**** Maria Hill (S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative) ****

TPF Alexis

Vhailorx said:

Seems like the black pretty should do is damage as you get more covers, or she I us immune when invis.

First take is that is a worse Kate bishop.

"Kate Bishop, but worse" was pretty much my impression as well. I'm still going to chase her to some extent, because I really like her as a comics/MCU character, but really can't bring myself to care from a game PoV.

IceIX said:

Originally, Get Out Alive made her Airborne (the animation is a SHIELD Jetpack!), but that didn't work since the Countdown tile doesn't count down while the user is Airborne. So Invisibility it is!

They couldn't re-use the code from Spider-Ham and Karolina Dean that lets their Countdowns keep ticking down while Airborne?

St_Bernadus

It doesn't take a genius to tell you that you take away resources that players will be upset. Even the relatively underwhelming Support Circuit was missed. But Shield Training was much more than that, an opportunity to try out the new character, some tokens for the release event, a bit of a challenge making 3 characters work together. And if you have the 3 characters developed enough, a free cover for the new character. 

I just don't understand why it has to be taken away entirely to be re-evaluated. Makes no sense.

DyingLegend

So ummm wouldn't it have been easier just to have left shield training? I mean it's a bonus avenue to earn a character. Just don't put new 4 stars as the requirement.

Most players won't cover her for at least 6-8 months anyways. 

I personally think she looks awful and won't be applying any effort to get her. 

Pongie

Does her black killing herself trigger Thanos' death trigger if Thanos was on your team?

TriSentinel

This is a weird new look for Deathlok.

Heartbreaksoup

Dreadful news.  The black power is awful - I'd much rather spend my matching doing damage to the opponent team instead of defending myself against something I've done - and losing SHIELD Training and the associated iso rewards just stinks.

And yes, *could we have Support Circuit back, please*?  And some way to obtain Advanced and Master tokens?

Mayo

You are missing the point for a few months now. The actual game policy seems to be: take any means of getting resources an enjoyable way to increase frustration and expenditure. As another poster wrote: they are killing the game. 

PiMacleod

The only bonuses i see from removing ST (and this is as silver lining as i can get)...

1.  No more rush to get 10 covers (lvl 209) for a newer character.

2.  Less time devoted to a "PvE" since it wont exist.

But if im being honest, i didnt mind that time sink... And it felt like a better payoff if we're going by a time spent vs reward scale.

Support Circuit is missed only due to having a way to get supports... But that time sink was massive for what i got, imo.  

I might actually miss ST eventually.  But for now, i'll just mentally chalk it up to less pressure for my roster and less time needed to play once in a while.

dingo

Maybe SHIELD Training is going away because the 4* tier is soon going to be a thing of the past....

It's also convenient that there was a HP sale before the announcement of a non event. 

PuceMoose

I am looking forward to seeing her on the enemy team with 4Carol on her side - 

Carol: Hmm, why is Maria screaming and running directly toward the enemy? I know, she must have some kind of crafty scheme they'll never see coming! I'll help her along with 5 yellow AP to put her plan into effect even more efficiently!
Maria: *Explodes*

jamesh

DyingLegend said:

So ummm wouldn't it have been easier just to have left shield training? I mean it's a bonus avenue to earn a character. Just don't put new 4 stars as the requirement.

I suspect the reason is the reverse: too many people are covering the latest 4* character without spending.  Requiring something other than the latest 4* character won't help with that.

I managed to finish Karnak's release events with 8 covers evenly distributed over his three abilities thanks to shards:

• 3 covers for top 10 placement in Honor Among Thieves (CL8)
  
• 1 cover for progression in Hearts of Darkness (CL8)
  
• 1 cover from SHIELD Training
• 1 cover from progression in Karnak's PVP tournament (CL10)
  
• 2 covers from shards in the PVE (CL8) and PVP (CL10) events
  

That's the best I've managed since Ghost's release.  When he's next a PVE essential (as he would be if required for SHIELD Training), I'll easily be able to hit 10 covers.  So there would be no incentive for me to open tokens chasing the new character.

It is true that not everyone can hit top 10, but I suspect the average number of extra covers people need to complete SHIELD Training is down across the board after the new rewards were rolled out.

ThaRoadWarrior

I’m also suspicious the 4* tier is going to solidify. Of course, I was similarly suspicious back when Latest 12 went away.

dingo

ThaRoadWarrior said:

I’m also suspicious the 4* tier is going to solidify. Of course, I was similarly suspicious back when Latest 12 went away.

But, there was no cl10 at that point, far from it. A nice shiny new 6* might help with the ambiguous challenge node.

Vhailorx

ThaRoadWarrior said:

I’m also suspicious the 4* tier is going to solidify. Of course, I was similarly suspicious back when Latest 12 went away.

4* is as dead as 3* tier was when ddq went live. With out without shield training, 4*s are easier to get now and 5* are coming out more often.  Democratizing the old end game is a sure sign that a new trophy/chase item is incoming.

Kletvar

Pongie said:

Does her black killing herself trigger Thanos' death trigger if Thanos was on your team?

Probably it won't.
When one of the characters (i don't remember which one it was) in Iso-8 Brotherhood makes a suicide, Thanos' "Courth Death" doesn't trigger. Same goes when Konran kills his allies - Thanos does nothing again.

Southside84

Very disappointed by no shield training.   For 2 years, I've been one of the have nots.   Every shield training, a least 1 person was not a 209, and I get ****.  So I work hard and play as optimally as possible to improve my team.  Karnak was the first time I had everyone required at 209.  I just finished getting all my 4 stars to 10 covers.  I'm finally ready to be on an even ground with the upper tier.  Then you pull the rug from under me.  I'll never be a top 10 player without catching a lucky flip.   There is no catching up.  I'll be behind a certain group because 3 years ago, they found MPQ in the app store before I did.  Absolutely nothing can change that.  But this constant moving of the goalposts is getting ridiculous.  

FesterTester

Vhailorx said:
4* is as dead as 3* tier was when ddq went live.

When DDQ went live in February 2015 with the chance to earn a daily 3-star cover, there were 34 three-stars and only 7 four-star characters in the game, according to my notes.  That means the 3-star tier was only 72% of the way to its current 47 characters - so if 4-stars are at the same point now, there's about 37 more to go.    

But I do get what you mean, there were 7 four-stars then and 41 five-stars now, so if you are an "endgame" player, well... how do you feel about 6-stars?

(Edited to split Shield Training comment into its own post.  Apologies if repeated edits cause multiple notifications.)

FesterTester

The best way to break the news that Shield Training is being pulled would be to announce that it is being replaced with a daily Crash of the Mad Titan / Bigger Enchilada / whatever that awards a four-star cover, and that newly released characters would be inserted into the reward cycle on the day of their release, so you could get a cover for them right away as with Shield Training.  But presumably the accountants would disapprove.

itsuka7

As a 4* player, and a cmd of a mostly 4* player pve alliance, I want to echo the concern about having Shield Training removed (as well as the Support Circuit for that matter). Shield Training was hugely motivational in my alliance, it represented an in between 209 milestone for 4* players to aspire to, because the 4* tier is huge, and champing them all takes years. But getting them all on 209 can be done within a year of diligent play.
What bothers me most about scrapping Shield Training is that you act like there are only 5* players to consider here, and they are the only players left and the only players that will spend money. That is not true. Please support your 4* players as well. Give them ways to feel like where they are matters, that they have accomplished something. Yes, dilution is huge, so what? I like playing with my 4* roster, and taking an arena away that was so important to us hurts. I do not care about competing with 5* players to be honest. Let them have their boring few pvp meta’s. But give 4* players ways of feeling they are progressing, and that their tier matters. Remember, the 4* part is a significant part of the marathon. Keep these players in and engaged. You are far too focussed on the 5* crowd and too fearful they get too many rewards, you are making play in the years of lower tiers bleak and uninteresting as a result. This is a bad strategy for a marathon game.

Shield training and Support Circuit were good ways to keep 4* players engaged. I had no problem with those whatsoever, racing to get the latest 4* covered to 10 in Shield Training in time was sort of fun. And as to the supports, in my alliance they are loved and wanted. Newer players miss most of them, very problematic, the current support situation is grossly unfair because there is no way in the game to play, no effort however difficult, so that they can address that. You are basically telling us 4* players to become t10 in the pvp season, that is insane and impossible, in direct competition with 5* players. That is not the rarity these coins should have. Give us a chance here to enjoy the game at the 4* level we are, and will be for some years, that’s what we are asking. In the same vein, scrapping the Shield training without alternative is making the game less fun for 4* players. So don’t. If you think rewards go too fast, bring back shield training with 200 shards instead of a full cover. But let us keep our arena, or bring in others, because they matter in more ways than just rewards.

Me929

So to recap....and add to the rant...

1.Agents of SHIELD (on television) is ending.
2. SHIELD no longer exists in the current comic world.
3. SHIELD training is DOA. 

But let’s add Maria Hill.

With a power that takes 90% of her health away. Cause.

What’s wrong with using the current slate of characters? I understand pulling people out from origins to celebrate the anniversary, but Maria Hill just isn’t relevant.

I miss Gwen Prix. Since the Gwen Stacy book is relatively new, can’t they relaunch it with that Gwen Stacy? Rebranding isn’t a bad thing. It’s not like there aren’t many other Gwens to choose.

As far as SHIELD training, I did enjoy it - even though I didn’t make it that far. My four stars were just getting to a competitive point. 

Due to the release schedule, the lack of decent characters, and where I am in building my roster, I would rather wait for newer characters and not pursue them aggressively. It is just not worth my time. And after just crossing the two year mark playing this game, it is starting to lose its luster for me. I am still playing daily and contribute fully in alliance events, but the incentive for daily play just isn’t what it used to be.

PS In my opinion, Misty Knight still would have been a better option than Maria Hill.