5* Leveling Advice

Hyphenmoore

I've read quite a bit on here about 5* characters screwing with scaling. I have a decent roster with 7 champed 4*s. I have OML at 5 2 5 Phoenix at 4 2 3 and Surfer at 2 2 3 I haven't put levels into them since I'm worried my scaling with skyrocket and I would be stuck using the same characters for every event.

So my main questions are is it worth it to sink my hard earned iso into OML and Phoenix since I've heard Surfer isn't great or should I hold off until the meta switches to more of a 5* focus? What cover amount for 5*s is it worth starting to level the characters if leveling them is the way I should end up going?

fight4thedream

The answer to your question really depends on how much you are enjoying your current game experience.

If you like using a large variety of characters and experimenting with different combinations, I would recommend you wait.
If you are more focused on competitive play and finishing matches quickly, I would recommend you make the investment.

I will warn you, though, if you play PvP competitively and you start using 5* characters, your MMR will skew all your matches toward other 5* players. And since they are a minority of the player base you will start getting very familiar with those players, for better or worse

For PvE, you still have some wiggle room when it comes to using different characters although if they do implement the new PvE system as it is, that won't be true either.

Which would leave DDQ and the SHIELD simulator as the last bastion for experimentation and roster diversity.

But to return to the point, you really should ask yourself how much you are enjoying the game as it is now before making a decision. The great irony of the 5* tier is that although you have a lot of power, it kind of nerfs the rest of your roster

Blahahah

With OML at 5/2/5 I don't think there's much of anything you can't handle in PvE

Blahahah

Honestly if I had a 5/2/5 OML, I'd never use anyone else except for him and 2 other true healers. Infinite value.

Vhailorx

TC

Given that you have very (very!) well covered 5*s, you could definitely put some ISO into them without too much trouble.

The scaling concerns are worst for lower level rosters who add a 1-cover 5* (i.e. the entire roster is at or below level 120 and they suddenly add a level 255). That scenario could really hurt PVE and PVP scaling and matchmaking respectively under the old systems. The PVP matchmaking system has already been fixed (it now accounts for both covers and levels, rather than just levels), but it's not yet entirely clear what will happen in PVE. In general, I would guess that PVE scaling will be 'fixed' soon, whenever the horrible new scoring system is made permanent.

All that said, however, the question does depend on the rest of your roster and your personal preferences. If you have lots of 4*s covered and champed, and enjoy the mix-and-match strategy of team composition, then you might want to wait on leveling your 5*s. Once you get them up past 350 or so, they will completely dominate your roster, and will set both your PVE scaling and Matchmaking, so much so that you will have a hard time using any other team in the hardest matches. So you might struggle in those odd PVE nodes where either Pheonix or OML are locked out, and you will be forced to use your (very very good) A team frequently.

(another factor to consider is that your Phoenix build, in particular, is only so-so. She really needs as many covers in purple as she can get)

mpqr7

Level up your oml, and you'll kick major but in pvp and pve. Never look back.

Polares

You should level your OML ASAP, you are late already Man you are going to rule in PvP! (Maybe I should have said dont level )

Then the interesting question is, should you level your Phoenix? And I am going to say, you probably should not, but this is a hard one.

I have a 405 OML (4/2/4), 255 Phoenix (4/1/2), 255 SS (3/4/4), so similar situation than you, and with just a leveled OML scaling is still cool in PvE and PvP is much easier. Leveling your Phoenix (or any of my two other 5s) will raise your PvE scaling a lot, and I dont know if you are going to win a lot with this other char leveled. You have a very few number of purple Phoenixs, which is her best power, and the one that makes her super good.

Maybe you can level her a little, but not more than 350, where your champed 4s are when buffed. More purples or the final 5th green cover will make a big difference for Phoenix.

Ludaa

I have a 420 OML and while he's made the game much much easier, I'm stuck using him everywhere, though I wouldn't go back. The benefit outweighs the cost, it's just slightly annoying. From my experience I can queue up targets ranging from 166-435, but it still refuses to let me find 450+ under 1200pts or so, which is quite annoying since they can find me easily. I've kept my other 5's at lvl 255, so I think that's why I'm not in any sort of MMR hell just yet.

Try him at 360, 375, 405 to see if you like it (You will).

dr tinykittylove

What about multiple 5*s? Will I be likely to land in MMR hell if I bring OML, Phoenix and SS to 360ish? Or should I keep it to 2 5*s?

VA5

This is not a swipe at the author of this post but shows how screwed up the game has become with the 5 star system. I have a good roster. 14 champed level 4's ranging from level 273-296 depending mostly on when they were champed. Probably close to a dozen more at max covers that are not or partially leveled and many duplicate covers sold off. Reached 21,650 this season in score and... my OML is 2-5-1.
Very little really matters competitively aside from your OML. My Phoenix is at level 452 but a maxed OML is still daunting. Why have the developers designed a game that has turned into dumb luck of drawing tOML covers verses progression.
In many ways this players roster is superior to mine with what looks to be much less effort. Several well respected players I know are retiring or semi-retiring this season. And I don't know how much longer I have. What a mess.

amusingfoo1

My general advice on leveling 5*s is that if you have a few championed 4*s, then bringing them up to 330 is a no-brainer. They probably won't help much, at that level, in PvP, but they won't hurt either. And they'll rock in PvE.

Once you can bring them up to 390, then they're worth leveling, regardless of the status of the rest of your roster. They'll kick butt in both PvE and PvP.

Once you have two 5*s over 350 or so, your MMR will make it tough to queue anyone without two 5*s (and theirs will probably be higher-level than yours), so you'll want to be a little hesitant about going there.

Getting more specific? 5/2/5 OML is a no-brainer to level all the way to 435. It isn't an ideal build, but he rocks in a serious way.

As far as queuing once you're in dual-5* land... Yeah, you're not going to be seeing a wide range of opponents if there are a number of dual-5* teams out. But you'll basically be able to climb to 1300 unshielded, so there are definitely benefits.

dr tinykittylove

amusingfoo1 wrote:

My general advice on leveling 5*s is that if you have a few championed 4*s, then bringing them up to 330 is a no-brainer. They probably won't help much, at that level, in PvP, but they won't hurt either. And they'll rock in PvE.

Once you can bring them up to 390, then they're worth leveling, regardless of the status of the rest of your roster. They'll kick butt in both PvE and PvP.

Once you have two 5*s over 350 or so, your MMR will make it tough to queue anyone without two 5*s (and theirs will probably be higher-level than yours), so you'll want to be a little hesitant about going there.

Getting more specific? 5/2/5 OML is a no-brainer to level all the way to 435. It isn't an ideal build, but he rocks in a serious way.

As far as queuing once you're in dual-5* land... Yeah, you're not going to be seeing a wide range of opponents if there are a number of dual-5* teams out. But you'll basically be able to climb to 1300 unshielded, so there are definitely benefits.

Thanks for the advice! Going to have to seriously consider how I want to handle this transition, but good to have an idea of some tipping points.