The snail pace of 4* transition

Unknown

While moving to 3* is complete for me, with a good roster and some maxed players, thanks to DDQ mainly (as my unlucky streak on reward pulls continues), I have only won a single 4* cover since March. I have most of the 4* characters, but only Xforce has more than three covers.

Getting to a decent, useable 4* roster looks impossible, at the rate of one cover every three months. I cannot hope for top ranking in order to win 4* in an event, when coming up against level 350 hulkbusters and prof xs etc, so will it ever happen?

I seem stuck at 3*, which is fun, but bringing out another 4* this week is a reminder of what looks unavailable through normal gameplay.

Thoughts?

Pylgrim

Getting 1k in a PvP is a much more doable feat nowadays than ever. If you can manage that, that's one 4* every 2.5 days.

Unknown

This entire situation was mentioned by the Devs in their May/June Q&A video and is something they want to address.

spectator

Pylgrim wrote:

Getting 1k in a PvP is a much more doable feat nowadays than ever. If you can manage that, that's one 4* every 2.5 days.

However, there are 7 4* characters and that number will surely rise. That means at most you will probably only get 1 cover for any particular 4* per season, 13 seasons to complete a 4*

OnesOwnGrief

spectator wrote:

Pylgrim wrote:

Getting 1k in a PvP is a much more doable feat nowadays than ever. If you can manage that, that's one 4* every 2.5 days.

However, there are 7 4* characters and that number will surely rise. That means at most you will probably only get 1 cover for any particular 4* per season, 13 seasons to complete a 4*

You're quite misleading. A player recieves 1 as an alliance reward, true. 1K progression is entirely obtainable with a decent 3* roster. With 10 PvPs within a season, that's 10 more covers not counting off-season (+10 covers per season). If a player, by some grace of god, can hit #1 in PvP, that's yet another cover on top of that (1-10 more covers). Top placement in PvE (4-8 more covers per month) or top 5/100 on new releases, you'll gain another 3-4 covers on release. There are more options than just alliance rewards in season and if that is a players only way to obtain them, please make more realistic goals and actually put effort (time and/or money) in developing your own roster.

A player also has increased featured pulls in PvE where quite a few people who have been placing in subs have been getting 3* and 4* covered faster than I would have personally thought. Those PvE warriors also get a decent chunk of HP per sub. Got plenty of people in my own alliance who have a decent number of Hulkbuster covers just from token pulls and progression. Point is that at the end of the day, if someone thinks they're going to be a casual player, without the roster (or devil's luck on token pulls) to back it up, and get a 4* covered at any decent rate without actually trying to earn them then you might as well just stop. Even if they make 4*'s more accessible to players, they will not be nearly as accessible as they are for 3*. If they extend rewards for top placement, those covers will also be cannibalized by those who can actually use just the strength of their roster to meet those placements. Not by players who can barely make progression or top 10 placement as is.

dr tinykittylove

I'm enjoying the challenge. And it's very possible to hit 1k on a 3* roster with the weekly buffs. Just got my Kingpin from Webslinger with the help of Psylocke/GSBW.

Took me only 1 3hr shield to rest while a bunch of retals/attacks came in before I continued to 1k. I've added on an 8hr one though because I don't want to have to climb again later - I know lots of people who just hit progression, let their points drop, then climb again at the end for season/alliance score. Work on that 3* roster, they're awesome.

spectator

A season doesnt run for a month, and only has 7 pvp, thats realistically only 1 cover of a particular 4 star per season unless you come first in the bracket and thats 1 out of every 500 players. PVE runs for 3, 4 or 7 days so in a season you will average about 4.5 pve, 2 seasons to cover every 4 star available in the game and only for first and second, 1 in every 500 players will get the 4 star cover. These tend to go to the heavy heavy grinders even in events where people dont care about the other placement rewards. So for the average player who doesnt get first place in pvp or pve, you get 1 cover per season of any particular 4 star you are chasing. 2 if you happen to be in a top 100 alliance (2000 players in total) and that particular character is being given out.

Including the initial event where a particular four star is given out is a little misleading, not only do they only run once ever, they are also very very competitive. So yes if you have the good fortune to be around when they are introduced and have most if not all the essentials required, then getting 1 and maybe even 2 covers is achievable for the average player but its not something you should put too much weight into as part of the 4* transition

DrNitroman

I just earned my second 4* cover through 1000 progression reward since these recent scoring changes. Before these changes I had stopped trying to reach these progression marks in PvP. Therefore, from my point of view, it's clearly an improvement.

Obviously, I'm more successful when the weekly buffed characters are maxed in my roster. Not that they are deterrent enough but this increases the odds that the opponent choose another weaker target rather than me, leaving me more time to push in the danger zone (800 to 1000)

Consequently, my 4* transition is likely to have a slow pace (1 cover per week or per 2 weeks?) but my 4* transition now actually exists whereas before I have to rely on luck ( ) or HP
(edit: and as I am in a top 250 alliance, alliance reward is not a solution for me)

TL;DR: reaching 4* cover in pvp isn't easy but is now totally doable for a well-developped 3* roster (that is the type of roster expected to try the 4* transition I mean)

OnesOwnGrief

spectator wrote:

A season doesnt run for a month, and only has 7 pvp, thats realistically only 1 cover of a particular 4 star per season unless you come first in the bracket and thats 1 out of every 500 players.

Oh? My mistake. I guess mainly hitting 1K progression every PvP this season (and stopping) and the 900 I have in Shield Simulator for this 8388 score, season should be ended right after this Carnage PvP and not the 7d22h I have shown on my screen. That's gonna be nearly 8 days of Carnage PvP. I guess you also gathered from my from my post that I expected people to hit first place in PvP which I clearly do not. Reading comprehension helps a bit.

spectator wrote:

Including the initial event where a particular four star is given out is a little misleading, not only do they only run once ever, they are also very very competitive.

Guess the devs lied that they will be rerunning Carnage rewards in PvE after this current PvE. They have also rerun previous rewards for characters if something happens during an event (Kamala Khan being an example) except for Scarlet Witch (which they offered compensation) and Hulkbuster (which they also handed out covers to alliances who hit round 6 and 7).

Guys, I'm so wrong on everything I said. I'm so sorry.

P.S. If any of that came off as condescension, it's working as intended.

Unknown

Are you really supposed to be able to transition to 4*s? I never really felt like that was a tier that your supposed to strive for similar to the other progressions. It always felt like 3* was the tier you plateau and where the game is played where 4* is just for something shiny and rare to collect or buy with cash. Isn't that why 4* aren't balanced to be straight superior to 3*s like the other tiers are.

OnesOwnGrief

Top8Gamer wrote:

Are you really supposed to be able to transition to 4*s? I never really felt like that was a tier that your supposed to strive for similar to the other progressions. It always felt like 3* was the tier you plateau and where the game is played where 4* is just for something shiny and rare to collect or buy with cash. Isn't that why 4* aren't balanced to be straight superior to 3*s like the other tiers are.

This is entirely true and I think that's one of the problems the devs currently face. 3*s had that same problem at first as well until we got a steady stream of them. We also had a larger number to start with unlike 4*. The rapid release of more 4* characters and the implementation of future plans (supposedly next season or the one after) to get them out at a faster place shows that they want us to start moving towards 4* characters. They also have to work out roster slots (1K cap is just a band-aid), progression rewards, cover prices, etc. if their goal is for use to move on to the next rarity.

simonsez

spectator wrote:

A season doesnt run for a month, and only has 7 pvp

There are more than 7, but who cares? Let's just say there are three PvPs a week, so anyone who puts in the effort can, at a minimum, get three 4*s a week. This isn't a snail's pace.

Pylgrim

Ok let's list all the possible ways to get 4*s. I will bold the one I believe are available for players firmly planted in 3* land and serious about transitioning to 4*:

-4* Character Release: 1-5 possible covers. 3 Average.
-1k progression reward in PVP, 12 per month.
-Top 1 placement reward in PVP, 12 per month.
-Top 1-2 placement reward in PVE, 6-7 per month.
-Alliance season placement reward, 1 per month.
-Daily reward freebie, 1 per month.
-Lucky pack opening (on my personal experience, averaged) 1 per month

That is, depending on your commitment, interest and luck, around 18 covers per month.

wymtime

simonsez wrote:

spectator wrote:

A season doesnt run for a month, and only has 7 pvp

There are more than 7, but who cares? Let's just say there are three PvPs a week, so anyone who puts in the effort can, at a minimum, get three 4*s a week. This isn't a snail's pace.

I would say it is a snails pace. There are 10 4* with 9 in rotation, and more to arrive soon. So you get 1 of each 4* every 3 weeks hitting 1000 points in PVP. The Devs have said this transition should be faster than the 2-3* transition. Last time I checked 3*13=39 weeks. Now realistically you will cover a character faster than that becuase of random tokens, but that is a snails pace even if you start with 2-3 covers of a 4* it will be months before they are usable unless you invest a large amount of HP into them. Through DPDQ, PVP and PVE I was able to get IF fully leveled in a couple of months. I used HP for 1 purple.

I would just like to see the Devs show a better path to earning 4*. Maybe running a PVP where top 50 gets the 4* cover. I want to be able to work for 4* and win 4* not just luck into them with tokens. That is nice, but I would rather earn them. I would also like to get a chance to play them sooner than 30+ weeks.

Unknown

there s no 4* transition until D3 implements..whatever they're about to implement in Deadpool daily.

GrumpySmurf1002

FWIW, I'm at 56 4* earned this year so far.

7 from Daily rewards (8 soon, red 4Thor coming up next)
7 from Alliance rewards (between PvE/PvP)
6 from event rewards (4* Release, Gauntlet, one first place in a PvP)
17 from Progression
19 from tokens (2.35% pull, just about average)

So 5.5 months in, about 10 covers a month. But at the beginning of the year, it wasn't 10, so it's weighted towards older releases. 7 Fury, 8 IW, 9 Elektra, 6 Thor.

That said, I've only missed 1k once this season, and that's because it was my brothers wedding weekend and didn't have time. So while it may not be ideal pace, I'm already seeing an increase. And if they are addressing the availability, I think we'll only see further increases. It feels slow sure, but still realistic as a goal.

SnowcaTT

I had never hit a 1K before this season.

Since the points change, I've hit four of them.

I've been one out there shouting for many months that the 4* transition has been missing: this + vaulting (upcoming) + higher token pulls (supposedly upcoming) has really helped.

A continued boost in HP would be the next step - it's pretty impossible to do any sort of multiple shields and buy 1K roster slots at the same time, so it becomes rather impossible to both get 4*'s and keep them.

SnowcaTT

wymtime wrote:

I would just like to see the Devs show a better path to earning 4*. Maybe running a PVP where top 50 gets the 4* cover. I want to be able to work for 4* and win 4* not just luck into them with tokens. That is nice, but I would rather earn them. I would also like to get a chance to play them sooner than 30+ weeks.

The three star "complete" transition is something on the order of a year + : five full runs of DDQ will get you there, but you can't do that until you have the characters and have pretty well leveled 2* characters.

I don't like the PVE idea, which gives 4*'s pretty evenly to all levels (that's the point of tokens, right?) - those that are in the 3* region are in more need to move to 4* land, and should be better prepared to do so. That might be why keeping the progression in PVP is a good way to go.

If "faster" than 2*->3* meant half a year, I'd be thrilled. It still is a bit to slow, as I could easily visualize myself (before this season) getting to two years of play and missing three-quarters of the 4* covers. The means to obtain them have been pathetic, but it has changed with PVP progression and hopefully will improve more with signaled upcoming changes.

Unknown

I guess it depends on what you mean by 4* transition. I consider myself out if it, only having a 270 XF and a 240 TGT and a 220 IMHB all maxed covered. If you mean "literal time to get a 13 cover 4*" then it should be <6 months from your 3* transition if you play hard, or at whatever timetable your play schedule translates into. If you mean "I have 6 fully covered 4*s all maxed out ready to rotate in as needed" then yea, that's going to take a lot longer.

4*s for Gauntlet rewards will help some, The Deadpool Vault will hopefully help (some) and I think they have more ideas on the horizon to also help. Mean time just keep playing and getting covers and see how it goes.

P.S. - It doesn't take that many (if any at all) shields to hit 1,000 especially after you actually have a fully functioning 4* to help you out there.

P.P.S. - I know they are going to rerun a Carnage placement PvE because outages and stuff, but can we maybe get some reruns on other 4* characters perhaps? I mean, I know that's how I built most my 3*'s was winning them over and over again.

Skorche

I have 13 maxed 3* and while I've hit 1000 progression rewards in PvP twice, its not a guarantee every week thing. Most of my 3 stars are fully covered I'm currently working on leveling them but it takes about 4 or 5 maybe longer days to level them to max depending on what level they started at. Right now it really depends on the weekly buffed characters if I can hit 1000 progression. This week there's no way the only maxed character I have is Grey suit BW.

What I'd really like to see is a way to fully cover Devil Dino. I was able to get 3 red during the anniversary event and I recently got the 3 rewards from the daily alliance. Seems sad to give him up when I have him about 1/2 way covered but he's just sitting unused on my roster.

Unknown

Skorche wrote:

I have 13 maxed 3* and while I've hit 1000 progression rewards in PvP twice, its not a guarantee every week thing. Most of my 3 stars are fully covered I'm currently working on leveling them but it takes about 4 or 5 maybe longer days to level them to max depending on what level they started at. Right now it really depends on the weekly buffed characters if I can hit 1000 progression. This week there's no way the only maxed character I have is Grey suit BW.

What I'd really like to see is a way to fully cover Devil Dino. I was able to get 3 red during the anniversary event and I recently got the 3 rewards from the daily alliance. Seems sad to give him up when I have him about 1/2 way covered but he's just sitting unused on my roster.

yes!!!!!! hopefully during anniversary event!!!!