I don’t agree with this, not entirely. 5* haven’t been gated out the way 4* have, so you can still get story content done, and bring them for synergies elsewhere. Flip side, I actually value 4* shards equal to 5* at this point, more so sometimes, as they generate some resources faster (gold/iso). Whereas I sell as many 5* shards back as I can for 6* (black iso store), and use a single stack for featured (also black iso) hunting for missing synergies, I generally stockpile 4* shards for resources, never trade them for 5*, and sell 3* shards to get them.
Long story short, 5* champs haven’t functionally been reduced to 4* champs, but the shards might actually be less desirable depending on what’s happening in your account.
OP is almost a year old. If we’re still debating then relevance of 5*s, clearly at the time of the OP they were. I believe they still are. Getting and awakening a new champ at the 6* level is extremely challenging for FTP accounts. I’m TB and have completed most content (not explored) and am very happy to pull new champs as 5*s. They can be R5d quickly. I was very pleased with my decision to R5 Omega Sentinel two weeks ago as she was ideal for the CB EOP event and she’s pretty handy on the map 6 poison power snack lane.
They probably won't in act 8, but for now, yes, they are still useful. With health pools and attack values in act 8, 5 stars are only going to be useful for synergies
It all depends on your account level. My account is endgame, I keep using Hercules 5* on M8 and I use 5* in specific events like Carina, sometimes I need to use Human Torch or Magneto because they don't have 6*. The only place the 5* doesn't have space is in AW master+, you can even use it, but you'll run a very big risk of dying if it's a very difficult fight. If it's not a champion with very specific utility, I wouldn't spend resources going up 5*. Champions that I believe are worth climbing if you don't have a 6* version and haven't done the endgame content: Hercules, Aegon, Human Torch, Magneto, Quake, Knull, Falcon, Stryfe, Void, Anti-venom.
IT all depends on 3 factors: 1. Where you are in the content 2. How many 6 Stars you have 3. Your activity in arenas
If you are at a stage where you can get your hands on many 6 stars, then rank up 6 stars. 5*s can still clear content (I am cavalier, and dont do story quests anymore -so I dont have visibility of act 6.4 onwards). Very helpful in arenas (especially the catalyst ones, where you can get 30 units in 6-7 rounds with maxed 5 stars). And as Konstant45 mentioned, invest in 5 stars where high sigs are required. Even though I have a 6 * CAIW (not awakened), i went to R5 my 5* as i had 200 sig on him
I am not the target audience, because I am casual/collector, but I still use 5-stars to do a lot of grunt work or help with synergies. For instance, I don’t have a 6-star Professor X
I really just play for fun, don’t feel the need to clear every piece of content to do that. If it’s a 5-star of a classic character that I am not gonna get as a 6-star maybe ever, I don’t have a problem ranking them for fun
T4CC came from an abundance of supply to almost a drought in this meta. Unless you're gonna use them for Carina's challenges or very specific niche or counters, it's still okay to rank them up. Using rankup gems from Variants is better though.
You rank your champions based off where you are. I stopped ranking 5s because there is no point for my account. I don’t get sigs like others since I don’t purchase much but I would prefer the higher attack, adrenaline and High heath pool even if I don’t get the signature ability.
Depends where you are in the game progression, the number of 6*s and number or ranked 6*s, the better the champion, rank and signature level.. although I have a respectable quantity of 6*, I still lack some of the high damage dealers, the utility and sustainability which some story require.. plus the skill to beat some of the levels is still beyond what I can do at the moment.. I think the game developers will make content that even 5* rank5 sig200 can have difficulty with.. but since I have not pull the synergy champion as a 6*.. a 5* will have to do.
Even 5* and 6* of the same champ has value. Function of a champ can change with a dupe, and it can create new strategies.
For example, I ran a lane in Act 7 that punished stealing a power gain, but it was okay for the boss. My unduped 6* Doom was fine for the lane. For the boss, the 5* was great.
Another lane caused power gain per buff. My unduped 6* Venom allowed me to gain power slow and steady. My duped 5* created a big power surge up front. Different fights favored different approaches.
Not sure this has been mentioned yet, but having a 5 and 6* version of a champion ranked up can mean that you get twice as many fights out of them in Battlegrounds. If you have one champion that has used up their charges, you can simply unselect them and select the other star version.
It depends on the level and the time on the game. For beginners to young Cavaliers: yes, they do. For the others: not really anymore.
Belonging to the « others »: In quest: for rare key champions, that I haven’t got in 6*. In arena: to start a chain without wasting 6*. In AW: 1 defender is 5r5. In AQ: replaced by 6*. Otherwise I open 5* crystals for the iso and some 6* shards by duping. For a long moment, no more waste of T5BC and T2AC on 5*. So no more up above 5r2-r3.
As someone else said, 5* are the new 4*. Don't get me wrong, right now they are still useful, but we already know their destiny. No way I'm going to use resources for something destined to die pretty soon.
They probably won't in act 8, but for now, yes, they are still useful. With health pools and attack values in act 8, 5 stars are only going to be useful for synergies
Plenty of my maxed out 5*'s are just as relevant, if not more so, than several of my 6* R3's. It really is champion specific to be honest, and of course if they are duped and sig'ed up.
At this point with where my roster is, the only 5*s I would rank are Wolverine and Omega Sentinel. That said, I still use a number of my max rank 5*s so they are not irrelevant.
5* still matter. I still have 5* that I use in my roster, mainly the ones that need max sig such as Namor but also there’s a few defenders like Emma and Nova that I’ve got ranked up that do a decent job for me in Bg so they’re not worth writing off just yet IMO
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Long story short, 5* champs haven’t functionally been reduced to 4* champs, but the shards might actually be less desirable depending on what’s happening in your account.
My account is endgame, I keep using Hercules 5* on M8 and I use 5* in specific events like Carina, sometimes I need to use Human Torch or Magneto because they don't have 6*.
The only place the 5* doesn't have space is in AW master+, you can even use it, but you'll run a very big risk of dying if it's a very difficult fight.
If it's not a champion with very specific utility, I wouldn't spend resources going up 5*. Champions that I believe are worth climbing if you don't have a 6* version and haven't done the endgame content: Hercules, Aegon, Human Torch, Magneto, Quake, Knull, Falcon, Stryfe, Void, Anti-venom.
1. Where you are in the content
2. How many 6 Stars you have
3. Your activity in arenas
If you are at a stage where you can get your hands on many 6 stars, then rank up 6 stars. 5*s can still clear content (I am cavalier, and dont do story quests anymore -so I dont have visibility of act 6.4 onwards). Very helpful in arenas (especially the catalyst ones, where you can get 30 units in 6-7 rounds with maxed 5 stars). And as Konstant45 mentioned, invest in 5 stars where high sigs are required. Even though I have a 6 * CAIW (not awakened), i went to R5 my 5* as i had 200 sig on him
I really just play for fun, don’t feel the need to clear every piece of content to do that. If it’s a 5-star of a classic character that I am not gonna get as a 6-star maybe ever, I don’t have a problem ranking them for fun
Yeap 5* matters
I never use any of my 5s champs besides t1a and t4b arena, which I really dont care about, because these rank up materials are very easy to get.
Function of a champ can change with a dupe, and it can create new strategies.
For example, I ran a lane in Act 7 that punished stealing a power gain, but it was okay for the boss.
My unduped 6* Doom was fine for the lane.
For the boss, the 5* was great.
Another lane caused power gain per buff.
My unduped 6* Venom allowed me to gain power slow and steady.
My duped 5* created a big power surge up front.
Different fights favored different approaches.
For the others: not really anymore.
Belonging to the « others »:
In quest: for rare key champions, that I haven’t got in 6*.
In arena: to start a chain without wasting 6*.
In AW: 1 defender is 5r5.
In AQ: replaced by 6*.
Otherwise I open 5* crystals for the iso and some 6* shards by duping.
For a long moment, no more waste of T5BC and T2AC on 5*. So no more up above 5r2-r3.