When to switch 3* Bonus Hero away from Dr Strange?

froggerjohn

It was recommended (thanks HoundofShadow!) to set 3* bonus to Dr Strange, which has been terrific. I can't imagine any other 3* that would have helped this much in 2* land. (And what a beast when boosted!)

He's currently 5/1/5, with two extra blue covers, and here's my roster (early stages of champing 2*s):
https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/froggerjohn/revisions/34

Questions:

It seems like I don't really want to champ him yet. The high level would throw off PvP matchmaking, and also place him out front tanking damage that I'd prefer he not be subjected to. But I'd also hate wasting the covers, and who knows how many more I'll get before filling 2 more purple.

It's really tempting to use CP on those purple covers. I know I'm suppose to hoard those for later, but I feel like if I grabbed those two purples, I could then switch the bonus hero to someone else, rather than potentially getting even more Dr Strange covers that I'm not yet ready for.

Wouldn't leveraging better usage now of bonus heroes pay off better, even in the long run, then the 40 cp on some future date? And if so, who best to switch the bonus hero to?

Advice really appreciated.

spatenfloot

Buy the covers and champ him when you get the next one. He is worth it for speeding up game play.
I would switch the bonus to Thanos next.

Quebbster

I believe a yellow cover is coming up in the DDQ soon. Since you are still transitioning to the three-star tier, spending CP on critical covers is not a bad investment.Go ahead and buy the covers.

froggerjohn

Excellent point about a Strange cover in DDQ, which I see in the wiki for March 9, but it doesn't show the color. Is there another source that predicts the color?

I bought one cover to 5/2/5, and will hope for the yellow on the 9th.

Thanks guys!

Quebbster

froggerjohn said:

Excellent point about a Strange cover in DDQ, which I see in the wiki for March 9, but it doesn't show the color. Is there another source that predicts the color?

I bought one cover to 5/2/5, and will hope for the yellow on the 9th.

Thanks guys!

They do all colors in order - first the top color of all featured character, then the middle, then the bottom before starting over. We are in the bottom color cycle right now.

TPF Alexis

"Don't spend CP" is good general advice at your stage, but there are exceptions where it's worthwhile, and Strange is definitely one of them.

It would be ideal to wait until you have some max champed 2* and/or a couple of 3* ready to champ at once before going there, but it's not nearly as big of a deal as the jumps to 4* or 5*. It will make PvP a bit more challenging for you, but shouldn't wreck things, and the increased ease of PvE should compensate.

DDQ runs through the first cover of all characters, then the second of all of them, then the third. We're currently in the third cover cycle (today's was Ragnarok's blue), so Strange's cover will be yellow.

Dormammu

What you need to do is champ your 2-stars, specifically Ares, Wolverine, Storm, Daken, Magneto, and probably Hawkeye. Just by looking at your roster it looks like you are soft-capping (unless you're short on ISO) and there's no reason for it. Elevate your game. Champing 2-stars and getting into those champ rewards is the best way to accelerate yourself into 3-star territory and more rewarding PvE shield clearance levels. Eventually, you want to champ ALL your 2-stars for the champ rewards.

Use CP to finish off Dr. Strange. It's just CP and you'll make more. It's the best use for your CP right now because 4 & 5 star covers aren't useful to you yet, so dip into the hoard and get yourself one of the premier 3-stars champed. If you champ your 2-stars like I advised the impact of champed Strange will be negligible on your PvP match-making. But honestly, PvE is where you should be focusing to build your roster and Dr. Strange is the king of PvE.

After that, set IM40 as your next bonus hero. He's the single most important 3-star and will accelerate your victories for a long time to come (even into 4-star territory).

froggerjohn

I have 9 champed 2*, and only two others that have enough covers, but not enough iso for. I think I can do Ares, but it would effectively take me to zero. If I get one more cover today, I'll do it, because he'll generate a Ragnarok for today's DDQ.

The others you mention are already champed (all over level 94 in the roster I posted a link to). Moonstone is the only other one waiting on iso. OBW I still need more covers for.

froggerjohn

I did get another Ares cover just in time last night, so was able to champ him, promote far enough to earn a temp Ragnarok cover, and complete the DDQ 3* node. So it seems like I'm doing everything I reasonably can at this stage of my roster.
https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/froggerjohn/revisions/35

DAZ0273

Softcapping your Dr. Strange is just denying yourself some fun. No reason you can't take him up to same levels as your champed 2* waiting on that final cover. 

froggerjohn

Softcap on Dr. Strange is partially for iso reasons (making sure I had enough to champ the 2*s), but also because I want to be careful of what colors he's strongest in, so that he doesn't take too much damage. That's especially true because he's my front-running 3*, so it's going to be quite awhile before others would catch up. I really need to do some planning and research on that.

For example, I had a scenario early in 2* land where I ended up over-leveling Storm to the point where she was out front in numerous colors, including green. It instantly changed my game from pretty easy clears, to a real struggle where I couldn't even get past some matches. It's a long process waiting for others to catch up, so I want to make sure I don't regret anything with Strange.

DAZ0273

Well with Strange it is all about the trade-off. If you champ him when the opportunity arises, his yellow damage will jump to 1719 which is triple what you are getting now and his burst heal goes up to 361, in PvE that will just destroy goons all day long and prolong your progress! So not too many foes will get the chance to really damage him too much even if he is out front because they will be too busy getting zapped. Add in his blue stun and he is a beast.

He has low health anyway so getting that up higher will improve his performance even at unchamped levels. As his yellow is passive then you don't have to worry about matching that (and a 112 Thor protects that up into low 100 levels) which means only his blue and purple are a concern. Your champion Hawkeye should be able to cover those up to low 90's, Magneto too so you have some options for teams. Your 2* champs should get more covers from regular play so there is nothing wrong wth incremental levelling in accordance with that.

froggerjohn

Thanks, 101 looks like a good level for him right now, which kicked the yellow to 1277/268. Should make a great team with Mags and Hawkeye, vulnerable only in the yellow (which I wouldn't need to match). With Daken+Wolverine, he's vulnerable in blue, but that should be easily manageable.

DAZ0273

Happy zapping!

froggerjohn

Did indeed get the yellow cover today, but somehow missed the connection that it was the purple I was missing. So spent the other CP to get the last one. 

Earned 38 CP on the last event, so virtually CP-neutral on the transaction. 

Love Dr Strange. Every power is super useful now. Game-changing for us 2* players.

TPF Alexis

froggerjohn said:

Did indeed get the yellow cover today, but somehow missed the connection that it was the purple I was missing. So spent the other CP to get the last one. 

Earned 38 CP on the last event, so virtually CP-neutral on the transaction. 

Love Dr Strange. Every power is super useful now. Game-changing for us 2* players.

He really is. IM40 is much more important for the long run, but I really don't think there's anyone who makes a bigger difference than Strange in the 2*-3* transition. I know I've said it before, but I champed him in between my first and second runs through Venom Bomb, and it was a completely different experience the second time.

DAZ0273

Yeah - literally Ultron Sentries are about the only time he isn't as useful for that zap but even his stun is great.

Dormammu

Snipers. He's no good against snipers, either. I remember learning that the hard way.

DAZ0273

Dormammu said:

Snipers. He's no good against snipers, either. I remember learning that the hard way.

Yes, shoulD have remembered that as I also learned the hard way.

I've changed my mind now - he is terrible!

froggerjohn

Sorry to open this question back up, but I'm really struggling with the decision whether or not to champ Dr. Strange. So far, I'm just incrementally leveling to match my 2*s.
https://mpq.gamependium.com/rosters/froggerjohn/revisions/41

Pros:
No wasted covers (I currently have 3, which would otherwise have to be sold)
He'll totally wreck PvE
Champ rewards (negligible value until the 5th one, so at my level, likely a ways off still)

Cons:
Greater exposure to damage. In particular when I start entering 3* play, it will be a very long time before I have anyone that could cover for him.
More health pack usage, affecting sustainable play.
Might increase PvP matchmaking opponent rank.


Short version, is that he's seriously useful to me already, so it's hard to evaluate what the difference will be. Looks like the yellow and blue damage will jump about 30%, which is certainly great, but doesn't sound life-altering. By comparison, some of the cons really could have drastic consequences. And if that happened, I couldn't recover from it in the foreseeable future.

By itself, I don't think that change would be enough to jump from SCL5 to SCL6 for example (if SCL6 would even be beneficial to me). Especially when encountering fights that he wasn't well-suited for. So I'm leaning towards keeping things as-is.

TPF Alexis

Remember that he also heals more with his yellow when you pump his level up. And he cuts down significantly on the number of powers that are actually going to resolve and do damage to your team, which is a further health pack saver.

The important thing is to not use him much against opposing teams that are mostly tile-movers. That's where he'll really end up taking damage.

How high do you usually get in PvP progression as it is, and what kinds of teams are you seeing? I didn't really play much PvP until I was starting to get some good 4*, so I don't know what the experience is like down there.