Scaling Tied To S.H.I.E.L.D. Clearance Levels (5/25/17)

Alsmir

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

Bowgentle

Alsmir said:

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

After they spent the last two years trying their best to alienate vets with insane scaling, punishment for leveling their characters and other great stuff I consider this change a small step in the right direction.

WEBGAS

I know the insane scaling had to be fixed and I am glad if this is a step in that direction.

But creating this huge difference in difficulty between scl7 and scl8 without an equal difference in terms of rewards, I fear (like the majority of our 4*transitioners)
 that there will be an "exodus" of 5* players from scl8 to scl7 so there will be no chance for the others to get a valuable placement.
The solution could be simple:

1) increase the rewards for scl8 so this could stimulate 5*players to aim for better rewards.
2) get rid of placement and create a Progression rewards only structure ,so there will be no need to clear and grinding faster 
but ones will get rewards based on how much they play at MPQ.

Alsmir

Bowgentle said:

Alsmir said:

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

After they spent the last two years trying their best to alienate vets with insane scaling, punishment for leveling their characters and other great stuff I consider this change a small step in the right direction.

Your life must be real hard, when you can collect 4* covers and 25 cp from PvP.

jamesh

I've still got a relatively low level roster: I stopped playing for a year, so my roster is tilted towards older heroes that are harder to get covers for now.  I'd mainly been playing in clearance level 7, but tried out clearance level 8 (once I was able to) when I had no chance of placing well due to a missing essential.

With the recent changes to the progression rewards, I'd decided that I'd switch fully to CL8 because the extra rewards seemed worth it to improve my roster (with a top 50 finish, I'd get two extra 3* covers and 50 extra HP).

This change essentially locks me out of CL8 for the foreseeable future.  And it's not clear that the extra rewards from CL8 would justify the harder matches when I get to a point where I could realistically complete them.

About the only good thing I can say about the change is that it solves the problem of new players finding story mode to be unplayable after getting lucky enough to roster a 5* character.

amusingfoo1

I'm looking forward to the time this saves me on my grind.  I assume that this going well would be a precursor to opening up scl 9?

granne

I think if this had been in place when clearance levels were introduced, pretty much everyone would have loved it and people would have moved up the SCLs as their rosters developed rather than as they hit an arbitrary SR. As it stands, there's a three-way disconnect because you have, in SCL 8, 5* rosters who are facing overscaled enemies and don't really need the covers, 4* rosters who need the covers but can't usually get them except through​progression, and 3* rosters who barely need the covers but are up against much stronger rosters and are unlikely to place well.

I've been playing in SCL 8 since I hit whatever level was required. At the time I had champed about half of my 3*s, I think, and had no 4*s over 5 covers. I do okay, usually getting T50, and have done pretty consistently since I moved up. I'm now in the 3-4* transition, with 10 4* champs, and while I could probably manage the SCL 8 scaling that's proposed if I had some strong boosted characters, I don't think Medusa and Gwenpool will cut it in this event. I'll drop down to SCL 7 for this one, but that's not a big deal.

I hope that, if this is implemented long-term, the brackets are filled using something like the PvP MMR, so that 5* players can use their 4* characters with decent scaling without completely locking out lower-level players from all the placement prizes. Of course, that might just bring us back to the whole softcapping issue.

Tl; dr: tests are good. I like the idea. I look forward to tweaking to improve everyone's playing experience.

Crowl

Bowgentle said:

Alsmir said:

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

After they spent the last two years trying their best to alienate vets with insane scaling, punishment for leveling their characters and other great stuff I consider this change a small step in the right direction.

Surely a far better option would have been to stop clobbering 5* rosters without trashing things for everyone else though? It is not like those rosters weren't already cruising through pvp already after all.

Fightmastermpq

Alsmir said:

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

Maybe they finally gave up on trying to appease the ungrateful, non-spending masses that make up the majority of this forum???

acescracked

Alsmir said:

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

Haha, not too long ago changes were being made that players said made life harder on vets and easier for everyone else. 

Seems development team damned no matter what they do.

NewMcG

Dauthi said:

Pongie said:

May be obvious but this is likely the breakup of scl compared to your roster progress

SCL 1:  30 - building up 1*
SCL 2:  55 - 1* maxed (40-50), building up 2* (<94)
SCL 3:  84 - 2* championed (94+), building up 3* (<166)
SCL 4: 140 - 2* maxed (144), 3* championed (166+)
SCL 5: 180 - 3* championed (166-266), building up 4* (<270)
SCL 6: 230 - 3* maxed (266), 4* championed (270+)
SCL 7: 260 - 4* championed (270+), building up 5* (255+)
SCL 8: 400 - 4* championed (270-370), 5* championed (450+)

Having boosted characters means you may be able to keep up with the scaling within your SCL

There should be a slight correction thanks to vaulting in SCL 8. 

SCL 8: 400 - 4* championed (270-300), 5* championed (450+)

This is what I was alluding to in my other post, but I hope the developers see this. 4* champs are not in competition with 5*s because there will never be overlap thanks to vaulting, while in the other divisions shown there is. I hope they fix it soon.

Tell that to my Carol, who in less than two months of being champed, along with 4* Blade, has already blown past my highest vaulted 4*, which was IMHB, who was champed the day the system went into place. Four others in the current 12 are also within a few levels of the 283 that IMHB took over a year to get to with the older, ever-more-diluted tokens. I'm by no means an elite player, but I probably average about one LT pull a day, so I pressume for those that are spending and playing way more than I, accumulating high champ rewards for a pool of 12 will actually be significantly easier than doing so for a group of now around 50.

I'm about two to three weeks away from being at an equilibrium point where I will have the entire current 12 either champed, or ready to be levelled as I get the covers to finish them when they get added to the pool each month. After that, I can actually go back and level a few older 4*s with the iso I get while I've got everything in the current group accounted for. A scenario where I can assure no wasted covers (and actually effectively get characters finished as they release) would have been virtually impossible the ways things were just a few short months ago.

ZeiramMR

FWIW, I'm not looking forward to the, in my case, increased scaling for SCL 8. But I am going to stick with it for the test.

Fightmastermpq

New McG said:

Dauthi said:

Pongie said:

May be obvious but this is likely the breakup of scl compared to your roster progress

SCL 1:  30 - building up 1*
SCL 2:  55 - 1* maxed (40-50), building up 2* (<94)
SCL 3:  84 - 2* championed (94+), building up 3* (<166)
SCL 4: 140 - 2* maxed (144), 3* championed (166+)
SCL 5: 180 - 3* championed (166-266), building up 4* (<270)
SCL 6: 230 - 3* maxed (266), 4* championed (270+)
SCL 7: 260 - 4* championed (270+), building up 5* (255+)
SCL 8: 400 - 4* championed (270-370), 5* championed (450+)

Having boosted characters means you may be able to keep up with the scaling within your SCL

There should be a slight correction thanks to vaulting in SCL 8. 

SCL 8: 400 - 4* championed (270-300), 5* championed (450+)

This is what I was alluding to in my other post, but I hope the developers see this. 4* champs are not in competition with 5*s because there will never be overlap thanks to vaulting, while in the other divisions shown there is. I hope they fix it soon.

Tell that to my Carol, who in less than two months of being champed, along with 4* Blade, has already blown past my highest vaulted 4*, which was IMHB, who was champed the day the system went into place. Four others in the current 12 are also within a few levels of the 283 that IMHB took over a year to get to with the older, ever-more-diluted tokens. I'm by no means an elite player, but I probably average about one LT pull a day, so I pressume for those that are spending and playing way more than I, accumulating high champ rewards for a pool of 12 will actually be significantly easier than doing so for a group of now around 50.

I'm about two to three weeks away from being at an equilibrium point where I will have the entire current 12 either champed, or ready to be levelled as I get the covers to finish them when they get added to the pool each month. After that, I can actually go back and level a few older 4*s with the iso I get while I've got everything in the current group accounted for. A scenario where I can assure no wasted covers (and actually effectively get characters finished as they release) would have been virtually impossible the ways things were just a few short months ago.

Agree with this.  My best 4* is Iceman at 364 - the only 4* BH I have ever had.  Next up is Medusa at 346 - she was the highest of the newest 12 when vaulting started.  My barometer is Coulsen at 306 - he is the first of the newest 12 that I never sold a cover for.  He has been in for I think 3 of 9 seasons, and I've pulled 49 total covers for him - another 64 seems well within the realm of possibility.  At this point 270-370 is a reality for me.

optimus2861

Fightmastermpq said:

Maybe they finally gave up on trying to appease the ungrateful, non-spending masses that make up the majority of this forum???

You're being so cryptic, just be plain, tell us how you really feel. Let it out. We won't judge.

veny

optimus2861 said:

Fightmastermpq said:

Maybe they finally gave up on trying to appease the ungrateful, non-spending masses that make up the majority of this forum???

You're being so cryptic, just be plain, tell us how you really feel. Let it out. We won't judge.

I bet he is enjoying this game - 5 hours each day, figting super powerful enemies just to get some awesome (100, 250 or even 500!! ISO) rewards. All in all, all that matters is being grateful for everything you got

veny

Alsmir said:

Bowgentle said:

Alsmir said:

So what is happenoing? Did we start 2017 with the new motto "Support the whales at all cost, screw anyone else."?

Vaulting, HfH, now this?

I'm definitely out of CL8. Can't do more than CL7 under the new system. I'm forec to do 5 clears instead of 4 for the same rewards, but now I can forget about any placement rewards as well.

I'm so desperately trying to find logic in the recent changes, but all I see is greed. Surely whales and vets are happy, but everyone else is being told to leave at the same time.

After they spent the last two years trying their best to alienate vets with insane scaling, punishment for leveling their characters and other great stuff I consider this change a small step in the right direction.

Your life must be real hard, when you can collect 4* covers and 25 cp from PvP.

Nice try Alsmir - it is almost impossible for most players to get above 700 points in PvP - tried that many times - after 700-800 points competitors are attacking so frequently you simply cant get points faster than lose them...
Feel free to prove me wrong with printscreen of you reaching 4* + 25CP from PVP progress

Warbringa

Not a big fan of this since I will have to move down to SCL 7 from SCL 8.  I suppose that my play will be slightly easier than it is now but I will be giving up  iso and a 3* cover that I would prefer to keep.  This will hurt many transitioning players who have somewhat balanced rosters and will really help people who have unbalanced rosters, not sure of the motivation.  At least it is just a test but it makes me think they have already decided they will implement it anyway.  What tests have they not implemented in the past?

SpringSoldier

I have a couple of questions (maybe they've been answered before and I missed it, so please don't judge me). When the devs say level 400 enemies do they mean
1. an entire team of level 400 or just one (like that wave where you fought the giant Venom at the end- he was strong, but at least he was alone)?
2. are they actual characters or just goons? Because a level 400 Hitman is infinitely easier to defeat than level 400 Daken, for example.

3. if the SCL7 fills up, what's going to happen? Brackets, more competition? Also, would it be possible to make the placement rewards dependent on the number of competitors (example, 100 competitors- first 10 win big reward, 1000 competitors, first 100 win big reward)?

AlluAllu

As long as the rewards are balanced with the difficulty, clearance level scaling could be one of the best updates to the game. Sense of progression! But, it might take a longish time to hit a decent balance. 

Khanwulf

Well. I'll be in SCL 7 with 99% of the rest of the player base who could cut 8 on any other event. There's no point to being hammered when you need those boosted characters to finish the 5-6 tinykitty clears that are being forced.

Or, 3-4 clears if you give up and take the 4* + 8 CP participation trophy. 

Keeping in mind a week ago we'd be receiving a 4* + 25 CP for the same effort. My junk has not recovered from the kick, thanks.

Lose a day? Lose a few clears on a day? Give up. I think someone in Demiurge had a stroke of brilliance, in his or her deep care about people over-playing MPQ, and decided to incentivize quitting as a tactic. After all, these games hook you by offering "just...one...more...reward", but if the reward is too far off--as it can easily be now, then you can in good conscience put the phone down, kiss your kids and go for a walk. Read a book. Do something creative.

Now, you can stare at the overleveled opponents, think "for what we are about to receive let us be truly... tinykitty this!" Put the phone up, collect your participation prize, and walk into the sunshine of the world outside your bathroom!

So, Devs are really shooting for a healthier, more balanced community. We should thank them. 

@Brigby please pass on our thanks. I'll look for an appropriate meme again.

--Khanwulf

PS. I feel compelled to clarify that tying SCL to scaling is a good idea that's been requested. Introducing it after requiring multiple clears at highest opponent level and all days of event is the problem. Also, it illustrates how much you (Devs) need an SCL 9-10 at this point, as you're forced to make the scaling for SCL 8 appropriate for leveled 5* rosters, while in fact SCL 8 is intended by its rewards to be for players working on 4* rosters/transition.

As a result, everyone will play SCL 7. Probably even the 5* roster folks, since the rewards aren't much different (3 CP, frankly).