I think we can all agree that Ascension has breathed new life into the game and opened new potential combos and teams. I am writing this off the cuff so I apologize in advanced if this comes out a jumbled mess.
I do think it’s important to preface that there are still a lot of unknown factors considering the sheer amount of characters and that some characters seem to evolve when ascended (for example: ability cost reduction, production of more special tiles) .
Certain 1 characters have high PvP Value*
Namely Juggernaut, Spider-man, Yelena and Iron Man. When boosted, they can take apart just about any of the current meta teams. What’s more, since there are so few, a player can expect a 1* character to be boosted once a month.
Juggernaut seems to be the big powerhouse of the group but health pack heavy and Spidey packs a punch and is a ton of fun to use.
Good combos for pick-2 PvP
Juggernaut + 5* Colossus
Spider-man + 5* Colossus
Juggernaut + 5* Beta Ray Bill
Juggernaut + 5* Thor (Gladiator, half health)
Juggernaut + 5* Mighty Thor
Spider-man + 5 Mighty Thor
Spider-man + 5* Chasm
I think for PvE, with the right supports and team setup, they could also become competitive but as far as I am aware they haven’t reached that point yet. But the potential is certainly there.
2 tier seems to be the least remarkable at the moment*
This may simply be because not many people have actually managed to reach 5* Ascension yet but I am unaware of any of the 2* characters being particularly remarkable. Perhaps Ares might shine a bit since he is a high damage character but the rest of this tier group remains a question mark in my book.
Some 3 Characters when Ascended to 5 level out perform their 5* counterparts**
I mentioned this issue in the Q&A January Answers discussion, but it does seem that at least some of the 3* characters are posed to hit harder and have more health than their 5* counterparts. I don’t know how true that is for 3*/5* set released by Broken Circle but it does seem to be an issue with older 3* characters.
Most notably, 3* Thanos smokes 5* Thanos by quite a bit.
It will be interesting going forward to see which 3* characters put their mark on the meta. In particular, I am interested to see how the new batch of 3* stack up against their 5* counterparts. If they outperform or match them, a player could in theory decide to forgo investing heavily in a 5* character and instead work on building the 3* version.
Obviously, there are the factors of resources and time to be considered. I don’t see it being something a player can do for every 3/5 character release but with a good sized hoard it is something that can theoretically be done every now and then.
Some 4 characters do some crazy high damage when boosted at the 5 level**
As noted in the Ascended Winners and Losers thread, quite a few 4* characters hit quite hard when ascended in the 5* tier. Agent Coulson, Dark Beast, Nico Minoru, Mantis, Ghost, just to name a few. With their tier restriction no longer keeping them at bay, I do believe we will see 4* characters continue to encroach on the highest tier of competitive play .
Which brings me to my final point of observation
The 5 tier has lost a lot of luster*
This may be due the fact that I have been in the 5* tier for a long time and the tier has reached a point of equilibrium, that is to say that almost every viable team can be countered in one form or another. With 3* and 4* characters outperforming their 5* brethren after reaching the 5* tier, it does make me wonder what the game plan is for 5* characters.
I passed on a 5* Thanos lightning deal because I am preparing to replace him with his 3*. Yes, I assume in the long run that Ascension 2.0 will allow 5* characters to be ascended but unless that limit break is limited to 5* characters we will still run into the same numbers game issue that currently exists between normal 5* characters and ascended ones.
That is not to say that the 5* is irrelevant. Certain 5* characters like Emma Frost, Mighty Thor, Colossus, Omega Red, Okoye are still firmly embedded in the meta and PvE is still at the moment dominated by the 5* tier. It’s just that the 5* tier is no longer the be-all and end-all of competitive play.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, players now have more options to consider and tools to compete with. But it has created a complicated feeling towards how I view 5* characters now. It has become difficult to determine their value and when it’s clear they have been outclassed by an Ascended 5* character, it smarts a bit.
On the other hand, I am over the moon that there is a Spider-man that is actually competitively viable in the PvP meta. It is reassuring to know that if a future potential character I like is released at the 4* level, I can ascend them to the 5* level and hopefully be able to play with them in a most satisfying way. So overall my opinion of Ascension is positive.
The one thing that would be helpful is if we could get information on a character’s Ascension stats. The Ascended Winners and Losers thread is really a boon and I appreciate that people are posting actively there. But I do think the information should be provided upon character release.
I am going to wrap it up here but I am curious how others view Ascension and their experiences since its implementation.