Could do it like now - the single essential could have the 4* (the same one you are earning, so you have to have one to earn one) - lets you use a low level character in a weaker node, since you theoretically need to level that character, you don’t have all the covers. Then let any 3 of the 5 current 3*'s take on the final node.
I understand your trepidation. However, I think you also see that while it might require some planning to implement this effectively, it could be implemented in a way to not impact their revenue stream. In fact, this might get people to spend more money from people who would never bother to shield or spend money in pvp. I’ll let them hash those details out.
Short answer? A lot. Ares/OBW/Featured beat the pants off of 166 teams back in the day, and still can just with a steady diet of 
Also related: There are plenty of 166 teams that can beat the crap out of XF/TGT/Featured.
Requiring all 5 as an essential ‘forces’ roster breadth and thus roster spot purchases, which can help fuel this dynamic. If you can continue to ignore someone like Beast because you only 3 out of 5, then you lose that element.
Because difficulty should be ramped also, something like Combined Arms nodes (must use 1* and 2* along with the essential) and high (200+) level opponents. Then for the final throw in a nice 395 Hood-cMags duo or something.
Then you run it weekly…5 DDQ characters M-Fri, and 2 days to try to figure out how to beat the nodes for the 4*.
Sounds like running heroics for 4*'s essentially. Only without the competitive aspect. Could be used to bring back the Puzzle into MPQ.
Added your excellent idea about 3*'s being required through the DPD. Thanks!
OP, this is a great idea! +1!
I agree with you but It would also be nice if they trow a 4* once a year.
I was thinking about something to this effect earlier, actually, but on a bit more of an extended period. My initial thought was monthly, but that seems like maybe a little bit too long? Biweekly seems a little too frequent though. I guess, at the end of the day, even if it was biweekly, it would take six and a half months to cover one guy (and that’s assuming the same character is the reward back-to-back, which he wouldn’t be).
I dunno, though, to me, it feels kind like that diminishes the value of a 4*. It’s supposed to be difficult to build out a 4*.
The pace where this ‘PvE 4*’ deal comes out doesn’t matter, but I suggested bi-weekly because that’s enough time to address things if things go seriously wrong. Obviously it can be as fast as once every 2.5 days because that’s how it works in PvP with the 1000 4* progression threshold, though that’s a system where D3 is obviously pretty satisified with the result after numerous tweaks, so I would put the pace for a comparable PvE stuff much slower at the beginning just so that they’ve time to adjust when/if they totally screw it up.
That’s fine and well, but everybody can’t easily attain that 4* cover in PvP. That’s the point I was trying to make. It’s supposed to take awhile. It’s supposed to be hard.
15 day time period
First 5 days - Cover #1 for the 5 characters in taco tokens
Next 5 days - Cover #2 for the 5 characters in taco tokens
Last 5 days - Cover #3 for the 5 characters in taco tokens
During the same time period there will be another event, Deadpool’s Semi-monthly. 5 essential nodes where each node requires one of the taco token characters. Beating 4 of the nodes unlocks a repeatable non-essential sixth node that can award all 3 covers of a 4* (one at a time not all at once hence why it is repeatable).
Also since this is another event to play in addition to PVP, PVE, Daily, and Prologue. #healthpackconspiracy
I agree it should be difficult to build a 4*. And under the weekly reward period, if covers are rotated completely, it would take 72 weeks, or a year and 4/5 months to fully cover one. Bi weekly, it takes 144 weeks, or almost 3 YEARS to cover one 4*.
I understand the sentiment of feeling things are easy. But lets back it up with numbers. Can you honestly say a year and 4-5 months to max out a 4* is easy? Should it take almost 3 years to max out one 4*?
Pleas Don’t misunderstand. I agree with what you are saying here. My next slot will cost 3,100 Hp. A roster slot should NOT cost $ 25 USD. That’s just ridiculous. I didn’t mean that this would be a fix or a solution, just that it helps.
You have to admit, it’s a good start. It shows me that D3 is changing the game for the better. And hopefully, some day soon I hope, there will be an actual fix to roster slot cost. And, as you pointed out, new characters every 2 weeks is only making it harder. So, for me, every bit of extra iso, every extra 3*cover, and chances at Hp is a big help. And I plan to take advantage of the DDQs for as long as they are around. 
There’s no reason why it’d need to be any easier to obtain just because it’s PvE. In PvP you’ve an opportunity to get a 4* every 2.5 days and I don’t have a problem with the opportunity being that often in PvE. Now whether they can think of something that’d actually make sense in PvE I have no idea, which is why I don’t think they should start with a fast pace because they’ll probably screw it up. If you look at the PvP model it’s pretty much they expect you to spend a certain amount of HP (cost includes the chance of failure) + play a certain amount to get a pre-designated 4*. If you can duplicate that in PvE it’d work just fine, though due to existence of stuff like Whales it’d be pretty hard to pull this off. At a rough guess I’d have to say you’d need something that’s immune to Whales, no boosts of any kind, at least 2 out of 3 members of team is selected by the game or something equally restrictive (e.g. Avengers only), and like the old PvP where you get 3 tries you’d have the option to continue where you failed for 100 HP but you only get 3 continues too (because without it I’m pretty sure a lot of people will never be able to beat it under these conditions).
I really want to hammer this home. A weekly opportunity will only net you a full 4* in 1 year and 4/5 months IF they don’t release any new 4*'s. Examine that, then honestly ask yourself if that is too short, or easy to do.
Also note that I state they could charge 150-300 hp for the opportunity to do the weekly, thus not cutting into their revenue stream.
But again, please examine the numbers and truly ask yourself, “Is it really that easy to max a 4* through the pve if it takes longer to max it through PvE than the game has even been around?”
Thing is, it’s not just A full 4*, but with the cover rotations as we imagine them, its ALL full 4s in 1 year 4 months (or 70 weeks) which happens to be when the 4 Thor rewards kick in for daily rewards, rendering everything beyond them pointless. So yes, it’s too fast.
If you notice, they’ve been releasing a 4* every season to other season now. Meaning we can expect about 6 new 4*'s in a year. No, I don’t think obtaining a bunch of four stars for playing the game LONGER than its already been out is too fast. The game may not even be around in another year. And do you think people will keep playing over a year if they don’t have an opporunity to get the 4* covers? Eventually you hit the wall, and quite frankly, not everyone wants to pvp for everything. Trust me, people will still be special snow flakes, and there will always be more to earn. But if you don’t have a steady promise of something down the road, people quit.
If you don’t want to PvP for everything, or anything, then you exist in PvE and 4*s don’t hinder your ability to play. You either have them, and play a higher baseline PvE, or you don’t have them, and play the PvE everyone plays.
The only reason the 4* transition, and even the 3* transition, is a problem is PvP. It’s a PvP problem with a PvP solution.
There is a steady progress towards 4s, and it’s in the Daily Rewards. You get XF, then IW, then Fury, then Thor (then Elektra probably then Starlord probably) for playing every day. Once you have all the covers you can save 
to buy covers, or use your baby XF to try and win covers. I would love to see a DDQ 4 reward, but I just think weekly is too much. Monthly seems right. They are already handing out one PvP cover monthly in Seasons, handing out a PvE cover (that’s not a new release) a month as a parity seems right. Faster seems too fast, mainly because their Daily rewards are all over the place when it comes to 4*s. Now it seems like the new character is 30 days after the old character, and the 3 covers come over a period of 30 days. If they were more evenly spread over the 490 days would make more sense but they added them as they were added to the game.
People quit for a variety of reasons. People also stay for a variety of reasons. I personally would not care if they ever released another character ever again. I play the game for the enjoyment of playing, not for the chase of covers or the collector aspect. Some people do play for those aspects and those people are the ones that are upset about 800 HP roster slots and ever expanding character base they can’t keep up with.
Agree here, they should be faster. Lerysh points out daily reward times - they really need to start inserting 4*'s earlier in the daily reward rankings (and give folks beyond that point the ones they insert). You can’t honestly expect people to play one game for 18 months before even getting a chance to get 4hor covers (or whichever next “best” one comes along).
Which is why you need faster 4* rewards. D3 has stated the 3*-4* transition is -supposed- to be easier than the 2*-3* one: a transition which can take 6-12 months: probably on the low end of that. The covers need to come more easily and faster, and they need to repeat so newbies have a chance to get them just like long-timers, and long-timers can get them again.