Polarity's Guide on Going From 1* to 3* (Updated: 1/22/15)

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Comments

  • Great guide! Wish I had read it earlier, before pumping 105 levels into Punisher, and spreading ISO around to the characters-of-the-week. But, since I did, which of the following would you recommend leveling?

    lvl 60 5/2/2 Psylocke
    lvl 56 3/4/4 Patch
    lvl 55 2/5/1 Hood
    lvl 50 2/3/4 Mags
    lvl 50 2/2/2 Panther
    lvl 41 4/2/3 Iron Man
    lvl 38 2/2 Doom
    lvl 20 1/1/1 GSBW
    lvl 18 2/2/3 Spidey
    lvl 25 2 Hulk =(

    Again, thanks for the guide!
  • Love the guide icon_e_smile.gif Keep us updated on your analysis of 3* chars!
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Threid wrote:
    Great guide! Wish I had read it earlier, before pumping 105 levels into Punisher, and spreading ISO around to the characters-of-the-week. But, since I did, which of the following would you recommend leveling?

    lvl 60 5/2/2 Psylocke
    lvl 56 3/4/4 Patch
    lvl 55 2/5/1 Hood
    lvl 50 2/3/4 Mags
    lvl 50 2/2/2 Panther
    lvl 41 4/2/3 Iron Man
    lvl 38 2/2 Doom
    lvl 20 1/1/1 GSBW
    lvl 18 2/2/3 Spidey
    lvl 25 2 Hulk =(

    Again, thanks for the guide!

    I guess going down the list:
    Psylocke - You have the most covers for her but she doesn't really synergize well with Punisher as they fill the same role and colors (you don't really go Psylocke for her blue).
    Patch - Needs to be the highest leveled character on your team, but can do work. Shares same colors as Punisher though, so meh.
    Hood - 5 blue is what you need for him and you got it, but he doesn't sustain very well in extended play sessions.
    C. Mags - Needs 5 blue to be really really good: 4 purple makes him okay though.
    IM40 - meh.
    Others - not enough covers.

    The main candidates would be Patch (if you decide to commit to him and level him hard), Hood, or C. Mags I guess. I think it really depends on if you have level 85 2*s: if you do, then I'd probably hold onto my iso until you get enough covers to get the 3*s past level 100.
  • Is the transition from 2* to 3* really needed when you can go infinite on all tournaments with Thor / Modern Storm / Masked Black widow?

    I feel like this team is very consistant.

    Allways fight in jungle or desert.

    Get PA from Masked BW purple and black, red Storm, green storm, yellow Thor (eventually Thor's Red if you have spare red PA to use).
    Heal yourself with Masked BW blue.

    You can go infinite powers (chaining Red storm / yellow thor / green storm with, when needed to continue the chain purple black widow and environemental power) during fights and allways go out of a fight unarmed (I guess that You win at least 95% of your fights with this set up).

    I haven't seen the damage output of 4* of fully leveled 3* characters (Tiles only, not powers), this may be the only problem if for example Storm takes huge hits and can't be used without dying.

    I'm looking currently at 3 and 4* characters as i recently won a tournament, but i can't find any character that i would like to use over those 3...

    EDIT: forgot about the tournaments where you can't have one of the three... playing with Masked black widow and storm only is sometimes not synergistic with the third character...
  • stowaway
    stowaway Posts: 501 Critical Contributor
    M Storm, Thor and OBW are an extremely effective team for their level, but if you're going by the last two tournaments, you should keep in mind: A) the last two tournaments haven't been very competitive; and B) two of those characters were powered-up for the most recent one. And, as you say in your edit, you don't always get to use the exact team you want. In fact, in PvP, you rarely do.
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Haystar wrote:
    Is the transition from 2* to 3* really needed when you can go infinite on all tournaments with Thor / Modern Storm / Masked Black widow?

    I feel like this team is very consistant.

    Allways fight in jungle or desert.

    Get PA from Masked BW purple and black, red Storm, green storm, yellow Thor (eventually Thor's Red if you have spare red PA to use).
    Heal yourself with Masked BW blue.

    You can go infinite powers (chaining Red storm / yellow thor / green storm with, when needed to continue the chain purple black widow and environemental power) during fights and allways go out of a fight unarmed (I guess that You win at least 95% of your fights with this set up).

    I haven't seen the damage output of 4* of fully leveled 3* characters (Tiles only, not powers), this may be the only problem if for example Storm takes huge hits and can't be used without dying.

    I'm looking currently at 3 and 4* characters as i recently won a tournament, but i can't find any character that i would like to use over those 3...

    EDIT: forgot about the tournaments where you can't have one of the three... playing with Masked black widow and storm only is sometimes not synergistic with the third character...

    This team is also really bad on defense due to how little HP it has. As you start to face the 3* rosters, they'll be able to beat your team extremely quickly due to the low hp pool, while you need to do a pretty long combo chain in order to beat them.
  • Unknown
    edited March 2014
    ** to *** conversion question.


    Right now I've got the following roster-

    ** Wolverine 4-5-4 maxed
    ** Daken maxed
    ** Storm Classic 4-5-4 lvl 65
    ** OBW 3-4-3 lvl 61
    ** Thor 5-3-2 lvl 61
    ** Magneto 5-2-3 lvl 46
    ** Ares 3-3-2 lvl 45
    ** Moonstone 4-1-5 lvl 39
    ** Cap 4-5-4 lvl 32
    ** Hawkeye 1-0-3 lvl 8
    ** Bullseye 0-1 lvl 6

    *** Magneto 4-1-0 lvl 53
    *** IM40 1-2-1 lvl 30
    *** Ragnarok 1-2 lvl 28
    *** Hulk 0-0-2 lvl 25
    *** Hood 0-0-2 lvl 25
    *** Punisher 1-1-1 lvl 20
    *** GSBW 1-1-0 lvl 18
    *** Black Panther 1-0-0 lvl 15
    *** Dr. Doom 1-0 lvl 15
    *** Loki 1-0 lvl 15
    *** Psylocke 1-0-0 lvl 15
    *** Spidey 0-1-0 lvl 15
    *** Wolverine Patch 0-0-1 lvl 15


    I guess my question at this point is "Do I continue pumping my **s, like Classic Storm, or do I pour all my ISO into whatever ***s I get covers for soon?"

    I ask because, outside of Magneto, my ***s I'm getting covers for (IM40, Hood, Ragnarok) either don't appear to be the best or aren't the ideal covers to use.


    I'm currently prioritizing a few specific **s, like OBW and Ares, when I get new covers for them, but they're few and far between at the moment.


    EDIT - Fixed levels to reflect the last few days' activity. I ended up getting OBW and Ares covers out the wazoo and cover-maxed them.

    I could still use the advice on which direction to go, ***-wise, and whether to continue pumping guys like Classic Storm and Marvel NOW Magneto vs. putting that ISO into ***s as I get the covers.
  • Based on the past couple of questions, it seems like the 2*->3* section of the guide would benefit from an explicit answer to the question "when should I start putting iso into 3* characters?"
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Made the guide look nicer: no content updates as of yet.
  • stowaway
    stowaway Posts: 501 Critical Contributor
    The new formatting looks great! Seeing it all cleaned up just emphasizes how much fine work you've done putting it together.
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Teke184 wrote:
    ** to *** conversion question.


    Right now I've got the following roster-

    ** Wolverine 4-5-4 maxed
    ** Daken maxed
    ** Storm Classic 4-5-4 lvl 65
    ** OBW 3-4-3 lvl 61
    ** Thor 5-3-2 lvl 61
    ** Magneto 5-2-3 lvl 46
    ** Ares 3-3-2 lvl 45
    ** Moonstone 4-1-5 lvl 39
    ** Cap 4-5-4 lvl 32
    ** Hawkeye 1-0-3 lvl 8
    ** Bullseye 0-1 lvl 6

    *** Magneto 4-1-0 lvl 53
    *** IM40 1-2-1 lvl 30
    *** Ragnarok 1-2 lvl 28
    *** Hulk 0-0-2 lvl 25
    *** Hood 0-0-2 lvl 25
    *** Punisher 1-1-1 lvl 20
    *** GSBW 1-1-0 lvl 18
    *** Black Panther 1-0-0 lvl 15
    *** Dr. Doom 1-0 lvl 15
    *** Loki 1-0 lvl 15
    *** Psylocke 1-0-0 lvl 15
    *** Spidey 0-1-0 lvl 15
    *** Wolverine Patch 0-0-1 lvl 15


    I guess my question at this point is "Do I continue pumping my **s, like Classic Storm, or do I pour all my ISO into whatever ***s I get covers for soon?"

    I ask because, outside of Magneto, my ***s I'm getting covers for (IM40, Hood, Ragnarok) either don't appear to be the best or aren't the ideal covers to use.


    I'm currently prioritizing a few specific **s, like OBW and Ares, when I get new covers for them, but they're few and far between at the moment.


    EDIT - Fixed levels to reflect the last few days' activity. I ended up getting OBW and Ares covers out the wazoo and cover-maxed them.

    I could still use the advice on which direction to go, ***-wise, and whether to continue pumping guys like Classic Storm and Marvel NOW Magneto vs. putting that ISO into ***s as I get the covers.

    The idea is that you level up your 2*s to a point where you can consistently win 3* covers (typically by placing top 10 in every 3 day PvP tournament). 3* covers are a lot harder to come by, so you need to be able to do this if you want to get enough 3* characters to make a transition in a reasonable amount of time. What I did was level up Thor/OBW/Wolvie to 85 and completely ignore the other 2*s, as those 3 were enough for me to win enough covers to make the transition. I think most people will be able to make the transition off of 3 level 85s, so that's what I would recommend. In your case, I would probably focus on leveling OBW (great synergy with strike tiles once you get the 4 black), Thor (active yellow!), and maybe C. Storm (who I don't like without a high covered MN mags, but she might be good enough with Daken to work). I think your current roster is dependent on C. Storm though since you won't know when you'll be getting covers for your other 2*s, so I'd probably level her up to 85.

    In terms of spending iso on 2*/3*s, you should only use the iso if the character can be incorporated into your current lineup. Your MN Mags, for instance, is probably too weak to do so because he doesn't have enough purple covers to be a crazy blue battery. 3* characters as well generally aren't worth pumping iso into until you can get them to level ~80-90 (100 is when they become as powerful as a level 85 2*). The exception to this is when they're buffed in a tournament of course, in which case if leveling them will really help you do well, then go for it.
  • Are you going to update the guide with the new reward structure in mind? Tourneys used to be the absolute best way to get a 2* up to speed as it gave you 3 covers of the same character so your characters went from **** to usable, or from usable to strong over the course of just a few days. However, with the new reward structure, tourneys is a really bad way to build 2* teams unless you're at the tail end of your 2* journey and you just need that one cover.

    The new best way to build a 2* is probably to play PvE events and win a bunch of special (or heroic) packs from sub-events. If they fix the issue with event tokens by the next event, it could be even better as the pool of 2*s you win from packs is more limited so the likelihood of getting a bunch of the same 2* hero is really great. So instead of getting 7 different heroes to L30, you may be getting 3 heroes to L60
  • kensterr
    kensterr Posts: 1,277 Chairperson of the Boards
    Your thoughts on fat Thor now that his level 141 4/4/5 stats are out? Thanks!
  • kensterr wrote:
    Your thoughts on fat Thor now that his level 141 4/4/5 stats are out? Thanks!

    3/5/5 is unquestionably the best build. Although all his abilities are well above what is balanced, his red is relatively tame (1800 damage for 8r is efficient but not powerful enough for a quick knockout). His green is way overpowered, and his yellow arguably even more so because it's the best green accelerator in the game, which means even if his green stops being viable you can still always pair him up with any number of the powerful green heroes out there, and it packs a nice punch on the side as well. Like Black Panther I'm sure we'll see an immediate nerf shortly though.
  • For new players (like myself), I just want to add that if you're desperate for Iso-8 and have time to spare, one option is to farm the easiest Prologue missions for 20 Iso each time you play. Personally, I favour "Chapter 1: Avengers Tower, Attacked!". There are just 2 Level 1 Snipers, and their shots last for a 5-turn countdown, making it very easy to kill them or get rid of the countdown tile before the timer goes off. Even for the weakest of teams, it's very possible to win it multiple times unharmed, making it an ideal farming spot.

    This is also great for the times when you're just waiting 5 minutes for all your heroes to finish healing and don't mind the boredom of repeating a mission over and over again. Or when you're watching TV and the ads are boring. Or when you're in line at Starbucks... any time you're bored, really.

    This is a really awesome guide, NP! Thanks a lot! icon_e_biggrin.gif

    P/S. Since we're on the topic of Modern Thor, I have a quick question. I just completed my 1*-->2* transition. My 2*Thor is only at Level 45 (4/2/2) but fully levelled for the no. of covers I own. I recently received 3*Modern Thor (0/0/1) from the Hulk PvE event. Should I continue trying to get 2*Thor covers, or should I be focussing on 3*Modern Thor instead? Thanks!
  • Naixiew wrote:
    Should I continue trying to get 2*Thor covers, or should I be focusing on 3*Modern Thor instead? Thanks!

    I always tend to try to get 3* when I can, since most 2* you will end up getting too many of anyway. (Except for 2 damn 2* green Thor covers.. grr).

    Keep in mind too that 3* characters exceed 2* characters in base stats around level 100, so 2* Thor will give you ALOT of mileage until you are able to get your 3* to that level.
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Naixiew wrote:
    For new players (like myself), I just want to add that if you're desperate for Iso-8 and have time to spare, one option is to farm the easiest Prologue missions for 20 Iso each time you play. Personally, I favour "Chapter 1: Avengers Tower, Attacked!". There are just 2 Level 1 Snipers, and their shots last for a 5-turn countdown, making it very easy to kill them or get rid of the countdown tile before the timer goes off. Even for the weakest of teams, it's very possible to win it multiple times unharmed, making it an ideal farming spot.

    This is also great for the times when you're just waiting 5 minutes for all your heroes to finish healing and don't mind the boredom of repeating a mission over and over again. Or when you're watching TV and the ads are boring. Or when you're in line at Starbucks... any time you're bored, really.

    This is a really awesome guide, NP! Thanks a lot! icon_e_biggrin.gif

    P/S. Since we're on the topic of Modern Thor, I have a quick question. I just completed my 1*-->2* transition. My 2*Thor is only at Level 45 (4/2/2) but fully levelled for the no. of covers I own. I recently received 3*Modern Thor (0/0/1) from the Hulk PvE event. Should I continue trying to get 2*Thor covers, or should I be focussing on 3*Modern Thor instead? Thanks!

    Its going to take forever for you to get enough lazythor covers, so i would still focus on mn thor covers.
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    noknuckles wrote:
    Are you going to update the guide with the new reward structure in mind? Tourneys used to be the absolute best way to get a 2* up to speed as it gave you 3 covers of the same character so your characters went from **** to usable, or from usable to strong over the course of just a few days. However, with the new reward structure, tourneys is a really bad way to build 2* teams unless you're at the tail end of your 2* journey and you just need that one cover.

    The new best way to build a 2* is probably to play PvE events and win a bunch of special (or heroic) packs from sub-events. If they fix the issue with event tokens by the next event, it could be even better as the pool of 2*s you win from packs is more limited so the likelihood of getting a bunch of the same 2* hero is really great. So instead of getting 7 different heroes to L30, you may be getting 3 heroes to L60

    I think pve event tokens were always a good way of accelerating 2* growth. These pvp changes confuse me as im not sure what the best strategy is now: on one hand 1 cover isnt really a lot, on the other hand how long is it going to take for that random 3* cover to actually do something for you? It might still be better to focus on key 2* covers so that you can accelerate into 3'3* cover winnings quickly.
  • Based on the past couple of questions, it seems like the 2*->3* section of the guide would benefit from an explicit answer to the question "when should I start putting iso into 3* characters?"

    ^This was why I started reading this post.

    I'm sitting on 30K ISO and am consistently winning at least 1-2 3** covers each event but my 3* are still sitting at 4-7 covers and the only one that I can currently level past level 85 is Loki (which I would like to do to battle all those strike tiles) but everywhere I hear he's terrible.

    So do I just wait until I have a 3* that I can level past 100 before dumping ISO into him/her? Or do I just level all 3* as I go?

    Great thread otherwise.
  • noknuckles wrote:
    Are you going to update the guide with the new reward structure in mind? Tourneys used to be the absolute best way to get a 2* up to speed as it gave you 3 covers of the same character so your characters went from **** to usable, or from usable to strong over the course of just a few days. However, with the new reward structure, tourneys is a really bad way to build 2* teams unless you're at the tail end of your 2* journey and you just need that one cover.

    The new best way to build a 2* is probably to play PvE events and win a bunch of special (or heroic) packs from sub-events. If they fix the issue with event tokens by the next event, it could be even better as the pool of 2*s you win from packs is more limited so the likelihood of getting a bunch of the same 2* hero is really great. So instead of getting 7 different heroes to L30, you may be getting 3 heroes to L60

    I think pve event tokens were always a good way of accelerating 2* growth. These pvp changes confuse me as im not sure what the best strategy is now: on one hand 1 cover isnt really a lot, on the other hand how long is it going to take for that random 3* cover to actually do something for you? It might still be better to focus on key 2* covers so that you can accelerate into 3'3* cover winnings quickly.

    My thought is that in general, 3* will be better if you have the roster slot available. If it's a 2* cover of something you're already using, then go for the 2* as it'll improve your team, but when it comes to hoarding covers, I'd rather hoarde 3*s. If you have say 1 cover for Modern Hawkeye, they are giving Modern Hawkeye as the prize, and your roster is in the 40-60 range, I'm sure it would be better to collect that 3* cover instead of having that second M Hawkeye cover.

    For something like Green Thor that's being given out right now, I think it's almost always going to be better to grab that 2* Thor cover as that's probably the likeliest candidate to start replacing your 1*s

    My idea of aiming for the 2* rewards now is to use it to flesh out your team. Hoarding 2*s I believe should be primarily done through Heroic Tokens. Super lucky for me, as they changed the structure JUST as I was in my fleshing out stage