Duplicate 4* farming?

GrimSkald
GrimSkald Posts: 2,487 Chairperson of the Boards
edited August 2020 in MPQ General Discussion
So if you asked me two years ago if I thought I would be maintaining a 4* farm like I do a 2* and 3* farm I'd have said, "Come, on, really?  Maybe I'll max out  a handful, but I can't seriously imagine maxing out 4* like I do 3*s."
So now I have 36 max-champed 4*s, all but one has a duplicate version that may or may not be champed (I haven't pulled an additional cover for Goddess Thor yet.)  This leads me to a question for all the other vets out there - do you keep your max-champed 4*s?  I have so far (only about half of those max-champs have dupes that are themselves champed,) but it seems unlikely this sort of thing is sustainable, particularly with the growing number of 4* characters and the fact that Roster slots increase in price at 300.  Right now I'm contemplating selling the 4*s who are:
- Meh in power, so I probably won't use them in PVE even for fun
- is already a feeder so I won't lose out on 5* covers if they become a feeder.
But I'm curious to know what other people do.  Do you keep them all just in case they're featured in PVP?  That comes along so rarely, though.  Do you keep them all just 'cause?  Do you not keep any, because screw this noise?  Do you keep some?  What's your criteria?

Comments

  • ThaRoadWarrior
    ThaRoadWarrior Posts: 9,125 Chairperson of the Boards
    I’m not there yet, but my Chavez is 10 covers away. I don’t keep max champ 2s or 3s around, but 4s take so long to grow I could see myself hanging on to them for awhile. Then again, I can already carry a 4* node with two 5*s on either side of a single cover new release, so I could just as easily see myself flipping them right away too.
  • Phumade
    Phumade Posts: 2,477 Chairperson of the Boards
    A few things to consider

    You should never sell 4* max champs because of the possibility of reward tree refreshes.  It’s happened enough times and the devs have been consistent in how they distribute covers during feeder reworks

    yes is annoying to pay 2k for slots, but it’s not really a constraint anymore.  Realistically the players who are in position to ponder multiple max champed 4* Trophy clones aren’t really resourced constrained.



  • Omegased
    Omegased Posts: 556 Critical Contributor
    Phumade said:
    A few things to consider

    You should never sell 4* max champs because of the possibility of reward tree refreshes.  It’s happened enough times and the devs have been consistent in how they distribute covers during feeder reworks

    yes is annoying to pay 2k for slots, but it’s not really a constraint anymore.  Realistically the players who are in position to ponder multiple max champed 4* Trophy clones aren’t really resourced constrained.



    I really don't know about the reward tree refreshes. To me that seems a bit unnecessary to bother. I think the cost is pretty relevant since you'd be using 2k every second week just keeping up with releases. that means you wont have much to do with whatever you want to spend on (it's almost like at this point in the game is when you can afford to waste hp on silly things)
     

    I'm nowhere near maxing 4stars, but I would probably take the same approach as I do with threes (2s i sell instantly). 

    I would dupe the top tier, and sell the less useful. sell whenever (if ever) i need the ISO resources.
  • krakenoon
    krakenoon Posts: 355 Mover and Shaker
    I would direct you to @bluewolf. 300 HP per slot is less than the gain from selling a max champ 3*, but balancing dupes with diluted 4 & 5 star rosters will eventually be problematic for everyone (maybe not so much whales & vets sitting on thousands and thousands of HP). I would imagine the idea would be to keep max champed metas & rotate the rest accordingly.
    The obvious problem here is that when new metas arise, you may have already sold off the 4* that pairs particularly well.
  • HoundofShadow
    HoundofShadow Posts: 8,004 Chairperson of the Boards
    I would roster 4* dupe. You never know which other 4* can give you a total of more than 6 5* covers/shards. 
  • pheregas
    pheregas Posts: 1,721 Chairperson of the Boards
    I'm up to 24 4* Max champs and have 10 more 360+.  I keep each and every max champ and then start the dupe.  I figure the top reward of max champing a 4 gives me enough HP to open up the roster slot of the dupe once I have it.

    Of course, my opinion may change in another 8 roster slots. (At 292).
  • Phumade
    Phumade Posts: 2,477 Chairperson of the Boards
    GrimSkald said:
    *
    But I'm curious to know what other people do.  Do you keep them all just in case they're featured in PVP?  That comes along so rarely, though.  Do you keep them all just 'cause?  Do you not keep any, because screw this noise?  Do you keep some?  What's your criteria?

    I went back to look at my roster.  I keep my max champs.   And my trophy clones of 4* cap marvel, Peggy, xfwolvie, Jean grey are at 328.   I personally will keep double max champs for this one benefit.  The ai will auto swap between the healthiest version,  so it makes a play session more convient and easier to stretch out play.   Yes that’s a whale issue,  but having doubles makes it way more enjoyable.
  • GrimSkald
    GrimSkald Posts: 2,487 Chairperson of the Boards
    Yeah, I'm actually quite a bit lower in slots at 261.  My 3* retention is shrinking - at this point I generally sell the 3* after it crosses 200 and their featured PVP was relatively recent.  It does mean that I occasionally bring a 240-250 level 3* into the fight, but I haven't noticed any real difference.  I may go even further, we'll see.
    In general I stop using the shards for a 4* at around 360 - I figure saving the shards for the copy will help me cover it faster, and slowing down the last 10 levels isn't a bad thing either.  It does clutter up my "level up" screen, though.

    Regarding other posts, I'm very post-Iso (I'm holding steady at just over 14 million,) so yes, HP is the only expendable resource that I feel the pinch on.
  • gravel
    gravel Posts: 585 Critical Contributor
    Phumade said:
    GrimSkald said:
    *
    But I'm curious to know what other people do.  Do you keep them all just in case they're featured in PVP?  That comes along so rarely, though.  Do you keep them all just 'cause?  Do you not keep any, because screw this noise?  Do you keep some?  What's your criteria?

    I went back to look at my roster.  I keep my max champs.   And my trophy clones of 4* cap marvel, Peggy, xfwolvie, Jean grey are at 328.   I personally will keep double max champs for this one benefit.  The ai will auto swap between the healthiest version,  so it makes a play session more convient and easier to stretch out play.   Yes that’s a whale issue,  but having doubles makes it way more enjoyable.

    Did they fix this?  It stopped picking the healed version of my 2*s a few updates ago.
  • bluewolf
    bluewolf Posts: 5,237 Chairperson of the Boards
    @OJSP

    You bring up the excellent point that making more opportunities to benefit from, and/or use, these champed 4s would add a lot to the game.  I like to use my 4s in DDQ at least, and sometimes in the untimed nodes (in the various one-a-day events) so I find some use for them.

    It would be great if they added some new game mode or feature that provided a return on these characters we have been developing for so long.  However, maybe sometimes we vets expect more than the game can really provide when at its core, it's built around chasing the new thing so that you keep feeling a need to play (and spend).
  • Daredevil217
    Daredevil217 Posts: 3,893 Chairperson of the Boards
    bluewolf said:


    3.  The rate of acquiring max champs will slow down dramatically at a certain point for most players.  The characters whom I have not sharded are languishing and dilution is going to keep their progress very slow.  Yes, the new-ish rewards help, but a Classic 4 will get a cover approx every 114 pulls in a Legendary store, and some small % of pulls in Mightys and Heroics, and a few covers a year from playing PVP hard.  Ex:  Ghost released in July 2018, 2 years ago, and I have added approx 60 covers to her (level 333) since.  So maybe in another year and a half I would have her approaching 370.  The point is, what seems like a big problem (lots of dupe 4s to roster) may not be.
    This particular point is a good one I hadn’t thought of. I have only one 370 and since I mostly built my roster evenly when I was in 4-land, I imagine a huge influx coming at some point. But you’re right that due to dilution I may never 370 these newer characters that I’m not shardgeting. I’m a collector at heart, so the choice to hang onto max champ 4s is a very easy one for me to make. I’m at 350 slots, so ripped that bandaid off a long time ago. 

    One thing you didn’t mention, I’m curious about. When boosted, aren’t maxed 4s interchangeable with baby champ 5s or not really? With the exception of RNG//Bish; I don’t see many 4s, boosted or not. But I thought they were close in power level (boosted 370 4* and a 450ish 5*)
  • Borstock
    Borstock Posts: 2,516 Chairperson of the Boards
    I sell my 2's when I get 1 cover to roster the dupe.
    I keep my 3's until I need the HPs. I make sure to favorite recent maxed characters so I can champ the new one as quickly as possible.
    I keep my 4's. Granted, I only have four maxed, but I have many close.
  • Wonko33
    Wonko33 Posts: 985 Critical Contributor
    Most 4 are 100% irrelevant for me now. Probably 4-5 will get dupes others will be sold as soon as I get covers to start a new one. 
  • IIAlonditeII
    IIAlonditeII Posts: 150 Tile Toppler
    You shouldn't sell them just because whenever reward reworks come through the pipeline, you'd be missing rewards you've earned.

    The counterargument is "but slots are expensive" which itself has the counterargument of "what else would you e spending HP on when you're farming 4 Star Dupes? By this point, HP may not be "abundant", but it's certainly not scarce.
  • broll
    broll Posts: 4,732 Chairperson of the Boards
    I'm just starting my 4* farm.  Got two max champed (Peggy and Medusa) Peggy dup is champed and the Medusa is still building up.  It's gonna be slow building it but if I keep playing I'll maintain a 4* farm.  Once I hit 300 slots I'll probably start dropping some characters to make room vs the 2000 HP roster slots.  I'll drop all my 1*s but 1-3, then I'll probably stop keeping champed copies of 2*s and 3*s.
  • pheregas
    pheregas Posts: 1,721 Chairperson of the Boards
    broll said:
    I'm just starting my 4* farm.  Got two max champed (Peggy and Medusa) Peggy dup is champed and the Medusa is still building up.  It's gonna be slow building it but if I keep playing I'll maintain a 4* farm.  Once I hit 300 slots I'll probably start dropping some characters to make room vs the 2000 HP roster slots.  I'll drop all my 1*s but 1-3, then I'll probably stop keeping champed copies of 2*s and 3*s.
    Good plan.  I dropped dupes of all my 2*s except the three I actively use in DDQ while back.
  • GrimSkald
    GrimSkald Posts: 2,487 Chairperson of the Boards
    pheregas said:
    broll said:
    I'm just starting my 4* farm.  Got two max champed (Peggy and Medusa) Peggy dup is champed and the Medusa is still building up.  It's gonna be slow building it but if I keep playing I'll maintain a 4* farm.  Once I hit 300 slots I'll probably start dropping some characters to make room vs the 2000 HP roster slots.  I'll drop all my 1*s but 1-3, then I'll probably stop keeping champed copies of 2*s and 3*s.
    Good plan.  I dropped dupes of all my 2*s except the three I actively use in DDQ while back.

    I maintain an extra OBW for the extra damage in DDQ.  Other than that, I have 3 extra 2* slots that I kind of rotate around - essentially they're there to help me build the dupe.  At 139 I make a dupe and apply all the covers to that until they're done - extra covers level the main.  This minimizes the time a 2* stays "unbuilt" so to speak.  But I'm not sure it's worth it, tbh, I may fill in these extra slots with my 3* or 4* farm.
    My 3* farm is more robust - it used to have dupes of nearly everyone and I sold off the original after the dupe got to 230 or so and their featured PVP was less than 3 months ago.  I've kind of ripped that up now, actually - now I have a few dupes (all under 200,) and a few others all over 210 or so.  I think that's fine.
  • MoosePrime
    MoosePrime Posts: 946 Critical Contributor
    GrimSkald said:

    At 139 I make a dupe and apply all the covers to that until they're done - extra covers level the main.  This minimizes the time a 2* stays "unbuilt" so to speak.
    I did this before saved covers were added, now I just sell the 144 and start a new one when I get the next cover (other than the three I use for DDQ (Storm, Magneto, and Hawkeye)).
    Playing SCL 10, you don't need 2* characters, and with almost all the 4*s and all the 3*s championed, you can easily do the Behemoth Burrito with a level 15 2*.