I know it has been about 9 months since I updated my last guide. This is a big update because I've moved from doing a bunch of individual posts to this attached PDF format, which I love and hope works better for you all as well (fun fact: it is twice the length of my doctoral dissertation!). The PDF also means this is the one and only thread I'll have and won't have to keep making new ones when I run out of space. I also don't have to deal with weird online formatting. The first two pages of the document contain a glossary with hyperlinks so you can jump to the character you want to read about and then back to the beginning of the document when you are done. Page one has them in rank order, and page two is an alphabetized list in case you are looking for someone specific. The third page is just a fun list I made of characters that I felt needed to be re-balanced. As I was going through and re-reading/updating each character, I was keeping this running list and decided to add it. There have been a ton of re-balances, new characters, and meta shifts since I last wrote, so a ton of updates.
Usual disclaimer: I’m just one player and you can feel free to disagree with my opinions (I encourage it!). I know I can “get it wrong”, and would love to to hear things I might not have been considering when it comes to these characters.
My 5*s now range from 450-490 range, with three exceptions (in the very low 500s) thanks to the last anniversary. So that’s my MMR (clearly the 550 crowd may rank these differently).
This guide skews way heavier toward PVP and CL10 PVE than CL9 and below PVE where most 5* combos work well enough. This guide is also skewed way more toward established 5* players than those looking to transition. Though hopefully this guide helps them too. With a few notable exceptions (Polaris, Grocket, etc.), I mostly stick to talking about 5* pairs that could work with each character, because that’s mostly what I play.
So how did I ultimately determine these rankings? It was a combination of factors ultimately, including (in no order):
Speed- Since both PVE and PVP reward winning fast over just winning, does this character win fast?Efficiency- What do their powers do for the cost?Versatility- Can this character play on a number of teams and/or amplify others?Specialization- Does this character do something few or no one can do? Do they fill a unique niche?Defense- How scary is this character to face in the AI’s hands?Sustainability- Does this character help you climb/save health packs?Playability Boosted- Does this character play well boosted, and if so by how much?Fun Factor- Quite simply, are they enjoyable to play?Roster Importance- When really stuck between ranking two characters I simply asked, who would I rather have on my roster?
Really appreciate these posts. You clearly put a lot of work into these and as a 4* player who one day hopes to break into the 5* tier, these rankings really help.
I am. So. Happy. Thank you so very much for this work! Your lists have always been crucial for my gaming. Excellent, excellent, excellent.
Wow, you went all in on this guide. Just Epic. Really solid stuff
Great work, look forward to it all being cross referenced with supports
As a Daredevil fan you might want to mention the small synergy he has with MThor reliably destroying his green, should you ever get as far as firing it. It'd give him a small boost to ward off accusations of favouritism in his ranking.
Hi DD. I signed up here specifically to thank you for all the hard work that must have gone into this. It's very much apprerciated. This is a very helpful resource.
Thank you all for the super kind words. It means a lot!
@DrClever said: As a Daredevil fan you might want to mention the small synergy he has with MThor reliably destroying his green, should you ever get as far as firing it. It'd give him a small boost to ward off accusations of favouritism in his ranking.
I dropped him pretty significantly, so that should help with the accusations lol.
While that’s a pretty good combo I’ll need to try, I never thought of pairing the two of them, because I assumed Jane would wipe all his strikes and get rid of his best attribute (the healing). Combo-ing to leverage his worst power isn’t something I considered but am intrigued. Have you tried it?
@Daredevil217 said: Thank you all for the super kind words. It means a lot! @DrClever said: As a Daredevil fan you might want to mention the small synergy he has with MThor reliably destroying his green, should you ever get as far as firing it. It'd give him a small boost to ward off accusations of favouritism in his ranking. I dropped him pretty significantly, so that should help with the accusations lol. While that’s a pretty good combo I’ll need to try, I never thought of pairing the two of them, because I assumed Jane would wipe all his strikes and get rid of his best attribute (the healing). Combo-ing to leverage his worst power isn’t something I considered but am intrigued. Have you tried it?
@Daredevil217 said: Thank you all for the super kind words. It means a lot!
Throw in Polaris and should be good, though weak on defense.
Yeah, and it's about as good as you would imagine.
To give an example, I went with DD, MThor, and GEDoom against ProfX, Emma Frost, and Colossus which is a solid enough defensive team and so gave me enough time to get DD's green out.
It got destroyed quite a few times (by MThor and the opponent Emma) so its damage / AP reached very respectable levels.
His stun was also useful, but obviously special tile steal would br pointless with MThor around, and his healing would be severely hampered.
So it's more of a proof of concept than a strong team, and it's not Hard to think of better green powers for MThor partners (Riri, BRB) but it's viable, and of course MThor doesn't have to be on your team to make it work.
Updated. Did some small changes/cleaned some things up. Also, added a cover-page (since it bothers me when I download it to my books app on my Iphone that it doesn't have a cover, lol). Also added "Feeders" and "Affiliations" for each character (that should be super useful). Added new Mags. Also, added Jeffrey and Emma, even though I have neither champed. So take my opinion on them with a grain of salt until I get the chance to play them. Enjoy the update!
Still hoping to get this stickied and my old guide taken down. @Scofie, @fight4thedream can either of you help?
@scofie would you mind swapping the stickied post out with this new one? It’s such a great resource and should be at the top!
Mod note: Stickied! Good stuff!
As someone in 4* land who is making decisions about which 5*'s to chase, this a is a fantastic resource. It should be added to the reddit sidebar for better visibility.
