Guide on when to 5* becomes helpful

Jorit
Jorit Posts: 33 Just Dropped In
edited September 2016 in MPQ Character Discussion
So I have heard that not until you reach either a certain mix of colors or X amount of covers on all of the 5* do they really become useful and worth leveling.

Does anyone have a list of when exactly this is? Some of mine are getting up there but not sure what the break point is.

Comments

  • thanos8587
    thanos8587 Posts: 653
    other than oml who can be useful at 1/1/1, the others need 9 or so covers to level to roughly 400 at which point they start to hurt bad. below that theyre not much stronger than a fully covered 4 with the exception of the higher match damage. this is my observation.

    they really need levels for the hp and ability damage to start shooting up.
  • amusingfoo1
    amusingfoo1 Posts: 597 Critical Contributor
    thanos8587 wrote:
    other than oml who can be useful at 1/1/1, the others need 9 or so covers to level to roughly 400 at which point they start to hurt bad. below that theyre not much stronger than a fully covered 4 with the exception of the higher match damage. this is my observation.

    they really need levels for the hp and ability damage to start shooting up.

    Yeah, and the relationship between levels and damage is not linear. The increase from 435->450 >>> 405->420, even.
  • AdamMagus
    AdamMagus Posts: 363 Mover and Shaker
    My Silver Surfer is 3/1/3, still pretty useless at 7 covers, his one use is on the easy nodes, his match damage speeds things up
  • Melac
    Melac Posts: 28 Just Dropped In
    Personally, I have my OML (3 yellow, 1 black, still no red) at 270 (the cap at 1 cover), because my highest non 5 star (Lazycap, if you're interested) is championed enough that if he's boosted, he hits 271. That way my PvE enemies aren't heavily skewed by him. I plan to level my 5*s when my regularly used 3/4 stars pass them by a few levels.
  • OzarkBoatswain
    OzarkBoatswain Posts: 693 Critical Contributor
    OML - 0/1/1 is usable.
    Phoenix - 4 in purple is recommended.

    I can tell you that my 0/1/3 Surfer is not usable. My others have 2 or fewer covers and are as bad as you'd think.
  • Vhailorx
    Vhailorx Posts: 6,085 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited September 2016
    When introduced, I think 5*s were dominant at just 6 or 7 covers (and oml is still very useful at 1/1/x).

    But boosted 4* champs change everything. They don't have the match damage of a 5*, but they can do 4 or 500 damage with a match 3, which is respectable. And a 13/13 boosted 4* champ will have much stronger powers than a level 350 5*. I know that I fear a boosted rulk at 370 a bell of a lot more than I fear a Phoenix or OML at 370. But at 410 or so, I might prefer to fight rulk.

    So now I more or less agree with thanos: 9 or 10 covers, level 400+. I would also suggest waiting until you can bring at least 2 5*s into that range. Maybe even 3.
  • babinro
    babinro Posts: 771 Critical Contributor
    It's hard to write a guide on this because so much of it depends on the state of your 4* roster and whether or not you're comfortable with the MMR and scaling changes that come with it.

    Some people will say that even a useless covered 5* is worth leveling at a certain stage because of it's health and match damage alone. I don't agree with that personally but that doesn't make me right.

    Generally speaking:

    OML - Viable at 1/1/1. His red passive is great at just one cover. At this stage he's good for pve and playable in pvp. He won't compete with buffed 4*'s though.

    Phx - Viable at 1/3/3 or 5/1/3. 1/3/3 is probably the minimum where I'd be comfortable using her as a main in pvp and pve. You might get away with 1/2/3 or 1/3/2 but that's a tough call especially if you don't have OML helping with strikes. 5/1/3 is also viable especially if she tanks. You want her to die and respawn to win matches that drag on. This can be done with fewer than 5 green but it just adds to the risk factor so to each their own.
    Note: A heavy purple Phx with OML red is viable. So 1/5/1 or 1/4/2 with a viable OML should work fine too.

    Surfer - Never Viable - My view on Surfer is that you do not level him until you have 2 other viable 5*'s. You never want to be in a situation where your MMR involves your Surfer against everyone's OML's or Phx's. Surfer can win but he's not as strong and it puts you at a disadvantage. For PvE he's viable at 1/1/5.

    That's all I've got from direct personal experience. The rest is simply opinion and could definitely be wrong.

    Goblin - Viable at 1/3/1. At 0/3/1 Goblin's purple steals and absorbs 27 AP when used on a purple tile. That alone makes him worthy of consideration on purple tiles. At 1/3/1 I suspect he might be viable for pvp as well.

    Cap - Never Viable - Same problem as Surfer but even worse. Don't level him until you're comfortably in 5* tier.

    IM - Viable at 2/1/1 - This is based on the condition you have a championed Rulk to pair him with. IM is the only other 5* whose strong early on. You might not even need that second red but I don't have direct experience with him to confirm. Again, when he's low covers like that then consider buffed 4*'s to be your superior option still.

    Banner - Never Viable - Same as Surfer and Cap. He's a support character. You shouldn't push him until you've already entered 5* tier.

    Black Bolt - Viable at 1/3/0 - This is purely based on how he looks on paper. At 3 black he's acting as an AP generator and should definitely be viable in pve. Add one green and you have a damage finisher in PvP. In theory it works especially if you have something close to a rainbow team to pair him with.

    Black Suit Spidey - Viable ???? - I'm at a complete loss with this one. Mine is 3/1/4 and it's not remotely viable. I suspect he needs at least 5 blue and probably several green to be considered. This is a character that shines at 13 covers. He doesn't seem to build up well.
  • alaeth
    alaeth Posts: 446 Mover and Shaker
    Not to muddy the waters too much with "Userful" versus "Fun", but I recently lucked out and got my first Banner cover... purple. Super fun in PvE as he tanks all his colors, and once you have 10 green, is basically unkillable.
  • Piro_plock
    Piro_plock Posts: 287 Mover and Shaker
    babinro wrote:
    Black Suit Spidey - Viable ???? - I'm at a complete loss with this one. Mine is 3/1/4 and it's not remotely viable. I suspect he needs at least 5 blue and probably several green to be considered. This is a character that shines at 13 covers. He doesn't seem to build up well.
    What about that purple? It looks like at 4-5 covers he could be at least useful in PVE against overscaled Maggia Muscles or maybe in PVP to diminish the effect of OML/PHX strike tiles...
  • OneLastGambit
    OneLastGambit Posts: 1,963 Chairperson of the Boards
    Useful? Pretty subjective.

    Oml surfer and Phoenix are all useful in pve at 1 cover (yellow,blue and green) as their higher match damage and ability to heal make some nodes easier and health pack usage smaller.

    Personally I think most can be usable at 2/2/2 but that would be low level useful as opposed to taking place of a fully covered 4* in order to be a mainstay in your team they'll need at least 8 covers and level 300 before you can start using them in PvP
  • Vhailorx
    Vhailorx Posts: 6,085 Chairperson of the Boards
    Yes, its worth discussing what we mean when we say viable/useful/helpful.

    I generally mean "high level pvp." that's the most demanding format in this game (not saying PvP is better than PvP. Just that few characters good at PvP are bad at pve, but several good pve characters do not do well in pvp).

    By that standard I sort of cheated since a 1/1/1 oml is not helpful at high level PvP. He is just a target. But he is SO useful as a healthpack saver in pve and climbing in PvP that he is still worth having. Much more so than Phoenix or SS at the same covers.
  • mckauhu
    mckauhu Posts: 740 Critical Contributor
    Guide to? 5*'s are ALWAYS helpful even with low covers
  • Polares
    Polares Posts: 2,643 Chairperson of the Boards
    Piro_plock wrote:
    babinro wrote:
    Black Suit Spidey - Viable ???? - I'm at a complete loss with this one. Mine is 3/1/4 and it's not remotely viable. I suspect he needs at least 5 blue and probably several green to be considered. This is a character that shines at 13 covers. He doesn't seem to build up well.
    What about that purple? It looks like at 4-5 covers he could be at least useful in PVE against overscaled Maggia Muscles or maybe in PVP to diminish the effect of OML/PHX strike tiles...

    I agree completely. My Spidey is 4/1/1 so if I were lucky enough to pull a couple of purples I would certainly start using him in Sim as partner for my PH+OML as a safeguard for the other team strikes+cascades damage. Also great against muscles and symbiotes. If I were you I would level him right away. As side note, blue at 4 is already great.

    Then as a general rule, it all depends on where you are. Someone like me, with already 3 champed 5s, the other 5s just become useful with 10 or more covers, 405+ level. As I said Spidey might become useful before if you have 3+ purple covers (which of course it is not my case).

    Then for someone with champed 4s, you need at least 360 level 5s. For someone with champed 3s then 4 cover 5s are good enough. Of course, some covers are stronger than others though like OML yellow or black, GG black or purple, PH purple or green, etc.

    And I also agree SS and Cap might be leveled just when you have already leveled other 5s.

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