7 New Characters in 56 days, 1.6M Iso

Unknown

To me it seems like releasing characters fast is a way to incentivize people to spend money in the game. In case you can't keep up, you get bored with your current characters and you leave the game or you spend money on roster spots and whatnot to the point either actually keeping up with the release rate like Col does or just enough to whet your appetite. Win win for developer. Well, maybe. This also means losing customers. I hate this btw if I didn't make it clear enough. I also hate the **** they call character rotation.

Unknown

It's becoming more of a forced trade-off for me. With Gamora's release I said goodbye in my roster to 2* Human Torch who I'd put no ISO into but was a 5-5-3 build none-the-less. Continually shelling out for new roster slots isn't what I buy HP for - I buy it for shields and the very, very occassional health pack for PvE uber grinds.

Whilst we moan about new character releases, in a way it's a positive that so many of the new characters have been sub-standard as in most games of this type there's a power-creep which would mean that the newest are usually the best. With Doc Ock and Beast being sooooo bad there's been no real need to pour ISO into them and even though Blade, Mystique and R&G are decent enough - none of them are really needed in order to compete.

Yeah, I think the releases should be slowed down (and/or roster slots reduced in cost) but I'm also grateful that they aren't making the new releases incrementally stronger than the older 3* out there.

Unknown

Hm... Just thinking out lout:
- remove ISO-8 as currency
- training covers will automatically level heroes to their soft cap
- replace all iso rewards with HP rewards

Obviously numbers have to be crunched so it is a win-win (to D3 and the players alike), but I feel this would alliviate a lot of problems.

E.g. I might not even had quit a few weeks ago it this would have been the case.

Unknown

What I am failing to understand is their logic behind this. Introducing new chars is fine, but you have the same game and you just keep adding chars. If you have Sentry/Hood or another good combo that makes you go 1k+ points, adding a new char will not change anything. If they add more 4* chars it would be better. They need more layers of characters and more rewards in my opinion. And they need to fix this matchmaking issues with "The Wall" and not finding worthy targets.

Unknown

im in the same boat as you Colog...buy my HP, grind my ISO. Ive been able to keep up, but just barely. Maxed Blade, Maxed Mystique, My4hor is level 260. I only took R&G to level 100.

Im below 20k ISO for the first time in a long long time. Ill keep grinding and get my stack back, which will be fairly easy with a maxed Fury XF and 4hor.

I feel that the pace of these releases is unnecessary. I'm further bothered by the Devs lack of communication. Ive picked up a new mobile game that has recently been released (pm me for details) and the amount of daily communication by the dev team is already at a level that i know MPQ wi
l never attain. Im still in it for now. But as i get more and more into this new game and MPQ remains an uncommunicative boring grind, i'll eventually go.

Until then, i'll enjoy riding out w u.

marc

Unknown

I'm capable of keeping up with the currently 750 HP cost of opening a slot, but that's going to be a lot more difficult for the newer players. My problems with it stem more from having to ubergrind three PVEs straight.

ISO isn't really the problem, as I see it, but I'm on the cusp of no longer being ISO constrained at all, and back to being cover-constrained. It's going to be different for people in different situations, but the ultra-fast releases are going to be tough for just about everyone, whether its HP for roster slots, ISO for leveling, or just free time.

MarvelMan

Ive given up leveling them, and to a certain degree even trying to win them. My HP/ISO stocks are going up, but I dont really care to use them. Im on the verge of burnout.

Unknown

The writing in the game has never been amazing, but the Rocket and Groot PvE was downright poorly written. The narrative was full as holes, the exchanges were stilted...if part of the break-neck release schedule is that the relatively poor writing is going to become even poorer, that alone justifies not doing it.

But also all of the other reasons. Too much cost in terms of ISO-8, HP, and time.

Not a whale, but a veteran. I have a decent roster and enough HP to buy slots forever, but I haven't maxed out a character more recently released than Falcon. I think that's telling.

mohio

I could quote a few of these posts and say "sounds like me". I'm no uber-vet like some people here but I've been around a long time and am at the point where winning the hp to keep up with releases has been fairly trivial so far, so that's not the issue. The issue to me is that outside of goddess Thor, there just haven't been any new characters that have really excited me to make me try super hard to win their covers. I'd say it's almost directly because there have been just so many new characters, you know the next one is right around the corner. This was always the case of course but sometimes it would take 3 or 4 weeks instead of just 2 to get the new one out to us, and with overall fewer 3* in the game, each new one was generally different and exciting (even the lazies at least brought new things into the 3* world). Now we just compare abilities and move on (black too expensive not as good as surgical strike, daken still better at making strike tiles, not as good in support as hood in the same colors, etc etc etc).

So I bide my time waiting for something exciting to come along like goddess Thor. I don't even bother my alliance to get the covers from new characters that I "need" cause they are probably more useful to the transitioning guys we have in our secondary alliance. Maybe that's just the stage I'm at in this game cause I have a lot of maxed characters and many more max covered ones, but I really do think having so many new characters so quickly has played a part.

As to the consequences of all this, I feel like d3 is pushing people into becoming whales or f2p (even if you've spent before, I'll lump you in as f2p cause you're not paying anymore). We see such a barrage of characters and d3 saying they're not gonna slow down on new ones cause it's fun for them, and it becomes quite clear that if you want to have these newer characters maxed in a reasonable amount of time you'll need to pay and pay often. However, you can just as easily use what you've already paid for to sustain your level of play and just take longer to max out new characters. The only middle ground is if they newly release your favorite character of all time and you just have to max them immediately (hope it's not beast!).

Unknown

The fact that they do lightning rounds during the week, when (most) people have to work, means that iso will always be limited. The fact that some people have the resources to apparently do every lightning round and play this game non-stop (like Colog seems to be able to do) doesn't bother me - any game, F2P or not, has that demographic. You deal with it. It's their money.

But the rapid release of characters has really started affecting me in that I am rapidly entering "Do Not Give a Damn Land." I like to think they put a lot of time and effort into character design (I mean...what else are they putting their time into? PVE? Nope). But if they keep churning these characters out over and over again, it really speaks to the idea that new characters is part of a business model, and not for a love of design and play.

And there's nothing wrong with having a business model - but the best games disguise it with passion and good design. I'd say that the continued release of new characters actually highlights some/most of MPQ's faults. For instance, PVE grinding and stagnation. You shouldn't call attention to that. But they release bunches of new characters through PVE, and therefore, it's right at the forefront.

Honestly, they need to completely re-do their PVE system. They need to re-do a LOT of things, actually. Starting with slowing down character releases and getting them more integrated into the MPQ world would be a good start.

Unknown

Silly question: When does a person leave the definition of "transitioning 2 to 3 stars"? Is it when they have 3 166's? 4? Or more? Does a person with a bunch of cover maxed 3 stars that are chilling in the level 100-120 zone count as transitioned, or transitioning?
Just curious.

xKOBALTx

dearbluey wrote:

Silly question: When does a person leave the definition of "transitioning 2 to 3 stars"? Is it when they have 3 166's? 4? Or more? Does a person with a bunch of cover maxed 3 stars that are chilling in the level 100-120 zone count as transitioned, or transitioning?
Just curious.

I've pretty much considered the dividing line to be three 166's that can compete consistently in PvP. There are some fringe cases though, as you point out. Maybe one or two of those 166's aren't any good. Maybe they level everything up equally and so they're equally low. I'd probably consider them transitioning still, because they likely can't consistently compete in PvP, which is the best place for improving your roster in both ISO and covers.

Unknown

dearbluey wrote:

Silly question: When does a person leave the definition of "transitioning 2 to 3 stars"? Is it when they have 3 166's? 4? Or more? Does a person with a bunch of cover maxed 3 stars that are chilling in the level 100-120 zone count as transitioned, or transitioning?
Just curious.

I've always considered it whenever you're only using 3* teams in PVP, especially once you hit the point you can consistently beat 166s. I technically don't have any 166s, but I don't consider myself transitioning, because I have 26 people at 160 (soon to be 28). But I also might be considered a fringe case, and I prioritize PVE over PVP.

wymtime

dearbluey wrote:

Silly question: When does a person leave the definition of "transitioning 2 to 3 stars"? Is it when they have 3 166's? 4? Or more? Does a person with a bunch of cover maxed 3 stars that are chilling in the level 100-120 zone count as transitioned, or transitioning?
Just curious.

I always consider it more personal. Transitioning to 3* land means you have a solid maxed 2* roster and are looking to level to use 3* characters. A 3* player is someone who primarily uses 3* only. It is not just 166 characters as I have seen players only level their 3* to 140. I have noticed once 3* get to 140 they are very playable if you have the covers. So if when you play you are finding you use your 3* characters 75-100% of the time I would consider you a 3* player even if you don't have 1 166 on your roster. If you primarily play with 2* characters but have 3* covers over level 100 I would consider you transitioning.
the problem with transitioning players is this. If you are playing with a 3* at higher levels they are better than 2* so becuase you are winning against weaker opponents your MMR goes up fast. Once your MMR goes up it is hard for the AI to find the right player to match you with in your time slice around the same points as you, so you either see a 2* team worth 15 points or a 166 team worth 30-40+ points. The other problem is it used to be feasable back in April-June to score top 25 as a 2* team so you could build a 3* up and level them fast. Now with higher scoring 2* fight for top 100 for one cover that slows the progression.

GrumpySmurf1002

Ben Grimm wrote:

dearbluey wrote:

Silly question: When does a person leave the definition of "transitioning 2 to 3 stars"? Is it when they have 3 166's? 4? Or more? Does a person with a bunch of cover maxed 3 stars that are chilling in the level 100-120 zone count as transitioned, or transitioning?
Just curious.

I've always considered it whenever you're only using 3* teams in PVP, especially once you hit the point you can consistently beat 166s. I technically don't have any 166s, but I don't consider myself transitioning, because I have 26 people at 160 (soon to be 28). But I also might be considered a fringe case, and I prioritize PVE over PVP.

My general definition is the same, it's when you're using 3* teams consistently, and can beat others reliably.. A player with one 166 is still transitioning. A player with multiple 110-120 3*s is on the border. A roster with six 2*s and a bunch of 1-covered 3*s is not transitioning, that's a 2* player.

Unknown

Goddess Thor needs ISO badly. (#gauntlet the game, not pve feature).

In addition, X-Force needs ISO badly.

Also, Black Panther, Colussus, Human Torch, Punisher, IM40, Rags, Mystique, Devil Dino, Invisible Woman, IM40 (different one), Loki, Blade, Daredevil, Patch, Rocket and Groot, Gamora, and 2* Captain Marvel need ISO very badly.

Doc Ock....needs a buff...then he'll need ISO badly.

The worst part of all this...I play MPQ ALL the time. The ISO drop levels have been increased once since the game started. The amount of ISO requirement have approximately doubled since then, especially keeping in mind that one 4* has the ISO requirements of three 3*'s.

Kavel

Other than $5 spent during anniversary event, F2P here, but a long-time player (day 400+). I have 14 or 15 3 & 4-stars maxed and quite a few more fully covered and waiting in the wings. The pace hasn't bothered me much, as I just recognize that I'm not going to cover-max or level-max most new characters for a while. I am usually competitive enough to get a new character around half-covered in the first push of release and follow-up PVPs. That usually gives me 2-3 events where I'm playing and/or facing a new character to see if I like it and whether I want to sink ISO in it.

HP is a more delicate balancing act, but like covers I just choose my battles and recognize that I'm not going to shield-hop to 1300+ in every single PVP. With my roster, 900+ is usually doable with a single 3-hour shield and keeps me in a decent spot for the season, especially if I hop to 1300 in two or three events a season. I've never lacked enough HP to buy a roster slot for a new character, but I don't hoard useless 1 & 2-stars either (total of 48 slots ATM).

TL/DR - If you don't feel compelled to max everything instantly, it's not a big deal.

David [Hi-Fi] Moore

Colognoisseur wrote:

The devs should think about returning to the one new character every two weeks model which seemed to be working before the Anniversary ignited this flood of new characters.

Definitely! We will be returning immediately to the usual pace of one new character approximately every two weeks. After Gamora we are now back to the "normal" schedule. The extra characters added in recent weeks was really a perfect storm of our Anniversary week and the debut of Thor (Goddess of Thunder) on top of our usual schedule.

You'll see one more new character arriving a few weeks from now and that character will be the last one of the year. We didn't anticipate that some players would feel overwhelmed or experience "burn out" with the extra characters and we're sorry for that. We'll be factoring this knowledge into our scheduling as we move forward.

wymtime

"David wrote:

Moore"]

Colognoisseur wrote:

The devs should think about returning to the one new character every two weeks model which seemed to be working before the Anniversary ignited this flood of new characters.

Definitely! We will be returning immediately to the usual pace of one new character approximately every two weeks. After Gamora we are now back to the "normal" schedule. The extra characters added in recent weeks was really a perfect storm of our Anniversary week and the debut of Thor (Goddess of Thunder) on top of our usual schedule.

You'll see one more new character arriving a few weeks from now and that character will be the last one of the year. We didn't anticipate that some players would feel overwhelmed or experience "burn out" with the extra characters and we're sorry for that. We'll be factoring this knowledge into our scheduling as we move forward.

Thank you for acknowledging this issue with burnout. I hope the dev’s have a good answer to our concerns about Roster slots, HP , and ISO in the December Q & A answers. I stated before, the players do want to play with some of the new characters you have released, but with so many new characters it feels like it will take months before we have enough ISO and covers to actually play them. As seasoned vet it now it feels like it will be months before I have earned enough ISO to level these characters to be playable.

Unknown

I am a mid-level whale, probably spend $100-150 a month on HP, don't buy ISO. I have 5 3*'s maxed and probably another 15 cover-maxed. I am working on slowly raising every 3* character to a playable level for when they are featured (typically ~L110), and enjoy collecting every character. When I have spare ISO (approximately 3 months ago), I occasionally even level up my 1*'s to get them closer to maxed out.

The pace has been absolutely burning me out lately, and it is becoming harder and harder to justify the chase to keep every character. The cost of roster spots alone was enough to turn off all of my friends who were playing F2P, and that was before the latest torrent.