Cold, Hard Truths For Newbs and Vets

Pongie

bbigler said:

thedarkphoenix said:

I thought 2 farming netted negative

Given the XP gains, I believe it nets a little positive, plus you get all those other rewards.

It really depends on your shield rank. In lower ranks, where iso per xp is really higher, farming is definitely net positive. As your rank grows, the iso per xp value deminishes, only then is farming close to break even or neglible loss.

Kevmcg

I'm level 168 which is the breakeven point. You get the same effective ISO if you apply a cover or sell it from the start. At higher Shield Rank levels, it is less iso to apply covers for the XP and you should sell low level covers immediately.

Straycat

Cold truth of nearly any video game: after you beat it, its less fun to play. Since there is no real end, I'd argue completing the 4* tier is beating the game and 5* is the endgame. And the game is more fun before you beat it.

I remember the roller coaster of emotions, struggling so hard to beat the clash of the titans, feeling so triumphant after pulling a miracle win, then opening the token and getting an unusable Elektra cover. Now my champ wins  easily and the token gives me a champ reward, 95% of the time. No wasted pulls means no excitement when I get a usable cover.

Daredevil217 said:

Stay in the 4* tier.

This is like doing everything in an open world game instead of finishing the main line campaign. Which I get. I try to do all the side stuff before finishing the story.

I would argue the single 5* champ landscape is pretty enjoyable. But it does kinda go down from there. The whole "I only use the same characters" thing I think is overblown. I regularly use different characters, but then again I choose to. 

Jexman

yeah, having one 5* champ (non Gambit) has been fun, I can beat other teams of my same type regularly (except for Gambit, yay nerf) but not always, which is how it oughta be. I'm sad that it gets worse after that, since my 5* roster is the only next step, having nearly finished the 4* level.

Jarvind

Don't worry about placing for 4* covers in PVE unless you REALLY, REALLY want that shiny new character. The nerve-wracking speedfest isn't worth it, and sometimes you'll still fall short because some people live and breathe this nonsense. Just get to progression for those sweet covers and CP.

Don't worry about PVP too much if you're early on (3* and below). It's a shark tank and you won't be able to seriously compete for a while. Note that the change to the hybrid wins/points system does lessen this issue, as far as getting progression rewards is concerned. Personally the number of wins required for most of the rewards is way too high for me to get them that way, but I know some people love that model, so YMMV.

The 4* tier has gotten truly massive and difficult to complete, but it's also the most fun tier by a wide margin. It's probably worth sandbagging a bit on making the move to 5* territory, because working with a bench of widely varied 4*s is far more interesting than just fielding your two best 5*s over and over and over and over and over and over and over and

Selling an occasional cover, even for a 5*, isn't the end of the world. You'll get more. Don't stress about it, and definitely don't buy ISO to avoid it. Spending some extra HP you happen to have on hand to make up a slight shortfall is forgivable, though.

Don't get too caught up in the "character X is the worst don't even roster them" stuff. Every character, at the very least:

A - is usable when boosted, and
B - will provide champion rewards

Some also have niches where they perform exceptionally well. The best example, IMO, is Elektra; fairly mediocre most of the time, but absolutely kills on the Kaecilius boss.

There is no such thing as "PVP etiquette." Hit whoever you want, as much as you want. Except your alliance mates, that's just cold.

And if you only take one tip away from this, let it be this one: if you hate wasting covers and you don't have enough ISO for a champion, don't open tokens. I know some people struggle with not slamming the button as soon as they earn them, but you'll just end up kicking yourself if this is something that really bothers you. The game knows the only character you don't want to pull right now is Cyclops. It knows and it feeds on your tears.

Rockwell75

2*s are way too common.  I can go days without opening a standard, heroic, or vault token without getting anything higher than a 2*.  Sometimes it feels as if the 2* farm is the only progress made in the game.  As the devs seem to think feelings are important these days (see the whole enemy cascade update), maybe address the feelings of opening 20+ tokens and not getting a single 3*+ cover.

This has been one of my biggest complaints for a long time.  2s are VASTLY over represented in tokens and vaults.  Moonstone tokens have single handedly made me want to quit at times.  If I had my way once you hit a certain shield rank you would pull 2s and 3s from elites and 3s/4s from heroics.