Most cost effective way to compete for 4*s? (specific case)

Vhailorx

I have a decent 3* roster, but can't reliably compete for the 900/1k pvp pro rewards (I can make it occasionally when one of my best 3*s is featured, but top out around 800 otherwise). I would like to start competing for desirable 4* covers on a regular basis, since that seems, like the only reasonable way to build 4*s.

I can see two potential strategies, but am not sure which is the way to go.

Path 1: I have a maxed patch, and hulk t 4/3/2. With the daily quest and 3 black covers, I could have patch/hulk maxed and start hulk bombing for shield hops

Path 2: I have xforce at 2/2/3, and enough HP saved up to buy 4 covers. I could have a 3/5/3 or 4/4/3 xforce at level 200 to pair with an almost fully covered loki

Obviously Xforce is more useful long term (until/unless he is nerfed), but it would almost wipe out my HP stockpile. The hulk bombing path is cheaper, but also less useful in the emerging 4* meta game.

Any thoughts on the best strategy moving forward?

Edited topic title to make it mere specific.

Unknown

What 3* do you have maxed currently?

I'm generally running SexGoddess with whatever 3* is featured, so I'm a bit out of touch on the 3* side of things, but I have to imagine there's something better than Hulk/Patch bombing, and spending HP to get Hulk up to level 5 Anger doesn't seem super great. CMags/LThor are solid and beefy, and can take down lots things. It would help to know what your roster looks like.

Vhailorx

Its not so much that hulk-bombing is good as that it's fast.

I can currently beat almost any team, but against dangerous opponents my best strategy is to play patch/doom/loci (I don't have enough covers to run ldaken or someone else that can tank for loki). That team is super effective (it can even do 4* thorverine at 270 with a bit of luck), but very slow. Slow doesn't fly above 850 in pvp. I need something that I can reliably use (boosted) to get me from 800-->1000. Patch/hulk will always be usable in the 2+feature format, and should be able to do 2 or even 3 nodes per hop (and self damage doesn't matter for quick hops).


As for my roster, I have patch, lthor, punished, and lazy cap maxed, doom, R&G, blade, and loki at 11/13 covers, and an assortment of lesser 3*s with 8+ covers. Didn't want to bore everyone with a very long list.

morph3us

I would agree that there isn't anything faster in 3* territory than Hulk/Patch bombing. It looks like you're in a similar situation to me, but your X-Force is a little more developed than mine (mine's 2/2/1). Tough call, but personally, I'm going to go with levelling Hulk to Hulk/Patch bomb. Partly that's because if I buy out X-Force covers to make him 3/5/1, I'll have him at a lower level cap than you, which will end up with him having lower health plus a weaker Recovery than yours, and secondly, because I'm not keen to spend the HP unless it's for the 5th cover in green or black. I think Hulk/Patch bombing is fast enough to hop up to get those covers, but it'll take much longer to get to a usable 4*.

The advantage of buying out more X-Force covers is that it shortens your run to having a maxed X-Force just that little bit more, and as you say, Hulk is going to be of fairly dubious use in the emerging 4* meta. I don't think there's an obvious answer to your dilemma, as both are viable options. If you're happy to spend the HP, buying out some X-Force covers and levelling him will get you there that much quicker than Hulk/Patch bombing.

Vhailorx

I do hate to spend all that HP on xforce (and I am sure I will pull a cover of his immediately afterwards).

On the other hand, my HP pile has grown pretty consistently over the last several months (my average income outstrips shield costs, so it's only roster slots that are really taxing my HP income, and I still have a few 2*s and duplicate 3*s that I could stand to lose), so maybe maxing xforce is a good way to spend the capital that I have already earned in game.

Am I right to assume that 3/5/3 is preferable to 4/4/3 for an xforce build?

morph3us

That's my understanding, yes. It's the fifth cover in green and black that make the difference. Go fifth in green if you want the burst damage, or fifth in black if you want the slower, but usually game ending swing.

lukewin

You wanna go 5 black over 5 green. I am in a similar boat, LVL 156 3/2/3 Xforce, 8500 HP banked, all F2P. But I would really regret it buying out the covers, cuz I know I'd pull one shortly after. Really depends on if you want the covers now, or if you're willing to wait. With so many 4* to rotate as 1k prizes, would take you a long time to get a covered X-Force, even if you were Hulk-bombing, strictly by getting it via the 1k progression reward.

I would go with Path 1. You'd spend 3750, and hopefully rank higher and be able to grab those 1k covers. That would give you time to build up more HP and then go with Path 2 if needed. If you went Path 2 first, you couldn't go back and do Path 1 for a while.

ballingbees

I'm in a very similar situation as well. I'm nowhere near the top rewards for PVE or PVP, and (unsurprisingly) have drawn zero XForce covers ever since his rework. So am very tempted to pour my hoarded 8600HP into my 3/2/2 XForce. Only fear is that I kind of know he will get nerfed right after I splurge many months' effort into him.

Actually I think I'm going to do it, that is Path2. They tend to rework only during close seasons, so with the start of a new season, I should at least be able to enjoy using him for one full season before anything happens. 3/5/2 it is then.

lukewin

ballingbees wrote:

I'm in a very similar situation as well. I'm nowhere near the top rewards for PVE or PVP, and (unsurprisingly) have drawn zero XForce covers ever since his rework. So am very tempted to pour my hoarded 8600HP into my 3/2/2 XForce. Only fear is that I kind of know he will get nerfed right after I splurge many months' effort into him.

Actually I think I'm going to do it, that is Path2. They tend to rework only during close seasons, so with the start of a new season, I should at least be able to enjoy using him for one full season before anything happens. 3/5/2 it is then.

I think Sentry/Hood got nerfed during the season, could be wrong though.

El Satanno

I'm going to go ahead and say buy your X-Force covers. I have bought 2 green X-Force covers (bringing him to his current 4/5/4 build) and have not looked back. 100% F2P, for the record. I still need one more, and am saving my HP for that. I opened over 500 tokens today and not a single X-Force popped out of them. You might not want to count on that, eh?

Hulk's not really gonna do a ton for you except for Hulk-bombing whereas X-Force pays for himself immediately. Even with "merely" 4 green he is the shizzle. Sure they may nerf him, but you can't count on that happening any more than you can count on covers from tokens, either. Buying X-Force helps you win X-Force and more besides.

Unknown

You want speed - go for Hulk. Even fully covered X-Force is slower than Patch/Hulk without 4*Thor and since you can climb already that high you don't really need X-Force

simonsez

Get your XForce to 5 black. There shouldn't have been this much discussion as to which the best option is.

Unknown

Hulk bombing is more of a supplementary strategy to getting to 1k than it is a primary strategy.

For example, I'll hulk bomb after I climbed with my Xforce Hood or Xforce Loki, ran out of health packs and need 1 or 2 more matches before I shield.

That's when I hulk bomb.

Leaving a hulk bomb team out for longer than 2 games is suicide, since you'll be the favorite target of every person who sees you in that time.

Xforce, on the other hand, is going to be necessary eventually. There's no getting around it.

If I were you, I'd just buy Xforce up to either 3/5/3 or 5/3/3. It depends on your roster. Generally, black is a better ability. But if you have no good green outlet, Xforce's green is required to quick kill Hood, Lokis and other low health support characters within 2 matches.

It's your call, but I wouldn't spend HP on Hulk when you have a Xforce who needs help too. 3/5/3 Xforce is the best call.

antreas1911

Ok guys, i am in a simiral situation.
I am a 3 star land player, i have around 20 lvl.166.
I have a 515 xforce and really considering buying the 4 black i lack to bring him at 553. I have the hp needed and the iso to leel him.

My question is, in a pvp with a buffed 249lvl, xforce max and loki max (or hood) how much hp you need to spend in general in shield hoping to reach the 1k sweet spot?

Unknown

antreas1911 wrote:

Ok guys, i am in a simiral situation.
I am a 3 star land player, i have around 20 lvl.166.
I have a 515 xforce and really considering buying the 4 black i lack to bring him at 553. I have the hp needed and the iso to leel him.

My question is, in a pvp with a buffed 249lvl, xforce max and loki max (or hood) how much hp you need to spend in general in shield hoping to reach the 1k sweet spot?

Either 150, 225 or 300 HP, depending on how many big numbers you get.

I typically do a 3 and an 8 hour shield to get to 1k.

Hendross

antreas1911 wrote:

Ok guys, i am in a simiral situation.
I am a 3 star land player, i have around 20 lvl.166.
I have a 515 xforce and really considering buying the 4 black i lack to bring him at 553. I have the hp needed and the iso to leel him.

My question is, in a pvp with a buffed 249lvl, xforce max and loki max (or hood) how much hp you need to spend in general in shield hoping to reach the 1k sweet spot?

I have an identical roster and have hit 1k a couple times without X-Force.. if you're fast, 3 shields (3-8-3 (300hp)) with 14hours to-go will average a net zero (if your Top25 and Alliance Top50). More conservatively, 4 shields will cost between net between 100 and 150 hp

This requires you start with 300-450HP and 141-22 hours, I start my 3 hops on or above 750pts

P.S I have 5 Black Hulk and 5 Green Patch, in the Gamora event for example I hulk bombed with the stock level 60, the featured character doesn't really matter with this strategy.

atomzed

onimus wrote:

antreas1911 wrote:

Ok guys, i am in a simiral situation.
I am a 3 star land player, i have around 20 lvl.166.
I have a 515 xforce and really considering buying the 4 black i lack to bring him at 553. I have the hp needed and the iso to leel him.

My question is, in a pvp with a buffed 249lvl, xforce max and loki max (or hood) how much hp you need to spend in general in shield hoping to reach the 1k sweet spot?

Either 150, 225 or 300 HP, depending on how many big numbers you get.

I typically do a 3 and an 8 hour shield to get to 1k.

Wow, what character do you use? I typically need 3,8,3,8. Minimum. I will reach around 800 on first shield. After that it's 2 game per hop. I'm using max Xforce and another 3*, usually dp.

Vhailorx

I have lazy Thor maxed, so finding a good green outlet isn't too hard when I can field a team of 3. It will be harder when playing xforce + Loki, but 3 xforce green might be enough in the short term.

Unknown

atomzed wrote:

onimus wrote:

antreas1911 wrote:

Ok guys, i am in a simiral situation.
I am a 3 star land player, i have around 20 lvl.166.
I have a 515 xforce and really considering buying the 4 black i lack to bring him at 553. I have the hp needed and the iso to leel him.

My question is, in a pvp with a buffed 249lvl, xforce max and loki max (or hood) how much hp you need to spend in general in shield hoping to reach the 1k sweet spot?

Either 150, 225 or 300 HP, depending on how many big numbers you get.

I typically do a 3 and an 8 hour shield to get to 1k.

Wow, what character do you use? I typically need 3,8,3,8. Minimum. I will reach around 800 on first shield. After that it's 2 game per hop. I'm using max Xforce and another 3*, usually dp.

Xforce and Hood.

That said, I employ a relatively different strategy than a lot of people appear to.
I figured out a while back that I get hit a lot in what I call “hot times.”
Those are 11 hours, 8 hours and 3 hours.
If I avoid those times, I can climb from 800 to 1000 pretty seamlessly without much interruption.
Now that shield cooldowns are active, people hop in relatively predictable patterns.
I, like you, climb to about 800 before I shield. But my climb from 800 to 1000 is typically all in one go.

Occasionally, I’ll hit a bad streak, where I am the only high target available for a hand full of players and they keep hitting me when I’m climbing.
In those scenarios, I may need to use a 3rd shield. But that only really happens when I have a level 60 featured character.
It also has a lot to do with who the featured character is.

For example, A level 249 Gamora isn’t all that much scarier or hard to kill than a level 60 Gamora.
But a level 249 Magneto is terrifying compared to a level 60 Magneto. So in PVPs with a high impact featured character, you’ll need a few more shields to get to 1k.

It also depends on who the reward is for that PVP. Last PVP, Captain Marvel was the prize. Meaning no one was climbing all that high to win three of her covers. For that PVP, I had to use 300 HP.

But generally, by climbing at 10 or 9 hours rather than 11 or 8 hours remaining, I can avoid a big chunk of hoppers, thus getting attacked fewer times, and allowing me to get to 1000 with relative ease.

I haven’t spent more than 300 HP on a PVP in months.

atomzed

onimus wrote:

atomzed wrote:

onimus wrote:

antreas1911 wrote:

Ok guys, i am in a simiral situation.
I am a 3 star land player, i have around 20 lvl.166.
I have a 515 xforce and really considering buying the 4 black i lack to bring him at 553. I have the hp needed and the iso to leel him.

My question is, in a pvp with a buffed 249lvl, xforce max and loki max (or hood) how much hp you need to spend in general in shield hoping to reach the 1k sweet spot?

Either 150, 225 or 300 HP, depending on how many big numbers you get.

I typically do a 3 and an 8 hour shield to get to 1k.

Wow, what character do you use? I typically need 3,8,3,8. Minimum. I will reach around 800 on first shield. After that it's 2 game per hop. I'm using max Xforce and another 3*, usually dp.

Xforce and Hood.

That said, I employ a relatively different strategy than a lot of people appear to.
I figured out a while back that I get hit a lot in what I call “hot times.”
Those are 11 hours, 8 hours and 3 hours.
If I avoid those times, I can climb from 800 to 1000 pretty seamlessly without much interruption.
Now that shield cooldowns are active, people hop in relatively predictable patterns.
I, like you, climb to about 800 before I shield. But my climb from 800 to 1000 is typically all in one go.

Occasionally, I’ll hit a bad streak, where I am the only high target available for a hand full of players and they keep hitting me when I’m climbing.
In those scenarios, I may need to use a 3rd shield. But that only really happens when I have a level 60 featured character.
It also has a lot to do with who the featured character is.

For example, A level 249 Gamora isn’t all that much scarier or hard to kill than a level 60 Gamora.
But a level 249 Magneto is terrifying compared to a level 60 Magneto. So in PVPs with a high impact featured character, you’ll need a few more shields to get to 1k.

It also depends on who the reward is for that PVP. Last PVP, Captain Marvel was the prize. Meaning no one was climbing all that high to win three of her covers. For that PVP, I had to use 300 HP.

But generally, by climbing at 10 or 9 hours rather than 11 or 8 hours remaining, I can avoid a big chunk of hoppers, thus getting attacked fewer times, and allowing me to get to 1000 with relative ease.

I haven’t spent more than 300 HP on a PVP in months.

I did notice a similar pattern, that "off peak" hours are easier to hop. However I usually only hop for GT covers, so I really want to get the covers. I end up being more co conservative than what I normally would.

In pvp that I don't need the covers, I will push to 800, and leave myself unshielded. I usually get hit till 600. Then towards the end of pvp, I will hit the retal node and can come up back to 700+ for top 50 or 25.

Phaserhawk

Patch/Hulk/Punisher is the fastest 3* comp. You use Hulk to get the red/green trigger Anger and when guys get low Punisher can finish them off.