2* cycling strategy

Calnexin

If you're interested in the background, here are some references.

https://d3go.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=45247
https://d3go.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=48849

There's been discussion about whether or not it's worth "cycling" your 2* roster. The cost/benefit analysis from the first link is

Zikato wrote:
Total: -7.779

Non-ISO rewards
375 = 125 from selling, 250 from champion rewards
5x heroic tokens (can equal 1.250 if sold)
3x hero specific 3* (can equal 1.500 if sold)
5

I think the above analysis is correct - you pay a little bit (~ 1 DDQ run) to reap the stated rewards. There's some disagreement (check the links for minutiae), but whether it's slightly positive or negative, this system is in no way a factory. Given the time involved you can't use it to generate Iso in a meaningful way, even under the rosiest of scenarios. But, I believe it is still game-positive - ie, the reward you get will progress your roster faster than if you didn't do it.

As such, I took the plunge last night. I sold off two 2* max-champs and re-rostered them with single covers I got that night. I used the Iso gained to champ two other 2*s that were max-covered but underleveled (both ~ 30 at the time).

I wound up with an Iso deficit ~ 15k. Gained 250 HP out of the sale. And, I'd already reaped the champ rewards, which have been quantified in other threads. I know I'm not actually gaining Iso out of this (it was SO tempting to use that 130k to pump into a 4*), and with average luck the rewards I collect from the next set of champs will probably not return their value. But - it feels good. Those covers building to something rather than a dead-end payout is enticing.

Anyhow, I was wondering whether any of you have a preferred strategy for this activity. I imagine, ideally, you would dupe the 2* and sell the max-champ once your dupe is champed. On the lower end, some may just sell off a max-champ they never use and maintain one cover in their queue for essentials. If you're doing anything with this system, how are you doing it?

amusingfoo1

I roster a dupe when I can, and sell the old one once the dupe is fully-covered (for the ones I use for DDQ. The others I just sell immediately, unless they're essentials or about to be).

Orion

I use the 2*s as a bank. Right now I have 2 Thing covers waiting on me to finish champing him. I also have a max-champed Ms. Marvel out there. Once I get another cover for her, I'll sell the champed version and apply it to Thing. I'll re-roster Ms. Marvel with the new cover. I know I'll eventually have pay back that 65k ISO with interest (7,779 ISO), but it's worth it since I'd never be able to champ certain 4*s in time before their extra covers expire otherwise.

All of the other side benefits of cycling (3* covers, HP, tokens) are just gravy.

GrumpySmurf1002

Calnexin wrote:

I think the above analysis is correct - you pay a little bit (~ 1 DDQ run) to reap the stated rewards. There's some disagreement (check the links for minutiae), but whether it's slightly positive or negative, this system is in no way a factory. Given the time involved you can't use it to generate Iso in a meaningful way, even under the rosiest of scenarios. But, I believe it is still game-positive - ie, the reward you get will progress your roster faster than if you didn't do it.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=45247&start=40#p530404

As explained above, the 'loss' comes from comparing to just selling the covers. Farming still gains you 7971iso (plus CP/HP/tokens/3*covers), or about 190iso per day, assuming a 6-week turnover.

The deficit you've experienced so far is simply because you haven't finished champing the next set.

Fightmastermpq

I've been using max champed 2*s as an ISO reserve for when I need it. I like to champ the 3*s before their event starts, but I don't always have time. So I just sell off a 2*, and then replace them later when I have excess ISO.

SnowcaTT

Orion wrote:

I use the 2*s as a bank. Right now I have 2 Thing covers waiting on me to finish champing him. I also have a max-champed Ms. Marvel out there. Once I get another cover for her, I'll sell the champed version and apply it to Thing. I'll re-roster Ms. Marvel with the new cover. I know I'll eventually have pay back that 65k ISO with interest (7,779 ISO), but it's worth it since I'd never be able to champ certain 4*s in time before their extra covers expire otherwise.

All of the other side benefits of cycling (3* covers, HP, tokens) are just gravy.

I'm debating about starting to do this. I sold 2* 144 Ares a couple seasons back to finish a 4*. I currently have only four maxed...but I'm debating about maxing them all and rotating through them.

I think what will win the debate is this: would I buy 5 cp for ~8K ISO? At this point with CP being so rare and progression being (stupidly) RNG-only, yes I would pay that.

wymtime

I look to keep 4-5 championed 2* at all times and 1-2 2* building to 13 covers. I will sell a 2* when I have the 14th cover of my level 15 2* I will sell a max championed 2* and start them over with 1 cover.
This way I get the HP, CP, token rewards from championing 2* and am only spending up from the 7k ISO. The extra HP and CP are the reason I do this and then the ISO that I gain can go into whatever 4* or 5* I want and I only dip into my ISO pool every once in a while for my 2*.
I have actually had fun in DPDQ doing this playing Thor MNMags Hawkeye and speed shoring teams to death, or building around Ares and OBW while my 2* storm is rebuilding.

DTStump

I have 72 slots at the moment, 5 of them allocated to 2* farms. My current focus is on getting HP for roster slots so I can open LTs and roster any new 4* or 5*s. In my mind, ISO is not the biggest factor in farming - any costs or benefits are pretty small - but the extra HP is definitely worth it. I would definitely roster more characters if my objective was not to catch up as soon as possible with the new 4* releases.

Between the end of April and now, I was able to add 15 new slots, while 6 4*s were released (Winter Soldier, War Machine, Kate Bishop, Moon Knight, Peggy Carter and Wasp), so I am definitely catching up even though the cost of new slots is now close to 1000 HP. It will surely take a while to get there, but when I finally complete the 4* collection I'll consider rostering more 2* farms.

optimus2861

I've recycled little Torch & little Steve so far, and championed both Moonstone & Bullseye (I had never bothered to roster those two in the pre-champion days). Little Daken is getting recycled (his replacement is cover-complete but only around level 70), and my dupe OBW is blue-starved (5/0/5).

I have no set strategy other than to look at my queue. Lotta covers for someone, and a spare slot, build a dupe.

The Herald

Way I've been looking at it is, dump daily grind points into 2*s then drop iso8 bombs onto big characters.

Gives the illusion of progress too. Daily amounts of iso look like they're doing more to 2*s

thanos8587

love champing twos. even if its just to avoid the sell for 250 every time. yesterday it was two star champed into a token that gave another two that gave a 3* cover that champed into 3 cp that got me to 20 that gave me a pheonix.

so far ive sold 12 of my original 13 and rebuilt 13 back to an average of 120. kept my 144 obw til i need the iso or the slot and her replacement is already 114. if nothing else its fun, but i do believe its very helpful for progress.

Quebbster

The 2* Champions I started when the sale price increased are max-champed or at least getting close to it. I am now stockpiling covers to roster replacements. I have already re-rostered Hawkeye as I had an expiring cover. He's 5/5/2 now, so I am basically waiting for one more purple cover so I can use the red excess covers in my queue as champion levels. May have to do the same with Magneto in a week or so if I haven't gotten two red covers for him by then.
I really enjoy being able to use all two-star covers, and I wish I had gotten all my two-stars leveled up sooner.

mckauhu

I sell lvl 144 2* and replace with either a new 4* or same character. Then saving iso8 or putting it in a 4*.

Bryan Lambert

I had every 2* except Bagman at L144 when the change in sale price hit. Ended up just playing it by ear with some rules - keeping current essentials and my DDQ team (Storm/Mags/Hawkeye), using spare roster slots for dupes for those, selling off others when I had 4-5 covers ready to go or 1-2 ready to expire and no spare roster slot for the dupe. Ran into a few RNGesus hiccups waiting for a 13th cover I could use (cough cough Ares red) while the other two covers stacked up in my queue, but a few weeks ago I got them all re-champed.

Now, disparities in getting covers means that going forward, they should be able to naturally stagger themselves and get to 144 at different times, so I should be able to repeat the process a bit more smoothly.

The ISO went mostly back into 2*'s, but some of it went into maxing and champing 4Thor when I finally got the last cover I needed for her and some went into getting newer 4*'s to the 160's for Crash fo the Titans - all replenished later from the regular grind.

huktonfonix

I keep approximately a half dozen 2* around for essentials and DDQs, and sell the rest when max champed. I look ahead at upcoming events to plan out my essentials, and try to wait to sell off until after a character's featured event. I also wait until I have at least one extra cover in my queue before selling, so that I can roster them with a single cover for essentials if needed.

For the most useful 2* (MagStorm, OBW), I wait until I have 13 covers queued before recycling them.

notamutant

I've decided restarting building 2 stars is only good for 2 stars that give 3 star covers I need. Meaning I don't have a championed 3 star Storm, so rebuilding 2 star Storm is pointless. On the other hand, rebuilding Cap America makes sense since I have him championed in 3 star land. The other situation is when I need iso for an expiring 4 star cover, then I might sell a maxed 2 star champ.

Orangecrush

If you have the slots, I can't imagine why you wouldn't cycle every 2* you can. If there were a button where I could press it and sell 7500 iso to get 350 HP, 5 cp, 3 3* covers and 5 heroics, I would push it until my iso got to zero regardless of how much I had.

carrion_pigeons

Keeping all the 2*s rostered is an easy way to generate HP, which is nice because if you're rostering all the 2s, then you need quite a few extra roster slots. Keeping ahead of 1000 HP every 2 weeks can be a challenge but if you're cycling through the 2*s it's a lot easier. Smooths away one of the little frustrations about the game's structure.

Also it's just nice to have the extra utility if you need it. 2* champs aren't completely irrelevant when essential or in DDQ and it's fun to be able to mess around with the ones you'd normally never bother with. I do wish they had moved the sale price up to the break-even point (75K would have been super nice without making anything about the setup remotely abusable), but it's close enough that I'm willing to eat the Iso loss for the extra benefits. Currently champing 2* Captain Marvel, who I had never bothered to play with before (except as a 1-cover essential) and I'll admit she's kinda fun to use, as kind of a reverse Cyclops.

Moon Roach

I'm a fan of the idea of having a new 2* with 13 covers ready to go before selling the champion and using the ISO gained (plus a little more) to champion the new one. That's what I'm doing now, I've 4 maxed 2* champions with new versions waiting patiently for their covers. Why not sell them as soon as they are maxed? I'd rather replace a champion with a fully covered level 94 than a single cover level 15. Yes, it takes up a few more roster slots, but you would be buying new ones anyway at the rate of 2 a month. And now we can have 300!

There is one exception, when I need ISO NOW and so I will release the equity in a 2* or two, such as when I sold Daken to be able to champion Thing before the covers I had expired. Daken's back at level 86 4/4/4 already, and I'm looking forward to more 3* Daken covers.