Are buffed characters in tournaments needed?

Unknown

What if you did a level and ability boost? So everyone gets access to the character like they do now. Then that character is boosted 1 level for each ability and 20 levels (or whatever works) for their overall level. So people that don't have that character will have a low-mid level version that represents each of the abilities. On the other hand, people who have leveled up that character will see what it is like if they power up that character even more. People who have maxed out a character can enjoy the limited time their character is functioning better than it possibly could before. In all cases, the character acts like itself, but it shows accurate potential without leaving people with maxed characters out of the fun.

This is better than buffing because everyone gets a buff to the ability levels. There isn't an inflated perception of the character. It won't overpower your current characters, nor will it be obviously outclassed by your current characters. It will make the tournament interesting no matter your experience with the character.

Nemek

Agent Coulson wrote:

I sorta quite like the buffed characters when they are 1* or 2* and not used often, and/or if it's a tournament build around that character, such as the Venom tournaments.

I think what's gone pear-shaped recently is the Thor weekend (when nearly everyone was using Thor anyway) followed by a tournament with a massive boost to Ragnarok (when everyone who can afford him, is using him - and everyone who isn't is struggling to win him because they don't have a boosted Ragnarok already.)

These tournaments aren't rewarding diversity - they're just reinforcing already proven builds. Whereas hardly anyone complained when Yelena got buffed a while back

I also appreciate that it's harder to get people to play 1* and 2* heroes when they have 3* heroes available but that rod was made for the Dev team's back when the decision was made to have tiered power levels. Holding 1* only (or 2* only, or Avengers/Dark Avengers/whatever) tournaments takes care of that admirably. I'm never going to throw away Storm (Modern) if I know that there's a chance of using her in a 1-star tournament.

Beyond that, there is a need to improve power balance within the same tier. Although the game isn't by any means broken and there's more than one good team to play, it's clear that there are some heroes that significantly out-perform others within the same star rating. The long-term answer to this isn't to randomly buff the weaker heroes - it's to make them a more viable choice even when they are not buffed.

TLDR version: balance heroes within each star-rating, use theme tournaments to make 1* and 2* heroes still contribute meaningfully, then throw in an occasional random buff or two to shake things up.

Agree with so much of this. Buffing Yelena, Widow, Hawkeye, Moonstone, Juggs (though that was interesting), Venom, Cap (*sigh* Cap) IM40 was all pretty darn neat. I leveled a few of those characters up for those tournaments and was able to evaluate their strengths/weaknesses pretty well. None of these characters dominated their tourneys that hard, but players were certainly rewarded for leveling them.

But, buffing Thor and Ragnarok? Two of the stronger characters already in the game? Eeek. I sincerely hope we don't see these two buffed for a very long time (some point in the future when they're considered underused or something.) They completely and utterly destroy every other team, it's just not fun.

(As I typed this up...Agent Coulson beat me in Lightning.... )

Unknown

Sorry, I'm a bad, bad man and I deserve to be... rewarded?

Unknown

Wow! Seems to be more feeling on this topic than initially thought. Maybe another option to discuss is just buffing the guest cover that you receive in a tournament, and not the one currently in the player roster? Granted, those who have a somewhat mid to high levelled version would still have an edge on the guest cover, but at least they don't benefit from the buff given to the guest character. Just another option to through into the mix.

Unknown

IceIX wrote:

Why use a level 40 Wolverine when you have an 85 Storm, 85 Thor, and 100 Spider-Man? You wouldn't bother, and may never know that a given character may fit with your playstyle or open up a new avenue of play that you didn't see before.

So what is that user from your example spending all their winnings on? I think you'll find that they are experimenting with and levelling up the new characters they win/buy.
Most people have maxed C.Storm and Thor so using them is the only way to compete, but the third character is more interchangeable. If your team is entirely maxed and you don't plan on trialling new characters then why are you still playing??
I'd much rather go up against dozens of C.Storm + Thor + player choice teams, as that 3rd character adds a bit of variety to the match, rather than a C.Storm + Thor + forced character (Wolverine per your example) which is currently happening.

Unknown

Toxicadam wrote:

IceIX wrote:

Toxicadam wrote:

IceIX wrote:

Why use a level 40 Wolverine when you have an 85 Storm, 85 Thor, and 100 Spider-Man? You wouldn't bother, and may never know that a given character may fit with your playstyle or open up a new avenue of play that you didn't see .

Just as it is now, you don't give the user a choice. You get a level 40 Wolverine (or better, if you possess one) and your two best characters.

People that are competetive. will then look to power level their Wolverine in an attempt to get the advantage. But that advantage won't be exponentially distorted as it is now.

Yeah this exactly. This is no different from the current system. You are forced to use a character either way, so may as well get rid of the buff and give a non buffed mid level character so that it's way more fair. You saying that people are leveling up the hood and venom for these tournaments makes sense, they are doing it because they are buffed and at high levels do crazy damage.