The new and Improved 5* Ranking poll

OneLastGambit

Last time I ran this poll was quite a while ago and the consensus then was that Phoenix took top spot with BSS coming a close second and Oml in third.

Now there's more characters and the ones which were had have been improved. Same as before pick the 3 which you believe to be the best.

Feel free to elaborate on your votes below.

RemoDestroyer

As a 4* player I don't really feel I have enough insight to be able to vote on all of them. However in PvP I'm really only seeing mostly Phoenix, oml, Silver Surfer, Black Bolt and a little Natasha, Thanos and Doctor Strange. Of those I'm only auto skipping Black Bolt and Thanos.

Quebbster

Just so we are clear: Are we supposed to vote for the top 3 fivestars without internal ranking?
The one I dread most is probably Black Bolt. Thanos is usually manageable, but when things go bad they go bad fast. Black Widow is sneaky, but even though she packs a mean punch I can usually beat her...

OneLastGambit

Quebbster wrote:

Just so we are clear: Are we supposed to vote for the top 3 fivestars without internal ranking?
The one I dread most is probably Black Bolt. Thanos is usually manageable, but when things go bad they go bad fast. Black Widow is sneaky, but even though she packs a mean punch I can usually beat her...

Yep. Just vote for the 3 characters who you think are the best in that tier.

geno685

Im not even in the 5 star meta yet, heck i dont even have a max level 4star, but got 2 ready to be. My most covered 5 stars have 3 covers, usually in one color. But i voted for Strange as he just destroys PVE so well, Bolt because he his the king of the game right now, and my wildcard 3rd choice was Tony. I hate fighting him when he launches his blue as it can do a crapload of damage and gain him a lot of red, his yellow can be a bit annoying, and if on right team , his red is killer, and because of blue you can get it off quite efficiently. Honorable mentions go to thanos and Phoenix. TBH i think oml is a bit overated, just stunlock him and suddenly he is not a threat, or drain his ap someway, and steal those strikes. What i am saying is that there are now many ways to counter him he just seems a bit lazy and stale.

Polares

Ok, let's see, BBolt is THE BEST, period, anybody that has played with him will agree with me that he is the strongest and fastest in the whole game.

Now things start to be a bit hard. I have voted as second and third for Thanos and Strange, I had my doubts specially with PH as she is the best for creating cascades in 5 land, and then both GG and IM in the right conditions are amazing, but Thanos if played correctly is a killing machine, and Strange is the King of PvE, his blue is probably one of the best powers in the whole game (stun, damage, AP stealing for 3 matches!).

BSP as I said in a previous thread is not top5 anymore in my opinion, his purple is still his best asset, but he is not that good against the new Kings of the PvP meta. OML is great for climbing and for survival nodes specially, but that's it, he is too slow and in PvE I use BW much more than him.

Note: I have not a champed IM or BSM, so my opinions on those are based on my game experience and playing against them.

fight4thedream

I voted Bolt, Thanos and OML.

First to address the "OML is overrated because you can just stunlock him" comment.

geno685 wrote:

TBH i think oml is a bit overated, just stunlock him and suddenly he is not a threat, or drain his ap someway, and steal those strikes. What i am saying is that there are now many ways to counter him he just seems a bit lazy and stale.

This is not to single you out. I've run across this statement quite a few times in the past and every time I wonder if people realize this tactic is viable against almost every 5* character (save Surfer). Stunlocking is not an OML-specific strategy. Yes, it is one of the best ways to deal with him but it's a great way to deal with almost every character in the game. (There is a reason "boss" types get the stun-immune treatment. Although I feel that it shouldn't necessarily be that way as it feels like a rather cheap way to hinder the player and denies potentially interesting ways to fight bosses but I digress).

Your second comment is also telling. Currently there are four characters in the 5* tier that seem to at least in part be designed to counter OML: BSS, BW, Strange and Thanos. Spidey with his negation of strike tiles and stun abilities, BW with her strike tile removal and Acrobatic Take Down packing an extra punch for enemies that have a 12AP or more in a color. Dr. Strange is strike tile removal capable and has stun plus damage and enemy AP destruction. And Thanos who seems specifically designed to counter most top level 5* characters (OML, PHX, BOLT, Strange, Hulk, IM, GG).

I think it shows how much of the 5* meta revolved around OML. Sure he may no longer be "king" but the old man still has a lot of fight left in him and most definitely is a worthwhile addition to any roster. He is the ultimate HP saver.

In regards to Black Bolt being the "Best" period, I have a feeling that is a bit of an overstatement. Yes, overall he currently stands at the top of the mountain but there are things that need to be considered. First and foremost, Black Bolt alone is not much of a threat. He randomly generates charged tiles that can easily be used against him. Just imagine how a one-on-one fight between him and BSS, Thanos or OML would go. It's his pairing with certain characters, most specifically BW, that really helps give him bite.

Honestly, I don't think these best polls really capture the true beauty/oddity of the 5* realm. As we know, 5*s really come into their own when they are teamed up together with another character that complements their abilities. I remember a lot of people thought Bolt wouldn't be so great because his "yellow" would be useless for a 5* player and as previously stated his charged tiles can be used by the opponent to power up their own abilities. Similarly, people thought BW's power set was too expensive and had too many conditions to realize her full potential. It was only when people put the two together did they realize, oh wow! we have a meta-changing power pair on our hands. (For those not in the know, BB's charged tiles have the potential to either: 1) trigger his 5k damage passive, 2) supply AP for his whisper or BW's deadly hits, 3) forces the opponent to match away tiles with the potential of reaching that 12AP threshold for BW's Acrobatic Takedown).

It's an oddity because in terms of comic book-cannon it leaves one scratching their head over the best pairings, save perhaps the first 5* power couple of OML/Phoenix. Setting that issue aside, as power pairings probably have more to do with developer schedules and schemes than comic book lore, the 5* tier is fleshing out to be a rather well balanced interesting tier.

Anywhoo, having waxed philosophical on the 5* meta I guess it would be helpful if I shared my crib sheet of the current 5* tier to help fan the flames of discussion. Without further ado:

Best One-on-One Character (we so need this mode!)
1. Spidey
2. Thanos
3. Green Goblin

Best PvE Character
1. Dr. Strange
2. Thanos
3. Black Bolt

Best PvE Wave node character
1. Dr. Strange
2. Thanos
3. OML

Fastest high scaling Goon node clearer
1. Dr. Strange
2. Thanos
3. Black Bolt

Fastest low scaling Goon node clearer
1. Thanos
2. Black Bolt
3. Dr. Strange

Fastest non-Goon node clearer
1. Thanos
2. Black Bolt
3. Dr. Strange

Best PvP Character if I only had one 5* character it would be you!
1. OML
2. Black Bolt
3. Thanos

Best PvP Character to team up with other 5* characters
1. Black Bolt
2. Thanos
3. OML

Best PvP Character to team up with 4* characters
1. Black Bolt
2. OML
3. Thanos

Best PvP Character to climb with
1. OML
2. Phoenix
3. Black Bolt

Best PvP Character to Shield hop with
1. Thanos
2. Black Bolt
3. BSS

Best offensive character
1. Green Goblin
2. Thanos
3. OML

Best "defensive" character (*yes, I know. The best defense is offense in this game)
1. BSS
2. Phoenix
3. Black Bolt

Best AP Generator
1. Black Bolt
2. Phoenix
3. Silver Surfer

Best Cascade Generator
1. Phoenix
2. Iron Man
3. Black Bolt (?)

Best Power Pair
1. Black Bolt and Black Widow
2. OML and Phoenix
3. Green Goblin and Iron Man

Characters with Best Future Potential
1. Thanos
2. BSS
3. Black Bolt

These are just some of my thoughts on the 5* tier based soley on my experience battling some of the current greatest and strongest players in both PvE and PvP. No animals were harmed during testing. Feel free to share your own thoughts and impressions. (￣(ｴ)￣)y-ﾟﾟﾟ

Also, on a bit of side note, anyone else find it interesting that Black Panther is supposed to be a hard counter to BW? "Move....or be Moved?" anyone? (Yes, I know BP didn't actually say that in the film. It was his lady friend. Would have been awesome if they had used Dora Milaje to step in to protect him in game. #missed opportunities)

OneLastGambit

Some interesting opinions thus far.

It shows the increasing diversity of the tier that the former kings (or queen) of the tier have slowly been dropping more and more.

Personally I voted BSS, Bolt and Thanks as their all round utility in every game mode puts them at the top for me.

Why BSS? Use him in an overpowered muscle node and he's awesome. Use him against a boss who created mean strikes (like kaecilius) and again he's awesome. Though I'm not a 5* player that meta still largely defined by strikes and so he is still very useful in that tier too and with some decent stuns in that tier now his blue will get more mileage.

Why Bolt? It doesn't take very long to start piling up passive damage when using bolt making a win come pretty fast.

Why Thanos? Down one and you pretty much down them all. It could be argued he's even a tad OP.


Last time round I placed gobby in my t3 and while I still contend he's my fave 5* because his purple is absolutely the most diverse skill in the whole game he just missed out on t3 this time.

What I also find interesting is that I spend a lot of time skipping in shield sim to find these 5* and battle against them in an effort to help me determine who I will eventually invest my iso in.

I've never seen cap or banner. I think that says a lot for the general opinion of them. Cap at least is a good partner these days for Oml phoenix. Banner unfortunately is too much of a hinderence thanks to his habit of stealing the match you want to make and wasting the ap and also his AOE is weak for his tier. Which is probably why I never see him.

RemoDestroyer

This thread never got a lot of attention to begin with but I'm guessing these rankings might be out of date and potentially changing quite a bit in the next couple of days.

Alkyoneus

Thanos: 60K+ health, kill one and kill everyone, mean abilities. Makes PVE clears a joke.
Black Bolt: Fastest damage dealer in the game, charged tiles every turn accelerate everyone, meta defining character.
Hawkeye: Once he starts firing he never stops. If his CDs start resolving he piles up more CDs and relentlessly hits you. Fast and inexpensive attacks.