2023 Guide to Progressing Fast

bbigler

Sekilicious said:

I’m pretty stoked about the upcoming update. I used this guide quite extensively to optimize my own gameplay somewhat, back in the day. The recommendations are gold, even if you just take the pattern of play and only spend what you are able, if anything at all.

Thank you! It’s hard for me to write a guide that is both comprehensive and concise. But I’ll do my best. 

McRich

Thanks for the 2022 update.  Do you remember how much money you spend on this game initially?  I believe you spent just $100.

bbigler

McRich said:

Thanks for the 2022 update.  Do you remember how much money you spend on this game initially?  I believe you spent just $100.

For my 2021 Restart, I’ve spent $590 spread out over 16 weeks.  This was mostly for HP to get roster slots.  But now I have surplus HP and slots, so I’ll spend very little going forward.  Even with that huge amount of spending early on, I still had to sell 4* covers.  

If I didn’t spend at all, I would have far fewer slots, thus fewer champs, thus fewer champ rewards, and I wouldn’t be able to complete all PVE nodes because I’m missing the character.  But I assume my main fighters would still be nearly the same.  I would have gotten fewer rewards overall, which ultimately would affect how many Latest pulls I can do each week. It’s hard to say how big the difference would be.  

Chirus

This approach is a lot more aggressive than what I would've done, and I still open and burn CP as I go without hoarding. But when I was in 2* and 3* land, I saved my legendary tokens because I felt like I needed to roster my 3s first. I'm curious how you would prioritize your roster if you opened all available tokens from day 1. Let's say you're still getting your 2* farm going, haven't collected them all yet, but you have the option of adding to your 2* farm or housing a random 4*, do you have a strategy on what to prioritize first? What if you have a mix of all the above waiting in your vine (2, 3, 4, and 5*)? What do you look at when it comes to rostering priority?

I'm currently pulling from classics because I have 1 of each of the latest legends for PVE purposes. At SCL9, I'm doubtful I have the CP/token income to fully cover any of the latest legends, so I've decided to go the classic route instead, pull more 4* and basically kiss my first champed 5* goodbye (for the immediate term), but in exchange, I get more single 5s that I can then use for PVE events. I have a couple more 4* that I want to champ, but beyond that, I've decided to stop using favorites to fill in my 4* collection and instead chase straight after feeders so I can get progress on my 5* team. In my mind, getting HP in the immediate term from PVE ranking rewards is more useful as it allows me to roster more characters and benefit from overall champ rewards sooner. So I'm sacrificing my first champed 5* from LL in the short term to accelerate the collection growth in the long term. But at least this way, my first champ 5 will be useful right out of the box. I'm looking at Okoye personally. And probably will chase iHulk next through Ikaris. Or depending on how versatile Okoye is, I may just stop chasing a 5* team after her and focus back to filling my 4* collection again. I'm not sure which would be more effective. I just need a reliable way to tackle PVE SCL 10 (when I do unlock it), and still have PVP accessible at the end. As long as those paths are open, I can slow down and do collection building instead.

dianetics

Just hoard your cp and LL tokens while you make your way through cl9. 

Chasing the feeders is great if it’s a 4* you use. Be4st for apoc is great because he is a hard hitter. Shuri is good too for okoye since she isn’t useless.

 Hoarding 200 pulls or so is far more valuable if you can get a good pair or trio in LL. That will take you into cl10 much easier. Your short term growth will be a bit, but the cl10 rewards are so good you will make up for it in the long run.

Chirus

Yeah, I think the CL10 rewards are good enough to start the feeders sooner than later. I'm considering Shuri first, the Ikaris second. Not going to hoard until I'm ready to tackle 550s though. I don't even know if I'll be playing this game that long.

dianetics

I spent about 2 years pulling from classics and it really didn’t help my roster. Then I decided to hoard for about 3 months and pulled on Colossus Wanda and Knull.

Before that I only had 1 champed 5* Heimdall.
If you can control that itch to pull for 3-4 months the return you get later will be crazy good.
@bbigler turned into a cl10 account in less than a year which I find amazing.

The 5* roster is getting bloated and it will really slow your progress. What will you do with a single Loki, Wasp, or Iron Man cover? Other than the essential 5 it is more or less a wasted slot.

If you get a great pair you can always go back to pulling classics.  After 18 months hoarding and pulling in LL I ended up with 16 5* champs and now I’m finally back to pulling classics.

Obviously you should play the game how you want and enjoy it in that manner. Just a suggestion to help you push through the 4* tier

Chirus

dianetics said:

I spent about 2 years pulling from classics and it really didn’t help my roster. Then I decided to hoard for about 3 months and pulled on Colossus Wanda and Knull.

Before that I only had 1 champed 5* Heimdall.
If you can control that itch to pull for 3-4 months the return you get later will be crazy good.
@bbigler turned into a cl10 account in less than a year which I find amazing.

The 5* roster is getting bloated and it will really slow your progress. What will you do with a single Loki, Wasp, or Iron Man cover? Other than the essential 5 it is more or less a wasted slot.

If you get a great pair you can always go back to pulling classics.  After 18 months hoarding and pulling in LL I ended up with 16 5* champs and now I’m finally back to pulling classics.

Obviously you should play the game how you want and enjoy it in that manner. Just a suggestion to help you push through the 4* tier

I think your method is a valid way to play. Getting the essential 5 in PVE is actually a greater priority for me at the moment. Once I have at least one cover of most 5s in classics, I may try to push for a single champ. Or I may just chase after the latest legends indefinitely. I'm definitely not pulling from classics specifically to fully cover a classic character. I plan on covering my first classic primarily through milestone rewards and feeders.

You should also not downplay the impact of having a consistent 5* essential in PVE. This allows you to finish at the minimum a top 50 with each sub. That's 80-90 HP each day. You're on average picking up half a roster more each week, not to mention the additional CP, tokens and iso8, not just from the 5e node itself, but also from the resulting placement rewards. All of that adds up over time. And in the early phases, milestone rewards are the largest source of 5* shard growth. Getting more classic pulls, regardless of *what* you pull will add progress to your milestone rewards, thus your current 5* shard project. Honestly, all I want is to be able to clear SCL10, and people do it consistently with a single champed Kitty and a largely 4* roster. I'm aiming for Okoye personally because I hear she's more versatile. But my expectation is that once I get to SCL 10, it'll only get easier to champ 5* heroes. 

But yes, I am aware that most people don't pull at all except once a year during the anniversary special shop. I can't deny that it's super effective. But philosophically speaking, I'd much rather work at smaller shorter-term goals that provide more frequent satisfying experiences. This gives me the flexibility to quit at any time and still feel like I've enjoyed most of what the game has to offer. 

bbigler

@Chirus Sorry for the late response here, I just saw this today.  So to answer your question about who to roster when you have too many covers and not enough slots…..

Pick characters that will help you in battle now or in the short term.  Farming is good, but improving your teams is more important.  It’s a tough decision and highly dependent on who you already have and what covers are waiting. I don’t have a general rule to apply for this, but if you had 3 covers each for a new 3* or 4*, then I would roster the 3*, unless it’s a top meta 4*.  This is why I bought HP in order to avoid waste, but I wouldn’t sell covers for the meta characters at each tier.  

As for champing 5*s, you’ll get champs faster by focusing on LLs only.  But since you said your acquisition of LTs and CP is low, you would need to save them for months until you have 300+ pulls.  If you keep opening Classics it will take forever to get your 1st champ.  Plus, it sounds like you already rostered most of the Classics anyway.  The rest will come even if you stop opening Classics.  Your 5* shards from milestones are precious because you only get them once.  I would use them to champ a good Latest Legend instead of chasing the ultimate combo of Okoye & IHulk 

Chirus

Thank you for the response @bbigler! It's interesting you'd prioritize the Latest over a meta character for milestones. The meta character in my mind will pay dividends for itself because the progression rewards for SCL10 will earn you around 3 covers of latest each time before they exit that shop. And having a reliable team that can consistently overcome most of the challenges that SCL 10 can throw at you is near priceless in terms of value. And their ability mechanisms are good enough to be future-proof as far as I can see. I think for 4* to 5* transitioners, having just a single cover of each classic can actually be helpful for PVE since it increases their income. But once that project is complete, they should switch over to LL like you said. 

Now you did mention something I wanted additional details on. "The classics will come even if you stop opening classics." Are you referring to shards from PVP/PVE? Did you find that those were awarded frequently enough that you completed whole covers for classic characters regularly? That's about the only other way I can see players getting classic characters outside of special shops. 

But I otherwise agree with you on everything else. Opening classics is a poor way to actually champ 5*. They're great if the goal is to simply obtain single covers or to otherwise fill in your 4* roster. But in the effort to actually build completed 5* characters, it's one of the most inefficient routes to take.

bbigler

@Chirus The reason I would prioritize Latest over Classics is because a half covered Classic is not as strong as a Champed Latest. For example, I would rather fight with a level 450 Gargantos than a level 350 Kitty.  The top Classics are amazing - Shang, Okoye, IHulk - but champing them will take forever compared to champing Latest.  I’d rather have an army of Champed Latest 5*s than 1 Champed Shang.

The Classics will come mostly through SCL 10 PVE shard rewards plus 4* champ rewards.  If you have a Classic with 400+ shards, I would favorite them to grab 1 more cover as well.  You can also get Classic covers from introductory stores for new Latest 5*s.  For example, I’ve focused on Latest since my restart, but I’ve acquired 17 Classic 5*s in the last 7 months.    

Chirus

bbigler said:

@Chirus The reason I would prioritize Latest over Classics is because a half covered Classic is not as strong as a Champed Latest. For example, I would rather fight with a level 450 Gargantos than a level 350 Kitty.  The top Classics are amazing - Shang, Okoye, IHulk - but champing them will take forever compared to champing Latest.  I’d rather have an army of Champed Latest 5*s than 1 Champed Shang.

The Classics will come mostly through SCL 10 PVE shard rewards plus 4* champ rewards.  If you have a Classic with 400+ shards, I would favorite them to grab 1 more cover as well.  You can also get Classic covers from introductory stores for new Latest 5*s.  For example, I’ve focused on Latest since my restart, but I’ve acquired 17 Classic 5*s in the last 7 months.    

@bbiglerThis is really helpful information. Now would you say that an average, run-of-the-mill champed 5* team is strong enough to tackle SCL 10 PVE? The first time I step into SCL 10, I'm likely to only chase after progression rewards and nothing else. So I'll just inefficiently clear each node as long as it's possible. But if a "B tier" 5 * team can't clear an average SCL 10 node, then I might stay in a lower SCL until I get a better team built, even if that means slower progression and worse rewards.

bbigler

Chirus said:

bbigler said:

@Chirus The reason I would prioritize Latest over Classics is because a half covered Classic is not as strong as a Champed Latest. For example, I would rather fight with a level 450 Gargantos than a level 350 Kitty.  The top Classics are amazing - Shang, Okoye, IHulk - but champing them will take forever compared to champing Latest.  I’d rather have an army of Champed Latest 5*s than 1 Champed Shang.

The Classics will come mostly through SCL 10 PVE shard rewards plus 4* champ rewards.  If you have a Classic with 400+ shards, I would favorite them to grab 1 more cover as well.  You can also get Classic covers from introductory stores for new Latest 5*s.  For example, I’ve focused on Latest since my restart, but I’ve acquired 17 Classic 5*s in the last 7 months.    

@bbiglerThis is really helpful information. Now would you say that an average, run-of-the-mill champed 5* team is strong enough to tackle SCL 10 PVE? The first time I step into SCL 10, I'm likely to only chase after progression rewards and nothing else. So I'll just inefficiently clear each node as long as it's possible. But if a "B tier" 5 * team can't clear an average SCL 10 node, then I might stay in a lower SCL until I get a better team built, even if that means slower progression and worse rewards.

Yes, a B tier 5* team can handle SCL 10 to get full progression rewards, but some nodes scale up very high and are so hard that you need the top 5*s to beat them.  Remember that the best teams aren’t necessarily all 5* champs though.  So you can take a B tier 5* and exploit their powers with the right 3*s or 4*s.  Remember that a boosted max champed 4* is just as strong as a Level 450 5* champ.

Sersi + 3*Kamala form a winfinite
5*Gamora + Valkyrie + Melinda is very fast
5*Elektra + Clagger works well
Crystal + 3*/4*Cyclops could work

Here’s the enemy levels for SCL 10, using The Hunt : Savage sub as an example…..

Hard Node 1: 
    Level 390 => Health 26K
    Level 430 => Health 35K
    Level 470 => Health 48K
    Level 510 => Health 66K
Hard Node 2: 
    Level 390 => Health 26K to 44K
    Level 430 => Health 35K to 61K
    Level 470 => Health 48K to 83K
    Level 510 => Health 66K to 113K
Hard Node 3:
    Level 450 => Health 50K to 62K
    Level 490 => Health 69K to 85K
    Level 530 => Health 94K to 115K
    Level 570 => Health 128K to 157K
3* Node: 
    Level 380 => Health 24K to 38K
    Level 420 => Health 33K to 52K
    Level 460 => Health 44K to 70K
    Level 500 => Health 61K to 96K
4* Node: 
    Level 380 => Health 26K to 41K
    Level 420 => Health 36K to 56K
    Level 460 => Health 49K to 76K
    Level 500 => Health 67K to 104K
5* Node: 
    Level 485 => Health 54K
    Level 525 => Health 74K
    Level 565 => Health 101K
    Level 605 => Health 137K
Challenge: 
    Level 530 => Health 58K to 90K
    Level 570 => Health 78K to 116K
    Level 610 => Health 107K to 158K
    Level 650 => Health 145K to 216K

Sometimes the enemies in Challenge nodes can have health pools up to 300K.  Their match dmg can be 4K to 6K, with cascades hitting you for around 15K to 20K.  But you don’t have to do all clears to get full progression rewards.

Chirus

@bbigler Thank you for all of this helpful info. I saw you were quitting the game again. Really glad I got to pick your brain before you left. A lot of this advice is unconventional so it's not easy to find anywhere else since the default method is to hoard all tokens except standard tokens from day 1. Hope to see you again at some point in the future. Maybe when another big update drops. Until then, take care, friend!

loroku

bbigler said:

For my 2021 Restart, I’ve spent $590 spread out over 16 weeks.

I'm not sure if this guide is still being updated, but I feel like this is the most important comment and deserves to be highlighted at the start. There is no way a FTP player can expect to hit any of these milestones - it's just not possible. 15 weeks to champ your first 5*? I just don't think it can be done - not without spending.

That said, this guide is great, and super helpful to anyone playing the game. I just don't want people to think these timelines are realistic and then get disappointed when they can't even get close.

bbigler

These timelines are more realistic than people know. Starting over twice has shown me how accommodating the game is to new players. I’m tempted to start over again with a strict rule for no spending just to see how fast I can go.

bluspiritseeker

Curious, as I'm tempted to start new sometime - At what point in the timelines would a new player consider ascending their characters, since that's become a thing now?

Bustapup

Should I have all my 4* set as faves for the shards and farming or just one at a time

Scofie

@Bustapup said:
Should I have all my 4* set as faves for the shards and farming or just one at a time

Personally, I'd just do 1 at a time. Switch them as often as you like, but if you fave multiple people they go to a random character.