First off, let me set some basis for these thoughts and suggestions. I've been playing for 4 years, since the week that the game released. Whether you believe me or not is your choice, but I have the Ancient One title to prove it. Heck, I remember when Black Bolt's sp2 had recoil. I was there when 12.0 hit and the player base had a breakdown. If you were to look at my account, however, you'd only know I'm OG by checking said title. I only have thirteen 5*s. No 4*r5s. Primarily because the game came out at a time that I had to split my time between school, college, and a part-time job; and - sorry, Kabam, but... - the first few months of the game were a little lack-luster. Now that I'm able to put much more time into the game, I'm enjoying myself. I beat Maestro just a couple of months ago, and have been working on building my roster for an Act 5.2 completion push after I finish Act 4 exploration.
Now, how does this translate into thoughts for the player base? Similar to something that Contest Champion says in one of his recent videos. You may not have the perfect 5*s to go Cavalier, but it is permanent content. Actively play the game, complete the content available - permanent, temporary, and revolving - and at the very least you can build the champions you have to a viable level. I get that the political climate of the first world is one encouraging people to act entitled, but that's simply not the case. MCOC is Kabam's game, they have ultimate say in what happens as far as the evolution of the contest. You are all free to protest their decisions, of course, but keep it civil. Keep entitled sentiments out of it. If you disagree with the gate to 6.1 then critique, not criticize. Kabam's first priority is their employees, as without them the company couldn't exist. In true conservative fashion, I will offer an example to close this post. First, however, a couple more thoughts. Slow it down a little, summoners. Enjoy the game. I can understand if that is competing in the top tiers of AW or running AQ 7x5 on 3 bgs. For me, that's ranking up my 3*s to 4/40 and running the summoner trials and 3* arenas every week. For some summoners that's dungeons. All of that is perfectly fine. Even finding enjoyment in attempting a legends run of Act 6. But where does it become fun to throw shade at Kabam? If you don't want to play the game, then leave it. Your negative attitude makes it less fun for the rest of us, and I have a hard time believing that you can enjoy a game while subsequently hating it such. No hard feelings, and we wish you all the best. Maybe try Injustice, I:GAU 2, or just pick another game off the Play Store. But please don't keep making MCOC any worse for the rest of us than it already is.
To Kabam: Overall, you've made an excellent game. I've toyed around in the Unity engine a number of times, and can respect how intricate the systems you had to program for the contest are. My hat goes off to you. And, as I said, the game has also come a long way since it's launch in 2014. There have been a few changes I've frowned at, and some decisions that don't necessarily make sense. (Black Bolt available as a 2, 3, 4, & 6*? No 5*? Stark-E is balanced for 5*, but SW and Wolvie aren't?) There have been a few deals that I have lapped up immediately, such as the Nick Fury bundle or the Mr. Sinister one from last month. There have been some I've laughed at, often because they're just a little bit of a stretch in terms of value. Take the 4* deals for Proven and above that we saw earlier this week. Based on the aspect of it being balanced for Proven, I can't argue that the three of them were a great set of offers. Sadly, they were a little on the pricey side. $165 would have been an A+ deal right before 12.0; right after, even, as it would have allowed players to pick up and max out a character for a great value. I get that these offers are probably planned months in advance, so I'll evaluate them with November's game state in mind. With how easy it is for the player base to farm 4*s, the 1st offer would have been better priced at $5. Especially if the crystals included a chance at the featured pool. The other two offers are similar price drops; $20 for the awakening and 2 rank-up gems; $50 for the max sig stone and second pair of rank-up gems. On top of that, go ahead and make them a tiered offer. That way you could guarantee the end price of each package ($5 for a 4*, $25 to have it awakened and r3, $75 to max it out), and maybe even bring the additional items up a notch. Half of a 5* basic, anyone?
As far as Act 6's requirements, why not make it PI-based? Rather than locking out a certain star rating, lock out champions below 10k rating? Just a thought, from watching the 6.1.1 preview videos.
If you've actually read every word of this, then thank you. Please keep the comments civil. There is some case for rebalancing, but a lot of people on the Act 6 discussions are taking that too far.