When should a 4* player begin level 5* characters?

lemieux2005

The short question in the topic title is self-explanatory, but I would like to provide some additional background. I have recently begun looking at the rosters of people I am competing against, mostly in PvE but also in some PvP. I noticed something that surprised me: many people who are in the early stages of 4* play (typically with anywhere from one to seven or eight 4* star characters championed) have begun leveling their under-covered 5* characters (this would include 5* characters with anywhere from one to six or seven covers).

This surprised me due to the fact that leveling the 5* characters would not only increase scaling/MMR, but the under-covered 5* characters, who are between levels 275 and 360, are not that much more useful that championed 3*’s due to the lack of covers (with the sole exception of match damage). This seemingly would make the usefulness of their 5* star characters quite limited.

My concerns with leveling my 5* characters have always been the following:

1. Scaling/MMR – By leveling 5 * characters to 350 and above, the level of enemies that you will face in PvE/PvP will increase. I have also heard horror stories of players who leveled one or two 5* characters only to find that they were being paired against max-championed 5* star rosters in PvP.

2. Lack of Diversity – I assumed that as soon as a person would raise a 5* character to 350 plus, the increased scaling/MMR would essentially require them to use that character all the time, thereby eliminating diversity. I enjoy being able to use the boosted/championed 4*characters of the week.

I don’t know if this statement is correct, but I would think that once a person has three max-championed and boosted 4* characters for each PvE event, then raising the levels of 5* characters to 370 or so would not affect scaling/MMR (given that the boosted 4* characters would be at least level 370). However, where people only have a limited number of 4* star characters available, I would think the above referenced concerns regarding scaling would still be a major issued.

To provide some information regarding my roster, I currently have eleven 4* characters championed (including most of the top tier characters), and should have my twelfth championed by the end of the week. As for 5* characters, all my characters are still at level 255. My Silver Surfer has twelve covers, my Phoenix has nine covers and no one else has more than 5 covers. I compete primarily in PvE, aiming to hit maximum progression in each event. I compete sporadically in PvP, typically aiming to hit 575 only, unless there is a key 4* cover at 900 that I want to push for.

So, to sum it up, am I wise and correct for not leveling my 5* characters until the time that I have more at thirteen covers and/or have enough 4* characters that I always have 3 championed and boosted each week, or are the players who are leveling their 5* under-covered characters correct in their strategies? Would anyone recommend that I invest some Iso’s into my 5* characters at the present time?

I appreciate any advice on this topic!

mpqr7

The best answer is to wait until you have 13 covers on two 5*s, and then do it all in one shot. But that can take a long time.

Theoretically, leveling up some to 360 shouldn't do too much damage to your mmr?

I personally leveled up my OML a lot, and at the beginning, he was king! At lv 315, I was crushing PVP. Unfortunately, others caught up and went beyond me soon enough.

chill21genlee

From personal experience, I would suggest holding off... PVE (and I think PVP as well) scaling is based on your top 3 to 5 chars and their respective levels and it includes boosted chars.

A 5 star starts at 255, so if you have a robust 4 star roster and one or two 4 star champs that are boosted, that 255 level 5 star has no impact.

However, the moment you get them past the level of your strongest champs, it can and will impact your scaling, boosted chars notwithstanding.

This is a bit anecdotal, but I wouldn't suggest taking any 5 star past right around level 330-360 until you have such a solid base of 4 stars champed that you have at least 2-3 boosted in any given event.

Akari

You can level 1-2 5* up to 350, 375 or so and basically nothing will change. Your PvP will still show you 3* teams occasionally, and you're not going to be targeted by higher players. PvE also will change only based on what 4* you have boosted that week. If you already had a couple boosted every week, nothing will change. If you have none of the boosted 4* 1 week, your scaling will go up a bit... but not crazily so, and the 5*'s match damage will cover for it, or you can still use safe unboosted 4* teams like iceman+im40 or jean+sw without getting killed too badly by the increased levels.

If you really push it, and have high 4*, then you can take your 5s to 390 and still see no change in PvP - but with only ~10 champed 4s, you're not here yet.

acescracked

Never or when you can bring two top tier 5*s to 480 or so. Whichever comes first.

Never will happen sooner.

roberts_2

My experience,

1- MMR scalling is real but not a problem, i found teams with 5* with same level or more than mine but i also found teams with low level 4* or even 3* so is a skipping thing, save iso for skip. On pvp when reach 700 points the scalling becomes more hard but asequible, reserve your healthpacks for this moment because you get more attacks than before.
2- Lack of diversity appears on 700 points or above, is not a problem except if OP chars are RHulk, Cyclops, Thoress or Jean Grey.

5* real power is match damage, try to combine one 5* with black gem damage with Fist and see the damage on combo match with Fist K'un-Lun attack, or combine 5* purple gem damage with Scarlett Witch and you see a match damage insane.

stowaway

Having OML leveled to 365 has been a big advantage, overall. It makes the easier nodes in PvE go very quickly, and only has minimal impact on the scaling of the higher nodes. I don't think it's done anything to MMR that having lots of championed 4* hasn't done. Most weeks, I have two or three 4* that are boosted to higher levels anyway, and on weeks when I don't have a decent boosted 4*, he's often a better choice than using a non-boosted one (it depends).

That said, I don't intend to level him any higher, even though I could, or add levels to any other 5* until I'm ready to enter that tier. Which may never happen. I also don't think all 5* are equal in terms of when they become viable, and which covers you need to get lucky with -- but I'm hardly an expert on 5*s.