MUST READ THIS IF YOU'RE JUST NEW TO THE GAME. HONEST BEGINNER'S ADVICE Complete In Multiple Thread
Dear MCOC Beginner Players,
Just a little about me to get that out of the way. Been playing since August 2016 so it's not that long compared to more seasoned/veteran players. I was very active from Aug. 2016 - Feb. 2017, went on a semi retirement from March - July this year (just logging in every day to get the daily prize on the weekly and monthly calendars) and became fully active again from August until now. (In game name: Valroz [GF3] Game Fight 3)
I'm currently at 307K PI, Uncollected, have 1 Rank 4 5*, 1 Rank 3 5*, 7 Rank 5 4*s, 22 rank 4 4*s and 41 rank 3 4*s. I've only been active for a total of 9 months but grew very fast. I have completed 2 Master quests, The Goldblum, and Boss Rush challenge. Heavy arena grinder (I get all the basic champs every time each time) and also get the top 10% on featured arena rewards. Member of an 8.1M active alliance (Tier 5 in AW and Expert Tier in AQ doing Map 5,5,5,5,5.)
Working to finish ROL and RTL this December. LOL completion by March next year, hopefully.
I'll write this essay out Q&A style to make it feel more interactive and personal.
1. How did you progress that fast?
Grind the Arena.
Aside from being very active (I play 3-4 hours/day minimum on the weekdays and 7-8 hours/day on the weekends), I grind the arena as much as I could. Arena grinding has many benefits including the gold and units you get. The easiest way to increase units is to get them from huge chunks of battlechips (opening at least 50-100K at a time).
Find an active alliance.
In the beginning you will have to join beginner level alliances. It's unlikely you will be there for the long haul if your goal is to grow as fast as I did. Join an active alliance as soon as you meet the minimum requirements. You will be with others the same as your level and hero rating, or might find a few members slightly higher than you. Do all the Alliance Quests and Alliance Wars and contribute as much as you can. Even if you're doing only Map 1, 2 or 3, the weekly rewards will help you progress in the beginning. Learn the ropes quickly on how to be a good team player so that you can eventually develop good alliance habits as you grow. These will be invaluable when you join higher tier alliances so you don't become a pain in their behind.
When you first start, you do not want to be in a high tier alliance right away (let's say you're 50K rating) and the next player next to you is 150K. Unless you have fantastic fighting skills, you will die frequently in AQ and AW. So stick to alliances where the power index difference isn't so huge. Grow as fast and as quickly as you can in the beginner alliances. If they don't grow as fast as you are growing then move on to a higher tier alliance. Usually the best time to move to a higher tier is when you become the top member (or near the top) of your current alliance. And you notice in a few weeks you're the only one or a few others is still growing.
However, nothing beats being with an alliance in the beginning and staying with them until they grow to the higher tiers. I didn't have that fortune. Most of the alliances I joined in the beginning got dissolved or fell apart in a few months, some in just weeks. Don't feel bad if that's going to be the case in the beginning. You might even get kicked (removed) for not following rules or if the officers don't like you. Find an alliance that also adjusts to time zone differences and is reasonable with their donation requirements.
Please note that it's when you get into an alliance that do Map 5 at least 3x/week where you will see the fastest and quickest progression from when you first started. (I haven't done Map 6 so I am in no position to comment on that yet. But I can imagine those who are in alliances that do Map 6 5 times a week make huge progress from the rewards they get over those who just do Map 5 all week).
The usual alliance progression which should guide you in making the decision to jump:
500K-2M rating (AQ Map 1,2)
2-3M rating (AQ Map 2,3)
4-5M rating (AQ Map 3,4, dry run Map 5 then Map 3 or 2 on days 4 and 5)
6-7M rating (AQ Map 4 or 5, Map 3 on final days)
8-10M rating (Map 55533, 55543, 55554, 55555)
10M+ (Map 55555, Map 6 dry runs or several times a week)
Rank and Level Up Top Tier champs first before the average champs
If there's one thing that I really did right in this game was follow the advice of more veteran players. And that is ranking and leveling up first the top attack champs before the average attack champs before any defense champs (in that order). A lot of content in this game (especially end-game in Act 4 onwards, Master events, Road to the Labyrinth, Realm of Legends, etc.) require specific attack champs* to be winnable. Seatin (MCOC YouTuber) has a plethora of videos on top tier champ discussion. Watch his video on champ rating for Attack, Defense and Questing.
*Most sought after attack champs: Duped StarLord (5* or 4*), Magik (5* or 4*), Gwenpool, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Hulk, Doctor Voodoo,Vision, Guillotine, ArchAngel, Hyperion, Wolvering, x-23, IceMan, CA WWII, sorry if I missed others.).
Do not be hasty in ranking up any 4* beyond Rank 3 and any 5* above Rank 1. Resources such as Tier 4 Basic Catalyst, Tier 4 Class Catalyst and most especially Tier 2 Alpha Catalysts do not come in droves. So save those aforementioned resources to champs that really deserve to be ranked and leveled. Tier 2 Alphas are very very rare so you should rank 4 only the best of the best 5* you will eventually pull. When in doubt who to rank up always ask those who have played this game longer.
Do all the daily and event quests to 100%. You will get gold, ISOs and the catalysts you need to build your teams. It is mandatory to 100% all daily events if you want to grow fast. I still 100% all the event quests to this day.
I also spend some money on deals that make sense for my current level of progression. This goes without saying that not all deals (even the most expensive ones) will help you at your current level. Sure it will help when you reach the level you will eventually need them at but it will be a waste for now, and the money can be used for something more helpful where you're at. For example, why spend on a $100 deal for one whole Tier 2 Alpha when you don't even have a single 5* or a 5* worth ranking to 4? The $100 would be better for T4 Class Catalyst or Awakening Gem deals OR units you can use to buy mastery cores that will help your best 4*s. Spend money wisely on what will help your team get to the next level AND not on deals that you can't use at the moment. (Exception to those who are just ultra wealthy and can afford it anyway).
Never spend money for units to buy featured crystals unless you have extreme luck. You will have enough 4*s and 5*s in time. I have never found the need to spend money for the .0000000001% chance of getting a 4* or 5* from unit-purchasable hero crystals.
You can choose not to spend money altogether but progress won't be as fast unless you develop amazing fighting skills early on. Or have extreme luck in pulling 4*s from PHCs.