Whats it like to play at higher tiers?

Konman

My progression to 4* land is nigh nonexistent. So I was curious what PVP events are like for higher tier players. For me, with only 1 usable 4* (Fury) I rely on 3* teams the vast majority of the time. I start with seed teams, and then most opponents are maxed/leveled/boosted 3* teams until I get to 600 or so points, at which point, I see lots of JeanBusters, and low value fights. Then its a struggle to try to get over 800 points, even more so to get to 1000, with way too much spent on shields.

So that's me, with all the good 3* maxed and champed to some degree, and lots and lots of unusable 4*s.

How does the other tier play?

Thanks!

Vhailorx

I am not much further along than you (3 4* champs, only 1 of the top 5), but I did have an imhb/if team last June when it was the best available option.

From my time last summer, top tier play is fun in that opposing teams are all beatable. It's good to know that you have a higher unshielded balance point, more time for hops, a better chance of defensive wins, and a clear path to PvP success. BUT, above 900 or so, finding worthwhile matches becomes much harder (I have never use line to coordinate), so a bunch of energy gets devoted to skipping opponents over and over, or rebooting the game to try to get out of the same 5 opponents cycling in your nodes, or trolling leaderboards to find unshielded opponents. That can get quite tedious an annoying, and is part of why I stopped playing PvP competitively more than one or two events per season.

Nowadays, the meta has clearly passed my roster by (i have no jg, rulk, iceman, or 4* cyclops, or OML). I generally climb to 7-800 using xfw/xpool for true healing. But that team is only 60-75% reliable against jeanbusters and other top teams (it's a bit squishy and too slow), so I frequently switch over to imhb/if for my last few matches from 800-->1000 (speed is incredibly important, even though if is very squishy). I can't often get 1k without shielding, but I can typically do it with just one 3 hour shield.

morph3us

I have 6 champed 4*s (HB, JG, Iceman, XDP, Thing, Fury), and a level 360 OML.

I start with seed teams, then I'm matched with maxed 4* duos, or a 5* (up to level 415) plus a maxed 4* all the way up. Very rarely, I'll see a maxed 3* team along the way. Usually, I'll climb to below 700, then run to a tad over 1K for most events before dropping my first shield. It's shield hopping the rest of the way after that to 1300+.

As Vhailorx says, pretty much everyone is beatable. The main advantage of moving up a tier or two is that you tend to get less attacks from the lower tiers, to a point. I don't really get hit by 3* teams. I do get hit by 4* teams, and I also get hit from 5* teams up to level 415ish or so. The second advantage is that you don't need to rely on the weekly boosted so much.

The bigger step is probably moving from 3* to 4*, to be honest, since it does improve your chances of hitting 1k reliably every PvP (and often times, you can pop your first shield at 1k). Moving from 4* to 5* transition hasn't changed things at all for me, really. My float point isn't that different from when I was running 4*s only, since the MMR is now exposing me to 5* teams that are much stronger than my team, plus boosted 4*s will take me down too.

tldr; moving from 3* to 4* makes a difference. Moving from 4* to 5* (until you can really level them) doesn't really change things all that much.

Ludaa

Once you have a few of the top 4's and a half covered OML you get a message pop up...

"Congratulations PlayerName, you have reached the highest levels of challenge we can offer you! To continue your mastery of MPQ you must download Line, where new challenges await! Test your trust issues and decency in the fiery pits of Check Rooms and Battle Chats! Oh my! Good luck!"

KGB

As a relative newcomer to PvP play and someone in the 2* transition (no one above L94) it seems to me that *everything* depends on when you play.

If I enter early (1+ days before it finishes) I often find there are 100 or less players in my group of 500 so that by the time I finish the 3 seeded matches I am already fighting 3* teams in the 140+ range and out of my league. So I've stopped entering early or I just enter, play the 3 matches and then wait till last few hours and come back and play some more.

It also seems that the prime time for my team to play is 6-8 hours before the end of the event because by then there are 500 entrants and lots of teams to find. More importantly, lots of teams like mine where players are just trying for rewards rather than final placement. I shoot for the 650 point reward at which point I can't beat any more teams either (same Jean/Busters by that point). I'll eventually get knocked down to the 400 point range (helps progress for season end reward) by the time the final 3 hr rush crew gets finished with me.

What I *really* don't get is that when I look at the final standings, I end around 150-250 range and when I look at the 10 teams next to me virtually *ALL* them are maxed out 3* or better rosters, some with well covered 5*s and I don't understand how they aren't ranking top 100 unless they aren't playing much. I also *never* seem to see those teams either when I am skipping and looking for opponents so I am not sure who they are getting matched up with when we have equivalent point totals.

KGB

P.S. Note that a few times I've entered an event in the 1/2 hour or so and managed to place top 100 simply because a new group of 500 was created from the last minute stragglers. If the top 100 is a 3* cover I really want that's how I try to get it.

mpqr7

Now that I have a high levelled oml, I can hit 1300 pretty easily without too many people sniping me, which is nice. I could probably score quite a lot, such as 1800, 2000+ etc if I did tons of shield hops, but I don't have the time, money or interest. After 1300, there are no further prizes to win, and even at 1300, I just end up winning a useless 4* that I don't need, which I then sell for a mere 1000 iso. I usually end up at around 1500 - 1700.

Something for you to look forward to!!!

Phumade

Ludaa wrote:

Once you have a few of the top 4's and a half covered OML you get a message pop up...

"Congratulations PlayerName, you have reached the highest levels of challenge we can offer you! To continue your mastery of MPQ you must download Line, where new challenges await! Test your trust issues and decency in the fiery pits of Check Rooms and Battle Chats! Oh my! Good luck!"

There is alot of truth to what Ludaa says. The higher your score, the less important your roster becomes and coordination and collaboration really dominates the game.

stowaway

KGB wrote:

What I *really* don't get is that when I look at the final standings, I end around 150-250 range and when I look at the 10 teams next to me virtually *ALL* them are maxed out 3* or better rosters, some with well covered 5*s and I don't understand how they aren't ranking top 100 unless they aren't playing much. I also *never* seem to see those teams either when I am skipping and looking for opponents so I am not sure who they are getting matched up with when we have equivalent point totals.

A lot of players are in a state of semi-retirement. Many of those players will still hit 300 to 500 points every PvP to make sure they get the season 10 pack, or because HP and Iso are yummy, or because they're in an alliance with modest but enforced minimums (the difference between a top 100 and a top 250 alliance is vast in terms of points, but the rewards for top 250 are still pretty good).

People with strong rosters who are just shooting for 300-500 can get there pretty quickly. You may not be seeing them as opponents because they're just breezing in at the last half hour.

PeterGibbons316

morph3us wrote:

I have 6 champed 4*s (HB, JG, Iceman, XDP, Thing, Fury), and a level 360 OML.

I start with seed teams, then I'm matched with maxed 4* duos, or a 5* (up to level 415) plus a maxed 4* all the way up. Very rarely, I'll see a maxed 3* team along the way. Usually, I'll climb to below 700, then run to a tad over 1K for most events before dropping my first shield. It's shield hopping the rest of the way after that to 1300+.

As Vhailorx says, pretty much everyone is beatable. The main advantage of moving up a tier or two is that you tend to get less attacks from the lower tiers, to a point. I don't really get hit by 3* teams. I do get hit by 4* teams, and I also get hit from 5* teams up to level 415ish or so. The second advantage is that you don't need to rely on the weekly boosted so much.

The bigger step is probably moving from 3* to 4*, to be honest, since it does improve your chances of hitting 1k reliably every PvP (and often times, you can pop your first shield at 1k). Moving from 4* to 5* transition hasn't changed things at all for me, really. My float point isn't that different from when I was running 4*s only, since the MMR is now exposing me to 5* teams that are much stronger than my team, plus boosted 4*s will take me down too.

tldr; moving from 3* to 4* makes a difference. Moving from 4* to 5* (until you can really level them) doesn't really change things all that much.

I have champed IMHB, Iceman, JG, Cyc, Rulk, XFW, XPool, and a 330 OML and my experience is similar. I still see maxed and boosted 3* teams though (maybe because my OML is only 330 instead of 360?)

My last 3 champs have been Cyc, JG, and Iceman and it has really opened up PvP for me. For a long time it was FistBuster only and was getting stale. Now I can actually pick a different 4* team based on who I am fighting against. Another Rulk? I bring RulkBuster. OML? IceBuster. I prefer Cyc with JG if either is boosted. And I even use the X-Force twins for early sustainable climbing.

I typically join early and try to get above 700 as soon as possible, then float for the better part of the day. I'll get hit by the occasional 4* team, but usually not too bad. Second day in is when I make my push to first shield. Often around 1k, but I've gone as high as 1280 without getting hit. After the first shield is when the baking starts. I try to get 3 cupcakes lined up for each hop, and bake my own cupcake off the easiest team of the 3. I'll hop until I hit 1300 and usually call it quits (very little incentive for me to continue beyond that). I once pushed over 2k hopping 3 times every 8 hours only to finish 4th I think. It was fun to see how high I could push, but now I just hit 1300 and shield through the end of the event. I finished last season around 16k I think which just barely got me into top 50 for the season.

VA5

I have a close to a dozen championed 4's with HB level 289 as highest. Most other 4's maxed cover. Mid level 5's with OML at 7 covers and Phoenix at 8. Last pvp I scored 1942 and did not crack top 5 (was #6). On the good side 1300 is cake now and as I do not like scrolling through line to find if I can hit someone I do enjoy the banter with other players

El Satanno

Konman wrote:

My progression to 4* land is nigh nonexistent. So I was curious what PVP events are like for higher tier players. For me, with only 1 usable 4* (Fury) I rely on 3* teams the vast majority of the time. I start with seed teams, and then most opponents are maxed/leveled/boosted 3* teams until I get to 600 or so points, at which point, I see lots of JeanBusters, and low value fights. Then its a struggle to try to get over 800 points, even more so to get to 1000, with way too much spent on shields.

So that's me, with all the good 3* maxed and champed to some degree, and lots and lots of unusable 4*s.

How does the other tier play?

Thanks!

From where I live in getting-there 5* land (aka: usable Logan), I tend to play my events in one of two ways.

One way, I join somewhere in the middle; between 24 and 18 hours before the end. I climb to my general float point, which is usually between 800 and 1000 points. Depending on how my climb went and how busy things are, I'll either float and let my health packs regenerate or push until I run out of health. Hits usually start coming in over 1000 which makes things "fun." Regardless, once I shield, I can usually manage a 3- and 8-hour rotation until event end.

The other way, I join with less than 18 hours left. I try to climb to the same float point, and then try to catch a cake wave to hopefully drop a first shield above 1300. Then it runs similar to the first method.

As others above have mentioned, for me it is almost exclusively about coordination with groups to find better targets and build points in the slice through shielding. My roster can now take me to top progression alone. Personally I prefer the social element that coordination brings. I've gotten to know many, many people and become familiar or even friendly with a lot of alliances, and it's enhanced my enjoyment of the game.

ammenell

how long does a 4* need to clear a sub?
how long does it take for a 5* roster?

how much time do you invest in pvp to reach 1.3k?

madsalad

Thunderdome.

Malcrof

To be honest, getting a few max 4* and 1 feildable 5*, actually gets kinda old.. it takes a LONG time to get the iso to max a 4*, so in the meantime, you end up using the same teams day in and day out in pvp, and it gets stale.. eventually though, you will build up more 4*s, and once you can get 1 or 2 of the weekly buffed per week leveled, it gets more fun.

But i loathe the day i level a 2nd 5* to 350+, then it will be the same 2 chars every pvp for near eternity..

OML, as good as he is, doesn't have active powers, and i rarely transform him, so he just tanks and heals, sorta boring really.

PeterGibbons316

Malcrof wrote:

But i loathe the day i level a 2nd 5* to 350+, then it will be the same 2 chars every pvp for near eternity..

Been thinking this as well.

As nice as it would be to have a 400+ 5* duo it might actually end the game for me. The other problem as I understand it is that those 5* rosters can only see and are typically only seen by other 5* rosters. So I'm content with my 330 OML and 315 SS (that never sees the light of day) that can still find 3* rosters for now!

madsalad

PeterGibbons316 wrote:

Malcrof wrote:

But i loathe the day i level a 2nd 5* to 350+, then it will be the same 2 chars every pvp for near eternity..

Been thinking this as well.

As nice as it would be to have a 400+ 5* duo it might actually end the game for me. The other problem as I understand it is that those 5* rosters can only see and are typically only seen by other 5* rosters. So I'm content with my 330 OML and 315 SS (that never sees the light of day) that can still find 3* rosters for now!

This is exactly why D3 needs to shake up the content in this game. 4* focused PVPs, maybe even 5* ones eventually. There needs be more competition at the higher levels and not this "3* required" nonsense continually. How about a PVP with a required 2* of your choice, a 3* of your choice and a 4* of your choice, or a 5,4,3. Or how about a different PVP that allows for 4 characters instead of 3, etc... Anything. Just start giving us more content where we can do different things.

GrumpySmurf1002

It's the same thing except you can beat the Jeanbusters and go to 1000-1300 unshielded.

At 5* that moves to like 2k.

But mostly the next tier of play is Co-op and being incredulous if you take an attack. Mostly.

Bowgentle

GrumpySmurf1002 wrote:

But mostly the next tier of play is Co-op and being incredulous if you take an attack. Mostly.

Lol yeah.
"I'm in here!" has to be my most used BC phrase of the last few PVPs.

TxMoose

i'll add my current experience. non-line user. day 460 player. have 4, 4* champs = hb/jean/ice/cyke. most of my 4* are covered (only top half cover I need is a rulk red) and about to start working 4thor up and then xpool. no "usable" 5*s, but could level SS if I wanted - but I'm holding off for now. SS at 1/4/3, OML at 2/-/5 (yay rng!), phx and bssm are 1 cover each. 16 3* champs and all 3s are fully covered. my favorite team is probably cyke/hood/ice - ice is so dang strong, but his effectiveness really depends on him getting to 12 green, and my ice is several levels ahead of my cyke and cyke's yellow lets me get to ice green more reliably. otherwise I'd prefer hb over cyke. jean is good too, but I think ice has more versatility.

I generally join early and slowly climb with a match here or there, but sometimes in spurts - depends on time availability. I generally try and stay out of t20 or I know i'll be a target. usually I end up floating in the 600s, sometimes I can stay in the 700s but that is usually rare. I do see plenty of 3* teams through the beginnings of my soft push but once I reach a certain level, its mostly all 4* teams. then, depending on which day of the week it is (I have pretty set routines), i'll make my big push to first shield anywhere from 9hrs to 20 hours from event end. usually that is around 1100, but has been as high as upper 1200s. if I over-reach and try and push higher than I should, sometimes I get beat back down. if I get hit, sometimes that first shield is in the 900s. usually I shield when either 1) hits come in or 2) I feel exposed. if hits come in, that means you've become a target in people's queues. if one comes in, but you have a juicy target lined up, I've taken that one for 70something points only to come out to -200.

I then start a 3/8/3... shield schedule. I do everything I can to avoid the 24hr. I usually use 2-4 shields and usually finish 1400-1600 pts anywhere from 40ish to 10ish, depending on the bracket. I pretty much hop on cakes after that first shield - sometimes I do 3/hop, sometimes 2/hop. in the shulk pvp, some of the big big boys were putting down fist/cage cakes (they were boosted to the 240s), and normal 2* cakes were harder to find sometimes, so that along with shulk green screwing things up sometimes, I stuck to 2 matches/hop. in colossus 3/hop was fine, especially with hb boosted.

I don't use line, but have a decent idea of my normal slices when guys move and who might bake. the weekend pvp I push Saturday night, the Wednesday pvp I push Tuesday night and the Friday pvp I push Friday lunch.

hope this helps - feel free to ask anything.

Jarvind

I'm not super duper high end, but I have 4 of the top 5 4*'s championed (JG, Hulkpuncher, Rulk and Cyclops) and am slowly working on a 5-cover OML.

So far it's not super different except that it's pretty easy to hit 1k because I don't start taking hits until 600-ish, and 1300 is attainable on the rare occasions where my schedule allows for shield hops.

I'm not a huge fan of being forced to use the same few characters all the time to avoid being feasted on, so I'm not in any particular rush to get to the mega-endgame. I'll probably never use LINE - I tried it briefly and I can't be bothered to learn all the gibberish abbreviations and nonsense "etiquette." I'd much rather just hit whoever comes up in my queue and get a 25 CP reward here and there.

Orion

I have a 3/4/3 level 384 OML and champed IMHB, Jean, 4Thor and Carnage. For PvP, I almost always use OML/Jean since they're rainbow between the 2 of them.

I usually start PvP early, but climb very slowly. I'll take out the seed teams and then I start seeing maxed 4* teams, or a maxed 4* with a 300+ level 5*. I usually climb to 500 or so and then stop. I'll get hit by teams with level 400+ OMLs, but it's kind of rare. I can usually climb to 1150 or so without a shield. I do use Line, but I'm not in the chats with all of the big boys. I'll usually shield once I get to 1150 and then see what high point fights I can line up to get to 1300. I don't try to get more than that.

PvE is fairly easy with OML/Jean. Clears take about 30 minutes and the grinds 2 hours or so. I'm not that competitive in PvE anymore so I don't have that much more detail.

They need to shake up the rosters a bit. I use OML/Jean probably 90% of the time. I could bring up my SS to level 375, but then I'd have to use those 2 (they share too many colors) and I'd be on the radar of the other big 5* teams. I don't have enough covers of the other good 4*s (Iceman, Red Hulk, 4Pool) and it takes too much ISO to max some of the mid-tier 4*s.