Why we need more 4*s

Marvel Puzzle Quest MPQ General Discussion
1

Just saw complaints on Facebook, then on Line, then on this forum about another 4*. I get it. When you can’t complete a 3*, a new 4* is like a middle finger in your face. But the developers have to do it. Here’s why.

There are tons of players who’ve done the 3* transition, including myself, and once you get there, new 3s are incredibly easy to cover. The last 3s were Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision and Bullseye. I have completed QS and Vision, SW has 13 covers but needs one more blue. BE has 9 covers, and I have no black. That is free play, no covers bought. That is not uncommon for people who have 3* transitioned. So, what keeps these players still playing? Not Bullseye.

In 4* land, I have five of them covered (4hor, XF, Fury, Hulkbuster and Elektra). Prof X, Kingpin, and Carnage around 9, Ant-Man, Thing and Jean Grey around 3. I want to finish PX and KP quite a bit. I can’t quickly do it, but they’ll be very playable in the next 2-3 months. I could play them now if I were the type to pay. I’m not, I win/earn covers. I never come in first, so I just get 1K and 1300 progression 4*s, and get crap from tokens like everyone else.

Some high level players pay, but a lot do not. But the game needs to grow out the 4s for the sake of high level players. There’s already a ton of 3s for 2*-3* players to chase after, and the game is making something for people who’ve finished that.

Am I excited for Deadpool to come into the rotation to make the wait for Prof X that much longer? Nope. I would like to see releases be monthly at most. And there should be a sixth day of DDQ for 4s. But there is a reason there are 4s being released instead of 3s (already too many) and 2s (nobody uses them once they get 3*s).

Hopefully this puts a little perspective on why there are so many new 4*s… because some people have nowhere else to go in this game.

2

I don’t mean to assume that I speak for everybody here, but I feel that the general irritation about the 4* releases has more to do with the fact that covers are much rarer to come by. Since there’s fewer covers available, it takes a lot more time to fully cover a 4* or even get them to a usable level. Then, with the rapid influx of new 4* characters, players will naturally feel like it’s somewhat pointless to pursue them - 4* characters are coming out far more quickly than they can be feasibly covered.

Additionally, there’s the fact that the past few (4? 5? I haven’t been keeping count) releases have all been 4* characters, with very little down time between them. This creates the impression that the devs are focusing all their attention on expanding the “endgame,” and thereby disregarding the majority of newer players. Especially when the transition is such a long process, it’s natural to feel slighted when it feels like you’re being ignored for the amount of effort you’re putting in. While I understand that 3* releases won’t provide much motivation for players with mostly complete rosters, these are the small minority of all players; for most players, getting a new 4* to a usable state is just a pipe dream. Since it has no bearing on them, it seems natural that they would be upset that all of the devs’ efforts are concentrated on parts of the game that don’t impact them, especially given the lack of lower-tiered releases in the interim.

Just my two cents, anywho. I don’t claim to represent any other party, cannot be held accountable in a court of law, yadda yadda yadda.

3

I’ve transitioned to 3* a long time ago. And along the way even now all 4*'s are to me is a tease nothing more. The question is this, is this game going to remain entertaining enough for people who haven’t fully covered 4*'s yet? Pve is getting more and more tedious (grind),pvp feels more and more like a grind. The FTPers are grinding and getting more and more bored I don’t know if that means a future of cataclysmic of quitting or not but the CRY FOR BETTER is large. Not everybody is buying to compete and not everybody cares enough either. At the end of the day it’s just another game to quit for some.

4

icon_lol.gif
and hopefully nobody will give you thier game skill resume, and credentials. It’s so annoying! “I have 3 4*s covered therefore I’m so good” please. I almost do does that count?..

5

This is the whole point. Before they release another one, they need to address this.

6

“Some people” have nowhere else to go.

Okay, so…discourage / infuriate / confuse / depress THE VAST MAJORITY of your game’s players??? lol

Those “some people” group make up LESS than 10% of this game’s userbase, I thought?

7

Money is why we “need” more 4*'s. Whales will only pay for the newest character, and the 3*'s are to easy to get in tokens now…to sell more tokens the characters have to be 4*.

Fully covered JG’s out there before the event is over…that kind of whaling is why the release these.

Also, the only way free players (or new players) can be made to pay is keep releasing new characters - so folks have to keep buying roster slots. Somehow.

D3 could totally prove this all wrong. Free roster slots, or super low caps! HP much more common, so anyone can get the slots and/or buy the covers! Lots more ways to get 4*'s! And those will happen…when 5*'s come along so the whales still can pay the bills.

8

I agree with some of that logic. But the problem I have with 4* and one day 5*'s in the first place is they are starting to create a pay to win issue in this game. I hate how today’s games are a pay or Entertain the payers. How many games today have a pay to be ahead option? This game is creeping in that direction. Are 3* rosters going to be able to stand up to 4* or 5* rosters in future?

9

Everyone posting disagrees, which is fine, but this kid really doesn’t get it.

The devs have lowered ISO costs, increased ISO payout, added DDQ to help new players get 3s, increased pvp points and lowered progressive reward cost… All to help newer players. Now they’re improving things for long term players. Sorry not everything benefits you personally, but yeah, sometimes a change is made not intended to help you. Get some perspective. The devs need to have a big picture plan with character releases, and many players are swimming in 3s they never use.


I agree with some posts about the rate of release (as I wrote in my first post), but because of roster costs, not because I need my 4*s covered immediately.  I'm willing to play 5-6 months to cover mine.  They are long term projects.
10

4* used to be the big thing, omg a new 4*

They were rare and valuable so they required more work, 7 day events

But now that’s all we see, they are the norm, so no more reasons for the, being released only with 7 day events. That’s the killer, the damn 7 day grind.

11

I have a theory that they’re adding all these new 4-stars in order to make a viable DDQ-ish way of getting 4-star covers. That wouldn’t make sense to do if there were less than 15 or 20 4-stars. They need to dilute the pool in order to make cover rotation spread out enough. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a whole new way of getting 4-star covers in the next couple of months.

12

They are creating an end game. Players who haven’t gotten there yet don’t understand it, but today I pulled a 4* only to find out it is Thor who I have covered. This happens all the time. This situation will happen less as more 4*s are added, and I will actually start gaining progress again instead of stale nothingness.

13

then what are they waiting for it is not going to be daily, most likely it will be weekly or bi-weekly, if that is the case then each new hero adds a month or so to the run. why haven’t they started yet, 13 4*s already out , DD but she(?) doesn’t count and 2 more rumored to come out. this leaves them with 15-30 weeks before even having to worry about any new releases. so… why haven’t they started?

14

You can’t seriously believe that they’re bringing out more 4* characters to create an end game.

Everything they’ve done in the past year shows they don’t want an end game.

All they’re doing is creating another transition, where they dangle the army of shiny 4s in front of the established 4 vets, who have to chase the new covers. All the while losing ground, because in the two weeks where we get 6x2 covers from PVP (1K and 1.3K progression) there has been another 4* released.

And guess what happens after enough players have most 4s covered?
Yup, 5 tier arrives.

This game is a never-ending treadmill, and an end game is the last thing on the devs mind - because that would mean people could stop chasing the new shiny and be content with that they have.
Which was the situation when Thorverine 2.0 was around, and the reason they got hit with the nerf bat.

15

No no no.

It’s money dude.

i can guarantee they don’t care about you.

technically the only reason they are adding the characters is because they hope the very small few in the current end game( the ones who threw money to get there) will continue to throw money to stay there.

The biggest reason I can prove your argument of them targeting your enjoyment of the game being false is this: There isn’t a single piece of content in the game that you can only complete with 4 stars. In fact the content scales to your roster. That should be a giant flashing light.

You have to be pretty gullible to think they are adding these so that the minority of the playerbase thats in endgame and doesn’t pay money is why they are using developing dollars to add new content.

additionally, creating more 4 stars doesn’t add an endgame it just drags 4 down making a shiny new pedestal for 5 stars.

16

It also cracks me up to see people say that releasing more 4-stars is just a reason for the devs to make more money. Like that’s a bad thing. Of course the multiple employees that help design this game don’t want an easy obvious overpowered endgame that was xforce/Lthor previously. That’s really bad for business. The fact that I’ve already come across level 200 Jean Greys already means that the 4 star tier has to continue to expand. They want our money, and rightfully so. There’s enough 3 stars out there and the devs have to continue to introduce new 4-star characters in order to sustain the F2P crowd.

17

I dunno, all these excessive four stars coming out is doing is making me actually fear playing the game!

It’s like oh here we go again, there comes a point for everyone when the game is no longer fun. Yet I feel a responsibility to my alliance to keep playing… yet even then comes a point when it is all too much.

Even now when I get a 4* there isn’t the same joy as when I got my first 3*, it’s all too similar, too familiar an experience that I know what is further down the line will be 5* and a whole repeatable process…

Some say the greatest people know when to get out of a good thing before it gets bad.

Perhaps other people need more 4* but I have over the past year been saying if this keeps up, I will quit. I guess my time has finally arrived.

18

I’m so glad I stopped playing last month when Antman was the new 4* to be won.

I’m following the news every now and then, and was happy to have taken the decision at the right moment.

Ever since I stopped, I enjoy life and Marvel comics.

Good luck with grinding (also Iso) to level all these 4*s…

19

Dude, you’re obnoxious. It’s a game. If it’s fun, people play and people pay. Content at the high end helps extend the life and remove the concept of endgame. Which is a dumb concept in a game like this.

Did anybody claim the company is a charity? Of course not. They want to make money. What’s the best way to make money? Provide an interesting experience. I pay. Not for covers, but I pay every few months. They deserve it. They’ve given me countless hours of content. Hmm, sounds like an ideal situation. They work, they entertain me, I pay for that service. And many other people do. A very small minority blows cash to max a Jean Grey at once. Sounds a lot more like a long term business model than a short term one. Now, as I get closer to the top, they are expanding the area so that I have more to do.

Dude icon_rolleyes.gif

20

On this not as someone who is free to play and will be getting my last needed 3* cover next week in DPD I agree with you. Although I do disagree with your time frame. Right now 4* can be won in PVP but they do not have them on a RNG for 1st, 1000, 1300 progression. So for Carnage you need to win a PVP to get green, 1000 for red and 1300 for black. To make one color always 1st place in PVP is not helping players progress.
With 4* being the new norm it will start taking longer and longer to build up a new character. If you are consistently hitting 1300 by letting the shield cool downs rule your life awesome. For everyone else they need more ways to win 4* so it does not take 6 months to win 13 covers of one character. Max covering a new character should take 3-4 months not 6-9