Merrick wrote: My theory for why they have been releasing so many 4* characters recently.
Vhailorx wrote: Ddq is the solution, not the symptom. By last December, the best had maxed out 3*land. More new characters didn't help because they weren't materially better than the existing top dogs (lazy thor, hood, cmags, bp etc). Or rather, if they were better, then it meant power creep which the devs also want to avoid. The solution is a new tier of play. I remember making posts in Nov. And dec. Speculating that 4* land was coming soon and 5*s would be introduced in 2015.
simonsez wrote: Merrick wrote: My theory for why they have been releasing so many 4* characters recently. My theory is too many damn movie tie-ins.
GrimSkald wrote: simonsez wrote: Merrick wrote: My theory for why they have been releasing so many 4* characters recently. My theory is too many damn movie tie-ins. This. They've shown in the past that they really don't alter their release schedule when they have "necessary" characters to introduce. That is to say they have a planned release schedule, and if circumstances arise that they need to introduce a differerent character they add them to the schedule, not change it. I think Carnage was introduced so they could roll out the new Venom: Heroic. I think the Thing was the scheduled 4*, and I think that they introduced Ant-Man to tie in to the new movie. I don't read anything more into it than bad timing.
optimus2861 wrote: Vhailorx wrote: Ddq is the solution, not the symptom. By last December, the best had maxed out 3*land. More new characters didn't help because they weren't materially better than the existing top dogs (lazy thor, hood, cmags, bp etc). Or rather, if they were better, then it meant power creep which the devs also want to avoid. The solution is a new tier of play. I remember making posts in Nov. And dec. Speculating that 4* land was coming soon and 5*s would be introduced in 2015. I think those bolded statements are contradictory. If the devs don't want power creep, they dare not tread into 5* land. Any 5* tier would effectively have to curb-stomp the 3* tier, or else the current 4* players would grumble that the 5* aren't worth the effort. And if the 3* tier becomes 5* cannon fodder ... game over. 3* players start leaving in droves, and that's still the bulk of the player base, I imagine. If D3 ever does create a 5* character, it would probably be quitting time for me. It's a long enough process to get to 3*. Then an even longer & harder one to contemplate moving to 4*. But 5*? No way. No freaking way unless those players who want to chase & use them can have their own brackets.
sagapo wrote: They should remove the level restrictions on characters. Then the stars would only mean how rare it is to get a character. Harder to get characters would have more powerful abilities, but at least you can level 1* jugs to 270 if you please.
JVReal wrote: I have no doubt that we will maybe see 5* next year and a half or so, and hopefully they think through the process so that each level is still relevant and has it's place in the game.
Vhailorx wrote: I disagree. Power creep is a problem within tiers, but not nearly so much between tiers.
So many veterans who are bored with the 3* grind are reinvesting in the game for 4*s. That's great, it extends the life of the game. But for super whales like colog, 4* land is probably going to start getting crowded quite soon. And once a substantial portion of the veteran population has deep 4* rosters, demiurge will have the same problem in 4* land that existed in 3* land at the end of 2014. The solution then will be the same as last time: a new tier of play!
Xenoberyll wrote: What makes people think the number of stars have anything to do with the power level of the characters in the comic books?
optimus2861 wrote: Vhailorx wrote: I disagree. Power creep is a problem within tiers, but not nearly so much between tiers. Only because they nerfed Thor & XForce. Those two dominated PvP for a long time. And you didn't really address my point, that the 5* by definition will have to curb-stomp the 3* players in PVP. At that point, the 3* crowd may as well pack up & leave PVP for good. PVE might be a different story due to scaling, but still, what would be the point in investing in the 'core' roster of the game if you can only reasonably compete in half of it? So many veterans who are bored with the 3* grind are reinvesting in the game for 4*s. That's great, it extends the life of the game. But for super whales like colog, 4* land is probably going to start getting crowded quite soon. And once a substantial portion of the veteran population has deep 4* rosters, demiurge will have the same problem in 4* land that existed in 3* land at the end of 2014. The solution then will be the same as last time: a new tier of play! The 5* tier, if it ever comes to pass, will effectively be the signal to new players to not even bother to start playing. The veterans will utterly 'lap the field' at that point. It'll be outright impossible for new players to compete without whaling up, big-time, and you'd have to think many at that point just wouldn't bother. They'd go find other games where they wouldn't be starting so hopelessly behind. That's why I said 'separate brackets'. If you want 5* in the game, fine. Don't throw the 2* / 3* players into the same PVP or even PVE brackets as those players. They'll simply get crushed and discouraged. Let the 4* -> 5* players have their own veteran brackets where they compete with each other, and the new / transitioning players stay in the 'classic' brackets where they can continue to compete for the prizes that they need with players at their level.
Vhailorx wrote: But that's not a problem if 3*s become easier to get. For example, 3* play demolishes 2* play, but no one cares because 2* covers are pretty easy to get and the 3* transition is much much faster than it used to be.
And it's not so much that I want 5*s in the game, I just think that it is an inevitable problem with all mom-style games. There is a reason that the level cap in wow keeps going up. . .