Stepping off the treadmill - an examination of the way forward in MPQ Farming Simulator

RedLion

A few months ago, @aesthetocyst posted a brilliant poll asking his brethren if they had finished MPQ. Since then I've finished the 4* tier (except for Nico, AC, KtH, etc) and champed three 5 stars (Gambit, Thor, Daredevil). 

Today was day 1186, my PVE alliance is top 50 every event, and I easily push to 900 in PVP (no hops or shielding). Now my days are spent planning new sections of my farm: how many 3*'s and 2*'s I can juggle at a given time while still putting ISO into selected 5*'s (I recently moved my 12-cover Thanos to 435 as an example). Cover waste is largely a thing of the past and my ISO income is sufficient for tackling all of these concerns. To the point where I can see that fabled land of being "Post Iso" about 6 months in my future. 

But then I realized a couple of weeks ago, that the game (for me and players like me) has become too focused on farming 2 and 3 star characters. I realized I don't like to do it. That the only reason I was ever doing it was because the 4* treadmill I was on only ran well if it was optimized. I'm off that treadmill. Farm living isn't the life for me.

So 3* Daredevil just hit 266. He'll stay there. The next DD cover I get is 500 ISO towards a 4 or 5 star. It's not optimal, but I'm tired of the Farm Simulator. Maybe the devs have some changes up their sleeve that it will make it worthwhile to regenerate characters, maybe they don't. As it stands, there is no reason for me to rush toward a bunch of ISO to level up a host of 5 star characters who I can't get covers for. 

What do you guys think? Am I crazy? Burnt out? Smarter than the average bear? (Should I have made a poll?)

Colognoisseur

As one who has "finished" MPQ the only farming I do is 2*. The extra cp, hp, and tokens are worth it especially for covers which pop up regularly and numerously in a group of only 14 characters. Excluding Bag-Man I turnover the other thirteen 2* in around two weeks.

There is a sweet spot for farming the 3&4* but once you have decided you're "finished" then I think the 2* is where you should be farming only.

JSP869

You have arguably the currently best three 5* heroes championed, so I'd say at this time you're pretty much free to play the game however you want. (At least until the next "Gambit" comes along.) 

One problem with letting your 2* and 3* farms go to seed (deliberate gardening "pun" is that 2* champions feed 3* champions who feed 4* champions who will and in some cases already are feeding 5* heroes/champions.

Except you're hitting 900 in PvP without breaking a sweat so all those 900-point 4* covers are yours for the taking so you don't need to farm the 2*s to feed the 3*s to get 4* covers.

I am so freaking envious of you right now! You are where I would LOVE to be in this game.

Smarter than the average bear? Absolutely! I sincerely hope you're having fun playing the game now, because I know damn well I would be if I were in your shoes

wymtime

As someone who has 13 championed 5* I have almost all 3* max championed and what I do is rechampion 3* and farm 2*.  My goal is to collect as many LT as possible so I can get all the new 5* championed and the LT and CP from 3* is just to great to leave alone.  I have sold a couple 3* at 266 but prefer not to.  If my choice is to sell a 3* to champ a 5* I will.

if you want to continue to champion 5* you need LT and CP to do it.  I typically have between 100-120 pulls every 6 weeks and don’t spend money on the game.  This lets me champ latest 5* and all my 4* over time.  I do get 1200 in PVP and am in a top 10 PVE alliance.  I don’t tap in PVE so I am typically top 20-50 in CL9 starting right out of the gate but miss optimal play by an hour or 2 so my last individual placement is sometimes off.

Rod5

I wouldn’t count myself as having “finished” yet as I have a number of Classic 4s/5s I would still like to get.

Once they are done I suspect I’ll probably keep max champed 3s and roster/sell dupes as and when they hit 266.

Doc L

I’m in a slightly different boat I think. I have 5 5* champed (Thanos, Hawkeye, Starlord, Spiderman (Peter Parker) and Daredevil), and only 5 4* not champed, all 3* champed, and the game is becoming boring to me. PvP is where I’ve always enjoyed the competition, the ups and downs, etc etc. Simply put, Gambit is breaking the game for me, and as I don’t have him... there has always been the meta teams, but they always had weaknesses, ways to beat them. Gambit’s main weakness is to another Gambit, and so pvp for me is now trying to find which teams I can fight. I imagine the 4* level is the same with Rocket, Medusa and Gamora, which has got to be draining.

i will keep playing, but it’s a real drain right now.

mohio

Doc L said:

i will keep playing, but it’s a real drain right now.

You are certainly not alone, this is the way I feel as well. I've barely played PvP at all in the past 5-6 weeks and I even have a level 467 Gambit. It's pretty boring doing the same thing over and over just for the rewards even if you DO have him.

PenniesForEveryone

2*s feed 3*s feed 4*s feed 5*s.....and pretty well too.  Every 10th champ level on a 4* is an LT, and every other even champ level is some CP.  It adds up quickly.  I just view all those lower tier covers as part of the 5* progression.

RedLion

JSP869 said:

You have arguably the currently best three 5* heroes championed, so I'd say at this time you're pretty much free to play the game however you want. (At least until the next "Gambit" comes along.) 

My fear of Gambit becoming the next OML is a real thing. Every new 5* like AA or GR makes me smile. The longer it takes for power creep to overcome my roster the better. 

PenniesForEveryone said:

2*s feed 3*s feed 4*s feed 5*s.....and pretty well too.  Every 10th champ level on a 4* is an LT, and every other even champ level is some CP.  It adds up quickly.  I just view all those lower tier covers as part of the 5* progression.

You are correct. The farm is a part of the 5-star progression. But I have to ask myself a couple of questions: First, is the Farming Simulator fun (for me, not so much). Second, what is going on behind the scenes that allowed Farming to become a central game mechanic without so much as recognizing it exists in the game. I can't imagine what new players must think if they look at other rosters with duped characters...put another way, it is by no means obvious that farming should matter as much as it does.

I've played online shooters where you regenerate characters after you hit max progression (and become somehow stronger the next time through). This process both legitimizes and adds value to the grind. MPQ has one foot in and one foot out of the process. I'm tired of the Hokey Pokey.

PenniesForEveryone

RedLion said:

JSP869 said:

You have arguably the currently best three 5* heroes championed, so I'd say at this time you're pretty much free to play the game however you want. (At least until the next "Gambit" comes along.) 

My fear of Gambit becoming the next OML is a real thing. Every new 5* like AA or GR makes me smile. The longer it takes for power creep to overcome my roster the better. 

PenniesForEveryone said:

2*s feed 3*s feed 4*s feed 5*s.....and pretty well too.  Every 10th champ level on a 4* is an LT, and every other even champ level is some CP.  It adds up quickly.  I just view all those lower tier covers as part of the 5* progression.

You are correct. The farm is a part of the 5-star progression. But I have to ask myself a couple of questions: First, is the Farming Simulator fun (for me, not so much). Second, what is going on behind the scenes that allowed Farming to become a central game mechanic without so much as recognizing it exists in the game. I can't imagine what new players must think if they look at other rosters with duped characters...put another way, it is by no means obvious that farming should matter as much as it does.

I've played online shooters where you regenerate characters after you hit max progression (and become somehow stronger the next time through). This process both legitimizes and adds value to the grind. MPQ has one foot in and one foot out of the process. I'm tired of the Hokey Pokey.

Of course it is obvious.  As you progress through the champ rewards you see exactly what comes in, and should understand the value of those rewards toward your progression.

I don't know how they would implement a prestige system that didn't still have a hard limit.  If you allow characters to become infinitely strong then some of the mega whales could become untouchable.  Honestly, I'd just be happy with the ability to recycle through the champ rewards without having to start a new character - the roster slots and roster management required by farming is a pain.

TheDobot

They should expand the lvl caps for 2* and 3*.  Less farming turn around and honestly it would be cool to have your 2* and 3*, and heck even 1*s, at a high playable levels.  Make them more a part of the game again not just a lvl you pass by.