Coming back to the original topic, I have three specific examples of where I see skill variance among MPQ players. I don't want to sound judgmental with this, just wanting to point out that I see different approaches taken. Also, I learned these techniques from others so I'm not trying to brag, just pointing out the skill gap I see.
Shang Chi Build. @froggerjohn I think first postulated that 5/5/3 is a "training mode" for Shang and 3/5/5 is for speed. I've seen players say they need 5 red to keep the combo going, but for others (including myself) I've not needed to adjust back to 5/5/3 once going to 3/3/5. Shang isn't just "match red and purple" but placement and power timing matters.
For instance, someone advised me to place crits between purple tiles on the edge when you have 4-5 combo points. This helps Shang go self-winfinite sooner. Purple keeps refilling and becomes a "Delete enemy character" button. Another bit of Shang strategy is to place double crits between 2 different colors when getting a Match 5 or using Chavez (example Red - crit -crit-crit- Yellow) as this does more damage and hits twice vs a match 4 with 2 crits in the middle. Another Shang strategy is to hold your powers until you need them to keep the combo going, or you are ready to start the purple winfinite. Using them too early gets you stuck more.
Polaris/BRB Winfinite I used this for almost a year, and my favorite 3rd for this was 4Carnage. He needed less green than Thanos, and dealt more damage with each firing of his green. I've seen many users that complained his attack tiles always got in the way and choked the board. But in a year of playing PvE SCL10 using this team, I can recall that happening maybe 2-3 times, and it did not cause me to lose, just took some adjusting to get back on track. Playing this team is not just "match special tiles" but choosing which matches to make to get the combo going quickly. The fact that protect tiles populate before attack tiles is something you need to keep in mind as you make those first matches. Sometimes you have to ignore the match-4 to make a better strategic play.
Puzzle Gauntlet. Yes, some puzzles are completely focused on 1 specific character and if you don't have them, they are near impossible. But some players complain a lot about the gauntlets being impossible even with those characters, and others find the puzzles at worst luck-based in several cases. These complaints even came up with the Deadpool Nightly Games which were completely possible with the loaners provided: https://www.reddit.com/r/MarvelPuzzleQuest/comments/j3xnbf/you_can_beat_the_deadpool_nightly_game_puzzles/
These are really minor though... with enough persistence luck will eventually turn, making the match 3 part of this game something that remains mostly just light and fun.
Thanks -- this got derailed pretty hard but I'm still interested in people's answers to the question. I don't think we've come close to nailing down a consensus and it's a fun topic.
I'm alternating between all of the Shang things mentioned, depending on how the board looks. That's considered "skill", seriously? Huh. I thought that was the idea to keep the combo going, and placing purple to do just that.
@Bowgentle said: I'm alternating between all of the Shang things mentioned, depending on how the board looks. That's considered "skill", seriously? Huh. I thought that was the idea to keep the combo going, and placing purple to do just that.
So that's...like...the whole point of asking this question. The game is making players feel skilled, it's making them feel like they're doing something that other players can't do, that they're better at the game than everyone else, and for a lot of players that's a really big draw.
I don’t have any mad match 3 skills, but I read the forum and my Line alliance chat so I get by. I really play to build my roster and to waste time. I like growing my roster. I tolerate the gameplay to get me the resources I need to grow my roster.
Most of the time I play while watching tv, or bathroom breaks. I miss obviously better matches sometimes because my attention is not focused. I’m fine with that.
I define MPQ skill as the capacity or range of how well one uses the resources they have in the game environment including speed and win rate in both PvE and PvP, supports, boosts, team-ups, leveling, farming, vault, recruit store, offers, resources store, and as well as VIP usage. Even selecting an alliance may have a skill component to it. There are multiple strategies for every single one of these components within the game. It is possible to apply a number to skill for each player but the only ones with access to all of the data necessary to do such a thing is devs. I don't even want to contemplate the nightmarish task of organizing all of that data and attempting to assign skill levels to each.
In addition, a player's goal can influence their perceived skill level. For example, a player who is highly skilled in both PvE and PvP may decide to only focus on DPD and PvE progression rewards due to their schedule irl. Another player may decide that spending money to level a character is in their best interest. Would that make him a less skilled player since his peer decided to earn that extra cover via rewards and shards?
I don't have answers but I think the discussion of skill should be focused on one aspect of the game rather than the game as a whole. There are just too many variables to consider. Each one of those components can be considered a sub-game within MPQ. A player who has mastered S.H.I.E.L.D. battles in PvP may not be very good in PvP battles with required characters due to her narrowly focused roster. One who farms, like myself, has a roster with breadth but not depth since I purposely soft-cap all of my fully covered 5*. I find that this makes me decent at required character battles but I suffer in S.H.I.E.L.D. battles.
What defines skill in MPQ is an interesting question, and I got a few insights for myself from comparing it to my other deep roster match 3, Gems of War (I like both games for different reasons). In GoW, there is no speed play needed, skill is in facing the board itself, making the optimal match. Cascading is not bad so board control remains key, every move can be considered, also extra turns fall on 4 matches, not on 5. That makes a world of difference. High skill in GoW means board control where you take a (very) restricted roster against much stronger opponents and still come out alive. It has promoted a streaming culture in guild wars, where groups of players are studying the board together and try to find hidden 4 matches to keep the turn so maintain board control.
This experience showed me that MPQ is actually not focused on match 3 board control skills (though they can help, as pointed out above in the case of Shang Chi). M3 in mpq is more of a vehicle to use power combinations in play. In mpq, most board control is sacrificed for speed play in nearly all game modes. Also, the cascading button in mpq is set on 11 (well, at least that is how it feels to me compared to GoW). So the skill in mpq is much more in combining characters in the right way and timing powers on a board you do not have the time or possibility to control much. So, focus on team building skill, as others have said, which is not an individual skill, but a community skill. You can borrow team ideas from others. Don’t get me wrong, it still takes some board skills to play BRB - Polaris - Carnage against a 5* Carnage C node, but the average player can learn those skills from watching video examples and chosing the right order and focus in their opening matches.
GoW AI can do winfinite. That's one of the biggest gamechanger. Imagine MPQ AI has the ability to do winfinite...
I got permastunned by RiThor more than once.
They are really nasty since it’s just match and fire low cost powers. By the end of the matches I lost nearly the whole board is charged.
The ai may be stupid but it can still give you headaches.