Why don't more characters get reworks/buffs?

kirk justice

Remember when IM40, possibly one of the worst 3* in the game, got a rework that made him possibly the best 3* who's useful even into 4* territory? Remember when 3* Spider-man got an art change and everyone was excited because we thought a rework would come along with it? Even Vision and Quicksilver, who's changes were less substantial, have at least become somewhat usable due to their buffs. Why don't the devs release more buffs and reworks to keep things fresh for the players? Why not take characters that are trash tier or have become worse due to power creep and make changes to them or buff them so that the same characters aren't used over and over again. I certainly could not know as much about game development as the devs do, but I can't imagine that improving numbers or even changing the powers for a character who's artwork and licensing are already finished and implemented into the game would take more work than starting from scratch on a new character. Maybe working on existing characters just doesn't make money for the company, but it certainly improves player happiness and engagement. I'd also like to clarify that I'm not trying to suggest that all characters should be equal with one another in their * rating. Having the upper echelon of characters gives players something to strive and hope for. I just don't see a reason for characters to be so bad that you would never want to play them, such as invisible woman, mr fantastic, or chulk.

snlf25

I think the game is essentially broken at the 3* level due to excessive power creep. I really think the whole tier needs a buff in both health and damage like they did before.

Calnexin

You pointed out the examples - that's 7.5% of the 3* tier, and it all happened in a few months. That's not bad.

The Devs are keeping track of the data. Or at least their public presence says so - they look at usage statistics for each character. When they realize that one of them is extremely unpopular they take a deeper dive and find a way to rework it.

It doesn't happen that fast because any change made to the existing game requires not only that character's powers, but how they interact with every other character's powers, and whether changing it will keep it within the power range of their tier. That can take awhile.

It's also fairly low priority. Reworking a character is a big hassle, generates no new revenue, and often comes with the offer of a refund (of sorts), allowing players who are unhappy with the change to trade in their character for some in-game good. It's maintenance, not growth, and as such it only becomes a priority when it is painfully obvious that something is wrong.

Hendross

Calnexin wrote:

The Devs are keeping track of the data. Or at least their public presence says so - they look at usage statistics for each character. When they realize that one of them is extremely unpopular they take a deeper dive and find a way to rework it.

It doesn't take a deep dive, or an analytic super computer to realize hot dog hulk is a complete turd. They don't care.

GrumpySmurf1002

They use their skeletal staff to work on new characters. Presumably for profitability reasons.

That's along the lines of how the devs answered that question way back when.

Calnexin

Hendross wrote:

Calnexin wrote:

The Devs are keeping track of the data. Or at least their public presence says so - they look at usage statistics for each character. When they realize that one of them is extremely unpopular they take a deeper dive and find a way to rework it.

It doesn't take a deep dive, or an analytic super computer to realize hot dog hulk is a complete turd. They don't care.

I'm holding out hope that he's actually planned for a rework, but it's possible they intend to leave him like that as a troll character. I really can't fathom what they were thinking with his powers, and giving him his own release event with a cover to make sure everyone got a little taste of the poo.

Orion

But a character like Psylocke doesn't need a complete rework, she just needs about a 50% damage increase. Her skill set is quite nice (ok, bewilder sucks) but the damage is too low to be playable. It wouldn't take much work to make her more useful.

wymtime

Well all weekly buffed characters are now getting a buff and all 3-4* characters will be able to go to higher levels. I don't see how it helps overall but you are getting some buffs in a way.

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TLCstormz

Is this a for real question? Or are you kidding around?

Most feel that they clearly can't be bothered to work on the "broken" stuff, because they don't think that it will lead to a direct financial gain.