Any advice for a newb

Wooodd

Hi all,

I'm new to these parts, and to the game in general, and was looking for some advice with my roster or any other general tips to improve my standings in-game.

Which of my characters have the best synergy when working together? Who should be levelled and who should be scrapped? Also should I be holding onto 6 separate single cover 4*'s when I haven't even capped 1 3* yet?

I'm on day 53 in game and I feel that I have progressed quite quickly to the level I'm at without spending a penny on the game. However, the last week or two things are really slowing down. I was placing top two for nearly every event, but now I'm lucky to hit top 100. My opponents are almost all fully covered 3*'s, is this down to scaling based on my performance to date or is it because of the useless 4*'s I have sat doing nothing?

Vhailorx

General tips:

(1) I would keep everyone at or below 127 until you have more fully covered 3*s. It should help you stay productive in pve until you have a deep enough 3* roster to really make a dent in pvp.

(2) Try to avoid selling 3* and 4* covers if at all possible. don't open tokens unless you can afford a new roster slot in case you pull a new character

(3) focus on pve events for now, especially where the placement rewards are for strong 3*s (cyclops, iron fist, cage, kk, etc)

(4) Play the ddq and lightning rounds (to 100 points) if you need iso

(5) your drop in placement is probably a result of moving from the "baby" brackets for new players into the "vet" brackets with everyone else. don't worry too much about it as there is nothing you can do to change it, and you will adjust. Use Line or the forums to figure out when is the best time to join event brackets are what time slices work for you.

(6) If you do decide to spend money on the game, invest it all into roster slots immediately. You will never regret buying 10 or 20 roster slots. You may instantly regret buying a 40-pack (or you may get everything you want, but my money would be on the former outcome).


And your scaling is just a reflecting of your performance. Your 1-cover 4*s at 70 won't have any real effect on scaling.

Wooodd

Thanks for the response Vhailorx, I figured early on the importance of roster slots.

I have 475 at the moment ready for my 31st slot when I need it, also I have some 1*'s I can burn when the time comes (Ill keep IM35, I'm sure that the 1* challenge in DDQ is achievable with just him).

Money will be spent if the game holds my interest. I made the mistake before of dropping £30.00 on a game early doors to loose interest within 3 months.

is a **** to earn on the game though, never really played the lightening rounds but hitting the 'baby' rosters it throws you at the start of each for easy is a good idea, thanks.

I tend to join the game brackets that finish at 10pm (GMT) so I'm free to push the last few hours. Is there more strategy to selecting a timeframe than this.

I will try and keep play in PvP limited, perhaps I'll continue to play to the 575 mark for the on each and then leave it.

TxMoose

what vhailorx said, adding to that:

re. pt #1 - I wouldn't level any of my 3s past 94 or 104. I know you have doom at 127 and that probably won't kill your scaling, but base scaling in pve is based on your top characters. level 104 is where I parked my ***s until I was ready to move a bunch up (actually moved a pair up high for pvp, but that strategy is less effective now). pve is where you'll be progressing your roster for the near future. fyi - 104 is where the matching damage of ***s is roughly equivalent of ** 94s, but fully covered, the ***s will hit much harder.

also, 3 key characters to work on are ares, storm, and daken. you'll use all 3 for a very long time and I don't recommend skimping on those. best ** characters in order (my opinion) are orig. black widow (obw), ares, storm, thor, mnmags, daken, axwolvie. really good combos include:
obw and ares/thor (third options include torch, storm, daken)
daken and axwolvie (really good third option is obw)
mnmags and storm (ares/thor are good thirds here)

obw is best at 3/5/5, so when that cover comes in I recommend that change. also, consider cap. I know he doesn't do much damage but fully covered, with mnmags and your Cyclops, you could take down some goon pve nodes. he provides a really useful utility that nobody else does, even though he's not very good against actual character opponents. I sold mine off right before the first ultron and I regretted it because my *** cap was not fully covered.

re hp - if you can play to 575 with no shields, continue to do that. playing pve to t50 in subs helps too.

Vhailorx

I wouldn't say limit your PVP play as much as limit your expectations. I in the current meta, high performance in PVP requires a very deep 3* roster (so you can use the weekly boosted 3*s to full effect), or a 4* roster. You just aren't there yet.

I would recommend playing PVP to 400 or 575 if at all possible, but not shielding or trying to protect your scores. That will be a nice source of HP.

as for time slices, I think the 10PM GMT slice is slice 3. For PVE, you are right to focus on picking a time when you can grind out the end of subs. with the 8 hour timers, excelling in PVE really requires you to grind for an hour or two at least at the end of each sub (which is the main problem with PVE IMO).

But you should also pay attention to when you join a slice. For each event there will be a thread here on the forums about how many people are in each slice. If you don't have time to grind optimally for an entire PVE, then you can watch that thread to see when your preferred time slice fills and then jump into a fresh bracket. (does that make sense? I don't know if I explained the mechanics well enough).

As for ISO, playing 3 seed matches in each lightning round is a fairly efficient way to grind it out (250 iso for hitting 100 points, plus the match rewards). It's also important to do all 5/5 nodes in DDQ whenever possible as that is definitely the best return on investment in terms of iso.

Also, if you aren't already, stockpile iso as much as possible. You don't need to level up every 3* as soon as you get another cover for them. Think about how often you are likely to use that character both in the short and long term. Iron fist is the best 3* hands down, and you will never regret leveling him up. But Quicksilver is pretty terrible, so unless you desperately need the rewards from an event for which he is featured, you are probably better off saving the iso for someone else that will help you more.

And definitely take TxMoose's advice re: 2* builds. I agreed with all of those comments!

Wooodd

Thanks TxMoose,

Currently I'm working on Cap and OBW, leveling them both up concurrently. I like that Cap can just drop his shield on a when it reaches 1. It is worth running him 3 5 5 rather than my current build for the goons do you think (so his red shield can be dropped on counters too) or keeping 'as-is' with the better defense?

Only just started on **Storm, must have binned a dozen covers for her in the first week or two thinking "oh, I have *Storm I don't want two of the same character". How foolish I was.

Never purchased a Shield in PvP it seems counterproductive as I only play them to earn not spend them. Is there ever a point where a shield is a viable option?

How many capped **'s is a good base to consider commencing the transition to ***? Is there a general consensus on this in the community?

TxMoose

Wooodd wrote:

It is worth running him 3 5 5 rather than my current build for the goons do you think (so his red shield can be dropped on counters too) or keeping 'as-is' with the better defense?

Only just started on **Storm, must have binned a dozen covers for her in the first week or two thinking "oh, I have *Storm I don't want two of the same character". How foolish I was.

Never purchased a Shield in PvP it seems counterproductive as I only play them to earn not spend them. Is there ever a point where a shield is a viable option?

How many capped **'s is a good base to consider commencing the transition to ***? Is there a general consensus on this in the community?

I would go 3/5/5 on cap. his red and blue, once going, are very sustainable since they return most all of the ap you spend. yellow is very expensive and although you can drop 3, it takes so long to accumulate I never found it much use.

I'd only start shielding if it allows you to finish t100, which will be a ways out I think for you. these days, 800+ is required for t100. hopefully they address that because the playerbase is outgrowing some of the reward system and the players who could use the *** are getting locked out of earning it by players who basically have most of the ***s finished.

Wooodd

Vhailorx wrote:

I would recommend playing PVP to 400 or 575 if at all possible, but not shielding or trying to protect your scores. That will be a nice source of HP.

Yeah, 575 has been achievable relatively easily without any shielding.

Vhailorx wrote:

But you should also pay attention to when you join a slice. For each event there will be a thread here on the forums about how many people are in each slice. If you don't have time to grind optimally for an entire PVE, then you can watch that thread to see when your preferred time slice fills and then jump into a fresh bracket. (does that make sense? I don't know if I explained the mechanics well enough).

Are you saying that the "Hardcore" players all jump into the first bracket and waiting for a later one is often rewarding as the players aren't mpq dependent yet?

Vhailrox wrote:

stockpile iso as much as possible.

With the number of **'s I currently have in their teens or early 30's, I don't think stockpiling is going to be an option.

teknofyl

If you are going to keep a single 1* for DDQ, I'd recommend Juggernaut. He's easily the most capable of soloing that node and I don't think he's in the rotation as the opponent. I certainly don't recall not being able to use him.

I'd say that you should for sure hold onto your 4* covers. I don't know which ones they are, but it almost doesn't matter. Pretty soon you'll need a specific 4* for DDQ once a week (-ish) and the end-game right now is 4* toons.

Good luck!

Vhailorx

3/5/5 is the only way to build 2* and 3* cap. the yellow power is just to expensive to use frequently.


Shielding becomes essential when you starting trying for 1000 points in PVP, but you don't need to worry about that for a while yet.

It used to be that 5 or 6 2*s was more than enough for all purposes. Nowadays things are a bit more complicated with 2* essentials in PVE events. I would really only invest iso and permanent roster spots into the key 2*s, and then have 1 or 2 rotating slots for other 2* essentials.

as an example, I currently have and frequently use obw, ares, 2* daken and 2* storm at 94 on my roster. I also have 2* thor at 94, but purely because I didn't sell him before 2* essentials were introduced. I barely ever use him. I also sold my mnmags for HP when he was balanced around the same time. I have just never had any spare iso to invest in rebuilding him, though he is probably worth having for you since stormneto is an important 2* tactic. Other than those, I just rotate in whatever 2* happens to be essential for a given PVE. currently, I have modern hawkeye in that slot, but I will sell him when the Gauntlet ends. I never level those rotating 2*s; they are just the price of admission for essential nodes.

As for brackets/slicing, it may be helpful to explain the terminology (sorry if you already know this). There are time slices, which is selecting the end time when you enter an event. There are also separate brackets of 1000 players each (for pve). When you select a time slice, you are automatically placed into a bracket. This matters if you don't enter an event until after it starts. If you an enter an event 24 after it starts, you might get placed in a bracket with 800 players who have already been accumulating points for 24 hours, or you might get a fresh bracket with only 50 players who all joined in the last hour. The game doesn't make the distinction obvious to the player, but it can have a huge effect on your final placement. By looking at the bracket threads here on the forum, you can wait until older brackets fill and then jump into fresh brackets. If won't turn you into a PVE god instantly, but it can help you avoid getting completely screwed.

TxMoose

Wooodd wrote:

With the number of **'s I currently have in their teens or early 30's, I don't think stockpiling is going to be an option.

no, not now, but you'd be surprised after you park several ***s at 94 or 104, have your core of **s (need about 8-10) at 94. once you stop leveling it starts building. don't ever think you don't need it because later it will be by far your most needed commodity in the game. hp needs hit too but once you're ready for the next level (moving into playing pvp competitively), having 500K iso ready to go really helps to take those key guys up. really hp and iso are both big needs, but if you break down and make a money purchase, it will be hp because iso is soooo expensive. that is why playing LRs as much as possible (no boosts) was recommended - they are the iso farm in the game. you can make up hp with a purchase, you cannot make up iso with a purchase unless you're prepared to spend large sums.

Wooodd

teknofyl wrote:

If you are going to keep a single 1* for DDQ, I'd recommend Juggernaut. He's easily the most capable of soloing that node and I don't think he's in the rotation as the opponent. I certainly don't recall not being able to use him.

I'd say that you should for sure hold onto your 4* covers. I don't know which ones they are, but it almost doesn't matter. Pretty soon you'll need a specific 4* for DDQ once a week (-ish) and the end-game right now is 4* toons.

Good luck!

Thanks,

I don't even have Jugs, I thought with him only being a 2 colour character who injures himself he wouldn't be a viable option.

Next time he drops I may swap out Black Widow for him. Is it worth it though, I mean all that Iso getting him to 40 when IM35 is already there.

TxMoose

FYI - im35 can handle the ddq node just fine. jugs is a good choice because he has other uses, which im35 doesn't have. jugs team ups (always green) are useful even for **** players as a cheap board shake that many times leads to cascade ap. also, jugs scales to ridiculous levels for some specific pvp events (balance of power, combined arms). one of those is a pvp where all characters play at level 270 and the other is one you have to play one 1*, one 2*, and one 3 or 4* (I think - can't remember which is which). jugs/obw/hood is very popular for the either one.

Wooodd

Vhailorx wrote:

I also sold my mnmags for HP

How do you sell a character for ? The only option available on MnMags is 12,500 . Is this something that was an option which has now changed? In any case I think him being one of my few fully leveled **'s he'll be sticking around.

Vhailorx wrote:

As for brackets/slicing, it may be helpful to explain the terminology (sorry if you already know this). There are time slices, which is selecting the end time when you enter an event. There are also separate brackets of 1000 players each (for pve). When you select a time slice, you are automatically placed into a bracket. This matters if you don't enter an event until after it starts. If you an enter an event 24 after it starts, you might get placed in a bracket with 800 players who have already been accumulating points for 24 hours, or you might get a fresh bracket with only 50 players who all joined in the last hour. The game doesn't make the distinction obvious to the player, but it can have a huge effect on your final placement. By looking at the bracket threads here on the forum, you can wait until older brackets fill and then jump into fresh brackets. If won't turn you into a PVE god instantly, but it can help you avoid getting completely screwed.

Got it. Already joined The Hulk so as this draws to a close I'll be sure to search on here and join a bracket a little more strategically.

TxMoose wrote:

FYI - im35 can handle the ddq node just fine. jugs is a good choice because he has other uses, which im35 doesn't have. jugs team ups (always green) are useful even for **** players as a cheap board shake that many times leads to cascade ap. also, jugs scales to ridiculous levels for some specific pvp events (balance of power, combined arms). one of those is a pvp where all characters play at level 270 and the other is one you have to play one 1*, one 2*, and one 3 or 4* (I think - can't remember which is which). jugs/obw/hood is very popular for the either one.

Perhaps I will grab him then, just level him slowly and hang onto IM35 until he's ready.

Thanks again to you all, It's been an insight into the nuances of the game and I'm sure your advice now will stop me making silly mistakes down the road.

GuntherBlobel

If you can't hit T100 in PvP, then you might consider joining a later season bracket as well. Skip the first PvP or two (since it doens't matter for you) and then play consistently from there on earning the points that you can. This way the hardcore will have filled earlier brackets and you will be placed with more casual PvPers that average scores closer to yours.

However, don't wait so long that you can't hit the 10 pack progression. A few extra heroic tokens in an easier season bracket is obviously not worth missing out on the 10 pack.

1/5 of Tokens are 3*s, so it's still somewhat useful to earn them if you can't win specific covers in PvP. Better than nothing, anyway.

defixu

Have a look at Northern Polarity's Guide in the tips forum. It's not up to date with all new characters anymore but it contains tons of useful info.

Deadpool369

When they hit mags with the nerf bat they offered hp to those who sold him..it's the only way to get hp from selling someone..also if u can hit 575 fairly easy try to push it to 650..you never know and might pull something good from the event token

Houtro

Your in good way. I think Mags was the last one they offer hp for selling after the nerf.
Very important: join a good alliance if you haven't. And you should try to hit 650pts. As for the roster I believe that you only need Juggs + Storm or Widow in the 1* land... Juggs is a monster in Balance Of Power! OBW is a must 3/5/5. In time you will need roster slots, you will sell some 2* for space I'm looking at Bulls, Moons, Caps unless you're a collector those will not be missed just have a rotating spot for any essential that you don't have.

slidecage

Wooodd wrote:

Hi all,

I'm new to these parts, and to the game in general, and was looking for some advice with my roster or any other general tips to improve my standings in-game.

Which of my characters have the best synergy when working together? Who should be levelled and who should be scrapped? Also should I be holding onto 6 separate single cover 4*'s when I haven't even capped 1 3* yet?

I'm on day 53 in game and I feel that I have progressed quite quickly to the level I'm at without spending a penny on the game. However, the last week or two things are really slowing down. I was placing top two for nearly every event, but now I'm lucky to hit top 100. My opponents are almost all fully covered 3*'s, is this down to scaling based on my performance to date or is it because of the useless 4*'s I have sat doing nothing?

if you dont care about your season score try jumping into a PVP with 60 to 90 mins left.. I do it all the time and can take top 50 without a problem.

how much time do you put into the game. can you score major numbers in PVE if so then try to hook yourself up with a allaince that can get top 100 in each PVE.

DFiPL

TxMoose wrote:

what vhailorx said, adding to that:

re. pt #1 - I wouldn't level any of my 3s past 94 or 104. I know you have doom at 127 and that probably won't kill your scaling, but base scaling in pve is based on your top characters. level 104 is where I parked my ***s until I was ready to move a bunch up (actually moved a pair up high for pvp, but that strategy is less effective now). pve is where you'll be progressing your roster for the near future. fyi - 104 is where the matching damage of ***s is roughly equivalent of ** 94s, but fully covered, the ***s will hit much harder.

To follow up on this, I eventually went the 104 route on my 3* as well, but not before I leveled Groot to 141, Storm to 133 and Deadpool to 119.

So, y'know, my scaling is probably a decent bit worse than it could have been as a result.

That said, my 104s can still handle most non-gauntlet things thrown at them now that community scaling has (supposedly) been disabled. I still run into a few nodes where the enemies are ~150 or 160 (usually the final node or two of a given sub). Sometimes it's doable, sometimes the synergies make me run and hide.

But even with that my scaling is reasonable enough that, if I have the essentials, I can hit the progression targets on just about any PvE I choose. Placement is much more luck of the draw, depending on which bracket/slice I end up in, how much free time I have during the event, and whether anybody gives a damn about the placement rewards.

But progressions have been mostly doable for me of late. Some of that is probably the fact that my 3* roster is much stronger than it used to be (20 of my 39 3* are 13 covers, now) and some of that is probably community scaling having gone away.

I'm curious to see how achievable the legendary tokens will be for me.

DFiPL

Wooodd wrote:

Never purchased a Shield in PvP it seems counterproductive as I only play them to earn not spend them. Is there ever a point where a shield is a viable option?

yes...ish.

If you play PvP regularly, the answer may change.

I play one season in every two or three, generally, just because if I play regularly eventually I wind up in brackets populated with people whose 3* are at 166, whereas mine are mainly at 104. So I skip a season or two between seasons I play to keep my matches...not "easy," but "feasible." I mostly play, as others mentioned upthread, to get to the HP rewards and the tokens (since I can usually get to 650 with my roster).

But because of the nature of how I play, when I DO PvP, I find myself sometimes in a position where I can place t100 or better. So, for me, if I need the 3* reward at t100 or better, I'll use an end-of-event 4h shield. At 51-100, it's a net loss of 25 , which is reasonable if it's a cover I can use. Anything above that, and it's a net gain of 25+ .

So that's the circumstances under which I'll shield - at the end of the event, to try and preserve placement if I have a feasible shot at a needed reward, and generally only if any "loss" is minimal (if I've earned 50 HP and I spend 75, I'm net -25 whether or not I get that cover; if I get the cover, it's worth it and if I don't, I didn't lose much).