*** Deadpool (It's Me, Deadpool!) ***

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Comments

  • Marvelous
    Marvelous Posts: 52 Match Maker
    Well I've used his WWW power when I only had a few thousand DP points and I couldn't tell what benefit it had versus using it without any points. So it's possible to use the power regardless of how many points you have.. whether just a few or all 28k. I'm just confused at why I'd want to use it regularly regardless of how many points I had or should I hold off until I've accumulated the 28K needed for whatever super attack it does?
  • well...you see that it doesn't actually use up the points when you use it when it's not maxed, so...what would holding off achieve?

    and it's a great attack, why would you NOT want to use it?
  • TazFTW
    TazFTW Posts: 695 Critical Contributor
    and it's a great attack, why would you NOT want to use it?

    To save the whales...
  • Marvelous
    Marvelous Posts: 52 Match Maker
    well...you see that it doesn't actually use up the points when you use it when it's not maxed, so...what would holding off achieve?

    and it's a great attack, why would you NOT want to use it?


    It does actually...

    I had around 2k points.. once I used the attack I am back down to 0.
  • I don't know what you're doing then, because I've been using him all week in this last pvp and the pve and never lost a single point from using that attack. As far as I know, no one else at all has done this so far either...
  • OnesOwnGrief
    OnesOwnGrief Posts: 1,387 Chairperson of the Boards
    Marvelous wrote:
    well...you see that it doesn't actually use up the points when you use it when it's not maxed, so...what would holding off achieve?

    and it's a great attack, why would you NOT want to use it?


    It does actually...

    I had around 2k points.. once I used the attack I am back down to 0.
    I seriously have no idea how you came to this conclusion. I've never seen a point disappear over the entire past week.
  • Marvelous
    Marvelous Posts: 52 Match Maker
    Marvelous wrote:
    well...you see that it doesn't actually use up the points when you use it when it's not maxed, so...what would holding off achieve?

    and it's a great attack, why would you NOT want to use it?


    It does actually...

    I had around 2k points.. once I used the attack I am back down to 0.
    I seriously have no idea how you came to this conclusion. I've never seen a point disappear over the entire past week.


    Well I should think it's pretty obvious how I came to that conclusion...lol, I checked my points.. before a match I had around 2k. I used his purple attack and the next match I played when I went to use his purple again it said I had 0. Now I have an android phone (Galaxy S3) not sure if that has anything to do with it???
  • Bowgentle
    Bowgentle Posts: 7,926 Chairperson of the Boards
    Marvelous wrote:
    Well I should think it's pretty obvious how I came to that conclusion...lol, I checked my points.. before a match I had around 2k. I used his purple attack and the next match I played when I went to use his purple again it said I had 0. Now I have an android phone (Galaxy S3) not sure if that has anything to do with it???
    Deadpool hates Android, obviously.
  • I've been using Deadpool's purple this entire week on an Android Galaxy and have done nothing but gain Deadpool points. They've not dropped once.
  • TazFTW wrote:
    and it's a great attack, why would you NOT want to use it?

    To save the whales...

    Collect the whole set
  • Marvelous
    Marvelous Posts: 52 Match Maker
    Bowgentle wrote:
    Marvelous wrote:
    Well I should think it's pretty obvious how I came to that conclusion...lol, I checked my points.. before a match I had around 2k. I used his purple attack and the next match I played when I went to use his purple again it said I had 0. Now I have an android phone (Galaxy S3) not sure if that has anything to do with it???
    Deadpool hates Android, obviously.


    Lol.. that could very well be possible.. Hmm ok so I'll expect not to lose these points than in the future. I wonder how you use them than? Like will you have to press a button or something to activate it or will you just use them up the instant you reach 28k. I would think you'd want to be able to choose whether you use the additional points so as to save it for a huge battle or something.
  • Bowgentle
    Bowgentle Posts: 7,926 Chairperson of the Boards
    Marvelous wrote:
    Bowgentle wrote:
    Marvelous wrote:
    Well I should think it's pretty obvious how I came to that conclusion...lol, I checked my points.. before a match I had around 2k. I used his purple attack and the next match I played when I went to use his purple again it said I had 0. Now I have an android phone (Galaxy S3) not sure if that has anything to do with it???
    Deadpool hates Android, obviously.


    Lol.. that could very well be possible.. Hmm ok so I'll expect not to lose these points than in the future. I wonder how you use them than? Like will you have to press a button or something to activate it or will you just use them up the instant you reach 28k. I would think you'd want to be able to choose whether you use the additional points so as to save it for a huge battle or something.
    I'm guessing you'll be able to press that huge button that shows up when you're about to use whales to use the points.
  • vudu3
    vudu3 Posts: 940 Critical Contributor
    Lyrian, there's a small but potentially confusing typo in your post--the base stats after the 5th red cover heading should show 5 in red instead of 4.
  • I use Android (HTC phone), and no points have dsappeared either.
  • Phaserhawk
    Phaserhawk Posts: 2,676 Chairperson of the Boards
    After all the Deadpool playing I have determined 5/5/3 is really the only way to go. Any player is smart enough to play around Deadpools black thus negating the effectiveness. But not having purple maxed, while expensive makes Deadpool even less threatening. Thus with a maxed purple an attacking player has to be mindful. Essentially the only time if you are attacking should Deadpool catch you unaware with his black passive is generally during cascades. It's not too hard to hit DP with a couple tile matches to allow u to drop his health low enough to finish another player off. If they ever drop the trigger to be lower than 869 then you have an option but as of now I think 5/5/3 is really the only way to make Deadpool decent and offer as a threat.
  • Unknown
    edited August 2014
    Ok, here are my thoughts and conclusions on Deadpool:

    -- Synopsis: Deadpool follows the trend set forth by Captain Marvel in that all three of his skills require 4 in each color to reach a "baseline" level of competency. Although 3 in most of Deadpool's skills allows his skills to be functional, their effectiveness is neutered much more than usual than with previous 3*** characters. Further, Deadpool's skills are built to require players to go "all in" with his skills, else losing much of his effectiveness in a 5/4/4; 4/5/4; or 4/4/5 build. Choosing Deadpool's build depends on a player's attitude towards the risks of each ability and their preference between PvP and PvE builds.

    -- A Little off the Top (Red)

    Deadpool's first skill seems like an absolute no brainer at a cursory glance. At 166, Deadpool inflicts up the lesser of 3299 damage or 65% of the target's health for a very expedient 6 Red. For only two red matches, which is usually trivially easy to obtain, massive damage can be dealt with no negative repercussions to the player or his/her roster. However, a deeper examination reveals significant problems with the skill, that are only addressed with a full commitment to 5 Red.

    ++ At only 6 Red, which can be boosted out of the starting block, a player can inflict 3299 damage on Turn 0 of a match, which will almost all but down a support character on the opposing roster (example: Hood) or significantly injure a tank of a player's choosing. This is a top-tier alpha strike ability.

    ++ Two red matches are generally trivial in difficulty to obtain. On defense, defending against 6 Red is extremely difficult, as the AI will surely "luck" into 6 Red at some point in a match.

    *** When examining the skill for general effectiveness, IGNORE that percentage! The damage inflicted by the skill is the raw amount listed for max damage, which is then reduced by comparing the damage against the health percentage restriction. The max damage listed is the damage a player should be expecting from this ability, played properly.

    3 Red @ 166 = 1776 damage
    4 Red @ 166 = 2284 damage (+508 over 3 Red)
    5 Red @ 166 = 3299 damage (+1015 over 4 Red, +1523 over 3 Red)

    -- As opponents become damaged, this skill becomes significantly less powerful and effective. Thus, this skill is best used against opponents with full life. The lower the life remaining on an opponent, the worst this skill becomes. If Deadpool is the last person standing on a roster, this skill becomes a serious liability.

    *** HOWEVER, the difference between 4 and 5 Red is so large, that much of the skill's vulnerabilities vanish with addition of the 5th red cover. 3300 damage is great, but if 40% of this damage is lost because of the health percentage restriction, then the resulting damage is still rather acceptable. At 4 Red, losing 40% of inflicted damage pulls this ability down to LThor Red territory, which is highly underwhelming.

    -- Avoid the trap of chasing two red matches as a quick source of damage! Chasing red continually leaves the board wide open for the opponent to capitalize on a player's narrow focus on one color.

    Recommendation: Arguing against 5 Red is a practically an argument in futility. Although 4 Red is a minimally acceptable build, be aware that doing so leaves 1000 damage on the table before the health percentage penalty. I'm not sure that there is another 5th Red cover that offers such a giant increase in raw power for a single cover, except maybe Punisher's 5th Red because of the extra 10% auto-kill trigger.


    -- Whales, Whales, Whales (Purple)

    Whales has the potential to be the most devastating AoE in the game, inflicting as much as 4069 damage + strike tiles to the opposing roster with no negative implications whatsoever. However, in a game that increasingly stressing the importance of speed, slowness kills. Five purple matches is a very long time that introduces its own problems as well.

    *** Whales shares the same ramp-up schedule in power increases as A Little Off the Top.

    3 Purple @ 166 = 2191 damage
    4 Purple @ 166 = 2817 damage (+626 over 3 Purple [1878 AoE])
    5 Purple @ 166 = 4069 damage (+1252 over 4 Purple [3756 AoE], +1523 over 3 Purple [4569 AoE])

    Like Red, 4 is "OK', 5 is good, and 3 is horrible.

    ++ Whales employs the most unused color in the game, Purple as an offensive weapon. An opponent has to respect the potential for Purple to be a threat, causing them to waste turns defending a useless color for them.

    ++ Once every 10 days, Whales allows for an "instant team kill" maneuver.

    ++ There are few sights/sounds more therapeutic than hearing/seeing a whale dropped on an opponent.

    -- 14 Purple is a very, very long time, especially when there are no Purple accelerators in the game, except for Hood.

    -- In contrast to the first comment, a confident opponent can most likely get their abilities off before a player casts Whales because focusing on Purple leaves the remainder of the board open for the opponent to capitalize upon.

    -- Players will have to make a decision by Turn 3 or 4 of a match to decide if they have a reasonable chance to reach 14 Purple before the opposing side unleashes their own cannons. Focusing on Purple means not focusing on anyone else's colors on the roster. The player has to choose "Whales or go home" if they commit to gathering 14 Purple. Being trapped with 12/13 Purple, with no way to spend this color, on a dry board of Purple will leave players in a very bad position and may very likely lose what should have been a easily winnable match.

    Recommendation: How much do you like gambling? Think you can beat the house? If so, go "all in" on 5 Purple, else stay away from this skill.

    -- Life of the Party (Black)

    Deadpool's True Healing skill is the sharpest of all the double-sided blades contained in each of his skills. This skills can both save a match from being lost and cause a match to be lost at a whim.

    How is this possible, you may ask? Three dreaded words that should strike fear into anyone's heart: Inverse Hawkeye Avoid.

    Essentially, the gist of the skill is that if someone weak is about to be downed by a power, Deadpool will step in, save the day, and then regenerate some of incoming damage. This has a net function of being a "one-time" defense tile that mitigates damage via Hulk's Anger tile mechanism. Increasing the number of Black covers increases the value of this "defense" tile.

    3 Black @ 166 = 657 "defense"
    4 Black @ 166 = 844 "defense" (+187 over 3 Black)
    5 Black @ 166 = 1219 "defense" (+375 over 4 Black, +562 over 3 Black)

    ** Black, like Red and Purple, follows the same ramp-up schedule in power.

    ++ At 5 Black, Deadpool can mostly mitigate or completely absorb most minor powers, requiring an opponent to use solely slow, high-damage powers to overcome this ability.

    ++ Deadpool can stop focusing of attacks on a support character, requiring the attacker to whittle down Deadpool before attacking the support character.

    -- HOWEVER, and this is big HOWEVER, this ability can be used against Deadpool for significant detriment. Deadpool will step in front of ANYTHING, if the trigger condition of 869 damage is met. This means that Deadpool will blindly step in an eat a very damaging attack that would have been wasted on downing a character with very low health.

    (Example: Deadpool stepping in to eat a level 200 Juggernaut headbutt for 6000 damage instead of letting it be wasted on a character that only had 300 health left. Now, the player is left with a nearly dead character AND Deadpool; which is a very poor situation to be in.)

    -- If Deadpool has 1 point less current health than the support character, then the ability will not fire. A savvy opponent can easily exploit this to their advantage.

    -- The player has no control over the activation of the ability.

    -- Because of the 869 damage threshold, strike tiles used in moderation can still focus down a support character with relative ease without ever triggering the ability.

    Recommendation: A player can't control the negative side of Life of the Party. At best, all they can do is maximize the potential benefit of the skill. 5 Black for a defense build, or 3 for an offensive build.

    Conclusion: Deadpool's powers are designed to encourage specialization to 5 in each color and punish those who want a "balanced build". In a balanced build, I would recommend 5/4/4 as a best "bang for the buck" (although I advise against this). That said, 5 Red is simply too overpowering for 6 AP skill to ignore. This leaves Purple as the deciding factor on many builds. Whether or not a player wants to gamble on Whales often enough to invest 5 in Purple is going to be the difference between a 5/5/3 build and a 5/3/5 build.

    Note: Hood helps with Purple for Whales, but any reasonably savvy opponent will bring strike tiles to the match and still be able to down Hood easily. In a PvE scenario, where the AI is much less intelligent, 5 in Whales may be reasonably achievable on a moderate basis should the AI not be running Moonstone or Venom.
  • homeinvasion
    homeinvasion Posts: 415 Mover and Shaker
    First post, be nice icon_e_biggrin.gif

    It seems to me the whale in the room is his true heal ability and the conditions required to get it off. I can situation-ally deal with the red only doing a percentage ( I am assuming on defense the AI will favor the 6 red of this doing no damage late game) and I can even find a slot in a team for 14 purple, but the heal rules him out. The main problem is it never procs, so is basically a newt ability. I played over 30 games with him at 4/2/2 and only had the black proc once when the game was basically over anyway.
    • Only works if the targeted character is NOT DP.
    • Only works if the targeted character has less HP than DP, but his HP is low.
    • Targeted character has to take over 860 damage.
    • You have to let the cool-down tile not be matched – we all know the AI loves to pair your cool-downs near an easy match.
    • Only receive health back up to 1000 so big 3000 damage hits are only slightly mitigated.
    • It must be winter solstice with a blue moon rising while Hailey’s comet is in transition over Alaska. (I made this up but DP approves).

    As far as I can tell the only reason to have DP is to force opponents to target him first, all three abilities seem to be based on this. Red is percentage based and cheap so pretty tinykitty late game, but excellent early, purple is a very late game ability and black is a contender for worst ability including trying to get 19 team up for a useless aggressive reconnaissance.

    The sheer number of conditions to get his black to work are too prohibitive. If X-force wolverines heal is so bad peeps don’t play him why would they then go add 3-4 more conditions to get off the heal? Seriously if X-force had patches heal you would see way more 220 tank X-forces (now that’s a 4*).

    The only possible uses I can see are for a super fast super glass cannon rainbow team like HT/ cmags/ DP or as a means to keep peeps off Hood for 5 more turns, but wouldn't invisible woman be better for that?

    The best and easiest fix I can see is still have him jump in front etc but ANY time he takes the 860 + damage he gets back the heal. Even that is not great, less than 860 damage still goes through, more than 1200 damage is just reduced by 1200 (if the cool-down goes off).

    As it stands there are way too many conditions for this ability to work. The easy counter of, ‘just focus DP’ is so obvious and easy that this character is relegated to never play.
  • Welcome to the Asylum, homeinvasion!

    Nowhere else will you find such a group of crazed individuals that are passionately incorrect about everything MPQ-related! (We are right though.... ALL of us are....) icon_lol.gif

    In defense of X-Force, nearly a year into the game, he still is rocking those placeholder stats awaiting that faithful day when he will finally receive his true ability values. Seriously though, that solstice + blue moon rising will occur before X-Force is finally buffed to his proper values. He's what.... 3+ months away on the docket for his revamp still?

    I like your idea about black, as that would really bring some value to Life of the Party. However, the more I think about it, I wonder if that would functionally make him another Hulk (in terms of Anger), which I don't think the devs wanted. The devs seem to jump through a lot of hoops (many times unnecessarily so) to create unique variations of abilities for characters.

    I do agree with you that his Black's implementation has too many exploitable loopholes that render it a fairly marginal skill. If his damage trigger threshold would have been lower that it is, that would have forced attackers to respect him as a 6800 health shield for support characters.

    Still, he has to be viewed as a 6800 health Juggernaut and defended as such. Functionality-wise, his red effectively is the same as a high-level Headbutt without the self-damage at 5 Red.
  • Phaserhawk
    Phaserhawk Posts: 2,676 Chairperson of the Boards
    Lyrian those are some very inciteful write ups. It really is do you max out a devastating but no chance in hell of going off? Or do you max a very restrictive and only sometimes useful skill? I opted for the 5/5/3 the reason being it makes Deadpool a threat. A marginal threat, but a threat nonetheless. 5/3/5 just makes him annoying, yes he could save a guy but overall just annoyance.
  • Phaserhawk wrote:
    Lyrian those are some very inciteful write ups. It really is do you max out a devastating but no chance in hell of going off? Or do you max a very restrictive and only sometimes useful skill? I opted for the 5/5/3 the reason being it makes Deadpool a threat. A marginal threat, but a threat nonetheless. 5/3/5 just makes him annoying, yes he could save a guy but overall just annoyance.

    I actually struggled with this when I was building mine. I decided though to opt for the 5/3/5 build just cause that annoyance factor can be a very useful factor in matches. I have made the mistake during the tex-mex tourney where I wasn't paying close enough attention and I thought a Hood/C.Mags/Laken was safe for an "Escape Plan" or a "Thunder Strike" only to be whacked by a LotP. And I think this is common thing that can happen, when you're preparing to nuke (aside from AoEs like Wind Storm, CotS, RotP, WWW, and Sniper), you just forget to check and it happens.

    Also the that fact that I have a good leveled Fury at 3/5/5 helped make my decision for 5/3/5 because his is a strong purple as well that is little less, but can help the team with a mean strike tile.

    In the end though, I just think it boils down to if he will be an active use on you roster and who you pair him with, for me in SIM, Fury/Hood/DPool is a nice once that leaves him only tanking Red. But for everyone it will be different, and I think that is what makes him such a good character because he gives us two colors that when maxed out to 5 do something really well when they go off.