Possible improvements for MPQ - *longish*

Palaver

Ok. So I've been playing MPQ for a while now. I'm solidly in 3 star land and have been Sentry-bombing with the best of them whilst it's still viable.
I also have a 2 star account and a 1 star account that I'm increasingly more interested in because playing with maxed 3 stars just frankly isn't all that fun.
It's repetitive and just doesn't offer the same feelings of achievement when you win your carrots/covers by doing exactly the same thing that you did last event.
Now it's possible that the re-balancing of Sentry may alleviate this but I doubt it. My prediction is that everyone just finds the next quickest method
of winning a match, which is likely X-Force but could still be Sentry. Either way, pretty soon you're seeing the same teams over and over again because that is
the way that the game forces you to play PVP.

In my opinion, there are 4 big problems with this game that it would be great to get resolved. This list is by no means exhaustive but just the biggest 4 from
where I stand.

1) Character balance

2) Repetitive grindfests for PVE

3) Boosts

4) MMR and Bracketing for PVP

Character balance has been covered pretty comprehensively by far more astute forum members than myself. Just my 2c worth - Every character doesn't need to be equally
powerful in a vacuum but nearly all should have at least a niche use as an effective counter to another character. Also, each character should have at least one other
character who acts as an effective counter to them. At the moment, Beast counters no other characters and X-Force is largely countered by nobody unless you count
AP denial which kind of counters all characters but Daken and Blade (Passive strike tiles) and Beast (no powers you actually care to activate). It's not easy to
get the balances right but there really needs to be more playtesting than there is currently. Don't most MMO games release characters for beta-testing by players
prior to official release so that it can be determined if they are ridiculously broken or completely useless and can then be tweaked prior to release. I'm sure most
players here would be happy for characters to be released less often but in a better working state.

PVE issues have also been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere on this forum. Suffice to say that I believe The Gauntlet is the best answer they have come up with so far. They
just need to work it out so that it scales up in difficulty in such a way as to ensure that the progression covers are released at a rate D3 are happy with. This may be
made easier if they...

For tinykitty's sake. Please get rid of boosts. Please. They are not needed. They are not fun. They just break the game. It's possible that the re-balance to Sentry may not
even have been needed (although I doubt it) if they had just removed boosts. Leave the damage ones in if you have to. I'd get rid of all of them but I guess having extra damage
from TU AP would be pretty harmless. I wouldn't know as I never use them. The trouble is that AP boosts kill the balance between offense and defense.
As the offensive player I get to:

* Always go first
* Presumably play my matches and power usage more optimally
* Create match-5s in more than 1 way
* Choose whom I fight
* Choose my TUs to trump the defensive player's TUs/Strategy

With all of those advantages, do I really need 6 extra AP in 4 colours of my choice to start the match with? It's a ridiculous advantage and one that completely
enables shield-hopping (which along with the HP cost of "All AP" boosts probably explains why they are still around). I have not seen one good reason to keep these
things around. Please let me know if you have one. I actually think that shields may become a lot more optional without them and I'd be interested to see how many more
defensive wins occurred if they were removed.

That just leaves MMR and bracketing for PVP. I love that D3 are working on this and I may have been one of the few people on this forum who didn't hate the recent
trial of the new matchmaking system. That may be because I have a 2 star account and got to actually play up to 600 points or so without seeing a wall of maxed 3 star
characters. In fact, I didn't have to fight *any* 3 star teams with my 2 star team and nor did I get attacked by any. My 3 star roster found it a tougher slog to get up to
1100 points but I still made it to the shield-hopping stage eventually. So I don't think it was a bad effort to fix things (although possibly could have been tried out in
a different event). I just don't think it's enough.

I have an idea for PVP that would require some work on the devs' part but I think would drastically improve it for everyone.

1) Your matchup (based on level of strongest character) should determine your points and rewards received for a match, not the opponents' point total
2) Matchups (and thus points and rewards) should be determined by the team that you bring to the match. Not your entire roster.
3) Each node should represent a different level of matchup - lower level, roughly equal level and higher level. These can be skipped for ISO as they can now.

So if I am playing in the current Hulk PVP and I bring a level 132 X-Force, a level 140 Hood and a loaner level 60 Hulk then my level is 140. If I look at the even node
then I will see teams with their strongest character around 140 (with a variance on either side). If I look at the strong node then I will see teams with their strongest
character at maybe 166 (but not over that) and if I play the weak node then I will see characters of level significantly lower than 140. If I play the strong node then I am
playing for more points and better chance of 2 star cover rewards or more ISO. Sure, I can beat up on lesser teams all day but I am getting significantly less points for it
and I am getting significantly less ISO and possibly no chance at covers or TUs. This will only work if the points awarded are balanced properly. If I beat a team significantly
above my own level (with no boosts remember!) then I get up to 50 points and more ISO and possibly a guaranteed cover. This disincentivises strong teams attacking weaker teams
and rewards them for trying to at least punch slightly above their weight if not equal to it.

In addition, since your level is dictated by who you bring in rather than your entire roster, it opens up 2 stars and even 1 stars as potential play options for 3 and 4 star
players. Feeling bored of fighting X-Force in every match? Go in with your 2 star team and rediscover the joys of Polarity Shifting into Wind Storm. It'd also encourage roster
(and more specifically level) diversity. It may result in players keeping a level 90 Patch as well as a 166 Patch for purposes of playing with different teams. In this way, D3
might make back in roster slot adds all that money that they're losing from shields and boosts.

So rant/suggestion over. Feel free to come back to me with any issues with anything I've said. I don't mind criticism but please keep it civil.


Palaver - The Unwashed

homeinvasion

there is so many know alls on these forums that look at posts then flame the OP. Palaver bro you said it all straight. I agree 100% with this

Unknown

Make the game so that it turns on and gets past the loading screen!

homeinvasion

Palaver wrote:

1) Your matchup (based on level of strongest character) should determine your points and rewards received for a match, not the opponents' point total
2) Matchups (and thus points and rewards) should be determined by the team that you bring to the match. Not your entire roster.
3) Each node should represent a different level of matchup - lower level, roughly equal level and higher level. These can be skipped for ISO as they can now.

So if I am playing in the current Hulk PVP and I bring a level 132 X-Force, a level 140 Hood and a loaner level 60 Hulk then my level is 140. If I look at the even node
then I will see teams with their strongest character around 140 (with a variance on either side). If I look at the strong node then I will see teams with their strongest
character at maybe 166 (but not over that) and if I play the weak node then I will see characters of level significantly lower than 140. If I play the strong node then I am
playing for more points and better chance of 2 star cover rewards or more ISO. Sure, I can beat up on lesser teams all day but I am getting significantly less points for it
and I am getting significantly less ISO and possibly no chance at covers or TUs. This will only work if the points awarded are balanced properly. If I beat a team significantly
above my own level (with no boosts remember!) then I get up to 50 points and more ISO and possibly a guaranteed cover. This disincentivises strong teams attacking weaker teams
and rewards them for trying to at least punch slightly above their weight if not equal to it.

In addition, since your level is dictated by who you bring in rather than your entire roster, it opens up 2 stars and even 1 stars as potential play options for 3 and 4 star
players. Feeling bored of fighting X-Force in every match? Go in with your 2 star team and rediscover the joys of Polarity Shifting into Wind Storm. It'd also encourage roster
(and more specifically level) diversity. It may result in players keeping a level 90 Patch as well as a 166 Patch for purposes of playing with different teams. In this way, D3
might make back in roster slot adds all that money that they're losing from shields and boosts.
Palaver - The Unwashed

This needs attention. This right here,