This had been discussed in a previous thread, but I thought it might be good to start from scratch, because it got me in mind for a project. Mind you, the developers have access to much more data and tools to collect and observe which 3 stars seem underplayed and under used, and which are used more often than normal, and so there’s no guarantee they would act on such a list even if it has been compiled, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.
Now, the main obstacle is the number of 3 star characters available. The forum can only poll up to 15 responses, so part of the 3 star roster has to be “cut” to even put into a working poll, so doing an outright poll is out the window.
So, I figured I would post a write in poll instead, and the rules are pretty simple.
Nominations must be 3 star rarity.
You may choose 1-5 characters, and no more than 5, that you feel need buffs to be usable. In the event this rule is ignored and more than 5 are listed by a poster, only the first 5 will be counted.
List 1-5 characters you feel perform above the average as well. If you are submitting a character for buffs, someone must be posted as “above average”. This isn’t a call for nerfs, but to gather info on who seems to be seen as top tier for 3 stars.
Only one submission per forum poster.
All nominations need to be posted in reply to this thread by 11pm 9/19/15 EST.
Less a rule, more a request: Leave the theory crafting on possible improvements out of it. There’s a whole other forum to discuss individual characters and possible changes to them, this is more to get an image of who is in need of some adjustment.
Once this process is completed, the top 5 nominations, (or less if the total is less) can be posted into a more traditional poll, and by then we can hopefully see a clear image of who the forum community feels is below the average.
The results for who is seen as above the average will also be listed, for comparison purposes.
top 5 (consensus top tier): thor, iron fist, luke cage, hood, magneto
bottom 5 (likely prime candidates for buffs): ragnarok, doctor octopus, beast, quicksilver, sentry.
however, since I have a personal vote…
my top 5 are: iron fist, luke cage, Cyclops, thor, hood (cyc stronger than mags imo)
and my preference for buffs are: spiderman, im40, hulk (he should be more playable than he is), quicksilver, vision - I know, all heroes, but hey, these good guys need some help.
side note: after that there are some 4*s that really need attention - starlord, x-force green, etc.
Character I would love to use more if skills were buffed:
Psylocke: All skills are great they just need a damage buff, CD reduction and maybe remove the limit on strikes for red.
Punisher: All skills are great just need to give players the option to target greens location and a significant buff to his blacks tile mechanic.
Spider-Man: His purple could benefit from a slight buff. The blue really just needs more web tile feeding characters but without them could be a buffed just a tad. The yellow should be reworked entirely ideally into an offensive outlet that helps fuel web tiles.
Bullseye: VERY fun character to play IMO. His purple should be allowed to target ANY tile on the board with a much greater damage kicker on special tiles making him universal. The green needs a buff but it’s a tricky one to work with given the flexibility. Damage buff would be ideal since you want to make it easier for his passive to shine.
Daredevil: Another super fun character to play. His blue is amazing and needs no change. The red could use a significant damage buff or possibly place mulple trap tiles making it more consistant and easier to keep active. I don’t really know what to suggest for the purple as it’s a good skill but limits his usefulness making him niche only. Either a complete rework or a very substantial damage buff to justify the fact that it’s rarely going to see optimal use.
Characters I feel are fine and still use regularly:
Needs Buffs/tweaks to be relevant again:
IM40
Punisher
Psylocke
Vision
Quicksilver
Doing just fine, thank you very much:
Kamala Khan
Luke Cage
Iron Fist
Classic Magneto
(sorry, just one! Make Hex Bolt able to target any tile at 5 covers, or lower its cost to 5, or bring back its double AP functionality - any one of the three and the Witch is perfect. That is all. Bye)
P.S. I didn’t list Ragnarok among the lowest five because we fight him in a lot of PvE events and I’d prefer that he not get any better! Same logic could apply to Sentry.
I’m already about halfway through my own “redesign MPQ” balance project - so far I’ve mostly focused on colour correction & standardising keywords, plus toyed with streamlining health pools/character “roles” a little. Anyway, the 3* tier is good to work with since it’s the most diverse. I’ve looked at most of them, and here’s the ones which I think are the best for each list:
In need of change
Ragnarok
His abilities all either need a colour change or mechanical change to make them fit their appropriate traits. Re-evaluate his team role, is he a tank? brawler? etc. He’s supposed to be a “dark mirror” to 3* Thor, but just falls short across the board (in part, this is because he regularly gets overlevelled as a PvE enemy, but I think that’s a cop out). Anyway, I’m rambling now and this is supposed to be just a list.
Quicksilver
At least one of his abilities is the wrong colour, maybe two, and all of his abilities are underwhelming. Why does the one character whose power is speed not interact with countdown tiles at all?
Vision
Powers probably need to be be colour corrected, but more importantly, powers need to be redesigned, which will probably impact the colour choice. I think that Density needs to be controlled by a single ability only, Attack Protocol needs to be cheaper so that it can be fired multiple times per Density, and then give him a third ability - again, I’ve got my own thoughts on this, and I think he’s a good choice for getting some Charged Tile interaction, but that’s for another time.
Spider-Man
I think probably everybody on the forum has redesigned Spider-Man by now and, sure, I’ve got my own ideas, but stuff it: just make him a Gold version of 1* and we’re good.
Colossus/Doc Ock
I kinda limited myself by putting Spider-Man on the list, so you get a double whammy for number 5. Just pick one, since I think their problems are fairly similar: the both fill relatively niche roles, but unfortunately has a power set that can be performed better by other characters. They do both have unique abilities (Fastball Special/Insult to Injury), but these abilities just aren’t quite strong enough to warrant bringing the character. Either character probably needs at least one power to be redesigned or recosted (eg. Colossal Punch should be a reverse Righteous Uppercut - more damage as allies get KO’d).
Role models
Cyclops
I consider Cyke to be one of the last “OP” 3* characters. Full Blast is a glass cannon’s alpha strike ability on a character with the health pool of a brawler/defender. The most effective way to counter him is to hate-match his AP and burn him down first, but that usually leaves his allies open to collect their own AP.
Iron Fist
Iron Fist’s crime was helping players avoid using health packs. He accelerated the best colour at the time (arguably still the best colour), and that led to fast matches. His abilities have a nice synergy between each other, although I’d still like to recolour and redesign them a little.
Kamala Khan
Scarlet Witch
Two more great hybrid support characters. I think I’m pretty happy with both of these (Hex Bolt could use some fine tuning). No more to say.
Thor
At one stage, Thor was considered OP, but now he’s an uncommon pick because there are better characters. Yet Thor remains unchanged (he copped a pseudo-nerf when everyone else got a health boost). The fact remains that Thor is a decent pick. He plays the same way everytime, and fills a specific role on the team.
