Daredevil217 said: Is it time to look at buffing old 5s again? I think most players have been on this train, but from a developer standpoint it never really made sense. Pre-god boost, they could put significant time and resources into improving a character, but if the buff doesn’t vault them into the top 5 or counter-meta category, the character won’t get used much (and by definition there can only be 5 in the top 5 lol).But now that we have the god-boost rotation, there seems to be three categories now: 1) always useful/meta, 2) useful when boosted, and 3) won’t use even if boosted.Take Archangel. He received a small buff and was never used. However, on his god boost week I saw him used a TON (tier 2 character). That said, I don’t think I ran across a single Star-Lord, even with a 100 level boost (which would put him in tier 3). It makes me wonder if he’d be a candidate for a boost to bring him at least into that second tier? 5s are so resource-intensive to collect and champ, I don’t think there should be any garbage in the top tier. Just spitballing, but do you all think that god boosts are the first step towards finally rebalancing some of the trash tier?
Captain_Trips88 said:Maybe there is some analysis going on during boosted 5*s to see which characters would get used if they had health/damage that allowed them to compete with modern 5s and they might get a buff but anything more than that is probably too much work alongside ongoing developments.
HoundofShadow said: It's a waste of time to rebalance those characters, as long as the major factors used by players are speed, dmg/ap and/or Okoye/Apocalypse test. Dr Ock was the first 5* to get those buffs and he's still "unusable". Archangel is still "unusable" after some minor buff, god boost aside.
HoundofShadow said:In the meantime, they can continue the boost until October and let it take a break until next year. At best, they pick 1 character to rebalance that would be tied in to some major comic/series/movie release.
entrailbucket said: Daredevil217 said: Is it time to look at buffing old 5s again? I think most players have been on this train, but from a developer standpoint it never really made sense. Pre-god boost, they could put significant time and resources into improving a character, but if the buff doesn’t vault them into the top 5 or counter-meta category, the character won’t get used much (and by definition there can only be 5 in the top 5 lol).But now that we have the god-boost rotation, there seems to be three categories now: 1) always useful/meta, 2) useful when boosted, and 3) won’t use even if boosted.Take Archangel. He received a small buff and was never used. However, on his god boost week I saw him used a TON (tier 2 character). That said, I don’t think I ran across a single Star-Lord, even with a 100 level boost (which would put him in tier 3). It makes me wonder if he’d be a candidate for a boost to bring him at least into that second tier? 5s are so resource-intensive to collect and champ, I don’t think there should be any garbage in the top tier. Just spitballing, but do you all think that god boosts are the first step towards finally rebalancing some of the trash tier? I think your concept of tiers 1, 2, and 3 makes a lot of sense (time to redo the power rankings?), but it's going to be a little difficult to figure out who's really in tier 3 without running different combinations of 5* boost lists. Maybe that's why they changed from the chronological list?Before this all started I'd have put guys like Archangel and Ock in tier 3 for sure, but it turned out they were tier 2. Starlord sure seems like tier 3, but was it just because there were better options during his week? A lack of synergy with the other guys on his list? Or a 2-character combo that everyone ran that week?For the guys who actually are unusable in every case, a health and match damage buff won't cut it. They'd need to completely redo their powers from scratch. So if they plan to do this they might want multiple cycles to make sure.
Adam Warlock (Infinity Watch)
Recommended Build: 5/5/3 (for more sustainability)
Alternative Build: 5/3/5 (for faster offense)
Adam Warlock is a unique character in that health management is the key to running him successfully. If you can keep him topped off (and there are several ways to do so), he can dole out boosted match and passive AOE damage. Much like Onslaught (mentioned later), Adam is a character that hits hard out of the gate, but has diminishing returns as a match drags on and he gets injured. He’s an overall solid choice to build around in pick-3, but is much harder to utilize competitively in pick-2, where all of his tricks are done better by others.
Adam Warlock’s yellow (Miracle of Science) is a cheap 6 AP ability that heals him a small amount (4673-7009) if he’s above half-health, and a much larger amount (7476-11214) if he’s below half-health. The reason for that additional boost is that Adam’s yellow also has a passive that states his match damage is increased by 76-113% if his health is above 50%.
Like Adam Warlock’s yellow, his purple ability (Cosmic Skein) is yet another cheap power that has the potential to true heal him. For 7 AP, Adam places 4-5 yellow trap tiles that damage the enemy if they match them (7971-8642) or heal Adam that same amount if your team matches them. The best part about this ability is that the traps do something great no matter which team matches them, and the amount of damage done (or health restored) by this power is by no means inconsequential. The biggest drawback however is the fact that the traps all land on yellow. So a dry board (or match against stupid Maggia goons) could make them hard to access.
So, why all the healing? Great question, dear reader! It’s because Adam’s main damage-dealing ability comes in the form of his passive black ability (Body and Soul). If at the start of your turn you have 4-6 black AP banked (the threshold goes down with each additional cover), Adam spends one and loses 15% of his health. Then, 55-60% of that damage is dealt to the enemy team. So, at full health, this salvo does about 5800-6300 damage to the enemy team.
Adam Warlock actually has some versatility to his kit and I see him mainly played two ways. “Offensive Adam” is best at 5/3/5 where the goal is to use his yellow and black passives to deal quick damage (boosted by partners if possible) as much as you can. He’s likely going to be more health pack intensive, killing himself to pump out passive AOE damage. The amount of damage is inconsequential as it will ideally be ramped up by others. “Defensive Adam” is best at 5/5/3 where the goal is to play him as a sustainable tank with multiple methods of healing. Here, the main source of damage will be “chip damage” from his traps and high match damage. But his main role will be absorbing damage meant for others, and healing himself back up via his active abilities. So defensive Adam is great for climbing and saving packs, while offensive Adam fits into the boosted passive damage meta. While he boasts a lot of strengths, it should be noted that Adam’s main issue is that the things he does best are done better by others. For example: 1) there are plenty of characters that don’t have to chase AP to heal, 2) if building around his match damage boost, Colossus quite frankly does it much better, and 3) his passive AOE is not quite good enough to supplant Hulkoye in pick-2 (though he can make a decent third for them).
Pairings:
Depending on how you build Adam, he can work with several characters. He’s one of the few who can cheaply heal back Immortal Hulk’s friendly damage while tanking some colors and providing a second source of passive AOE damage. Okoye and Apocalypse are characters who can boost Adam, but the competition for yellow on the former means Adam will likely be eating health packs so Okoye can keep her boost going. As a “defensive climber”, Adam is all about chip damage; so strong nukers that cover most of the rainbow are his best play. Thor is a great option to keep Adam healed (via passive yellow AP collection) while drying the board of his own strong colors, so Warlock can stay in front tanking. Beta Ray Bill, has green/blue nukes and protect tile spam to shield Warlock when his health is low. Havok and Parker Spidey are excellent pick-2 parters who have outlets in all of Adam’s weak colors. The latter’s crit-spam is especially nice with boosted match damage. Ghost Rider, Hela, and Carnage work well, providing green/red powers. The former two give a black outlet in the event that you don’t want to trigger Adam’s self-destruct damage, while the latter’s extra match and board shake can help collect AP and grab traps needed to heal and also benefit from boosted match damage. A slow but very fun pairing is Mister Sinister. Adam’s purple traps can fuel Sinister’s only active power. Doctor Octopus is also fun as he can provide blue/green coverage and his repeater can provide yet another source of healing for Adam to continue tanking. Finally, Yellowjacket is a great partner as Adam can sustain tons of damage once Darren disappears into the shadows.
entrailbucket said:For the guys who actually are unusable in every case, a health and match damage buff won't cut it. They'd need to completely redo their powers from scratch. So if they plan to do this they might want multiple cycles to make sure.
HoundofShadow said: Unless the dev mentioned in discord or whatever other channel that this is here to stay, I would think it's a test run.
HoundofShadow said:A 450 5*, when boosted during such week, will have their power, match damage, and healthpoint increased by ~2.5 times. Naturally, they would use them. Their healthpoint of ~150-180k is enough to be a deterrent.
DAZ0273 said: The Chavez PvP is skewing things a bit with Killmonger as I am seeing even non Champed versions of him being used, can't say the same for the others. If that continues the rest of this boost week then that possibly elevates his place in the rankings, if not then it is just that this PvP is made for him.Maybe the question is why run Phoenix again? Is it random or are they monitoring her usage compared to newer options? I have seen more of her than possibly expected but is that just because of the boost or because a decent amount of players have her champed and possibly not others this week?
TheRiddler said: Because the only reason he was given a "boost" was for optics in giving us something in return for nerfing Worthy Cap and Bishop. It wasn't intended to make him a usable character.