How do you feel about the current 3*/5* release model?

fight4thedream

I honestly have mixed feelings about it. I do think the Omega Red: Horseman of Apocalypse variant is cool, although I would have preferred Classic Omega Red as the 5* version and I guess it kind of works with MCU/Classic comic characters but I feel the system would generate more goodwill and value if they were to use separate characters that share a history or significant relationship. For example, 5* Enchantress/3* Skurge or 5* Kingo/3* Sprite.

I suppose 5* Venomsaurus/3* Spider-Rex is one notable example but unfortunately, I think that got overshadowed by the plethora of symbiote-related 5* characters released this year, and their similar skillsets arguably makes it difficult to see them as separate characters.

I suppose one strong counter-argument would be that the 3* / 5* of one character provides newer players the chance to get that character, which is true, but I think most players would prefer two new characters instead of classic/enhanced of the same character. So I am curious what others think about the current 3/5 model. Do you like it as it currently exists or would you prefer something else?

DAZ0273

I think generating an extra distinct copy of characters is proving difficult. They leaned heavily on symbiotes but that well has run dry and is pretty boring. I don't see why they can't do an associated character like say 5* Vindicator (Heather Hudson)/3* Guardian (James Hudson) or other way round or whatever you like. There are some good potential pairings out there:

5* Wrecker/3* Wrecking Crew
5* Shaman/3* Talisman (or other way round)
5* Bucky (Captain America)/3* Nomad
Father & Son 5/3 Zemo
5* Red Skull/3* Sin
5* Cobra/3* Mr Hyde
5* Sabretooth/3* Constrictor
5* Titanium Man/3* Crimson Dynamo
5* Hercules/3* (Fill in the blank Olympian)
5* Paste Pot Pete (no wait he doesn't need anybody else)

I am sure there are plenty more options. The Eternals have barely been touched, I know the Imperial Guard and Squadron Supreme might be off limits due to them being unauthorised parodies which are fine in the comic books but might give DC the hump in a game situation but if not there is a huge wealth of characters there. Even if the Imperial Guard are off limits we can have a 5* Deathbird/3* Lilandra. The New Mutants - a 5* Warlock/3* Cypher with a synergy perk would be fun.

Anything will be better than symbiotes or weak connections to a classic character (sorry Armour Wars Vulture, looking at you)

JoeHandle

Love it. It's more inclusive, highlights multiple aspects of each releases history, and simplifies the continued build out / maintenance of the overall feeder scheme.

Bowgentle

Two distinct characters with different abilities are probably beyond their limited dev time - that's the reason the 3/5 releases are what they are.
The skills are convoluted and buggy even with the similar characters, I don't event want to imagine what would happen with 9 completely new skills each month.

bigjojo04

I have no problem with them releasing two versions of the same character, makes it easier for the team to have feeders that make sense. The only thing that I’d change is instead of having basically one 5/3 a month I would prefer it to be every other month where they do that. I really don’t think we need to keep expanding the 3* roster that much and there are plenty of characters that probably deserve to be in the game as 5* characters that don’t need to have another, not as good version of the character at the 3 star level.

rainkingucd

@DAZ0273 said:
I think generating an extra distinct copy of characters is proving difficult. They leaned heavily on symbiotes but that well has run dry and is pretty boring. I don't see why they can't do an associated character like say 5* Vindicator (Heather Hudson)/3* Guardian (James Hudson) or other way round or whatever you like. There are some good potential pairings out there:

5* Wrecker/3* Wrecking Crew
5* Shaman/3* Talisman (or other way round)
5* Bucky (Captain America)/3* Nomad
Father & Son 5/3 Zemo
5* Red Skull/3* Sin
5* Cobra/3* Mr Hyde
5* Sabretooth/3* Constrictor
5* Titanium Man/3* Crimson Dynamo
5* Hercules/3* (Fill in the blank Olympian)
5* Paste Pot Pete (no wait he doesn't need anybody else)

I am sure there are plenty more options. The Eternals have barely been touched, I know the Imperial Guard and Squadron Supreme might be off limits due to them being unauthorised parodies which are fine in the comic books but might give DC the hump in a game situation but if not there is a huge wealth of characters there. Even if the Imperial Guard are off limits we can have a 5* Deathbird/3* Lilandra. The New Mutants - a 5* Warlock/3* Cypher with a synergy perk would be fun.

Anything will be better than symbiotes or weak connections to a classic character (sorry Armour Wars Vulture, looking at you)

Love this idea.

Will also add maybe a 5* Avalanche / 3* Pyro for the release of X-Men 97. Mainly because those incarnations of the Brotherhood were great

ThaRoadWarrior

I have no use for additional 3* characters, and having them be lazy de-power versions now that ascendancy is a thing is even less useful to me. I also wish we had Classic OR at the 5* tier, but it’s not the end of the world for me.

DAZ0273

@Bowgentle said:
Two distinct characters with different abilities are probably beyond their limited dev time - that's the reason the 3/5 releases are what they are.
The skills are convoluted and buggy even with the similar characters, I don't event want to imagine what would happen with 9 completely new skills each month.

You are probably right. The one time they did this previously they just produced an Elektra-lite version of the existing 4 for The Defenders Elektra. Still there are quite a few from what I listed that could still follow the existing 5/3 formula but be distinct characters without needing to have something tacked on artificially.

Unfortunately a lot of the 5's have been super gimmicky/redundant theme wise. I guess it isn't super important as the main thing is how they play but it isn't very satisfying to the Marvel fan inside my head.

Bowgentle

I just wish they'd stop with the convoluted, 300 words skills and do something straightforward again.
Nobody really asked for skills with 17 conditions.

Vhailorx

Devs probably can't afford the resources necessary to make distinct characters all the time. So we get a lot of what used to be called "lazy" variants around here with duplicated kits. So now we players need to roster two, minutely distinct, versions of the same character. It's just an iso/roster slot sink without adding much of anything to the game. So all in all I don't love.

That said, it's not really for me; it's for players without 5* s on their rosters, so that they can get exposure to new mechanics and feel the game evolve before they make the 4/5 transition. Is it succeeding at that goal? I have no idea but if it is then it's probably worth the annoyance to veterans to improve player retention and keep the player community healthy.

DAZ0273

I do think the quality of the 3's has been in slow decline compared to last year and earlier this year. I can't tell you what Gwen or Miles do but it doesn't stand out much, likewise Vulture. I think I might prefer 3* Peggy to the 5* version though!

meadowsweet

First off, I'm assuming the devs keep doing it for a reason: it must keep players playing, chasing, and spending?

But I've just been kinda burned out on the game. Some days I play, some days I don't. I've stopped trying for finishing anything in the top 100 anymore, often don't reach full progression rewards.

Which in turn means I can't really keep up with the new releases. I'm constantly missing out on covers and shards, it takes forever to champ them (as dilution continues to get worse and worse each month), so when I do play, I pretty much just ignore them and keep using my meta teams from years ago. The newer characters are wasted on me. For characters in the last year or so, I honestly couldn't even begin to tell you what their powers are or how they work!

So I'm stuck, where I'm never going to use a 3★ character when I have dozens of 5★ champs. I rarely use any of the 4★ except for Puzzle Gauntlets or DDQ required nodes. and I'm never going to use the new 5★ characters because each one of them just has a handful of covers and they're still level 300-345...

entrailbucket

They're usually not exact copies -- some of the 3* versions are different in subtle ways that may become more important when they get Ascended to 5*.

We don't really know yet how that will all work or how they'll look. I do plan to get every single character to 550 eventually, so 3* variants are giving me more stuff to do.

axmoss

honestly, i would prefer if they increased the time in between releases. if they are going to do a simul 3/5 release and the 3 star copy is more or less the same but in a different costume, doesn't look too appealing to ascend. Unless of course, the ascended version has more life or does way more damage for the same ability.