The thing about missing a LOL dungeon day is that it is entirely within your control. I have that very issue now with a newly-acquired gunner Rescuer that needs one more 3* Yellow Evo shard. It is no big deal to wait those few days or the week 'round if I miss the day because I "Know" I can acquire it once I have the gunner LOL dungeon
Getting runes up to 5* "quite easily" is just not true in my experience. I don't think I'm off by much (If at all) in stating that it takes more runes to move from L 40 to L50 on a 5* talisman than it does to move from L1 to L40 on a 4* talisman. I would not be surprised if it would take more runes to level a L50 talisman from L40 than it would to evolving a L1 3* to a L40 4*. I have one Blue talisman on my GR I am leveling that takes all my blue runes, one Yellow tali on my Aces that takes my yellow runes, one purple on my troll, etc. It could take days (and has) to move from L41-L44 on one alone. One 5* rune may level up an entire 3* tali, and yet you are lucky to get 167% advancement from a couple of these 5* runes once the tali is in the mid 40s.
My gaming experience was a horrible grind throughout the entire campaign. It only got manageable toward the very end or shortly after defeating LotB Madness. It is very easy to control beginning/intermediate players by keeping the difficulty controlled relative to the player's experience level and this game has done a great job executing this. It worked like a charm against me. Even if I were as a L28 player to luck into a gunner CotD or AoF from a rare soul, I couldn't do a thing more with him via 2* and 3* talismans in more challenging dungeons (contrary to your earlier statement about little difference between 3* and 5* talismans). I just did this with a 4* L60 CotD armed with six L1 3* talis in Game of Death Madness. My CG trooper and Eddie did the actual damage, and when only a sliver of a health meter remained, CotD could still only scratch a fraction of that tiny amount left. I couldn't survive that level with 5 CotDs with such talismans. CotD was literally worthless without better talismans, and the same would be true of a 3* or even 4* in the hands of a beginner without being able to level talismans higher for the fact they could not survive the more difficult levels/worlds.What I wouldnt want is just that evolving everything is so easy that you can do an entire character in a week. That wouldnt benefit the game at all. Particularly the challenge level for newer players on the rise, who we (and the devs) need to think about too.
It is and it is not. The logistical fact that swapping a 5* set of Blindness amidst 130 talismans in the inventory 5 times over between characters is a nightmare with the swipe menu that is not worth pursuing. Again, I contend there is no arguing out of awarding runes regularly. It would be one argument to say that 5* runes should be secret location only, and 4* should be less-common reward in the higher dungeons, but it is ridiculous to contend that 3* do not flow like water in top levels on Madness, 2* on Hard and 1* on Normal. Even with nonstop 3* runes, that jump from L47-L50 would soak up a ton of them and only the ranked players could access them. And you can STILL control evolution by awarding 3* evos in secret locations and BF/UW locations only.I feel some people (not you specifically though) expect to be able to have every single one of their 100 toons to be fully maxed in talismans out in the space of a short period of time. Whereas, whats to stop you working on sets and then swapping as you experiment with different toons? Thats what I do.
Actually, thats a potential half-way solution: Make it easier to swap entire load-outs.
HERE IS THE PROBLEM THAT MOST PEOPLE MISS: at a certain level, it is impossible to make the game we have before us a challenge. It has long since ceased to be one for me, and has since become more of a headache-inducing easter egg hunt/slot machine, given current mechanics. Moreover, the solution to nerf and neuter back into a challenge is utterly unacceptable. We of Levels 80 and beyond have soared the highest heights 300 times over, and we will not stand for intentional destruction of our handiwork simply to make us sweat a well-defeated and currently boring dungeon. That will not entertain us. If it did, what is stopping you/us from voluntarily substituting 5* Talismans for 3* to make it more challenging?
No. We will need different content or different approaches, like survival matches (Defeat as many waves of LoL toons while silenced) or voluntary restriction (3* rune challenges for legendary souls). Even these suggestions will not make this the gruelling ordeal that it was during L25-L70, but it will be fun and would challenge rather than overwhelm.