CareBearStare Alliance Thread

Unknown

A question for DD and the commanders.

Lately I have been struggling for roster space. While I added two slots yesterday, I find it very difficult to expand the roster along with shielding for PVP.

My proposition would be this:
I would like to stop shielding for PVPs where the cover is not going to make an impact in my roster.

Example is the current PVP. There is an Otto cover in T100 that if I get it it will bring my Otto to 4 covers. After that it will take weeks or months until I get another cover for him, let alone make him useful. I would like to instead save that 150 HP from the shield and invest it in roster slots. At least until I reach 35-40 slots.

I will always shield for PVPs that will really help my roster. Example is the Psylocke PVP with the LCap covers. I really needed those so I shielded and got T100 reward.

Now, if I don't shield, my scores will vary around 350-450, depending on the bracket I am in. This might go on for 1-2 weeks until I have expanded to a decent amount of roster slots.

If the commanders and the rest of the alliance are OK with this please let me know. I can still continue shielding but it might take longer for me to expand. I leave the decision up to you. I have no problem playing either way. I enjoy this alliance so much and the rewards are more than nice. Your call

DecoyDuck

Okin107 wrote:

A question for DD and the commanders.

Lately I have been struggling for roster space. While I added two slots yesterday, I find it very difficult to expand the roster along with shielding for PVP.

My proposition would be this:
I would like to stop shielding for PVPs where the cover is not going to make an impact in my roster.

Example is the current PVP. There is an Otto cover in T100 that if I get it it will bring my Otto to 4 covers. After that it will take weeks or months until I get another cover for him, let alone make him useful. I would like to instead save that 150 HP from the shield and invest it in roster slots. At least until I reach 35-40 slots.

I will always shield for PVPs that will really help my roster. Example is the Psylocke PVP with the LCap covers. I really needed those so I shielded and got T100 reward.

Now, if I don't shield, my scores will vary around 350-450, depending on the bracket I am in. This might go on for 1-2 weeks until I have expanded to a decent amount of roster slots.

If the commanders and the rest of the alliance are OK with this please let me know. I can still continue shielding but it might take longer for me to expand. I leave the decision up to you. I have no problem playing either way. I enjoy this alliance so much and the rewards are more than nice. Your call

No doubt there's a lot of pressure on European players - the forums are full of unhappiness about Euro end times. I think it's OK to not shield some of the time like you described - but it's not automatic... maybe you're aware of some other teammates being unavailable for an event so we'll need extra help or perhaps you scored really well in an event and want to save that score.

Ultimately, the alliance wants to be able to help its members have fun, but also improve their game, and evolve their play. If a temporary drop in scores can help you with that - it should be fine. If it's a permanent drop in scores, then the alliance death spiral occurs and we won't be able to prop up each other.

Balance. Stare.

Unknown

DecoyDuck wrote:

No doubt there's a lot of pressure on European players - the forums are full of unhappiness about Euro end times. I think it's OK to not shield some of the time like you described - but it's not automatic... maybe you're aware of some other teammates being unavailable for an event so we'll need extra help or perhaps you scored really well in an event and want to save that score.

Ultimately, the alliance wants to be able to help its members have fun, but also improve their game, and evolve their play. If a temporary drop in scores can help you with that - it should be fine. If it's a permanent drop in scores, then the alliance death spiral occurs and we won't be able to prop up each other.

Balance. Stare.

This is not a permanent thing. But now that I think of it it sounds kind of unfair for others. Maybe I will skip shield in a PVP every now and then if the covers sucks. But I will be strong and continue to fight for that T100 no matter what. I just got so desperate for roster space earlier today and that is why I posted this. I could buy some HP for the slots but I really think it is not worth to spend money on this game yet.

I will just be a bit more patient. I don't want to disappoint the alliance and I am really thankful that you got me in it.

I will Stare as much as I can

Unknown

Not a commander but my unofficial two cents. If we find ourselves at rank 99 for some catastrophic reason use that shield! If we are comfortably in the top 50 save the HP buy the slots and grow your roster to become stronger. Sacrificing the long term vision for the short term gain is usually an unsustainable plan.

danikalil

It's only been a few months since Marvel shocked comic book fans by revealing that Thor's hammer and his title were being passed on to a woman for the first time ever. Not one to be left behind, games have embraced the new character as well in a surprising place.

Thor: Goddess of Thunder, 300px alpha
Thor: Goddess of Thunder will be added to Marvel Puzzle Quest as the game's 52nd hero, as it celebrates its one-year anniversary. The new Thor will be a legendary rank character, meaning she'll be particularly hard to get from random rewards. However, all players will have a chance to test her in a player-versus-player matchup being added to the game on Oct. 17.

The one-year anniversary celebration will also include a playable Devil Dinosaur and reruns of previous in-game events that were voted fan favorites in community polls.

While Thor is the big news here for anyone who's not already a fan of Marvel Puzzle Quest, Marvel and publisher D3 shared some cool stats about the game's first year with Polygon. You can check those out below.

DecoyDuck

danikalil wrote:

It's only been a few months since Marvel shocked comic book fans by revealing that Thor's hammer and his title were being passed on to a woman for the first time ever. Not one to be left behind, games have embraced the new character as well in a surprising place.

Thor: Goddess of Thunder, 300px alpha
Thor: Goddess of Thunder will be added to Marvel Puzzle Quest as the game's 52nd hero, as it celebrates its one-year anniversary. The new Thor will be a legendary rank character, meaning she'll be particularly hard to get from random rewards. However, all players will have a chance to test her in a player-versus-player matchup being added to the game on Oct. 17.

The one-year anniversary celebration will also include a playable Devil Dinosaur and reruns of previous in-game events that were voted fan favorites in community polls.

While Thor is the big news here for anyone who's not already a fan of Marvel Puzzle Quest, Marvel and publisher D3 shared some cool stats about the game's first year with Polygon. You can check those out below.

Dani! You're super quick on the news!

RWTDBurn

Okin107 wrote:

DecoyDuck wrote:

No doubt there's a lot of pressure on European players - the forums are full of unhappiness about Euro end times. I think it's OK to not shield some of the time like you described - but it's not automatic... maybe you're aware of some other teammates being unavailable for an event so we'll need extra help or perhaps you scored really well in an event and want to save that score.

Ultimately, the alliance wants to be able to help its members have fun, but also improve their game, and evolve their play. If a temporary drop in scores can help you with that - it should be fine. If it's a permanent drop in scores, then the alliance death spiral occurs and we won't be able to prop up each other.

Balance. Stare.

This is not a permanent thing. But now that I think of it it sounds kind of unfair for others. Maybe I will skip shield in a PVP every now and then if the covers sucks. But I will be strong and continue to fight for that T100 no matter what. I just got so desperate for roster space earlier today and that is why I posted this. I could buy some HP for the slots but I really think it is not worth to spend money on this game yet.

I will just be a bit more patient. I don't want to disappoint the alliance and I am really thankful that you got me in it.

I will Stare as much as I can

The Euro players such as yourself truly have a disadvantage and the timing of events ending make it extremely difficult for you to build up a young roster to make the leap from 2* to 3* teams. I think most, if not all of us understand that and I know I would never say you should shield or shield hop every time. I think you'll need to review where you are at near the end of the event (points and ranking) and where the alliance is at (ranking) to determine if it's worth shielding for that event. Here's my advice to you to hopefully help you both increase your HP and also help you build your roster faster.

PvP

- Hopefully you play your last round within 8 hours of the end of each event. You should only be shielding once each event and that's in the last 8 hours, costing you 150HP
- Your scores are often within 100 points of 600. If at all possible reach that 600 mark so you get the 25HP progress reward. That will give you 50HP for the 2 progress rewards each round.
- If you hit that 600 mark in the last 8 hours of the event and shield, you likely have a good shot of finishing in the top 50. That means 50 more HP. As long as you are in the top 100 though you'll get 25HP
- If you are close to hitting 600 and you need some help, request some team ups and make sure to ask for some maxed out 3* from those of us with beep rosters. You may only get 1 or 2, but those may be the difference in a battle for you and help you get to 600.
- Our alliance is almost always in the top 50 now, which is worth 100HP rather than the 50HP for top 100. I realize it's often too early in the event for you to determine if shielding will help the alliance stay top 50 but it's something to at least think about.

So if you can reach 600 and shield once for 8 hours, You have a very good chance of making a 50HP profit in each PvP event. I think the key to long term success for you is getting to the point that you can reach that 600 mark on a regular basis in the last 8 hours then shield. If you can't reach that mark, then you should review your score and ranking to determine if it's worth shielding.

PvE

The best thing about PvE events is that from an HP standpoint they are all profit. Once again, since your in Europe you are at a disadvantage since grinding the last hour isn't possible.

- You can make a lot of HP in the subs by finishing top 50 in them. I'd say top 10 but that isn't going to be possible without grinding the last hour. To 50 is 50HP each event and with as many as 2 subs going on at 1 time, there is a good chance to make some HP here. If you haven't done it already, check out my guide in the War Room for getting top 50 finishes in PvE events without having to do a bunch of grinding. It may not be enough since you often can't play the last 8 hours of events, but if you do grind at the end of each sub right before you call it a night, you may squeeze in some top 50 finishes.
- Most PvE events have 1 or 2 progression rewards that are HP, make sure to hit those to claim them.
- Alliance ranking in the top 50 is worth 100HP we've been hitting that almost every single PvE event.

Roster Advice

Looking at your roster, you have a strong 2* base. Finish off Black Widow then move your focus to leveling up a few of your 3*. You're still under covered on all of your 3* and none of the really stand out as an obvious "do this first" option, so this is what I'd recommend:

- If you have the featured 3* character for the PvP event on your roster, pump all of the ISO you won from the previous event placement and alliance rewards plus any ISO you earn during the current event into that character. You want this character as strong as possible then surround him/her with your maxed out 2 stars (Ares/Thor and OBW most of the time) so you can hopefully climb to 600 points in the event.
- If you don't have the featured 3* character on your roster, look at the rewards for this event to determine who will be featured next PvP event and pump all your HP into that character.
- If you really feel the need to invent ISO into at least 3* to start building it up, I would say Hulk. He's your most covered 3* and his high hit points pool makes him a helpful tank, even before he's maxed out.

Hopefully some of this advice helps you out. I think once you are hitting the 600 point mark often and shielding, your HP situation will turn around and your roster is going to start growing quickly. When hitting 600 becomes easy or you get a 3* with 9+ covers then you'll probably want to change your strategy on leveling and start focusing on just 1 or 2. Until you get there on a regular basis though, just be smart with your shielding based on your score and rank.

-

Unknown

Thank you very much. Very helpful advice. I wanted to try the not grinding with PVE. Previous PVE I grinded the whole thing and got #32. It was not worth it at all. I will try to play the rubberband game and see where that gets me in the current PVE. There are alliance rewards here so I think it will be a good source in general. Plus I don't need spiderman so I will play just for progression.

Again thanks. Very helpful stuff here!

Enoc99

Oh noes... the alliance thread faded to page two... I panicked and posted

Unknown

It seems like our alliance has had a serious shift towards high end PvE performance. I think the trick is very regular play as the points timers refresh. That, unfortunately, doesn't really fit my play style but I am trying to contribute as much as I can still. I know I've been pretty low in our alliance ranking the last few PvEs and I apologize. Hopefully my PvP performance makes up for it.

DecoyDuck

Enoc99 wrote:

Oh noes... the alliance thread faded to page two... I panicked and posted

Moderator Riggy says 100+ page threads are unmanageable. Watch yo' back Bears.

Unknown

DecoyDuck wrote:

Enoc99 wrote:

Oh noes... the alliance thread faded to page two... I panicked and posted

Moderator Riggy says 100+ page threads are unmanageable. Watch yo' back Bears.

Challenge accepted!

DecoyDuck

adamLmpq wrote:

It seems like our alliance has had a serious shift towards high end PvE performance. I think the trick is very regular play as the points timers refresh. That, unfortunately, doesn't really fit my play style but I am trying to contribute as much as I can still. I know I've been pretty low in our alliance ranking the last few PvEs and I apologize. Hopefully my PvP performance makes up for it.

I for one, with my mediocre PVE play, wishes to dispel your concerns, adamL. Sometimes, the job of a commander is to find people to "fill in" their own deficiencies.

Unknown

I think it is awesome that we can do well in both, and that is a product of having a great group who is active in every event, but also enough specialists that do really really well in PVP or PVE. (I feel average in both but doing what I can!) This makes us well rounded, which is a great place to be at. Definitely don't start ignoring one to do better at the other.

Unknown

^Agreed!

I see all top alliances stressing over keeping those high ranks and recruiting the "right" people. I am surprised of how we all perform in here. I think the most important part is that no one falls below the minimum. We all feel morally obliged to complete some minimum tasks for our fellow alliance members and if we find the time we go even higher.

Honestly, I have a 2* roster and I am in a Top 50 alliance! I feel very lucky to be in this spot, but I also try to work for it. It takes minimum dedication in this game to get average results. Unfortunately, it takes very very high dedication to get anything above average, but I am happy to have this group of people around to help.

I am literally surprised of how well we do in events taking into consideration that we are very casual. I also got my #1 rank in a sub for the first time after 160 days. This is a place to grow at a sane pace without burning your eyes and your wallet.

Be careful though... we... STARE!

EDIT:
v Tell me that you don't LOVE my signature!

DecoyDuck

Okin107 wrote:

We all feel morally obliged to complete some minimum tasks for our fellow alliance members and if we find the time we go even higher.

Moral obligation? That's some strong language there, friend bear.

Unknown

DecoyDuck wrote:

Moral obligation? That's some strong language there, friend bear.

Maybe that came out a bit harsh because it is typed. What I meant is we all have the decency to not let our fellow alliance members take that extra mile for the ranks, so we all put in a small effort (This varies) for the greater good. This way no one burns and we are all happy.

By the way, I owe you a big thank you for trusting me. I only had 2 2* chars maxed when I joined and my 3* where all at 1-3 covers. To you I pledge my loyalty, oh mighty Bear!

DecoyDuck

Okin107 wrote:

I am literally surprised of how well we do in events taking into consideration that we are very casual. I also got my #1 rank in a sub for the first time after 160 days. This is a place to grow at a sane pace without burning your eyes and your wallet.!

And if there any lurkers watching this thread... we aren't THAT casual

Unknown

DecoyDuck wrote:

Okin107 wrote:

I am literally surprised of how well we do in events taking into consideration that we are very casual. I also got my #1 rank in a sub for the first time after 160 days. This is a place to grow at a sane pace without burning your eyes and your wallet.!

And if there any lurkers watching this thread... we aren't THAT casual

I wear a suit and tie to play! Totally not casual!

RWTDBurn

adamLmpq wrote:

It seems like our alliance has had a serious shift towards high end PvE performance. I think the trick is very regular play as the points timers refresh. That, unfortunately, doesn't really fit my play style but I am trying to contribute as much as I can still. I know I've been pretty low in our alliance ranking the last few PvEs and I apologize. Hopefully my PvP performance makes up for it.

I don't think that our goals have shifted to focus on PvE over PvP, I think it's just that the members we've picked up recently have all excelled at PvE while the members we lost were better at PvP. Our goals are still to be Top 50 in both. That being said, you shouldn't be apologizing to us, we should be thanking you for your focus on PvP. You're almost always in the top 3 in our alliance with 1100 - 1300+ scores. Without your scores I seriously doubt we'd be landing Top 50 PvP results consistently. Don't change your focus, we need your PvP skills!