I know buying crystals has always been a bad gamble, but I find it funny that, AFTER completing content where you're only allowed to bring 5* and 6* champs Kabam is making a special crystal available to purchase that has a 50% chance for a 3* and a 38% chance at a 4*......."Nice job completing our hardest content, wanna buy something we won't even let you use?".....you have to admit, their troll game is on point!
I honestly don’t care about the synergy aspect of it (which is what many players are complaining about). I just want to be able to use my 5/50 4* and mind you they are still useful. I wouldn’t have been able to easily breeze through the final ultron boss of 5.4.6, many uncollected bosses, and other content without my 5/50 void. Hulk and BW really helped with poison lanes and spiked armor, and AA was so useful for modok from 5.4.4. If we have specific counters to some champs as 4*, why shouldn’t we be able to use them? Thoughts?
Kabam is presenting us with a new challenge. You might need to work on your roster a while before doing Act 6. I know I will. If they had made Act 6 just a somewhat harder version of Act 5, the veteran players would be done with it in a week or two and then demanding something else. This will keep everyone busy a while. No problem with that, IMO.
To be honest it looks like they are trying to slow down completion of Act 6 possibly to extend the life of the game. I'm sure for some people it sucks that they can't try to complete it now due to their roster but if it extends the life of the game without losing those people I think it could be a good thing. Now if it backfires and they lose those people then the game's shelf live will be cut in half. So not sure which way its going to go.
To be honest it looks like they are trying to slow down completion of Act 6 possibly to extend the life of the game. I'm sure for some people it sucks that they can't try to complete it now due to their roster but if it extends the life of the game without losing those people I think it could be a good thing. Now if it backfires and they lose those people then the game's shelf live will be cut in half. So not sure which way its going to go.
Exactly. People quitting will affect Kabam’s analysis of future releases and help those who stay (e.g., me).
No one is forcing you to complete it within few days of it's release. Take your time build you 5* roster and then try.
Sure, let me just go and buy that power lock champ i need? This build your roster line is absolutely absurd. You have no control over your roster other than grinding away at a game for hours on end, in hopes of getting something worthwhile. Or spend a ton of real money!
You are gating it based on RNG, something that has never been done before.
Having good champs was always rng based. Uncollected and act 5 isnt possible to do with 3 stars except with extreme skill. So if you can do act 5 with 3 stars you will be albe to do act 6 with bad 6* champs
most people that are doing act 5 with 3* it is for the synergy so what your saying doesn't make sense. if they needed that synergy to help them like hiemdahl synergy than now you cant use it. I would say if you are going to implement a major change like this than act 6.1 should remove 1*-3* and give us time to enjoy the content and put a disclaimer saying 4* will not be allowed starting at 6.2 and beyond. This gives us plenty of time to decide if we want to spend money on crystals, grind for characters etc. @Kabam Miike
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
They’re still useful if you’re not in a position to grind for end game. Plus they’re useful for plent of non-Act 6 content.
Thank you all for the discussion on this topic. There’s been a lot of constructive feedback and thoughts, and it’s been valuable to us for considerations and internal discussion. We wanted to be clearer with our intentions, and better clarify why we want to do this and how it aligns with our past direction in the game.
This is not the first time we’ve hard-gated something behind a form of progression. We use gates liberally, oftentimes to prevent players from having frustrating experiences in content beyond their capabilities, but also because we’re game developers and we have some intended play experiences in mind that we--through both iteration and personal gameplay experience--believe smooth out the ride and make the whole thing as enjoyable as possible.
At level 50-60, it's easy to forget that for much of an early player’s experience they are bumping into padlock icons all over the quests menu:
- A multitude of our arenas cannot be played without specific Champion rarities, and to be competitive requires a lot of them. - Normal and Heroic difficulty event quests are locked behind levels 12 and 25, respectively. - Master was, for a long time, gated monthly behind the 100% exploration of its Heroic counterpart. - Uncollected difficulty requires not only reaching level 40, but completion of Act 5, Chapter 2. - Even entering Beginner asks you to be level 6!
And this is just looking at the monthly event quests. Dungeons need you to have a sizeable count of certain rarities before you can access the very same ones. Side Quests follow similar locking mechanics to the Monthly Events, and we’ve used gating methods both inter-quest (Dimensional Rifts and their shards) and more explicit (Danger Rooms rarity requirements, the current Recon Missions) to craft a specifically targeted experience or to more tightly tune the content we’re making.
On the topic of tuning, that is our goal when using more stringent requirements in quests. Back Issues #1 used this explicitly with the Class requirements; we did this so we could build areas in each quest where lesser-used Champions could stand out--Hawkeye’s power drain capabilities in Chapter 1, Quest 1, for example--and be important for strategy where they normally would not. We’re aiming to do similar things in Back Issues #2, with a different approach. (More on that soon!)
One reason we do this is because of how progression changes over time. Once you’ve achieved Level 60, we lose a numerical value of your time and experience in the game. The gap between a fresh 60 and a veteran 60 can be massive, just like in many other MMO games. One of the best ways we have to continue using those gates as both protective and progression measure is targeting the baseline strength and breadth of your roster.
Act 6 (and other content) is built with specific challenges in mind. The requirement of 5 and 6-Stars is a broader application of the idea, but it allows us to build a more tightly-constructed experience around a more specific box of playstyles. Making one-size fits all content for an immense player toolbox can lead to things being more watered down and general, rather than the specific moments we can make when we know the lower and upper limits of each player as a matter of fact.
Lastly, this is permanent content. When we place strict requirements on a Side Quest, it’s a gold rush; there’s only ~30 days to build or enhance a team for the quest in question, and it can be a real crunch to get it done. (I myself am going to have a hell of a time with the Avengers leg of the Recon Missions.) Act 6 is going to be around forever. If you can’t get into it right away, that’s alright. It’ll wait for you!
Again I appreciate the discussion around this, and when we say we’re taking your feedback we mean it. When there are lots of opinions and discourse around a topic like this, we take it seriously. I’ve already had two meetings today to chat about it with a variety of teams. I hope my points better explain our stance on gating content, and why we feel comfortable doing it here in the way we are.
Since the 4* attack and health pool are much lower when looking at a 5 or 6* champion, you’re more than likely to not use the 4* for more difficult content but sometimes the champion or ability you need is only available to you as a 4*. Why punish players who don’t have deep pockets, time to grind arena, or horrible crystal pulls by restricting them to using their 5 and 6* only?
I understand what they are trying do here but it still doesnt make much sense. There are skilled players who have stacked 4* rosters and rely on those champs because they don’t have the right champs as a 5/6*. This restriction doesnt really affect me all that much but at the same time, we don’t even know what Act 6 looks like at the moment so it’s hard to tell if we would even need to use our 4*. Best if we wait it out until next Wednesday to see what Act 6 has in store for us.
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
They’re still useful if you’re not in a position to grind for end game. Plus they’re useful for plent of non-Act 6 content.
Cfree, I do agree with your comment. 4* champs will still be used for AW and AQ. But my 4* champs have brought me through Uncollected, Act5, labyrinth and the majority of realm of legends. So Act6 is going to be harder than Realm of Legends? I still use 3* champs just for synergies. I have 4* champs ive leveled over 5* just because they were awakened. Seems like a huge money grab, why would it matter to them what champ I use to beat their content?
So.....maybe I missed it, but there was supposed to be some kind of statement or clarification from the game/devteam with regards to the champ requirements in act 6, specifically the exclusion of 4* champs.....?
So.....maybe I missed it, but there was supposed to be some kind of statement or clarification from the game/devteam with regards to the champ requirements in act 6, specifically the exclusion of 4* champs.....?
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
They’re still useful if you’re not in a position to grind for end game. Plus they’re useful for plent of non-Act 6 content.
Cfree, I do agree with your comment. 4* champs will still be used for AW and AQ. But my 4* champs have brought me through Uncollected, Act5, labyrinth and the majority of realm of legends. So Act6 is going to be harder than Realm of Legends? I still use 3* champs just for synergies. I have 4* champs ive leveled over 5* just because they were awakened. Seems like a huge money grab, why would it matter to them what champ I use to beat their content?
I get the debate about whether the limitation makes sense or not, but let’s get rid of the hyperbolic statements about 4* being useless.
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
They’re still useful if you’re not in a position to grind for end game. Plus they’re useful for plent of non-Act 6 content.
Cfree, I do agree with your comment. 4* champs will still be used for AW and AQ. But my 4* champs have brought me through Uncollected, Act5, labyrinth and the majority of realm of legends. So Act6 is going to be harder than Realm of Legends? I still use 3* champs just for synergies. I have 4* champs ive leveled over 5* just because they were awakened. Seems like a huge money grab, why would it matter to them what champ I use to beat their content?
I get the debate about whether the limitation makes sense or not, but let’s get rid of the hyperbolic statements about 4* being useless.
No one is forcing you to complete it within few days of it's release. Take your time build you 5* roster and then try.
Sure, let me just go and buy that power lock champ i need? This build your roster line is absolutely absurd. You have no control over your roster other than grinding away at a game for hours on end, in hopes of getting something worthwhile. Or spend a ton of real money!
I’m glad SOMEONE shares my seintiment. I’ve heard “TaKE yOur TiMe, buILd YoUR RoSter” a bit too much. Be direct and concise with this statement, it won’t hurt my feelings. Are you saying “get better at time management and prioritize this game by grinding for hours on end with THE NOT GUARANTEED HOPE that you secure decent champs, who you then need to rank up with scarce resources then hope that these said champs are worth the investment with the ever changing landscape?
Trust me...ya boy has taken time. The frustration lays in “build your roster.” If there were a “buy a champ” store...with a slightly increased resource inverstment, i’d “Take my time” to build those resources, go buy the specific champ I needed for my roster and play style, and dive back into Act 5 (post collector) then on to the often alluded Act 6.
But that’s not our reality. Reality is I’m looking at this maxed out Wolverine, 4 star StarLord, 4 Star Star Spidey, 4 Star Corvus....and for the first actual time in my playing existence....I think I’ve hit my glass ceiling.
I’m not blessed by the RNG higher ups like most people. And “make due with the champs you have” is now not the solution.
There has been some uproar. Act 6 has been hyped for weeks now, big is in the disappointment that Kabam have put champion requirements. Many speak of the end of the 4*. But is that necessarily bad? Let me start with a story.
As everyone else, I started this game a year ago with two 1*: Spider-Man and Wolverine (Iron Man was another option). In the beginning I levelled them up, but from the moment I got my first 2* I abandoned them quite fast. I didn't mourn them, I knew that was the natural progression of the game.
As I ranked my 2* up to rank 3, I got my first 3*, Winter Soldier. Costs to level-up 2* were growing and it was economically more efficient to invest my precious gold and ISO-8 into Winter Soldier rather than my Black Panther (Civil War), which I loved playing with very much (yes, I know he's technically thrash but foolish newbie me liked his animations and he did get the job done). I didn't mourn them, I knew that was the natural progression of the game.
To progress in the game as fast as possible, I levelled-up the strongest of my 3*. I abandoned my Winter Soldier at 2/20, in favor for Hyperion, Mephisto and Stark Spidey. But progress also meant I was getting my first 4*. These were Red Hulk, Bishop and Taskmaster. As I maxed out my strongest three, I start to switch more and more to 4*. My awakened Hyperion lasted the longest, I even used him in AQ, but as soon as I got a 4* Hyperion he was condemned to the dust bin as well, only to be used as arena fodder. I didn't mourn them, I knew that was the natural progression of the game.
4* are a curious tier. They were long the highest tier. Then came 5* and now even 6*. The progression of this game is relentless. It is normal for 4* to share the same fate as 3*. If Kabam banned 3* from Act 5, would anyone protest? No, as the realisation that 3* is not part of anyone's roster when going for uncollected is evident. Neither should 4* when players are going for Act 6
So why do players resist? Nostalgia, partly, but it is deeper. The game shifts towards synergies, and gave 4* a second life. I do think Kabam is to blame for this, in an effort to entice players into buying more crystals, they made gameplay more dependent not only on getting that one champion once or even twice, but a whole matching set of champions. They reap what they sow: like junkies, players cannot function without their signature abilities and synergies. You could even say that players are spoiled, it is not enough to play good, but to play at maximum potential. The alternative seems impossible.
It is all folly. As Kabam makes acquiring 5* crystal shards easier and (demi) god tier champions more plentiful, the need for 4* will continue to drop in the future. 4* are a dead end street. I know it and deep down, everyone else does to.
Dear protesters full of indignation, do not be the Don Quichots fighting against wind mills. Do not be like the rusty old folks, stuck in a past that doesn't exist anymore. Do not be the flat earthers, denying reality. Embrace the progress of this game. Adapt to it. Say goodbye to your 4*.
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
They’re still useful if you’re not in a position to grind for end game. Plus they’re useful for plent of non-Act 6 content.
Cfree, I do agree with your comment. 4* champs will still be used for AW and AQ. But my 4* champs have brought me through Uncollected, Act5, labyrinth and the majority of realm of legends. So Act6 is going to be harder than Realm of Legends? I still use 3* champs just for synergies. I have 4* champs ive leveled over 5* just because they were awakened. Seems like a huge money grab, why would it matter to them what champ I use to beat their content?
I get the debate about whether the limitation makes sense or not, but let’s get rid of the hyperbolic statements about 4* being useless.
I bet they give 4* shards as rewards in Act 6
Seeing as how they already posted the rewards and 4* shards weren’t on the list, I bet not.
I guess there is no reason to upgrade 4* champions at this point. If you arent grinding for the end game then what are you grinding for? Thanks kabam, ive wasted so much of my resources that I should have been saving for 5* champs I dont even have yet.
They’re still useful if you’re not in a position to grind for end game. Plus they’re useful for plent of non-Act 6 content.
Cfree, I do agree with your comment. 4* champs will still be used for AW and AQ. But my 4* champs have brought me through Uncollected, Act5, labyrinth and the majority of realm of legends. So Act6 is going to be harder than Realm of Legends? I still use 3* champs just for synergies. I have 4* champs ive leveled over 5* just because they were awakened. Seems like a huge money grab, why would it matter to them what champ I use to beat their content?
I get the debate about whether the limitation makes sense or not, but let’s get rid of the hyperbolic statements about 4* being useless.
I bet they give 4* shards as rewards in Act 6
Seeing as how they already posted the rewards and 4* shards weren’t on the list, I bet not.
Kabam, you promised to listen to the community and you are not doing that. You are making a decision that does not align with your game design. The two key words are RNG and SINGERGIES. You designed a game in which luck is involved, and your rationale for restricting 4* characters out act 6 simply does not work. 4* characters are still necessary in the game even for top tier players because of RNG and the need for sinergies. You designed and have developed the game, even more in recent months, to be heavily dependent on sinergies. You also designed it to have rosters fed by RNG. Our rosters do not only reflect our progression, they also reflect the luck of the draw. I've been playing this game for 3 years, I have a PI rating above 900k, and there are still some old school characters that I have not pulled as 4*s, and a few that I just pulled in the last 2 months. Those are characters that I wanted and needed for years. It might be the same case now with the 5*s, it can be two or three years before I pull the character I need for sinergies for act 6, which is bad because my top champions are at the level needed for the end game content. I just need the sinergy that one 4* brings to my team.
Please Kabam, do not be stubborn. You dropped the ball with the decision. Listen to the community, do not force our hand like you did with 12.0, we want to enjoy the game that you are working on everyday.
This doesn’t give a reason why 4* champions are blocked from act6.. Noobs won’t be able to enter act6 until they complete act5. So saying u need to gate act6 by removing 4* is a complete joke!
It does give a reason. Several actually. You just don’t agree with them.
You've nearly ruined the rollout of Act 6. If the champ requirements had been communicated 3 - 6 months ago, it might have been reasonable. But since the champ requirements were not communicated, you need to shelve this idea.
Act 6 (and other content) is built with specific challenges in mind. The requirement of 5 and 6-Stars is a broader application of the idea, but it allows us to build a more tightly-constructed experience around a more specific box of playstyles. Making one-size fits all content for an immense player toolbox can lead to things being more watered down and general, rather than the specific moments we can make when we know the lower and upper limits of each player as a matter of fact.
Can you please elaborate more on this point, similar to how you went into more detail for the class restriction in Variant. More specifically, what type of experience are you guys trying to construct with this restriction that you couldn't without it? What are your goals when it comes to how this is supposed to impact the players experience?
I also thought the same thing. Quote: "it allows us to build a more tightly-constructed experience around a more specific box of playstyles". How does restricting 4* use allow you to do that? What is a tightly-constructed experience? What specific box of playstyles? How does restricting 4*s do any of that when the same champs are available in 5*s?
Quote: "Making one-size fits all content for an immense player toolbox can lead to things being more watered down and general, rather than the specific moments we can make" Well, I can tell you now that you may think that is important, but chopping the legs of our long time built rosters in this mmorpg, IS NOT a good experience! I would think it's worse. There is nothing good about that from the player's POV. We can tolerate some limited restrictions on our rosters, but this is way too far. It's just a terrible feeling to have a gate so broad. It's like a reset on the game. Let the difficulty of Act 6 be it's own deterrent to using 4*s. To take them from us entirely in this area, is way too much. Do something else like raise the summoner level.
Your explanation sounds like, hey we know what you'll like better than you do, and even though you don't like not being able to use your 4*s now, you'll thank us later because we created a moment for you to mark your passage.
Aside from all that, is there a concern that 4* champions, like Aegon, will rip through parts of Act 6 that you don't want? That would seem more like a direct reason than some of this vague explanation.
This doesn’t give a reason why 4* champions are blocked from act6.. Noobs won’t be able to enter act6 until they complete act5. So saying u need to gate act6 by removing 4* is a complete joke!
It does give a reason. Several actually. You just don’t agree with them.
I think the real reason is they dont want me to use my 4* Joe Fix It on end game content
This doesn’t give a reason why 4* champions are blocked from act6.. Noobs won’t be able to enter act6 until they complete act5. So saying u need to gate act6 by removing 4* is a complete joke!
It does give a reason. Several actually. You just don’t agree with them.
It does give reasons but there are no valid arguments for their reasons. that's the big issue with this gate. There is no valid reason for it other than to force end game players to spend on offers and grandmaster crystals. it's a gate designed to punish free to play or casual spenders in a game where attainable by rng
This doesn’t give a reason why 4* champions are blocked from act6.. Noobs won’t be able to enter act6 until they complete act5. So saying u need to gate act6 by removing 4* is a complete joke!
It does give a reason. Several actually. You just don’t agree with them.
It does give reasons but there are no valid arguments for their reasons. that's the big issue with this gate. There is no valid reason for it other than to force end game players to spend on offers and grandmaster crystals. it's a gate designed to punish free to play or casual spenders in a game where attainable by rng
This doesn’t give a reason why 4* champions are blocked from act6.. Noobs won’t be able to enter act6 until they complete act5. So saying u need to gate act6 by removing 4* is a complete joke!
It does give a reason. Several actually. You just don’t agree with them.
This doesn’t give a reason why 4* champions are blocked from act6.. Noobs won’t be able to enter act6 until they complete act5. So saying u need to gate act6 by removing 4* is a complete joke!
It does give a reason. Several actually. You just don’t agree with them.
It does give reasons but there are no valid arguments for their reasons. that's the big issue with this gate. There is no valid reason for it other than to force end game players to spend on offers and grandmaster crystals. it's a gate designed to punish free to play or casual spenders in a game where attainable by rng
You don’t see “valid” arguments because you disagree with them. They do explain their rationale, however.
Act 6 (and other content) is built with specific challenges in mind. The requirement of 5 and 6-Stars is a broader application of the idea, but it allows us to build a more tightly-constructed experience around a more specific box of playstyles. Making one-size fits all content for an immense player toolbox can lead to things being more watered down and general, rather than the specific moments we can make when we know the lower and upper limits of each player as a matter of fact.
Can you please elaborate more on this point, similar to how you went into more detail for the class restriction in Variant. More specifically, what type of experience are you guys trying to construct with this restriction that you couldn't without it? What are your goals when it comes to how this is supposed to impact the players experience?
I also thought the same thing. " it allows us to build a more tightly-constructed experience around a more specific box of playstyles". How does restricting 4* use allow you to do that? What is a tightly-constructed experience? What specific box of playstyles? How does restricting 4*s do any of that when the same champs are available in 5*s?
"Making one-size fits all content for an immense player toolbox can lead to things being more watered down and general, rather than the specific moments we can make" Well, I can tell you now that you may think that is important, but chopping the legs of our long time built rosters in this mmorpg, IS NOT a good experience! I would think it's worse. There is nothing good about that from the player's POV. WE LOVE the sandbox, and can tolerate some limited restrictions on our rosters, but this is way too far. It's just a terrible feeling to have a gate so broad. It's like a reset on the game. Let the difficulty of Act 6 be it's own deterrent to using 4*s. To take them from us entirely in this area, is way too much.
Your explanation sounds like, hey we know what you'll like better than you do, and even though you don't like not being able to use your 4*s, you'll thank us later because we created a moment for you to mark your passage.
Aside from all that, is there a concern that 4* champions, like Aegon, will rip through parts of Act 6 that you don't want? That would seem more like a direct reason than some of this vague explanation.
I'm really trying to understand this.
There's really nothing to understand.
In a game where you do not have any say in what character you get other than paying cash or units for OG Vision -- because you can fall short on an Arena grind, which means you don't control it -- with that same game releasing numerous characters that need to be duped in order to attain their full potential, and numerous others that require you to attain DIFFERENT characters for synergies in order for them to overcome weaknesses at release or increase utility, and one week prior to the release of content that has been worked on for more than a year but absolutely no other warning given prior to this week, you have been notified that a subset of characters you have either grinded for or earned through progression or paying cash will not be allowed in the content being released.
Bad RNG? Tough.
Weak characters released that you didn't design? Tough.
The time you spent ranking up characters that you have because you got no direction this was happening? Tough.
That's it. There's nothing more to it than that. Everything else is just word salad
Comments
I understand what they are trying do here but it still doesnt make much sense. There are skilled players who have stacked 4* rosters and rely on those champs because they don’t have the right champs as a 5/6*. This restriction doesnt really affect me all that much but at the same time, we don’t even know what Act 6 looks like at the moment so it’s hard to tell if we would even need to use our 4*. Best if we wait it out until next Wednesday to see what Act 6 has in store for us.
Trust me...ya boy has taken time. The frustration lays in “build your roster.” If there were a “buy a champ” store...with a slightly increased resource inverstment, i’d “Take my time” to build those resources, go buy the specific champ I needed for my roster and play style, and dive back into Act 5 (post collector) then on to the often alluded Act 6.
But that’s not our reality. Reality is I’m looking at this maxed out Wolverine, 4 star StarLord, 4 Star Star Spidey, 4 Star Corvus....and for the first actual time in my playing existence....I think I’ve hit my glass ceiling.
I’m not blessed by the RNG higher ups like most people. And “make due with the champs you have” is now not the solution.
As everyone else, I started this game a year ago with two 1*: Spider-Man and Wolverine (Iron Man was another option). In the beginning I levelled them up, but from the moment I got my first 2* I abandoned them quite fast. I didn't mourn them, I knew that was the natural progression of the game.
As I ranked my 2* up to rank 3, I got my first 3*, Winter Soldier. Costs to level-up 2* were growing and it was economically more efficient to invest my precious gold and ISO-8 into Winter Soldier rather than my Black Panther (Civil War), which I loved playing with very much (yes, I know he's technically thrash but foolish newbie me liked his animations and he did get the job done). I didn't mourn them, I knew that was the natural progression of the game.
To progress in the game as fast as possible, I levelled-up the strongest of my 3*. I abandoned my Winter Soldier at 2/20, in favor for Hyperion, Mephisto and Stark Spidey. But progress also meant I was getting my first 4*. These were Red Hulk, Bishop and Taskmaster. As I maxed out my strongest three, I start to switch more and more to 4*. My awakened Hyperion lasted the longest, I even used him in AQ, but as soon as I got a 4* Hyperion he was condemned to the dust bin as well, only to be used as arena fodder. I didn't mourn them, I knew that was the natural progression of the game.
4* are a curious tier. They were long the highest tier. Then came 5* and now even 6*. The progression of this game is relentless. It is normal for 4* to share the same fate as 3*. If Kabam banned 3* from Act 5, would anyone protest? No, as the realisation that 3* is not part of anyone's roster when going for uncollected is evident. Neither should 4* when players are going for Act 6
So why do players resist? Nostalgia, partly, but it is deeper. The game shifts towards synergies, and gave 4* a second life. I do think Kabam is to blame for this, in an effort to entice players into buying more crystals, they made gameplay more dependent not only on getting that one champion once or even twice, but a whole matching set of champions. They reap what they sow: like junkies, players cannot function without their signature abilities and synergies. You could even say that players are spoiled, it is not enough to play good, but to play at maximum potential. The alternative seems impossible.
It is all folly. As Kabam makes acquiring 5* crystal shards easier and (demi) god tier champions more plentiful, the need for 4* will continue to drop in the future. 4* are a dead end street. I know it and deep down, everyone else does to.
Dear protesters full of indignation, do not be the Don Quichots fighting against wind mills. Do not be like the rusty old folks, stuck in a past that doesn't exist anymore. Do not be the flat earthers, denying reality. Embrace the progress of this game. Adapt to it. Say goodbye to your 4*.
Please Kabam, do not be stubborn. You dropped the ball with the decision. Listen to the community, do not force our hand like you did with 12.0, we want to enjoy the game that you are working on everyday.
I also thought the same thing. Quote: "it allows us to build a more tightly-constructed experience around a more specific box of playstyles".
How does restricting 4* use allow you to do that? What is a tightly-constructed experience? What specific box of playstyles? How does restricting 4*s do any of that when the same champs are available in 5*s?
Quote: "Making one-size fits all content for an immense player toolbox can lead to things being more watered down and general, rather than the specific moments we can make"
Well, I can tell you now that you may think that is important, but chopping the legs of our long time built rosters in this mmorpg, IS NOT a good experience! I would think it's worse. There is nothing good about that from the player's POV. We can tolerate some limited restrictions on our rosters, but this is way too far.
It's just a terrible feeling to have a gate so broad. It's like a reset on the game. Let the difficulty of Act 6 be it's own deterrent to using 4*s. To take them from us entirely in this area, is way too much. Do something else like raise the summoner level.
Your explanation sounds like, hey we know what you'll like better than you do, and even though you don't like not being able to use your 4*s now, you'll thank us later because we created a moment for you to mark your passage.
Aside from all that, is there a concern that 4* champions, like Aegon, will rip through parts of Act 6 that you don't want? That would seem more like a direct reason than some of this vague explanation.
I'm really trying to understand this.
In a game where you do not have any say in what character you get other than paying cash or units for OG Vision -- because you can fall short on an Arena grind, which means you don't control it -- with that same game releasing numerous characters that need to be duped in order to attain their full potential, and numerous others that require you to attain DIFFERENT characters for synergies in order for them to overcome weaknesses at release or increase utility, and one week prior to the release of content that has been worked on for more than a year but absolutely no other warning given prior to this week, you have been notified that a subset of characters you have either grinded for or earned through progression or paying cash will not be allowed in the content being released.
Bad RNG? Tough.
Weak characters released that you didn't design? Tough.
The time you spent ranking up characters that you have because you got no direction this was happening? Tough.
That's it. There's nothing more to it than that. Everything else is just word salad