I Think I Hit a Wall

bonham2

I've been playing about 2 months. I'm trying to build up my 3 star roster, and I'm saving up legendary towns and CP to avoid losing anymore 4 or 5 star covers that I don't have room for. So here where I'm at:

I have over 120,000 ISO with nothing to spend it on. I hand probably spent 100k ISO on standard tokens to build up 2 stars and get some 3 star covers. I have 70 CP that I'm saving. I have 5 legendary tokens saved up too. My only 5 star I kept is OML with 1 cover. Outside of that, my championed 2 stars are my best with some 3 stars getting up to around lvl 100.

Should I spend my CP on 3 star covers? Just suck it up and stay the course?

Bowgentle

Stop spending ISO on tokens.
Just keep playing, covers will come. ISO is gone forever.

IamTheDanger

Sounds like the best thing for your roster is Deadpool Daily Quest. You can get a 3* cover and 2 DDQ taco tokens and about 4500 iso. As for spending cp on 3* covers, I would say no. 3* covers are actually a lot easier to come by than they used to be. And far easier to get than 4*.

Also, listen to Bowgentle's post above. Do not spend iso on tokens. The standard tokens will almost always give a 1* that sells for only 100 iso. If it cost you 500 for the token, you are losing 400 iso with almost every pull. If you still need 1* covers, then just play. Standard tokens are very easy to get.

bonham2

I have 120k ISO. I can't spend it anywhere near as much as I get it. I'm just getting frustrated that I can't progress faster. I play DDQ every day and everything else I can. I am getting very impatient.

IamTheDanger

bonham2 wrote:

I have 120k ISO. I can't spend it anywhere near as much as I get it. I'm just getting frustrated that I can't progress faster. I play DDQ every day and everything else I can. I am getting very impatient.

Are you in a good alliance? Being on a strong team is also important to faster progression.

wymtime

bonham2 wrote:

I have 120k ISO. I can't spend it anywhere near as much as I get it. I'm just getting frustrated that I can't progress faster. I play DDQ every day and everything else I can. I am getting very impatient.

Be patent and hord ISO as you will need it. Champion all your 2* as they will give you 3*. In a couple of months you will have a lot of 3* and feel like you are out if ISO. You can always rechampion your 2* to earn more HP and CP. iso is a real problem the higher you get in the game and standard tokens don't give 3*.
I hope you are enjoying the game. Soon enough you will be in 3* land.

alphabeta

Trust us spending ISO on standard tokens is the worst thing you can do.

Complete prologue

Do Story events

Start PVP (versus) especially lightening rounds but don't shield and don't for one second care about placement or progression.

Covers will come but ISO will always be short - trust me I've got like 7 million ISO shortfall and so have most on here.

Quebbster

For reference, 120,000 ISO is about a third of what you need to level one fourstar to level 270, or a fifth of what you need to level a fivestar to 450. The ISO need rises dramatically as you progress.

bonham2

All right. I'll listen to you guys. I'll stop buying standard tokens.

Someone mentioned prologue before. I completed that a while ago. I play every single event that I can. I complete DDQ every day as long as I have the required character. I play the PvP events until I at least get all of the possible HP. I'm just getting frustrated with the slow progression.

thanos8587

bonham2 wrote:

All right. I'll listen to you guys. I'll stop buying standard tokens.

Someone mentioned prologue before. I completed that a while ago. I play every single event that I can. I complete DDQ every day as long as I have the required character. I play the PvP events until I at least get all of the possible HP. I'm just getting frustrated with the slow progression.

you have to realize this is a "free to play" game. that sense of frustration with slow progress is supposed to be what gets you to break out your wallet. and theres nothing wrong with that. but its up to you. your patience will be rewarded in time.....or you can give them your credit card.

DeNappa

wymtime wrote:

bonham2 wrote:

I have 120k ISO. I can't spend it anywhere near as much as I get it. I'm just getting frustrated that I can't progress faster. I play DDQ every day and everything else I can. I am getting very impatient.

Be patent and hord ISO as you will need it. Champion all your 2* as they will give you 3*. In a couple of months you will have a lot of 3* and feel like you are out if ISO. You can always rechampion your 2* to earn more HP and CP. iso is a real problem the higher you get in the game and standard tokens don't give 3*.
I hope you are enjoying the game. Soon enough you will be in 3* land.

(emphasis mine) Actually, standard tokens do give out 3* covers, but at a low rate (around 2-3% I think).

Other than that, I just want to echo what's been said already; maxing a single 3* will set you back about 120K ISO, and a 4* will cost somewhere around 350K to max. When the covers come rolling in, you'll long for that ISO bank you have now .

Astralgazer

There is an excellent guide on progressing from 1* to 3* here. Study it carefully. Not everything will be applicable to you, but most will.

Also, spend some money on the game. Buy some Hero Points to expand your roster slots. Aside from giving back to the devs for making a great game, roster slots are the single most important resource in the game.

ISO is important later when your roster is deep enough and you begin to have ISO withdrawal syndrome. Maxing and championing 2* takes 69,530 + 5,000 ISO, while 3* takes 109,576 + 7,500. I have championed 21 3* and 7 2* (twice, because I sell max level champ 2* to gain 125 HP). Do the math.

Be patient and play the long game. I'm on day 307 and only halfway to finishing my 3* roster.

Next time you ask for advice, it would help the community to give you better advice if you provide them with your roster. You can visit mpqcompendium for this purpose. You can see my roster below in my sig. That's what I got after playing for 307 days and spend an amount greater than what I pay for Dragon Age Inquisition. You can see the picture.

jffdougan

And, for the sake of roster/spending comparisons:

I'm in the 760s for day count, hitting 770 later this week. (One way to benchmark it is that the Friday of Gen Con was my day 730 black Silver Surfer drop.) In that time, I've spent between $60 and $80 - two VIP runs, two $20 pickups during sales, and possibly another one some other time.

https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/jffdougan/

I'm just hitting the point where it makes more sense to pour ISO into my 4* characters instead of my last few remaining 3* ones. Depending on how quickly my ISO builds up once Clearance Levels (semi-officially SCL henceforth) debut, I may occasionally divert some of it to re-champing my rebuilt 2* characters, and will probably max Squirrel Girl eventually since she feeds into Ant-Man (until they restructure the champion rewards for 3* and 4* characters).

bonham2

Astralgazer wrote:

There is an excellent guide on progressing from 1* to 3* here. Study it carefully. Not everything will be applicable to you, but most will.

Also, spend some money on the game. Buy some Hero Points to expand your roster slots. Aside from giving back to the devs for making a great game, roster slots are the single most important resource in the game.

ISO is important later when your roster is deep enough and you begin to have ISO withdrawal syndrome. Maxing and championing 2* takes 69,530 + 5,000 ISO, while 3* takes 109,576 + 7,500. I have championed 21 3* and 7 2* (twice, because I sell max level champ 2* to gain 125 HP). Do the math.

Be patient and play the long game. I'm on day 307 and only halfway to finishing my 3* roster.

Next time you ask for advice, it would help the community to give you better advice if you provide them with your roster. You can visit mpqcompendium for this purpose. You can see my roster below in my sig. That's what I got after playing for 307 days and spend an amount greater than what I pay for Dragon Age Inquisition. You can see the picture.

Here is my roster - https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/Bonham2/

I have played 71 days officially. I have a bunch of covers that I can't roster yet including a full set of 2* Wolverine and a full set of 2* Ares (meaning enough to champion if I just had a roster spot available). I have Hoods, Steve Rodgers, Luke Cage, Winter Soldier, Thor 3*, Doctor Doom, 2 Cyclops, Sam Wilson, Daven 3*, Ragnorok, and 2 Black Widow 3*s that I can't roster. I think that's the thing that frustrates me the most, but I'm not spending $20 just to roster these characters. A new spot costs me 400 HP right now, and I can usually gain that much in a week.

Kishida

I haven't been playing MPQ too much longer than you, but if I could offer some thoughts from somebody who has just passed through the stage where you are...

First off, you have made crazy fast progress in 71 days. Excellent work.

Looking at your roster, stop leveling everyone you add. If you're not going to spend for slots, you will probably have to sell some spots to make room for more worthwhile characters. It makes sense to add them, but the ISO you spent to level them without likely getting much play out of them is a straight-up waste. As for what determines a worthwhile character, look for a character ranking thread. Regardless, a single cover for a 4* is often just taking up space when you could add those potential 2* champs. That's who you should focus on and pretty much the only place you should put your ISO for now. Champing multiple 2*s will also help you harvest HP, which is what you need.

Also, you might wanna hold back on opening tokens. I know, you need to progress, and you need tokens to do that, but still. Try saving your heroic & event tokens and just using the standard tokens. Alternately, hoard some tacos (as many as you can comfortably) to open at once and that way you'll get at least a bunch of 2* and hopefully some HP for additional slots.

Other wiser, more experienced voices will have better advice than my own, but with hindsight fresh in my mind, that's what I have to offer. Hope it helps, and best of luck on your continued play.

edgewriter

You're doing great. Especially for not spending any money. I'm on day 842 and knee deep into the 4* transition. I have all 3* championed except for sentry and 4 championed 4 stars, with several just a cover or three away from putting iso into.

Stick with it and have fun experiencing the characters as you earn them. The hard part is the four star transition. This is a gave for long term players if you're not willing to whale your way into the top tier early. (I honestly don't know how people afford it.)

Pylgrim

bonham2 wrote:

Astralgazer wrote:

There is an excellent guide on progressing from 1* to 3* here. Study it carefully. Not everything will be applicable to you, but most will.

Also, spend some money on the game. Buy some Hero Points to expand your roster slots. Aside from giving back to the devs for making a great game, roster slots are the single most important resource in the game.

ISO is important later when your roster is deep enough and you begin to have ISO withdrawal syndrome. Maxing and championing 2* takes 69,530 + 5,000 ISO, while 3* takes 109,576 + 7,500. I have championed 21 3* and 7 2* (twice, because I sell max level champ 2* to gain 125 HP). Do the math.

Be patient and play the long game. I'm on day 307 and only halfway to finishing my 3* roster.

Next time you ask for advice, it would help the community to give you better advice if you provide them with your roster. You can visit mpqcompendium for this purpose. You can see my roster below in my sig. That's what I got after playing for 307 days and spend an amount greater than what I pay for Dragon Age Inquisition. You can see the picture.

Here is my roster - https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/Bonham2/

I have played 71 days officially. I have a bunch of covers that I can't roster yet including a full set of 2* Wolverine and a full set of 2* Ares (meaning enough to champion if I just had a roster spot available). I have Hoods, Steve Rodgers, Luke Cage, Winter Soldier, Thor 3*, Doctor Doom, 2 Cyclops, Sam Wilson, Daven 3*, Ragnorok, and 2 Black Widow 3*s that I can't roster. I think that's the thing that frustrates me the most, but I'm not spending $20 just to roster these characters. A new spot costs me 400 HP right now, and I can usually gain that much in a week.

Those are some of the best 3*s that you have in the rafters. I agree with others that this is a good time to spend a small amount of money to get HP for roster slots (NOT tokens). At the point were you are, 3*s will start trickling in more often so each one that you have to throw away is a significant setback.

El Satanno

aesthetocyst wrote:

bonham2 wrote:

All right. I'll listen to you guys. I'll stop buying standard tokens.

Someone mentioned prologue before. I completed that a while ago. I play every single event that I can. I complete DDQ every day as long as I have the required character. I play the PvP events until I at least get all of the possible HP. I'm just getting frustrated with the slow progression.

Be not discouraged, bonham! I bring glad tidings of good cheer!

1. If you've been playing 2 months you're at best up to day 60 or so, if playing daily. If you're already champing 2*s and working on 3*s then please believe me when I say you are making EXCELLENT progress! The game has grown a lot over time, and it's now a loooooong journey to building anything near a full roster. If not a big spender, it will take years (seriously), but again, be not discouraged. You'll get stronger everyday.

2. What's more, there is no shortage of great alliances that will literally fight over you. The game (and the top alliances in it!) always need new, excited, hungry players. And don't underestimate your roster. Good alliance commanders know that it isn't the roster they're recruiting, but the person behind it. If you need help landing a spot in a top 100 PVE alliance (which will get you an extra 3* cover every PVE event!), send a PM.

3. As others have mentioned, play those PVE ("story") events. Except for the Gauntlet (which started today), they are designed so that all players can compete and earn all progression rewards from them. If you aren't ready to switch alliances, but are able to hit the top progression reward in PVE, then you could start mercing to top 100 alliances for the events you are able to play hard. This will get your name out there, and help you earn more covers, iso, hp.

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

Everything what Aes said, except about PM'ing him. If you want to join his smelly alliance that's your choice. PM me instead and I'll house you in a fresh-smelling group that features blackjack and hookers.

Astralgazer

bonham2 wrote:

Here is my roster - https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/Bonham2/

I have played 71 days officially. I have a bunch of covers that I can't roster yet including a full set of 2* Wolverine and a full set of 2* Ares (meaning enough to champion if I just had a roster spot available). I have Hoods, Steve Rodgers, Luke Cage, Winter Soldier, Thor 3*, Doctor Doom, 2 Cyclops, Sam Wilson, Daven 3*, Ragnorok, and 2 Black Widow 3*s that I can't roster. I think that's the thing that frustrates me the most, but I'm not spending $20 just to roster these characters. A new spot costs me 400 HP right now, and I can usually gain that much in a week.

There are 3* characters that're definitely a must in any roster because they will help your team even when not boosted: Luke Cage, Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, Cyclops, Thor, Hood. Other very useful characters include Steve Rogers, Doom, Daken, Magneto. There are also characters that are more to personal preference like Gamora or Patch. Refer to threads in the Tips section for more useful advice in choosing which characters to keep.

metallion

Astralgazer wrote:

bonham2 wrote:

Here is my roster - https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/Bonham2/

I have played 71 days officially. I have a bunch of covers that I can't roster yet including a full set of 2* Wolverine and a full set of 2* Ares (meaning enough to champion if I just had a roster spot available). I have Hoods, Steve Rodgers, Luke Cage, Winter Soldier, Thor 3*, Doctor Doom, 2 Cyclops, Sam Wilson, Daven 3*, Ragnorok, and 2 Black Widow 3*s that I can't roster. I think that's the thing that frustrates me the most, but I'm not spending $20 just to roster these characters. A new spot costs me 400 HP right now, and I can usually gain that much in a week.

There are 3* characters that're definitely a must in any roster because they will help your team even when not boosted: Luke Cage, Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, Cyclops, Thor, Hood. Other very useful characters include Steve Rogers, Doom, Daken, Magneto. There are also characters that are more to personal preference like Gamora or Patch. Refer to threads in the Tips section for more useful advice in choosing which characters to keep.

Or you could refer to the character rankings thread that one of the forumites does once in a while to decide which to keep. The opinions of the forumites are pretty spot on when it comes to the usefulness of each character. I myself used to depend on early versions of those to decide which 3*s to level up ahead of others. As it stands there are a couple in your roster worth tossing out for others in your queue IMO, like Punisher, Spidey and Colossus, to bring in the guys like Cage, Cyclops, Steve and Thor, just to name a few. Their levels aren't very high as well so there's not much collateral damage from selling them.

Take it from a F2P player playing for more than 1000 days. If you're unwilling to spend a couple of bucks buying HP for roster slots like me, be prepared to sell a couple of 3*s or even 4*s in the early days until you get a steady flow of HP coming in. I myself lost count of how many 3*s I've sold back in those days. Once you develop a strong enough roster to consistently do well in the events, that's when all the HP start coming in and things get better eventually

maltyo9

I just want to jump in and say that the replies from the vets to the OP is one of the reasons that I've stuck with this game so far. I'm currently on day 284, and far too busy with work (or maybe just too lazy), to put my roster on mpq.gamependium.com (thanks, autotype!).

When I first started, I was just looking for a fun game to kill some time, that also happened to involve comic book characters that I loved as a kid, and I stumbled across MPQ.

After a month or so, I decided to search for info about the game, and came across the forums. A world of knowledge was spread before me! Oh, the characters that I sold... (looking at you, OBW), that I now was informed were the path to future greatness.

Alliances? I'm not trying to be social by playing a match-3 game...I told myself. I'm now in a soon to be top 100 pvp alliance (we hope!) with a bunch of people I have awesome (and sometimes not MPQ inspired) conversations on Line.

Tl:dr, OP, take every grain of knowledge these awesome people drop on you, and keep plugging away. Ignore the naysayers, this game is awesome (usually), if they didn't love it, they wouldn't be talying about it.

P.S. Don't open LTs or spend CP until you have at least 12 champed 3s, and the hp to roster them, and HOARD THAT ISO!