3* farming--when to champ in the saved cover era

helix72

Looking for some thoughts from the community: I am a 4* player, roughly 1/3 champed (including all the top tier 4*s) with the rest max covered waiting on ISO. I have a robust 2* farm that I keep tilling with no issues, but now I've max champed a bunch of 3*s and my 3* farm is waiting on ISO fertilizer to sprout.

I currently have 5 dupe 3* toons with max covers just waiting to be champed, including 2 with 7 saved covers. I play both PvE and PvP so I've been hesitant to sell my max-champed 3*s to fund my baby 3s, which means any new ISO comes from grinding.

When do you think is the right time to put ISO into a 3* dupe vs a new 4* champ? 

Steel_Colt

I invest in my 3* dupes when I have Iso to spare, or when I'm trying to cover a Latest Legends and need more tokens.
I have all my 4*s at level cap (if under 10 covers) or 2~~, the dashes representing their covers (210 for 10 covers, 211 for 11 covers and so on).
Not selling the max-champed 3*s.

Malcrof

Why invest for the future when you can have ISO now? SELL THAT 3* FARM!!!

If you are in 4* land or have a few usable 5*s, the 3*s are for essentials, or when boosted mainly, so it is fine to sell max champs and work on the next for the rewards. 

MoonKnight

Why invest for the future when you can have ISO now? SELL THAT 3* FARM!!!

I think some of this answer will depend on how competitive you want/need to be. The main reason to keep a duped 3* is to save health packs when hopping in PvP or if you’re using Thanos in PvE for speed.

I am in a similar situation to you now, and I think with a few exceptions (Str3nge, IM40) I’ll sell the maxes once I can champ a dupe as I need the resources now more than they’ll help gain resources through placement. 

DAZ0273

I will normally put iso into 3* dupes once they have 13 + 1 covers for the LT for any character that has a 2* feeder so I can consider selling the max champ. I then tend to consider selling the max champ if I am reasonably comfortable that the 3* has had it's PvP - this can bite you on the rear though as just happened with Lord of Thunder getting re-run as part of the Endgame stuff - I probably should have seen it coming but didn't. My boosted lvl 309 Thor probably looked quite tasty alongside my boosted 4's that were kickin' it nearer the 400 mark.

In terms of selling the max champs of other characters I then look at overall use after PvP. At present, I don't intend to sell any of my Max Champ 3* staples such as Strange or Thanos until I have a very well covered 3* dupe (200+) whereas I might sacrifice a Mystique if I get a champed dupe.

Phumade

Wait until you have x saved covers (please comment on your x and reasoning)

this game is old enough to have very stratified populations.  If your asking the real long term vet whales (day 1700+, complete 5* tier done), they would all say their average competitor will feature a max champed essential (regardless of 3*/4*/5*)  So its inconceivable to sell a max champ dupe without considering the consequences at that roster tier (feeder changes, backup dupes,  LR usage etc.).  (Over the history of this game,  I can assure you the avg day 1800 superwhale has sold more 4*/5* covers for iso in their career than the avg day 720 player in a top 250 alliance has ever earned.

So if you think your going to play to day 2000,  then  I would probably just keep saving covers and gaining iso through grinding , SR, and LRs.

If you happy just playing for 900, and doing casual play whenever you want,  then sure,  sell the max champs when ever you need the resources.
   

firethorne

I think the best solution here would be for the devs to realize the game's moved beyond the system they initially implemented.  The question of whether or not you should rebuilt a 3*, whether selling the original or making a second, really shouldn't be a question.  

They should just make a system where you can apply additional covers to an already maxchamped character, not giving additional levels, but just cycling through a set of rewards roughly comparable to the ones given for the last 10 champ levels.

Warbringa

13 covers on a dupe 3? INVEST IMMEDIATELY!!!

I keep my 3* max champed and then champ the new 3* myself.  I know many people may not have the HP or iso income to do that, but once you are in the 5* meta, those resources are plentiful.  I find that 3* farming is very helpful for getting more LL tokens/CP, so I usually champ 3* when they get to 13 covers.  My issue was that I started maxing out my 3* champs all about the same time so the 3* farm seemed to sprout up all at once too.  It was a heavy iso/HP investment but it has been paying off.  I look at my max champ 3* as a luxury/bank of assets.  I can always sell them for the iso/HP/roster slot if I really need too, so far I have not.  I would say champ them when you have the excess iso if that was a polling option.

Therealsmkspy

Post iso now with 1.6 Mil and growing

I keep my max set of the tier. 

Sell a dupe when it maxes out and start over with a new one. 

Pre-post iso. 

I would sell some of the lousier maxed 3s (Rags, squirrel girl, psylocke) if I had a dupe champed and needed the iso. 

pheregas

13 covers on a dupe 3? INVEST IMMEDIATELY!!!

I mean, once you have the dupe up to 266, just sell it as soon as you get the first cover for the new dupe.  It basically pays for itself by selling the 266 dupe and it's a one-time HP roster tax.

Daredevil217

I’m in a similar position, except I want two max-champs for health pack purposes and a third copy just for farming. A handful of my dupes have reached 266 with a fully covered trip just collecting covers. 

Right now my plan is to just save keep saving covers until I hit the post iso mark.  My iso is prioritized based on the return on investment. So...

1) Champing any 5* that gets 13 covers (Due to MMR these are the characters I can actually play). 

2) Level-maxing/champing 4*s as covers come in. 

3) I decided to max-champ a third set of 2* for Thanos fodder (they rotate way more often than the 3*, so this seems like a better use of iso). I have only three left to champ (about 225k iso)

THEN

4) I’ll save up to level-max all my undercovered 5s (about a 4 million iso investment). 

THEN

5) I’ll champ my third copy of 3* so I can get a steady stream of rewards instead of waiting for the lump sum payout. 

spidyjedi84

Wait until you have x saved covers (please comment on your x and reasoning)

I tend to keep the 3-stars I'm looking to rechamp till they have 13 covers needed to champ and 20 saved covers. I will sell someone who is max champed, however, and use that ISO windfall on a different character with 20 saved covers, especially one that may be required in the next event. Only certain heroes like Deadpool, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel do I hold until they have at least 13 covers before I'll sell the character. Otherwise, someone gets max champed, they get sold and the ISO goes to champ another 3-star. I also need one cover of the hero I am going to be selling so I at least have the hero rostered in case they're needed in DDQ nodes. 

Nick441234

Why invest for the future when you can have ISO now? SELL THAT 3* FARM!!!

I sell immediately once I'm in position to champ the dupe. Thorkoye can more than handle themselves in PVP even with a low level 3*. 

Yepyep

firethorne said:

I think the best solution here would be for the devs to realize the game's moved beyond the system they initially implemented.  The question of whether or not you should rebuilt a 3*, whether selling the original or making a second, really shouldn't be a question.  

They should just make a system where you can apply additional covers to an already maxchamped character, not giving additional levels, but just cycling through a set of rewards roughly comparable to the ones given for the last 10 champ levels.

It'll never happen -- the revenue driver of this game, first and foremost, is the need for HP to buy roster slots. At least for even minimally competitive players because competitive play REQUIRES farming. Casual players probably splurge on purchases here and there, but the needs for roster slots is a predictable, business-metric responsive framework. That framework supports the primary collector's-impulse feature, character expansion,* which is really the only dynamic, evolving feature of the game.

*Edited to add supports, though it's unclear how that feature will play out in the longer term. But (I think) you can sometimes buy supports/token with HP and that's likely to be true if they ever seek to really exploit the supports feature.

Dormammu

I have all the 3-stars max-champed. Every. Single. One. I carry max-champed 2-stars as well. I have rostered a complete set of dupes for both tiers. I am not willing to sell my max-champs. The value of doing so vs. the time and resources (HP & ISO) to roster dupes is something each player must determine for themselves. All I can tell you is what I get out of it:

1. Pride: When I max-champed my last 3-star I experienced a great sense of accomplishment. The thought of selling something that took me years to obtain was too much. I like looking at my roster and veiwing a full suite of max-champed twos and threes. It gives me great satisfaction.

2. PvP: No matter what anyone says, a max-champed 3-star is better than one who is (up to) 100 levels weaker.

3. PvE: Max-champed twos and threes matter little in PvE... unless you're hooked on Thanos (like I am). Having dupes to sponge Court Death damage in essential nodes and save health packs is incredibly useful to me.

4. Combined Arms: This is my favorite PvP event. I know... I know... it only runs every-other off-season (at most) but when it does come around, having all the twos and threes max-champed makes the event that much more enjoyable.

5. DDQ: Sometimes in the Behemoth Burrito you're stuck with a **** 4-star and a **** 2-star and you need to lean on your 3-star to get it done. I don't like DDQ - I find it boring and repetitious, so the less time I can spend nabbing those resources the better. A max-champed 3-star can handle this node a lot easier.

St_Bernadus

Wait until you have x saved covers (please comment on your x and reasoning)

I wait till the new 3 has 13 covers and at least some saved. Then I champ. But if it has to wait a while, because I have need of the iso elsewhere, I am OK with waiting. I keep the max champ as well, for the reasons outlined above (mostly because it was a lot of work to get a max champ and because PVP).

Daredevil217

Dormammu said:

I have all the 3-stars max-champed. Every. Single. One. I carry max-champed 2-stars as well. I have rostered a complete set of dupes for both tiers. I am not willing to sell my max-champs. The value of doing so vs. the time and resources (HP & ISO) to roster dupes is something each player must determine for themselves. All I can tell you is what I get out of it:

1. Pride: When I max-champed my last 3-star I experienced a great sense of accomplishment. The thought of selling something that took me years to obtain was too much. I like looking at my roster and veiwing a full suite of max-champed twos and threes. It gives me great satisfaction.

2. PvP: No matter what anyone says, a max-champed 3-star is better than one who is (up to) 100 levels weaker.

3. PvE: Max-champed twos and threes matter little in PvE... unless you're hooked on Thanos (like I am). Having dupes to sponge Court Death damage in essential nodes and save health packs is incredibly useful to me.

4. Combined Arms: This is my favorite PvP event. I know... I know... it only runs every-other off-season (at most) but when it does come around, having all the twos and threes max-champed makes the event that much more enjoyable.

5. DDQ: Sometimes in the Behemoth Burrito you're stuck with a tinykitty 4-star and a tinykitty 2-star and you need to lean on your 3-star to get it done. I don't like DDQ - I find it boring and repetitious, so the less time I can spend nabbing those resources the better. A max-champed 3-star can handle this node a lot easier.

I agree with all of this.  #1 on the list is probably the biggest thing for me.  It took years to get these characters to 266.  I'm not going to sell one off just to get some HP/iso that it would take me less than a week to get playing normally.

I'd also add PVE yellow nodes.  Sometimes you get shackled with a very **** 4*.  And in those cases, a max-champed 3* will very often do the heavy lifting and that can make a huge difference in clear times.

KGB

13 covers on a dupe 3? INVEST IMMEDIATELY!!!

Daredevil217 said:

Dormammu said:

I have all the 3-stars max-champed. Every. Single. One. I carry max-champed 2-stars as well. I have rostered a complete set of dupes for both tiers. I am not willing to sell my max-champs. The value of doing so vs. the time and resources (HP & ISO) to roster dupes is something each player must determine for themselves. All I can tell you is what I get out of it:

1. Pride: When I max-champed my last 3-star I experienced a great sense of accomplishment. The thought of selling something that took me years to obtain was too much. I like looking at my roster and veiwing a full suite of max-champed twos and threes. It gives me great satisfaction.

2. PvP: No matter what anyone says, a max-champed 3-star is better than one who is (up to) 100 levels weaker.

3. PvE: Max-champed twos and threes matter little in PvE... unless you're hooked on Thanos (like I am). Having dupes to sponge Court Death damage in essential nodes and save health packs is incredibly useful to me.

4. Combined Arms: This is my favorite PvP event. I know... I know... it only runs every-other off-season (at most) but when it does come around, having all the twos and threes max-champed makes the event that much more enjoyable.

5. DDQ: Sometimes in the Behemoth Burrito you're stuck with a tinykitty 4-star and a tinykitty 2-star and you need to lean on your 3-star to get it done. I don't like DDQ - I find it boring and repetitious, so the less time I can spend nabbing those resources the better. A max-champed 3-star can handle this node a lot easier.

I agree with all of this.  #1 on the list is probably the biggest thing for me.  It took years to get these characters to 266.  I'm not going to sell one off just to get some HP/iso that it would take me less than a week to get playing normally.

Same. It's a badge of accomplishment to have a full set of 3* max champed (I'm 90% of the way there).

KGB

Kahmon

Wait until you have x saved covers (please comment on your x and reasoning)

Like so many, I keep a full set of maxed 2*s and 3*s. My feeling is that it's good to always have the best version you can for each character. It can help be a slight deterrant from attacks in pvp and help pve go slightly faster.

Where I seem to be in the minority is that I don't champ my dupes until they reach their save cap +1.
Then I champ them, get a load of rewards at once, sell the dupe, re-roster a new dupe, and apply the 3 covers I just received among the champ rewards.

This may be slowing my progression slightly, but it's a good feeling to reach and keeps me from having iso tied up in the dupes. Once you have little need for iso, this isn't an issue, but it may be good for the OP since they mentioned needing iso for 4*s.

Yepyep

Dormammu said:

I have all the 3-stars max-champed. Every. Single. One. I carry max-champed 2-stars as well. I have rostered a complete set of dupes for both tiers. I am not willing to sell my max-champs. The value of doing so vs. the time and resources (HP & ISO) to roster dupes is something each player must determine for themselves. All I can tell you is what I get out of it:

1. Pride: When I max-champed my last 3-star I experienced a great sense of accomplishment. The thought of selling something that took me years to obtain was too much. I like looking at my roster and veiwing a full suite of max-champed twos and threes. It gives me great satisfaction.

2. PvP: No matter what anyone says, a max-champed 3-star is better than one who is (up to) 100 levels weaker.

3. PvE: Max-champed twos and threes matter little in PvE... unless you're hooked on Thanos (like I am). Having dupes to sponge Court Death damage in essential nodes and save health packs is incredibly useful to me.

4. Combined Arms: This is my favorite PvP event. I know... I know... it only runs every-other off-season (at most) but when it does come around, having all the twos and threes max-champed makes the event that much more enjoyable.

5. DDQ: Sometimes in the Behemoth Burrito you're stuck with a tinykitty 4-star and a tinykitty 2-star and you need to lean on your 3-star to get it done. I don't like DDQ - I find it boring and repetitious, so the less time I can spend nabbing those resources the better. A max-champed 3-star can handle this node a lot easier.

I also agree with all of it, especially #2, but I'll add: Lightning Rounds. A maxed 3 is a crucial, crucial difference in the decision to skip an opponent.

I haven't quite been able to keep every single one max-champed, but only because I needed HP along the way and I had a dupe well on the way to 227+. The goal, like Dormammu, is to get and keep a full roster of max-champed 3s. (2s I have multiples maxed and sell them as I need ISO.) I usually champ the new dupe when I need HP for roster slots, but almost never until they're at close to 227.

jamesh

Wait until you have x saved covers (please comment on your x and reasoning)

I finished max-champing my 3*s earlier in the year.  I decided to keep them, and have re-rostered dupes that are all at 13+ covers.  Iso was the main limiting factor, so I would pick characters with a high number of saved covers.  This generally meant 17+ saved covers (to get the first 4* champ reward), upcoming event rewards pushing them to 17+ covers, or characters fed by a 2* who are likely to get to that point.

I'm starting to get to a point where I can gather enough iso without having anyone meeting those criteria now, so perhaps I'll start champing them earlier.