go further before throwing up their initial shield.

Unknown

Great guide. Looking forward to reading again once I'm deeper into my 2* transition.

Unknown

Hey, guys! There is a question that worries me a lot! I'm now in a 2* land (CStorm \ MNMags \ MNThor all near 80lvl) and currently have 11 ** characters on my roster, but due to events and some drops I am getting some 3* covers. Surely I do not want to sell them so I already accumulated 3* characters (some with more then one cover) and one more is expiring in my roster soon.

The question is: I've noticed that from some point (nearly two or three events ago) difficulty of the enemy teams in PvE and PvP that I encounter was increased a lot. If before there was even some 1-15lvl characters, now the starting point is near lvl 25-40. Is there any scaling based on my roster and what can I really do with it? Will the difficulty come back if I would sell some 3* covers? I am surely not ready to compete with the teams that the game is giving to me now and therefore I cannot get new covers\ISO for my ** team! What should I do?

HairyDave

DO NOT SELL 3 COVERS!

Ever. Unless you really have no option thanks to roster space limits and you have no better (i.e. worse) options to sell. Or if you've maxed out the build you want.

The level of your roster doesn't have a direct impact but the fact you're winning a lot does. The best solution is probably to tank a bit (deliberately lose a few matches) at the start of each event if you can't compete effectively with the rosters you're lined up against.

Unknown

HairyDave wrote:

DO NOT SELL 3 COVERS!

Ever. Unless you really have no option thanks to roster space limits and you have no better (i.e. worse) options to sell. Or if you've maxed out the build you want.

The level of your roster doesn't have a direct impact but the fact you're winning a lot does. The best solution is probably to tank a bit (deliberately lose a few matches) at the start of each event if you can't compete effectively with the rosters you're lined up against.

Thanks a lot for the reply! But it still is not clear to me. Just tried to lose some matches in Hulk's event (it's not so easy as I thought xD), lost 4 or 5 and haven't seen anby difference. Is there any requierements on how to tank? Should I do some damage or take out any enemy characters before i lose? Do I need to lose with my main team or it doesen't matter who to send to death? Can I just retreat from a battle or I must fight till the end? Do I need to get any points first or I can start tanking right from zero?

Thank You again! This information is VERY important for me cause now I'm just cornered and cannot do anything...

HairyDave

It doesn't appear to matter who you use. Grab the loaner and your two worst characters, play as badly as possible and repeat until you see the levels of your opponents falling back to where you think you can manage.

Unknown

HairyDave wrote:

It doesn't appear to matter who you use. Grab the loaner and your two worst characters, play as badly as possible and repeat until you see the levels of your opponents falling back to where you think you can manage.

And You do not need to have any points to do so? Just wiped out nearly all my roster but haven't seen a better pairings yet... Am I doing something wrong?

HairyDave

No, it just can just take a while. 20+ games sometimes.

Unknown

HairyDave wrote:

No, it just can just take a while. 20+ games sometimes.

Gosh ! So I am going to continue!) But still do I need to fight all the battle or I can retreat?

HairyDave

aelkoa wrote:

HairyDave wrote:

No, it just can just take a while. 20+ games sometimes.

Gosh ! So I am going to continue!) But still do I need to fight all the battle or I can retreat?

You'll have to play until the death for it to have an effect but you can retreat a few times to knock your health down before going for the loss.

GrimSkald

When I was fairly firmly in the 2* territory I noticed a distinct jump in difficulty. I had a good pool of 2*s but didn't have OBW maxxed (not even close, unfortunately,) so I was playing with CStorm in her place for the most part (e.g. Ares + Storm, Thor + Storm, etc.) For those who aren't past the 2* level, incidentally, there's no comparison. OBW is the best 2* support character, hands down - it truly sucks to go up against her with anyone but her.

So anyway, one day I was facing 1* - 2* transition teams, the next it was nothing but 2* teams, period. This also corresponded with a jump in difficulty for the points I needed to get a good award, so I believe that bracketting was affected by this as well. I have read elsewhere on the forums that MMR is based on wins, losses, and number of days in, though the character you use probably affects it as well. Tanking may help, but you may have to deal with the new difficulty.

Also, as HairyDave said, don't throw away 3* covers unless you absolutely have to. All of them have their use. Some are definitely more useful than others, though - if you can't afford the roster slots, go over Northern Polarity's character guide and make a "do not keep" list. My list used to be GSBW (I didn't think I would get that far into the 3* transition and she requires that depth,) Daredevil (kind of sucks,) Ragnarok (definitely sucks,) and Loki (ditto.) GSBW fell off first - I kind of regret putting her on it in the first place. Daredevil next, I have some small regrets. I made a big hero point investment in the July sale, and now everyone's off - I actually have little regrets for Ragnarok (I do have fun with the lightning rounds,) and no regrets for Loki.

As far as tanking goes, I generally enter an event, win one or two times, then go through the lower end of my roster. I lose points, but it's very negligable, just 1 or 2 per loss. Speaking for myself, though, I only do this when I start seeing more high level 3*s (my own 3*s top out between 140 and 153,) I figure it's a fair thing to see some of them...

Unknown

If you're in 1-2* zone, unless you're in a great alliance and have tons of hp to buy cover slots, I don't see how you can't throw away 3* covers, especially considering how they're releasing characters every month. For those who play 3 days of a pvp (eg an hour or 2 each day) does anyone know the best time to join? Been trying to join around 6 EST on the half-baked theory that there are more casual players joining around that time.

Have reached 2 significant points in my 2*-3* transition recently:
1. Reached the point where if I shield with 3 hours to go, I can be pretty much guaranteed the 3* cover. However, the 75hp cost eats into roster slots expansion. Seems like a 50/50 gamble if I don't shield.
2. Finally have enough covers such that some of my 3* are higher than level 65 boosted for pvp. Fear my lvl 115 boosted hulk!

I find it easier to tank a little during the run instead of all at once. eg, instead of using the skip button on a hard team with high MMR, I sometimes throw away a team that I won't be using, eg 2 lvl 40 1/0/0 3* and lose 2-5 points. Not sure if it is as effective, but seems to marginally save iso from skips.

Unknown

Last Hulk PvP I noticed something -

I usually run PvP events with lv.94 OBW/Ares + lv.60 featured character. Most events, I easily managed to stay at 600+ points.

Having obtained some covers for my Hulk, I decided to level him to 102. Event boosted him to lv.160 or so.
Problem is, from 500 pts onward I started being matched with *** teams, levels ranging from 120 to 150. In Hulk's case, his boost took him to 200 even.
I had a really hard time finding good matches, and got hit hard by high level teams.

My impression is that your team average level determines your opponents' average level.
The moment I started using a lv.100 character, my team average caused me to step into *** territory, screwing me.

Has this been discussed already?

Unknown

I've heard people talking about this as well. The speculation is to hold off leveling your 3* until they are able to hit 130 (don't hold me to this exact level), I don't know if it is confirmed yet.