Red Star Priority & DPC Costs

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Intro

Red Stars (RS) are very beneficial in Marvel Strike Force. They increase characters’ base stats by up to 75%. Upgrading those for the characters we use often is an essential part of the game.

Red Stars boost Health, Damage, Armor, Focus, and Resistance.

1 Red Star – 5% boost
2 Red Stars -10% boost
3 Red Stars – 20% boost
4 Red Stars – 35% boost
5 Red Stars – 50% boost
6 Red Stars – 60% boost
7 Red Stars – 75% boost

There are 3 ways of getting them on specific characters.

One is random – by opening Red Star Orbs – where you can get anything (from 1 to 7) for a random character. Getting a good drop from these orbs is extremely rare. We recommend opening Red Star Orbs only when there is an increased chance for more Dark Promotion Credits.

We can also get Red Stars for characters from Elite Star Orbs, which you can open by using Elite Credits. There are Elite 4,5,6 and 7 Star Orbs. Elite 4 Star Orb guarantees a 4 Red Star drop for a random character and has a chance at a higher Red Star drop, Elite 5 guarantees a 5 Red Star drop, etc. This is a better way of earning Red Stars, it is recommended to open these when we have a featured character there at an increased drop rate.

The second way of earning Red Stars is through the Incursion Campaign. It is way less random when compared to Orbs since you can select the nodes you want to farm, each node offers a small selection of characters, usually based on Traits.

The most important way is buying Red Stars directly from the supplies section of the Elite Store. That way players can pick specific characters and Red Star Ranks they want to get by spending Silver, Gold, and Dark Promotion Credits. Characters will spawn randomly and you can only buy the next Red Star for any character. If your character has 2 Red Stars and you want to get him to 5 you can’t immediately buy 5, you will have to go in order and buy 3 Red Stars, then 4, and lastly 5.

The cost of Red Stars from the Elite store is:

1 Red Star – 1 Silver Promotion Credit
2 Red Stars – 4 Silver Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 10 Silver Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 50 Silver Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 150 Silver Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 100 Gold Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 150 Gold Promotion Credits

Dark Promotion Priority

Getting 4 or even 5 Red Stars for Scourge and Trials characters is achievable if you score well enough when their events are active. In terms of Horsemen characters, getting them to 5 Stars at least is recommended. Once you’ve done that you can switch to Apocalypse and upgrade him to 7 Red Stars as soon as possible. Once Apocalypse is at 7 Red Stars you can start working on other characters slowly, or you could start saving Dark Promotion Credits in case something big comes around (We can now store a max of 30,000 Dark Promotion Credits.)

Quicksilver should be upgraded to 5 Red Stars at least, his kit is incredible and his damage potential grows immensely. Once you’ve upgraded Apocalypse and Black Cat you can even upgrade Quicksilver to 7 Red Stars.

Iron Man (Zombie) doesn’t require having high red Stars on him for him to be very useful so you can leave him at low Red Stars or upgrade him to 4 when you have spare Dark Promotion Credits. Juggernaut (Zombie) on the other hand needs more stats to function properly so having him at 4-5 Red Stars will be very beneficial for his team and he takes priority over Iron Man.

Doctor Doom and Dormammu will get 4 Red Stars after the second completion of Dark Dimensions, and that’s enough for them to do everything they need. However, if you want to upgrade them to 5, that is not a mistake. Going above 5 isn’t recommended until you took care of all other characters.

Spider-Man (Big Time) is a member of a War Defense team and as such you don’t need to have high Red Stars on him. 4 or 5 would be more than enough.

Ultron doesn’t receive Red Stars after completing his Dark Dimension and as such you will have to buy those for him. Although going above 4 Red Stars for him is unnecessary and he can be ignored altogether.

Ultimus should be ignored for now. After completing Dark Dimension III, you get 5 Red Stars for him, and that’s more than enough. Ultimus is a character that currently has no value in this game so spending Dark Promotion Credits on him will be a waste.

Overall, this is the priority list for Dark Promotion characters:

Apocalypse to 7 Red Stars
Super Skrull to 5 or 6 Red Stars
Black Cat to 6 or 7 Red Stars
Horsemen to 5 Red Stars
Nova and Green Goblin (Classic) to 5 Red Stars
Quicksilver to 5 Red Stars
Juggernaut (Zombie) to 4-5
Iron Man (Zombie) to 4
Doctor Doom, Dormammu to 5 Red Stars
Spider-Man (Big Time) to 4-5 Red Stars
Ultron to 4-5 Red Stars

For now, focus on getting Red Stars for these characters and once you have 7 Red Stars on Apocalypse, you can work down the list and upgrade all others to 7 as well. Red Stars for Super Skrull were recently added to the Elite Store, but he is quite expensive. Considering the rate and the amount of Dark Promotion Credits we currently get, we recommend upgrading Super Skrull to 5 Red Stars, maybe 6 if you have enough credits saved, and leave him be until his Diamonds are added.

Diamonds for Dark Promotion Characters

Characters that require Dark Promotion Credits(DPC) for their Red Stars also require Dark Diamonds for their Diamond upgrades. Prices for each character vary, but they still aren’t cheap, and the amount of Dark Diamond Credits we get is limited, so we should prioritize only the best.

Currently, there are a few DPC characters with Diamonds available for purchase from the Elite Store:

Apocalypse
4 Horsemen (Rogue, Archangel, Red Hulk, Morgan Le Fay)
Dormammu
Doctor Doom
Iron Man (Zombie)
Spider-Man (Big Time)
Ultimus
Ultron

Priority – Out of these characters the obvious choice is to upgrade Apocalypse to 3 Diamonds first. After him, you could work on getting Diamonds for Dormammu or Doom, but it is also a good idea to start saving Dark Diamond Credits.

More characters will be added eventually, and the ones we should keep an eye out for are Super Skrull, Quicksilver, and especially Black Knight. QS might be added with the next wave, but Super Skrull and Black Knight will take some time,

Priority List info

We are presenting you our list of RS priority upgrades. As you can see, we have 5 categories:

7 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Those are characters who benefit the most from having high Red Stars and/or are used daily in every game mode. So they need to be upgraded ASAP.

6 OR 7

Similar to the previous category, these are among the most powerful characters in the game, with high usage in multiple game modes. But in our opinion a bit less dominant than characters from the category above. They can go on 7 RS but after characters from the “7 ASAP” category.

Farm 7 Red Stars from Incursion Campaign

These are the characters for whom you can get high Red Stars from the Incursion Campaign, Some of them are used on a daily basis, while others are important for Alliance War and Cosmic Crucible. Others can be completely ignored. We will mention here only the nodes that are important and in order they should be farmed. Red Stars for characters listed here can also be bought from the Elite Store, but that may be considered a waste of resources.

Characters mentioned here will not be mentioned in other categories. We will also mention the locations of these characters in the Incursion campaign next to their name.

5 IS ENOUGH

Characters in this category work well with 5 RS. They do not need additional RS to do their job. If you get more than 5 by opening RS Orbs, or from Elite Store Orbs – great. Otherwise, there is no need to spend Promotion Credits on them. Some characters may also be available in the Incursion Campaign.

IGNORE FOR NOW

Characters in this category are currently of little or no use at all. So they should be ignored. Unnecessary investments in them can slow down progress. However, with each new update, there is a chance that some of these characters will be reworked and if that’s the case they will move up to some other category.

Important:
With each new character release or rework, we will update this list.

7 As soon as possible

Apocalypse
Black Knight
Black Cat
Vahl
Ghost Rider (Robbie)
Nightcrawler
Ms. Marvel (Hard Light)
Kestrel
Void Knight

6 or 7

Super Skrull
Nova
Red Hulk
Rogue
Morgan Le Fay
Gambit
Archangel
Red Goblin
Cyclops
Cosmic Ghost Rider
Gwenom
Tigra
Iron Man (Infinity War)
Ikaris
Sersi
Venom
Carnage
Vulture
Spider-Slayer
Lizard
Ronin
Kraven The Hunter
Quicksilver
Peter B. Parker
Namor
Dark Beast
Sunspot
Iron Patriot
Nemesis
Hela
Black Panther
Black Panther (1MM)
The Thing
The Leader
Starbrand

5 Is Enough

Green Goblin (Classic)
Juggernaut (Zombie)
Iron Man (Zombie)
Mockingbird
Ironheart (MK II)
Darkhawk (MK II)
Forge
Spider-Man (Big Time)
Agatha Harkness
Strange (Heartless)
Wong
Agent Coulson
Scarlet Witch
Sunfire
Dazzler
Fantomex
Mysterio
Hulk
Rescue
She-Hulk
Abomination
Brawn
Magneto
Psylocke
Dormammu
Doctor Doom
Ultron
Shuri
Okoye
Thanos
Ebony Maw
Swarm
Yellowjacket
Emma Frost
Baron Zemo
Cable
Spider-Man (Noir)
Nakia
M’Baku
Thor
Iron Man
Hulkbuster
Proxima Midnight
Cull Obsidian
Corvus Glaive
Deathlok
Doctor Strange
Viv Vision
Vision
Ant-Man
Nebula
Moondragon
Echo
Kate Bishop
MS. Marvel
America Chavez
Captain America (Sam)
Black Widow
Mister Negative
Kingpin
Green Goblin
Nobu

Ignore for now

S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative
S.H.I.E.L.D. Security
A.I.M. Assaulter
A.I.M. Infector
A.I.M. Monstrosity
A.I.M. Researcher
A.I.M. Security
Anti-Venom
Beast
Bishop
Black Bolt
Blob
Bullseye
Captain Marvel
Coleen Wing
Colossus
Crossbones
Crystal
Daredevil
Deadpool
Doctor Voodoo
Domino
Drax
Electro
Elektra
Elsa Bloodstone
Falcon
Ghost
Ghost Rider
Ghost-Spider
Graviton
Groot
Hand Archer
Hand Assassin
Hand Blademaster
Hand Sentry
Hand Sorceress
Hawkeye
Heimdall
Human Torch
Hydra Armored Guard
Hydra Grenadier
Hydra Rifle Trooper
Hydra Scientist
Hydra Sniper
Iceman
Invisible Woman
Iron Fist
Iron Man (Zombie)
Ironheart
Jessica Jones
Jubilee
Juggernaut
Karnak
Killmonger
Kitty Pryde
Korath the Pursuer
Kree Cyborg
Kree Noble
Kree Oracle
Kree Reaper
Kree Royal Guard
Lady Deathstrike
Longshot
Luke Cage
Madelyne Pryor
Multiple Man
Mystique
Magik
Mantis
Maria Hill
Mercenary Lieutenant
Mercenary Riot Guard
Mercenary Sniper
Mercenary Soldier
Mighty Thor
Minn-Erva
Mister Fantastic
Mister Sinister
Misty Knight
Moon Knight
Morbius
Mordo
Negasonic
Night Nurse
Phoenix
Polaris
Punisher
Pyro
Quake
Ravager Boomer
Ravager Bruiser
Ravager Stitcher
Red Guardian
Red Skull
Rocker Raccoon
Ronan the Accuser
S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault
S.H.I.E.L.D. Medic
S.H.I.E.L.D. Trooper
Sabretooth
Scarlet Spider
Scientist Supreme
Scream
Sharon Carter
Shatterstar
Sif
Silver Samurai
Silver Surfer
Spider-Man
Spider-Man (Miles)
Spider-Man (Symbiote)
Spider-Punk
Star-Lord
Star-Lord (T’Challa)
Stature
Storm
Stryfe
Toad
Ultimus
Valkyrie
War Machine
Wasp
White Tiger
Wolverine
X-23
Yelena Belova
Yo-Yo
Yondu

Red Stars available through Incursion Campaign

Chapters 1 & 2

Nodes and Characters/Teams they reward Red Stars for:
(Chapter 1 drops only 5 RS, Chapter 2 drops 5 or 6 RS)

Hand
A.I.M
Mercenary
Pym Tech + Hawkeye, Kate Bishop
Defender
Bionic Avenger + Power Armor
Tangled Web + Web Warrior
Sinister Six
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Invader

Chapter 3

Nodes and Characters/Teams they reward Red Stars for:
(Chapter 3 drops 6 or 7 RS)

Underworld
Inhuman
Military
Young Avenger
Heroes For Hire + Shadowland
Bionic Avenger + Power Armor
Tangled Web + Infestation (+ Character Shards for Spider-Weaver)
Masters of Evil + Doctor Octopus (+ Character Shards for Kang)
Invader (+Character Shards for Iron Man (Zombie))

Chapter 4 & 5

Nodes and Characters/Teams they reward Red Stars for:
(Chapter 4 drops only 5 RS, Chapter 5 drops 5 or 6 RS)

Hydra
Symbiotes
Kree
Ravagers + Star-Lord, Gamora
Guardian + Star-Lord (Annihilation)
Supernatural + Ghost Rider (Robbie), Punisher
Uncanny X-Men + Kitty Pryde
X-Factor + Beast, Cyclops, Iceman
New Warrior*
Asgardian
Bifrost

New Warriors are only on Chapter 4, Chapter 5 skips their node

Chapter 6

Nodes and Characters/Teams they reward Red Stars for:
(Chapter 6 drops 6 or 7 RS)

Astonishing X-Men
Rebirth
A-Force
Knowhere + Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord
Infinity Watch
Dark Hunter
Weapon X
New Warrior (+ Character Shards for Deathpool)
Bifrost (+ Character Shards for Vahl)

Chapter 7

Nodes and Characters/Teams they reward Red Stars for:
(Chapter 7 drops drops 5 or 6 RS)

Black Order
Wakandan/War Dogs
Marauders + Emma Frost, Gambit
X-Force + Fantomex, Colossus
Brotherhood + Scarlet Witch
Eternals + Secret Avengers
Fantastic Four + Silver Surfer
Uncanny X-Men + X-23
Carnage, Venom, Electro, Shoker, Rhino
P.E.G.A.S.U.S.

Chapter 8

Nodes and Characters/Teams they reward Red Stars for:
(Chapter 8 drops drops 6 or 7 RS)

Black Order
Wakandan/War Dogs
Darkhold (without Morgan Le Fay)
Unlimited X-Men (without Rogue)
Gamma (without Red Hulk)
Death Seed (without Archangel)
New Avengers
Secret Defenders (without Black Cat) + Namor
Kraven, Lizard, Spider-Slayer, Vulture, Mysterio
P.E.G.A.S.U.S.

Dark Promotion character costs

RS for some specific characters can’t be upgraded by spending Silver or Gold Promotion Credits. Those characters are ones we get from Dark Dimensions (Ultimus, Ultron, Doctor Doom, Dormammu), Scourge or Trials characters (Morgan Le Fay, Rogue, Red Hulk, Archangel, Nova, Black Cat, Green Goblin (Classic)), or other characters that were released by special means, like Iron Man (Zombie), Quicksilver, Spider-Man (Big Time), Juggernaut (Zombie), and Apocalypse.

Players need to spend Dark Promotion Credits to upgrade RS on those characters.

Ultimus Red Star cost:

5 Red Stars – complete DD3 2 times
6 Red Stars – 750 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 1500 Dark Promotion Credits

Ultron Red Star cost:

1 Red Stars – 500 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 1000 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 1500 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 1800 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 2400 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Doctor Doom Red Star cost:

2 Red Stars – complete DD4 once
4 Red Stars – complete DD4 2 times
5 Red Stars – 3000 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Dormammu Red Star cost:

2 Red Stars – complete DD5 once
4 Red Stars – complete DD5 2 times
5 Red Stars – 3000 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Iron Man (Zombie) Red Star cost:

1 Red Star – 500 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 900 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 1500 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 2500 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3000 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4000 Dark Promotion Credits

Juggernaut (Zombie) Red Star cost:

1 Red Star – 500 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 900 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 1500 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 2500 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3000 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4000 Dark Promotion Credits

Horseman Red Star costs:

1 Red Star – 100 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 300 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 400 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 1200 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Quicksilver Red Star costs:

1 Red Star – 500 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 900 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 1500 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 2500 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4000 Dark Promotion Credits

Nova Red star costs:

1 Red Star – 100 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 300 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 400 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 1200 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Spider-Man Big Time costs:

1 Red Star – 300 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 500 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 800 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 1000 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 1500 Dark Promotion Credits
6 red Stars – 2500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 3000 Dark Promotion Credits

Black Cat costs:

1 Red Star – 100 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 300 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 400 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 1200 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Green Goblin (Classic) costs:

1 Red Star – 100 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 300 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 400 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 1200 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits

Black Knight costs:

1 Red Star – 500 Dark Promotion Credits
2 Red Stars – 600 Dark Promotion Credits
3 Red Stars – 900 Dark Promotion Credits
4 Red Stars – 1700 Dark Promotion Credits
5 Red Stars – 2800 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 4000 Dark Promotion Credits

Apocalypse costs:

1-4 Red Stars – Apocalypse Saga
5 Red Stars – 3500 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 4500 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 5000 Dark Promotion Credits

Super Skrull costs:

1-4 Red Stars – Dark Dimension VI
5 Red Stars – 5000 Dark Promotion Credits
6 Red Stars – 6000 Dark Promotion Credits
7 Red Stars – 10,000 Dark Promotion Credits

Dark Diamond Costs

So far we have only a select few Dark Promotion characters that you can buy Diamonds for from the Red Star Supply Store, with more characters being added soon.

Apocalypse:

1 Diamond – 1200 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 2400 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 6000 Dark Diamond Credits

Horsemen (Morgan Le Fay, Red Hulk, Rogue, Archangel):

1 Diamond – 900 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 1800 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 4500 Dark Diamond Credits

Dormammu:

1 Diamond – 1200 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 2400 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 6000 Dark Diamond Credits

Iron Man (Zombie):

1 Diamond – 900 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 1800 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 4500 Dark Diamond Credits

Doctor Doom:

1 Diamond – 600 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 1200 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 3000 Dark Diamond Credits

Spider-Man (Big Time)

1 Diamond – 900 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 1800 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 4500 Dark Diamond Credits

Ultimus:

1 Diamond – 750 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 1500 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 1500 Dark Diamond Credits

Ultron:

1 Diamond – 500 Dark Diamond Credits
2 Diamonds – 1000 Dark Diamond Credits
3 Diamonds – 1500 Dark Diamond Credits

Conclusion

A good amount of Red Stars for characters now are available from the Incursion Campaign so the focus should be on getting the best characters from there, while using Promotion Credits only on ones that are not available through the Campaign.

The list above provides the priority farming for the Incursion Campaign, by the time you are done with that list you can start improving your other characters so that you have them ready in case you pull a Diamond for them.

We will eventually get more Incursion chapters and if were completely done with the existing nodes, we can keep farming them for Elite Credits or Gold & Dark Promotion Credits. The best way to farm Elite Credits is from chapters 1,2,4 and 5. The drop rates for 5 and 6 Red Stars are way higher than that of 7 Red Stars which will allow you to earn more Elite Credits faster.

If you have any questions or feedback you can reach us on our Discord.

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