CareBearStare Alliance Thread

Unknown

We're in 28th place right now with two people not having any points and a third at 45. I'd say that speaks pretty well to where our typical positioning has gotten.

Unknown

I was up in the top 5 last night, and mid teens in my bracket this morning. I just couldn't bring myself to shield for Loki covers I don't need though. My guess is I will have finished 36th. Will see how good of a guesser I am when I get home.

RWTDBurn

DecoyDuck wrote:

xxMegadethxx wrote:

Hey Ben, what a nice bracket you got. Did you join late at event? Is there a way/tip to get easier brackets?? I was in Adam's one this time, couldnt get top 25 for first time in last 10+ events...with my best score ever on regular pvp...

I think with sharding, join time has a slightly lessened effect. Of course, when a bracket is full, it's full... but nevertheless, it seems that sharding is one of the more least understood concepts to this community. I don't have an answers either. It could be a combination of any bunch of factors... such as...
How well did you rank in your previous events.
How many points did you score in your previous events.
Your MMR level.
Your roster composition.
How many shields you've used previously.
How many boosts you've used previously.
How many letters are in your in-game name. Seriously, we don't know.

However, my theory is that a player who plays consistently will have Self-correcting shards™
Let's presume you play a consistent 1000 point game. You place first in your soft bracket.
The next event, the sharding algorithms bump you a bit higher. You score 1000 points again. But now, you're in the top5.
The next event, another shard bump. Your 1000 points gets top10 only.
Extrapolate until you're in a deathly bracket ranking in the 20s and then BOOM - the sharding algorithm retreats you into a less deadly shard. The algorithm corrected itself. And repeat.

Now that's a "trivial" case where you're scoring the exact same scores and everyone else in the game community is scoring the exact same scores for every event. The truth is, the players are not perfectly rational systems. Sometimes people get busy. Sometimes the rewards aren't worthwhile. Sometimes the rewards ARE worthwhile. Sometimes you mis-time that shield. But the assumption that the algorithm (has to) make(s) is that you're playing every event optimally. That is, as your score and ranks and rosters ebb and flow, the algorithm is convinced you are playing to your optimal ability and will adjust your shard placement accordingly.

Now for Grimm's case. I have, for no reason, surmised that Grimm is a hyper-efficient tactical genius. This is the kind of Bear that knows his roster composition without peaking. He knows what rewards are needed and which aren't. He has, in fact, hidden his true capabilities from the sharding algorithm. Do not misunderstand... his scores are high, but does not cross the line of foolishness (see: DecoyDuck) especially when there are unnecessary or junk rewards on the line. The sharding algorithm continues to shard him down into easier brackets. But then... when there is a prize he DOES want, the true bear nature is revealed and he can dominate his softening alliance. No one, but the sharding algorithm, knows what happened.

Now is this true? I don't know. There's just too few data points. Only the developers know for sure. And if a black van comes and hauls me off... it's because I've gotten too close to the truth. Does that mean we should ALL play suboptimally so we can find softer brackets? By no means! Cause then your alliance would suck. And no bear wants their alliance to suck.

I find this fascinating. I never knew this "sharding" thing existing and I wonder if I've somehow managed to find a sweet spot. So far this season I have scored between 1000 - 1325 in every event and in 7 out of 8 events I've finished 4th. The only exception was Balance of Power where I actually I messed up and finished 2nd. 1013 points in Too Many Secrets? 4th. 1045 points in Blind Justice? 4th. 1213 points in Doctor's Orders? 4th. 1309 in Real McCoy? 4th. On and on and on..... It's really weirding me out.

Unknown

I am a very proud and happy Bear.

After I joined your alliance I got IM40 and LCap covers from Standard tokens along with 1 Ares cover. All in 3 hours of play.
Oh and I love my second LThor cover. It is so shiny and beautiful.
Here's to more of them to come and for my results to go 800+ points soon.

"Bear" with me while I get better ^^

Unknown

Lucky 13th alliance in Simulator PVE? Bear-y nice work!

orionpeace

I think we all let off the gas there a bit at the end.

I know I didn't try as hard as I could. I only needed 1 Red for LThor and we had to be in the top 3 to gain any additional rewards.

So, I was very pleased with our placement and performance. Great results, less grinding.

Unknown

I think it made sense to let up on the gas though - we weren't going to get 1-2, we weren't going to drop below 50, so nothing was going to change our prize level. It's actually kind of a nice spot to be in.

orionpeace

I agree. It was nice!

I'm enjoying being a Bear.

I just hope you guys can tolerate my sub-par PvP scores for another month or so, when I will have enough of the right heroes to compete.

danikalil

Hi bears,
We dive deeper with Marvel.com for the latest character announcement in Marvel Puzzle Quest - Colossus!
Interview Here:
http://bit.ly/1ADAtMB

Marvel.com: So, Colossus, he’ll be rolled out of The Hunt event?

Joe Fletcher: Yep, The Hunt starts on September 12.

You heard it here first folks! Colossus makes his first appearance during The Hunt, smashing enemies and throwing friends. Keep your eyes glued to Marvel.com for more “Marvel Puzzle Quest” news and give make sure to give the Fastball Special a shot!

DecoyDuck

Looks like we're down a Bear, with only 3 days left in the Season. So we'll open up the recruitment again, but we can take some time and find the right Bear to fit our alliance! So send a PM - you've been waiting for so long!

Or if a Cave Bear wants to sneak in for some sweet, sweet season rewards... we're still top50 in seasons.

user311

I've moved on from the cave to a 5Deadly for now. I know theres at least one other person in the cave who has not been taking a rest. hope you find a good perm member or a really good merc for the last event here.

Unknown

I can fill in for the end of the season, haven't been slacking ~that~ hard lol, probably end up in the 7k range overall.

Unknown

I'll be putting the vast majority of my effort this weekend into the PVE, just to let you know - I'll probably aim for 800+ in the two PVPs.

DecoyDuck

Cryptobrancus wrote:

I can fill in for the end of the season, haven't been slacking ~that~ hard lol, probably end up in the 7k range overall.

We got a referral with us now so we're good. Are you ready to get off the reserve team going forward maybe???

DecoyDuck

Ben Grimm wrote:

I'll be putting the vast majority of my effort this weekend into the PVE, just to let you know - I'll probably aim for 800+ in the two PVPs.

I wish EVERYONE could say this EVERY weekend.

Unknown

Been back to mostly active for a while, sure if I stay in the cave I really don't need to go crazy for more Cap covers but if you guys find yourself needing to pick someone back up do let me know, Stare is certainly the more entertaining place to be

DecoyDuck

Cryptobrancus wrote:

Been back to mostly active for a while, sure if I stay in the cave I really don't need to go crazy for more Cap covers but if you guys find yourself needing to pick someone back up do let me know, Stare is certainly the more entertaining place to be

Between complaining about Calgary weather, shmau's pinball victories, RWTD shooting pigeons, and Fight Club references, the Stare isn't more entertaining, it's freakin' hilarious.

Unknown

Am Daily player.
Interested in joining your alliances.
My roster has 39 slots. Plenty of HP(1500++) to upgrade but no good character to do so.
Top characters:
144 4* Wolverine3/2/4 142 hulk5/1/5 104 IM 4/1/5 maxed ares thor wolverine2* obw and bullseye
Can come top 25-50 in pvp(400-500pts n sometimes 700) if the character starred is good enough e.g. (other than top chracters) loki Doctor doom sentry psylock black panther Hood AND sometimes if I just battle a lot
Player name is x2( forgot if capitalised)
If interested just email me at christophyryeoh@gmail.com
P.S. Saw u guys b4 and considered joining

Unknown

Hi Bears! I'm amazed to see you all trucking along, business as usual. I wish I still had the drive but I've gotten bored of the game in a big way. These days I try to enter events as late as possible and hope that I can get a good placement thanks to that. Getting top 100 is now a big achievement for me as I can't put as much time in.

New characters are always a big draw though. But knowing that I'll never cover any of the new character all the way is a little disheartening.

What's the verdict on Beast so far?

Unknown

Some news… I've been cramming a whole lot of MPQ in the past few days because I'm leaving on a long work trip later today, which came up with relatively little notice. Since my arrangement to play is to use a tablet that I have to share with the rest of the household, it's not coming with me. Bummer.

I've done my best to plan ahead and not leave the alliance in too bad of a spot, since today's the last day of the season. I gathered all the points I could in the ongoing events. I've also made sure to surrender my commander status in game so the other commanders can get rid of me after the season is over.

I hope you guys will be able to find a little spot for me when I get back in early October. Best of luck with the last minute season and heroic cramming!

PS: Milkrain… Beast isn't very impressive. Too fragile and constraining and only one really solid ability which is rather expensive.

PPS: I'll be keeping on top of the forums, you all better let me know how things are going!