Returning Player - Where to Start?

[PantherusNZ]

I left the game a while ago for various reasons but have recently reinstalled it and jumped back in, only to find a PILE of new stuff and the entire meta seemingly changed so that I don't know what direction is up anymore!

I am pretty sure I left before Diamond characters came into the game, for context.

I'm feeling quite overwhelmed looking at the game and would really appreciated a pointer to where I should be refocussing my efforts in the game to help with getting back up to speed.

I'd done a fair chunk of the main story, as well as some of the character side-stories - I assume they should more or less be the priority to get done?

When is it "worth" doing Rifts? Like - am I best to jump in right away, place my best defenders (according to the tier lists?) into the rift defence and just go for it, or am I better off doing something else to build myself up more?

I expect I'll be playing pretty sporadically so won't be doing anything requiring intense play in a short time-frame - so I want to know that I'm not wasting limited resources or time on sub-standard content or characters.

What I think are the talking points for my characters - anyone in particular there I should be focussing on, maybe to evolve? I just opened a duplicate Epic Sax - would I be right in thinking I need to fully level up multiple gold versions of a character to evolve them to the next rarity?

In Gold I have: (all in the mid-20s to mid-30s in level)

Eliza - Bloodbath
Big Band - Epic Sax, Private Dick
Valentine - Silent Kill, Surgeon General
Beowulf - Weekend Warrior
Double: Xenomorph, Rainbow Blight
Parasoul - Princess Pride
Annie - Moonstuck

I also have duplicates of Xenomorph and Epic Sax.


In Silver I have ranked up:
Parasoul - No Egrets (Max Level) - Gold Candidate??
Painwheel - Blood Drive, Rage Appropriate
Peacock - Pea Shooter
Filia - Bad Ms Frosty
Valentine - Icy Hot
Cerebella - Big Top
Big Band - Resonant Evil
Double - Doublicious
Beowulf - Cold Stones


Ranked up to max in Bronze I have:

Painwheel - Rusty
Parasoul - Sheltered
Cerebella - Understudy
Squigly - Stage Fright

 

[BallotBoxer]

Welcome back!

Players in the late-game (they've been level 70 for a while) get the most out of Rifts, so I'd caution going in if you are under level 60. Can't hurt to try, and you'll eventually get there as you collect gold catalysts (bronze is useless) and strengthen your collection.

You should focus on gold-level prize fights to start stockpiling the gold fighters you need for diamond evolution. A recent and very welcome change makes it possible to get the guaranteed gold fighter by getting to the 10 million milestone in the prize fight.

As for your gold fighters, everyone except for Princess Pride Parasoul are diamond worthy. Bloodbath Eliza, Epic Sax Big Band, and Moonstruck Annie are all one of the best variants for those characters. To get your golds powered-up, look into the Holodeck Hazards in the Event section for mountains of XP. These boosts will supplement their steady rise as you get from the Prize Fights.