Resource Allocation Decisions (Poll)

Vhailorx

Time to decide how to allocate some resources. Here are the best options I can think of right now and the expiring cover clock is coming to a head. What's my best option?

Background information:
--I have 370k iso, a handful of LTs, and 130 cp saved up
--I have 1 more champed 2*s that I could sell, though it would make ddq a bit harder in the short term.
--I have 5 4* champs, and no usable 5*s.
--I have 1 flaptain red in my queue for 10+ days (my flaptain is 4/5/4)
--I have 1 iceman blue in queue for 4.5 days (unusable sadly, since my ice is 3/5/3)
--I have about 6 3* spidey covers in my queue
--I have 3 squirrel girl covers in my queue
--I have several more good 4*s at 10-11 covers, so they will probably max out in the next month or so

I can see a few strategies that might make sense:

Conservative approach:

--Champ Spidey and maybe squirrel.
--respec flaptain to 3/5/5 or 4/4/5 and leave him underleveled
--sit on remaining resources until better 4*s are covered
--sell expiring iceman cover ( )

Middle approach:

--Champ flaptain
--Sell my last 144 2* and use the iso to champ spidey
--sell expiring iceman cover
--have almost no iso if I do fully cover another good 4* in the next few weeks

Most aggressive approach:

--Champ spidey for the LT
--Open all available LTs hoping for an 12th iceman cover; buy ice's 13th cover if possible and champ him
--respec flaptain to avoid wasting his red


Note to mods: Posted on general to get extra eyeballs. Feel free to move to roster subforum later today.

revskip

I voted conservative. My thinking is that flaptain isn't top tier so sinking that iso into him isn't going to help you much in PvP. Also leaves you wiggle room if you suddenly end up with enough covers for someone you covet more.

The Viceroy Returns

I voted conservative, but I wold also sell the Flaptain cover as well honestly.
Since he is already at 13 covers, has 5 in the cover that matters, and is a rarely used character, you probably won't level him much given other priorities. The difference between 3 5 5 and 4 4 5 for a character that is seldom used is marginal compared to the ISO you'll need to use those covers on good characters before they expire.
Champing 3 Stars is always a good idea in my opinion unless they are complete trash like Sentry.

I used this same thought process myself, and I now have 8 champed 4 stars, and two of them are top tier in Iceman and Hulkbuster, and I am 20 level away from champing Kean Grey. So I'll have 3 of the Top 5 4 Star characters champed very soon.

To compare:
I have a Jean Grey cover with like 8 days left.
I also have a 3 Star Deadpool cover with about 9 days left.
I already have 3Pool champed, but that particular level will give me my a 4 Star Deadlpool cover.
Mine is cover maxed 5 3 5 at level 200, so I'm waiting as long as I possibly can to turn in the 3Pool cover, which would then start the next 14 days counter.
It's a tight call coming right after my current goal of trying to Champ Jean Grey before her cover expires, but maybe I'll be able to do it.

This is the general strategy I try to use.
If the character is top tier or high mid-tier, if the character is cover maxed and is a decent level, I'll work towards trying to champ that character before the cover runs out.
If a I get a low tier cover, I just bite the bullet and sell it. At the very least, it gives me ISO that I need towards whoever I am trying to level.
If I have no covers in the queue, I save until I do.

Vhailorx

Viceroy, a few thoughts in response to your ecellent post.

1) 5 red for flaptain makes a huge difference. It doubles the damage in his red. That makes his 4* ddq much easier (one cast will almost always kill her if you get a decent board). Plus his red is very strong against boss characters because the damage is uncapped. 5 red is worth it for him.

2) I may be in the minority, but I think xpool might be more useful as a champ than Jean grey now. Her defensive value is much lower in a world with 4* boosted champs and 5*s. She is very squishy and now invites attacks. Plus her pve value doesn't need champ'ing. Xpool true heals, so he's great for grinding, and has useful passive powers. Not saying that either is bad, just that JG is starting to get passed by newer 4*s.

carrion_pigeons

The odds of pulling a useful Iceman in a "handful" of LTs are slim. The only reason to go that route would be because you're tired of hoarding.

As for the middling strategy, it depends on what you consider to be a good 4* relative to Sam, how many LTs you expect to pull before you refill your iso reserve, and what proportion of covers for good characters would actually risk being a waste given your roster. It's a computable decision, but not with the data you've provided.

Orangecrush

Add the red to captain so you can beat his ddq. Champ your spider and work towards championing all of the 2* with an eye towards farming them. They will lead to a reliable source of cp in the long run.

OneLastGambit

I voted aggressive.

Flap is more valuable, he's vastly underrated in my opinion. Pair him with a hb who's been respecced to 3/5/5 and he's not slow anymore since you don't need to use his yellow and hb will create red.

I have got by in ddq with just OBW in the past but you could easily do it with just ares (never locked out) so you can comfortably sacrifice a 2* champ to help you turn the Mark you need to hit.

Edit: I'd also like to add that taking all your 4* up to 225 means it takes 166k to max if you get a surprise cover for them. Much more manageable since you can earn that from ddq and alliance bonus and a tiny bit of farming

Vhailorx

I agree that taking taking 4*s to a relatively cheap holding spot around 200 is a good idea. But even that would cost me hundreds of thousands of iso. I have been waiting until I was 40/40 on 3* champs before i started raising all my 7-12 cover 4*s.

I am somewhat intrigued by the idea of champ'ing flaptain. He is great against high health single targets. But those are relatively rare occurences. Still, it might be a good enough idea to justify it. I still have few enough 4* champs that adding some more mid tier characters isn't a bad idea.

OneLastGambit

Vhailorx wrote:

I agree that taking taking 4*s to a relatively cheap holding spot around 200 is a good idea. But even that would cost me hundreds of thousands of iso. I have been waiting until I was 40/40 on 3* champs before i started raising all my 7-12 cover 4*s.

I am somewhat intrigued by the idea of champ'ing flaptain. He is great against high health single targets. But those are relatively rare occurences. Still, it might be a good enough idea to justify it. I still have few enough 4* champs that adding some more mid tier characters isn't a bad idea.

As I said above he's actually pretty useful and the complaint about his red being slow is null and void when you run him with hb (much better damage ratio than hb punch as well)
You can also pair him with switch and any of the following..
Star lord, miles, ant man.. And he makes them all viable and fun.

Or run him with GR,PX as that's a real fun combo and a tad slow but effective indeed.

For me personally I've been caught miles away from champing a few times at 4* level when I've drawn an extra cover so i decided to take them up to 225 when I finish my last 3* just so I don't waste any 4* covers..getting sick of throwing them away when I could champ if they weren't 140 levels away

thanos8587

respec flap to 3/5/5, but his ddq has just passed. putting iso in him at this stage would be wasteful when a better opportunity might present itself.

i have all threes champed and dont regret it, they are indeed a long term investment that produce an surprising amount of hp and cp.

my mid level 4s with sufficient covers i take to 180 until they hit 12 or 13 and then i level the ones that are worthy. the others stay at 180 for ddq and are decent buffed at that level. flaptain is simply not worthy. there are much better choices for 300,000+ iso. hold your iso, its not going anywhere. if you feel like you have to spend it, i think your antman is a much better choice, but honestly youre at 11 covers on some top tier guys. would hate to see you drop that iso in flap and then get a couple good pulls back to back.

Polares

First I guess open the LTs, that can make things easier for you (if you pull iceman covers or even more flaptain).

If you dont pull anything that makes things different I would respec flaptain to 3/5/5 and SAVE THE ISO. Dont waste the iso in Spidey or Squirrel, if you are now in 4 land those 3s are not going to help you at all in the future. Then using the iso with Flaptain, he can be used with IMHB or GR+ProfX BUT he is not as good as any of the top5 or any of the new good 4s (Punisher, Nova, Quake, Peggy, etc), so I think you should wait until you can use the iso into someone who can really help you, and I dont think Flaptain will make things any easier for you.

Iso is now the most precious resource so you should be extra careful when using 350k to max someone. Dont waste it into anybody that wont help you (well if you are super fun of a char is different of course)

Vhailorx

Polares, I used to agree that weaker 3*s didn't need to be champed. But after discussing cp income rates with aesth and others in a different thread, I think champing everything is worthwhile. It's a substantial long-term bump to cp income (to say nothing of the iso, hp, and covers).

Obviously they don't take priority over top tier 4*s, but i think they are all worth champ'ing in the end.

And thanks for the advice eveyone!

Polares

Vhailorx wrote:

Polares, I used to agree that weaker 3*s didn't need to be champed. But after discussing cp income rates with aesth and others in a different thread, I think champing everything is worthwhile. It's a substantial long-term bump to cp income (to say nothing of the iso, hp, and covers).

Obviously they don't take priority over top tier 4*s, but i think they are all worth champ'ing in the end.

And thanks for the advice eveyone!

In an infinite iso world, yes, it makes sense to champion all 3s, but in the MPQ world we live in, I dont agree that champing useless 3s makes sense. Yes, 3s rewards are nice, but 4s rewards are much much much better. So every time you champ two 3s instead of a 4 you are exchanging 3s rewards for 4 rewards, and yes 3s are easy to come by, but even then the advantages of champing a 4 are much bigger (stronger char maxed that you will use, better rewards), and YOU CAN'T DO BOTH. So I think that in the long run is much better to use this iso in 4s than in 3s.

I get that a lot of people like these cycles of champ 2s, get rewards, sell them to champ them again, etc. And then max all 3s so I get rewards for every cover I pull, etc. It is a much better sensation than just sell those covers for some iso. But when iso is now the most valuable resource, those extra CPs and covers are not worth it AT ALL. You just need to compare 3s champion rewards with 4s champion rewards, or check 4s power levels when buffed to 370 to see that championing 4s is the way to go.

You have also to remember that this game is a competition, so while you champ 3s you will never use, people is maxing chars like Nova, Quake or Punisher, so they have at least two 370 level buffed 4s every week. Those people will have a much easier time in both PvE and PvP than anybody just maxing 3s. Now you see a lot of people that champed all their 3s, that can't progress any further in PvP beacuse they don't have strong enough rosters. Or people that is getting 4 covers as champed 3 rewards that can't use those covers because their 4s are not champed, etc, etc. CHAMPING ALL 3s IS NOT WORT IT.

Bowgentle

Polares wrote:

You just need to compare 3s champion rewards with 4s champion rewards, or check 4s power levels when buffed to 370 to see that championing 4s is the way to go.

In general, yes, 4* rewards are much better.

But it gets so tiring champing one 4* after another that I took a break after champing my 18th 4* and finished Rags and Oc to be done with the 3* tier.
Not working on a 4* right now, waiting for more 5* covers to see what I'll do with my ISO.

Polares

Bowgentle wrote:

Polares wrote:

You just need to compare 3s champion rewards with 4s champion rewards, or check 4s power levels when buffed to 370 to see that championing 4s is the way to go.

In general, yes, 4* rewards are much better.

But it gets so tiring champing one 4* after another that I took a break after champing my 18th 4* and finished Rags and Oc to be done with the 3* tier.
Not working on a 4* right now, waiting for more 5* covers to see what I'll do with my ISO.

You already have 18 champed 4s, so at this point I guess it doesnt matter anymore what you do a part than trying to get more 5 covers (I guess by now, every week you have at least two 370 level buffed 4s).

Champing my second 5 is killing me, 500k iso is TOO MUCH. Even going back to champing 4s is going to be an improvement

Wolarsen

I fully agree with Polares. Use the red cover in Flaptain and do not pour ISO into him. What's your current Spidey and Squirrel levels? If they are around 160, I would champ them, if not I think it would suck too much valuable ISO (my own Spidey is lvl140 and it takes 60k ISO to raise to 166).

Start opening tokens; if you draw a (nonblue!!) Iceman, jackpot, do buy the last cover with CP. If you do not get it or cover your other "useful" 4*, mourn your Iceman cover, be patient and save the ISO for next covered char.

Lastly, I would not sell your champed 2*, moreover if it is making DPD easier for you. Save it as a piggy box for a real need, or pour it into a replacement.

EDIT: I rushed to max most of my 3* and now i regret it, as I want around 1 million ISO to raise my favourite 4*. Championing lots may be a resource machine in mid-long term, but consider the power you would be missing short term from your 4*.
My missing champions are Sentry (150), Spidey, Colossus and DocOck (140). They are an outrageous hole in my roster, but i really can't justify using over A QUARTER MILLION ISO on championing them. The ones I would champ today if starting from scratch would be probably IFist, IM40, SWitch, then LCapAm, KKhan, GSBWidow, Magneto, maybe LCage, Loki, Falcon, Blade and DPool (around one quarter of all). Others may add interesting things (Daken, Punisher, Hood, LThor?), but if you are stepping on 4* land they are more like ISO traps.

Wolarsen

Related to OP, I must say the expiration of covers is by far the most annoying thing for me in MPQ, since I stepped into 4* land. I enjoy leveling my characters evenly, but have already lost some covers for fully leveled characters because I could not raise them on time; so now I hoard most of my ISO, fearing to miss future covers. I have a handful of champed 4* (Thoress, Iceman, Nova, HBIM) that grants me power enough to perform without feeling the need to rush up a char.

The 13cover ones I would like to focus on are a lvl240 XFDPool, 200 JGrey, 196 Kingpin, 192 Cyclops and 166 X23, plus noncovered Quake, Punisher and Peggy; as said, I would love to level them more or less evenly from below, but I try to keep a tamper of around 200k ISO in order to play safe.

Vhailorx

Polares, I don't know that we actually disagree all that much.

As I said champing 3*s should never take priority over champ'ing a good 4*. But a diligent player can earn 6-ish 3* covers a day on average (between the ddq, tokens, placement, etc). I am pretty sure that over the long-run, having an outlet for all those covers is a net positive. (3*champ rewards aren't bad, and get much better at higher levels). So it's a game of resource management. Is it worth converting some iso into HP and CP and covers via 3*champ'ing.

I agree with you that iso is the scarcest resource in the game, and that getting a functional 4* bench is top priority, but after that happens, I think it's reasonable to decide that extra hp and cp is a worthwioe trade for some iso. Iso is scarce, but I still HP for roster slots and classic LTs to chase OML and finish my 5*s

Calnexin

I'm voting middle with modifications.

3* covers are relatively easy to come by. Selling them off isn't ideal, but they'll come around much quicker than another flaptain cover. IMO, you should

1) Champ flaptain.
2) Sell Ice and Squirrel Girl
3) put any remaining Iso toward Spidey, and aim to champ before expiration (preferably with earned Iso - selling a maxed out 2* is an easy win but mostly Iso-neutral, and can give you headaches on essentials if you're not prepared for it).
4) Sit on your LTs until your highest 4*s are within reach of maxing out.

Vhailorx

Calnexin wrote:

I'm voting middle with modifications.

3* covers are relatively easy to come by. Selling them off isn't ideal, but they'll come around much quicker than another flaptain cover. IMO, you should

1) Champ flaptain.
2) Sell Ice and Squirrel Girl
3) put any remaining Iso toward Spidey, and aim to champ before expiration (preferably with earned Iso - selling a maxed out 2* is an easy win but mostly Iso-neutral, and can give you headaches on essentials if you're not prepared for it).
4) Sit on your LTs until your highest 4*s are within reach of maxing out.

Thanks for the input Calnexin!

Fortunately, it's been a good few days for iso (relative to normal in this game), so I think have enough to champ spidey and flaptain without selling anyone.

So the decision ultimately boils down to

(1) should I burn my tokens for an iceman cover? And

(2) should I champ flaptain, or hold out for whichever of the top tier 4*s I cover first (ice is at 11/13, jg is at 12/13, cyclops is at 11/13, and nova is at 10/13).

For question (1) I think the answer is no. The chance of getting ice is very small, and I am hoarding tokens for good reasons. So patience seems like the best bet.

For (2) I think flaptain might be worth it. But I am not sure.