Recent PvP's - A JG Experiment?

ZeroKarma
ZeroKarma Posts: 513 Critical Contributor
edited October 2015 in MPQ General Discussion
So, we started the season with SG, whose main powers are purple and green. We are in the midst of Red Hulk PvP where his actives are, purple and green. Next up is Bullseye if you go by the 3* reward, who also happens to only have purple and green actives.

I'm wondering if the devs have this set up to see how many teams are still running JG and <insert character> in spite of the obvious color overlap to check her usage figures.

I'm not implying nerf incoming, but there is definitely a theme here. Or maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

Comments

  • Pylgrim
    Pylgrim Posts: 2,332 Chairperson of the Boards
    ZeroKarma wrote:
    So, we started the season with SG, whose main powers are purple and green. We are in the midst of Red Hulk PvP where his actives are, purple and green. Next up is Bullseye if you go by the 3* reward, who also happens to only have purple and green actives.

    I'm wondering if the devs have this set up to see how many teams are still running JG and <insert character> in spite of the obvious color overlap to check her usage figures.

    I'm not implying nerf incoming, but there is definitely a theme here. Or maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

    Don't forget that SW is also buffed this week. It really, really doesn't help that all those characters comparatively suck. It would be more useful if the choice was buffed Kamala or Iron Fist, who are also in those colours.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    With Immortal Rage pvp there's not going to be a ton of people (even those with Jean well covered) with well equipped Rhulk, so people are going to be running the strongest 2 they can field. You'll still see a lot of JeanBuster, IceBuster, JeanGoddess, JeanClops etc.
  • El Satanno
    El Satanno Posts: 1,005 Chairperson of the Boards
    Pylgrim wrote:
    ZeroKarma wrote:
    So, we started the season with SG, whose main powers are purple and green. We are in the midst of Red Hulk PvP where his actives are, purple and green. Next up is Bullseye if you go by the 3* reward, who also happens to only have purple and green actives.

    I'm wondering if the devs have this set up to see how many teams are still running JG and <insert character> in spite of the obvious color overlap to check her usage figures.

    I'm not implying nerf incoming, but there is definitely a theme here. Or maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

    Don't forget that SW is also buffed this week. It really, really doesn't help that all those characters comparatively suck. It would be more useful if the choice was buffed Kamala or Iron Fist, who are also in those colours.

    Squirrel Girl, Scarlet Witch and Rulk do not suck. They may not be among the top 5 in their class, but they do not suck.

    No, the obvious answer is that Jean Grey is simply the best character there is. And we will continue to see her all over the damn place because she is out-and-out better than every other character, boosted or not. Why would you use anyone else if given the option?
  • Quebbster
    Quebbster Posts: 8,070 Chairperson of the Boards
    It may just be a fluke, or the devs might have a penchant for running the same color combinations during certain weeks. It has happened before...
  • NickHewitt12
    NickHewitt12 Posts: 116 Tile Toppler
    Blade is coming up after 3BE, so you may be onto something here...
  • ZeroKarma
    ZeroKarma Posts: 513 Critical Contributor
    Nicholas Hewitt wrote:
    Blade is coming up after 3BE, so you may be onto something here...

    Not another Blade PvP! The bleeding. The BLEEDING!
  • SnowcaTT
    SnowcaTT Posts: 3,487 Chairperson of the Boards
    El Satanno wrote:
    No, the obvious answer is that Jean Grey is simply the best character there is. And we will continue to see her all over the damn place because she is out-and-out better than every other character, boosted or not. Why would you use anyone else if given the option?

    This. Super annoying when it seems like all you see in the upper levels is JG when she is boosted - but then when she isn't boosted all you see is 270 JG everywhere anyway.

    I don't think she is over-powerful; this is the same thing that happened with HB. When you get characters with HB colors, you still see un-boosted HB everywhere.

    But she is probably the most powerful, and her colors go along with that "other" most powerful - so often you'll see the HB/JG out there together. The difference is that HB often went alongside a 3* option - usually IF. You don't see a ton of JG's out there with 3*'s - those who have her covered had the ability (or the cash) to get a 2nd 4* to go along with her.

    This is more a condemnation of the other 4*'s. If folks who have most of the characters at 270 prefer to use a 270 JG/HB/KP over a 350 SL/IW/Elektra/(XF, GT?) - those other 4*'s need a buff.
  • simonsez
    simonsez Posts: 4,663 Chairperson of the Boards
    No need for conspiracy theories... recent releases are telling us the devs have a purple/green fetish. Nothing more to it than that...
  • simonsez
    simonsez Posts: 4,663 Chairperson of the Boards
    El Satanno wrote:
    No, the obvious answer is that Jean Grey is simply the best character there is. And we will continue to see her all over the damn place because she is out-and-out better than every other character, boosted or not. Why would you use anyone else if given the option?
    Actually, I didn't find her necessary in SG, because despite comments to the contrary, at lv290 SG is pretty damn good. If I can one-shot the Dakens that were all over the place for 9 purple, I really didn't need JG around.
  • Malcrof
    Malcrof Posts: 5,971 Chairperson of the Boards
    simonsez wrote:
    El Satanno wrote:
    No, the obvious answer is that Jean Grey is simply the best character there is. And we will continue to see her all over the damn place because she is out-and-out better than every other character, boosted or not. Why would you use anyone else if given the option?
    Actually, I didn't find her necessary in SG, because despite comments to the contrary, at lv290 SG is pretty damn good. If I can one-shot the Dakens that were all over the place for 9 purple, I really didn't need JG around.

    Red Hulk once people have him fully covered, i think is going to be the new force in the game. JG will be effectively neutralized without any green AP.. and being able to generate loads and get off that huge AOE he has... and he pairs well with IMHB, no active red... just need a yellow user. I do see Ice-man in the mix as well, possibly over JG.

    All that being said.. i am maxing JG as quickly as i can.. but IceMan and Red Hulk are the next i want.
  • rollx
    rollx Posts: 71 Match Maker
    Isn't ironfist buffed next week?

    Edit* yes, ironfist and gsbw are buffed. Sounds like your theory could be valid.
  • Pylgrim
    Pylgrim Posts: 2,332 Chairperson of the Boards
    El Satanno wrote:
    Pylgrim wrote:
    ZeroKarma wrote:
    So, we started the season with SG, whose main powers are purple and green. We are in the midst of Red Hulk PvP where his actives are, purple and green. Next up is Bullseye if you go by the 3* reward, who also happens to only have purple and green actives.

    I'm wondering if the devs have this set up to see how many teams are still running JG and <insert character> in spite of the obvious color overlap to check her usage figures.

    I'm not implying nerf incoming, but there is definitely a theme here. Or maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

    Don't forget that SW is also buffed this week. It really, really doesn't help that all those characters comparatively suck. It would be more useful if the choice was buffed Kamala or Iron Fist, who are also in those colours.

    Squirrel Girl, Scarlet Witch and Rulk do not suck. They may not be among the top 5 in their class, but they do not suck.

    No, the obvious answer is that Jean Grey is simply the best character there is. And we will continue to see her all over the damn place because she is out-and-out better than every other character, boosted or not. Why would you use anyone else if given the option?

    I said "comparatively suck". As in, compared to JG. Still, I stand by my point, perhaps this is my not-having-a-maxed-JG talking but I'd pick buffed Kamala or Iron Fist any time over unbuffed JG. Hell, I'd probably even pick buffed GSBW. Also, there's an argument to be had about Squirrel Girl being definitely the weakest 3* in that combination of active colours and Rulk being the weakest 4* in the same way.
  • Buret0
    Buret0 Posts: 1,591
    SnowcaTT wrote:
    This. Super annoying when it seems like all you see in the upper levels is JG when she is boosted - but then when she isn't boosted all you see is 270 JG everywhere anyway.

    I don't think she is over-powerful; this is the same thing that happened with HB. When you get characters with HB colors, you still see un-boosted HB everywhere.

    But she is probably the most powerful, and her colors go along with that "other" most powerful - so often you'll see the HB/JG out there together. The difference is that HB often went alongside a 3* option - usually IF. You don't see a ton of JG's out there with 3*'s - those who have her covered had the ability (or the cash) to get a 2nd 4* to go along with her.

    This is more a condemnation of the other 4*'s. If folks who have most of the characters at 270 prefer to use a 270 JG/HB/KP over a 350 SL/IW/Elektra/(XF, GT?) - those other 4*'s need a buff.

    Jean, aside from having great AoE attacks, is the natural deterrent to the battery characters in the game that rely on creating big boosts to :color: AP by adding a whole bunch of those tiles to the board at the same time. There was a run of powerful characters that relied on this method, most notably Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, Cyclops, Hulkbuster (blue), and KK. Most recently we also have Iceman, though it is rare to see a match five out of his purple unless you sacrificed green or blue covers (I have yet to come across anything other than 5/5/3).

    The only reason that Iron Fist stopped being the most used character in PvP is because of the wall of Jean Greys that damage/stun/drain if you get too lucky with your AP generation. The devs have a way around that in characters like Hulkbuster, Rhulk, and Kingpin, who add AP directly without using tiles, Goons (who directly inject the AP that they need), or through AP theft from characters like Hood or OBW. We haven't seen AP theft in 4* land yet and the ones that do exist have low health issues in the current meta.

    There are a lot of interesting ways to create a support character battery that will avoid board manipulation. I could see there being a character that is like a reverse true healing character, but who feeds AP as a passive like a goon. AP theft that relies on opponent power, like if your opponent has more than 5 AP in a color, you steal 1 AP of that color. Or like a 4Pool CD4W, where you gain AP for matching CD tiles. Or like a Hulk Anger type counterattack that feeds AP if you take X damage (3* Marvel is a great example of this, but without a CD).

    Jean is so prevalent in the current meta because of her ability to disable your battery, her ability to wipe out special tiles and do great damage, and her health is higher than a typical support or AoE damage character. The AI can't really screw her abilities up on D. She forces people who use fast attack teams in PvP to change up their team or how they would normally approach a battle. As more batteries become available that don't rely on board manipulation, part of her usefulness as a scarecrow will diminish, and you will start to see her used more often when she is boosted.
  • Raffoon
    Raffoon Posts: 884
    A few weeks back they did Rocket/Groot, Beast, and Doc Ock PvPs all in a row. Green/Blue with board shake and some special tiles.... Who's the best!? (It's clearly Grocket, by the way)

    This could be something similar.
  • El Satanno
    El Satanno Posts: 1,005 Chairperson of the Boards
    Pylgrim wrote:
    I said "comparatively suck". As in, compared to JG. Still, I stand by my point, perhaps this is my not-having-a-maxed-JG talking but I'd pick buffed Kamala or Iron Fist any time over unbuffed JG. Hell, I'd probably even pick buffed GSBW. Also, there's an argument to be had about Squirrel Girl being definitely the weakest 3* in that combination of active colours and Rulk being the weakest 4* in the same way.

    That's a fairly meaningless distinction to draw, don't you think? "Sucks compared to the best in the game?"
  • Pylgrim
    Pylgrim Posts: 2,332 Chairperson of the Boards
    El Satanno wrote:
    Pylgrim wrote:
    I said "comparatively suck". As in, compared to JG. Still, I stand by my point, perhaps this is my not-having-a-maxed-JG talking but I'd pick buffed Kamala or Iron Fist any time over unbuffed JG. Hell, I'd probably even pick buffed GSBW. Also, there's an argument to be had about Squirrel Girl being definitely the weakest 3* in that combination of active colours and Rulk being the weakest 4* in the same way.

    That's a fairly meaningless distinction to draw, don't you think? "Sucks compared to the best in the game?"

    Sure, except that in the same post I mentioned three characters I'd take over JG in those colours.
  • fmftint
    fmftint Posts: 3,653 Chairperson of the Boards
    Really seems like the season of purple, SG, RH, BE, Blade, Spider-Man...

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