Players of Marvel's Avengers finally have the opportunity to fight the Avengers' strongest foes as the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, themselves! Thanks to this Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics game, players take on the role of some of the Avengers' most iconic members in this journey! Players can utilize Captain America's shield, the Hulk's strength, and Thor's Mjolnir to bash enemies to oblivion. Moreover, they can use Iron Man's armor, Black Widow's martial arts, and Ms. Marvel's shapeshifting to get a more nuanced approach to battles.
Unfortunately, some players might think mastering six heroes' fighting styles in Marvel's Avengers might get tricky. Thankfully, some pro tips may enable players to maximize each hero's skillset to their fullest advantage.
Updated on December 1st, 2021, by Michael Llewellyn: With continued updates and additional DLC, Marvel's Avengers is a much better experience now than it was when it was released a year ago. The game is at its best when playing through the single-player mode, for gamers willing to look past some of the title's issues regarding microtransactions and online multiplayer will find a surprisingly enjoyable action game with great setpieces. There is still a lot of enjoyment to be found in the multiplayer for those that are willing to invest the time and effort.
To get the most out of Marvel's Avengers it helps to know as much about the game's mechanics as possible. With the introduction of the Spider-Man character as a new member and the addition of Black Panther before him, many new players will be experiencing Marvel's Avengers for the first time, this updated list of tips and hints will lead to a more well-rounded experience for the player.
18 Prioritize Learning Through HARM
If the X-Men have their Danger Room, the Avengers in Marvel’s Avengers have the HARM. Standing for Holographic Augmented Reality Machine, HARM essentially serves as the training mode for the game. Players shouldn’t just treat HARM as a glorified tutorial, though. Those who want to master the game need to maximize HARM as much as possible.
Thanks to HARM, players can use all existing heroes and get familiar with their mechanics. Despite the grind-heavy nature of the game, each Avenger does have its own set of skills and abilities. Iron Man specializes in flight and long-ranged attacks, while Black Widow has a myriad of gadgets to adjust to situations on the ground. Understanding their intricacies can help players adjust to any situation with any hero.
17 Dismantle Unused Gear
For those dipping their toes into the multiplayer aspects of Marvel's Avengers, they will find that loot and resources will play a large part in the game's mechanics. The gear that can be found will provide the player's characters with stat boosts and buffs to their powers that are always useful.
However, the gear's effectiveness will quickly expire as new equipment is found. This under-leveled gear is expendable so it's a good idea to dismantle it and make room in the inventory for newer, more useful items.
16 Marking Points Of Interest
As an action game, Marvel's Avengers is a mostly linear experience. However, some of the early areas in the game offer a surprising amount of freedom for players to explore, and contain lots of secrets waiting to be discovered.
Due to the game's linearity, it's easy for players to miss many of these secrets and tasks as the story progresses. Pressing up on the d-pad will mark these items for the player to see, so it's a good idea to activate it as much as possible.
15 Resources Are Everywhere
As mentioned above, there are a lot of resources in Marvel's Avengers waiting to be discovered by the player. Taking it upon oneself to smash crates and other objects in the game will provide items aplenty.
Keeping an eye out for these crates is a good idea, but also keep in mind that there is a lot to collect at the end of missions. Additionally, defeating enemies is also a great source of loot. Never pass up an opportunity to stockpile resources.
14 No Shame In Lock-On
Albeit an adventure game with multiple combat mechanics, Marvel’s Avengers also employs a lock-on system. While players might want to go gung-ho on their aiming, lock-on can help them avoid the unnecessary headaches of facing multiple foes at once.
Remember, the game often gives players mobs of enemies to deal with. Focusing a hero’s attacks via lock-on can make combos and skills rotate much faster. In the case of AOE-heavy heroes such as the Hulk and Thor, lock-on can be a godsend when hitting multiple enemies.
13 Capitalize On Takedowns
While not necessarily finishers, Take Downs do come with flashy animations that showcase an Avenger’s signature theme. And typical to moves with special animations, Take Downs indeed deal massive damage when done correctly.
Granted, watching Take Down animations can interrupt players away from their winning combos. However, the sheer damage output can make battles more efficient, especially in AOE. As such, players should try to capitalize on Takedowns whenever they appear, especially if players start mastering smoothly executed combos.
12 Turrets And Fliers Go First
With folks such as Iron Man and Hawkeye dishing out attacks from afar and in the air, it’s expected for them to encounter foes at a distance. Unfortunately, the game does have its fair share of annoying opponents. In the case of long-range, these come in the form of deathly accurate Turrets and annoyingly fast fliers.
In these situations, players can best deal with them by dispatching them first at every stage. Keep an eye out for wall-mounted turrets and eliminate these first. Afterward, take care of ranged opponents and flying foes before engaging other enemies hand-to-hand.
11 Safety In Distance
While it’s always nice to have that MCU Avengers moment of fighting a horde of foes back-to-back, this scenario is always dangerous in Marvel’s Avengers. When overwhelmed, any group of enemies can defeat the Avengers quite easily.
Instead of risking the stakes, players should pick off enemies from afar as often as possible. That way, players can focus on eliminating elite foes and juggernauts via hand-to-hand after all pesky fliers and minions were picked off from a distance. This might take a bit more time than the usual rumble, but this approach also conserves the most health.
10 Fix Keymaps, Settings
Players who want to maximize their performance in Marvel's Avengers should look into their in-game settings first. Surprisingly, a lot of options exist in the title to make its gameplay more convenient. For instance, players should ideally turn off Motion Blur and Shake Sensitivity. These elements do enhance immersion, but they can cause motion sickness for players who want to pay attention to all details on the screen.
Moreover, it's suggested for PC players to keep Aim Mode and Defense Mode to Hold. Doing so allows players to trigger sensitive commands instead of relying on in-game toggling. For instance, Aim Mode - Hold allows players to aim more accurately while holding the Aim button. Meanwhile, Defense Mode - Hold allows players to time their dodges and parries more accurately.
9 Understand The Basics
Players who want to go pro for Marvel's Avengers should ideally get the basics when it comes to combat. In general, all heroes possess light and heavy attacks that can be chained into combos. They have heroic abilities they can toggle to grant them special attacks and abilities, which can enhance their combo rotation. Additionally, heroes change their movement and attack patterns depending on their direction and surface.
However, players should also have a good idea of some advanced mechanics. Remain mindful of skills that grant them the "Breaks Block" ability, which allows them to shatter shields of enemies. Moreover, players have special Takedowns that allow them to finish off opponents. Takedowns vary from hero to hero, and co-op matches may grant access to team-based Takedowns.
8 Master Dodges And Parries
Thankfully, all heroes have default dodging and parrying mechanics in-game. As such, players should familiarize themselves as to how characters transition from parries to counters, and how they can use their dodges to string in counter-attacks against villains.
Remember that the game signals players to parry and dodge. Thanks to attack circles, enemies practically "declare" whenever they attack, giving players a short window to either dodge or parry. As such, players should remember that they can both dodge and parry attacks after yellow, blue, and white circles. Meanwhile, they can only dodge attacks after red circles.
7 Focus On All Characters
Interestingly, players can traverse through Marvel's Avengers' main story and other missions with one of six characters. The game's story will allow players to control all of the heroes regardless of whether they have a main or priority character. EXP and loot earned on missions actually scale for that specific character, meaning players will always meet an equal challenge regardless of the level.
However, despite these perks, players should try their best not to have a "main" character. Each hero in Marvel's Avengers specializes in particular team roles. However, they all perfectly play fine in solo, as they have a fair share of both melees and ranged attacks. Loot that heroes get in missions becomes specifically tailored to them, which matters in terms of Perks.
6 All In The Loot
Despite the versatility in the skills of the Avengers, Marvel's Avengers made it apparent early on that loot will play a major role in the game. After all, it's the loot that determines how characters pull off certain moves. Players can acquire loot from enemies, as mission rewards, and in chests that can be found across the game's levels.
However, it's extremely important for players to not forget about upgrading their loot, especially if they've chosen to equip some of them. They may not change the overall aesthetics of the heroes, but their bonuses can become extremely invaluable when players want to use certain builds.
5 Take Note Of Equipment Perks
Aside from bonuses, loot and equipment may also offer various Perks that grant certain advantages and special buffs to heroes. These come in the form of Perks that the whole team can use, or hero-exclusive Perks that enhance a hero's particular set of skills. Players need to pay attention as to which Perks they want to activate in battle, as these Perks maximize their chosen builds.
For instance, Iron Man's Melee Gear may possess the exclusive Cosmic Atomizers Perk. When activated, Iron Man's Light Combo Finishers will release Cosmic AOE damage. However, other heroes may share Perks, such as Lightweight Protection (Kamala Khan, Hulk, Black Widow) that gives Heavy Combo Finishers a chance to grant defense buffs.
4 Choose Skills According To Playstyle
Unlike other multi-character games, Marvel's Avengers made sure that each hero can become as balanced as possible. As such, they all share different versions of attacks and parries. However, it's their skills that determine how their aforementioned general arsenal of abilities works against opponents. As such, players need to pay attention to which skills they use and what playstyle they want to adopt.
For instance, Black Widow can focus on mixed martial arts as a melee fighter or gunfights as a ranged character. Players who want to go ranged DPS should use Rain Maker (expands magazine cap) and Full-Auto Shot (hold R2/RT to full-auto) to maximize Black Widow's attacks. Meanwhile, players who want to transform the character into a melee powerhouse can take note of Madripoor Special (dash attack) and Night Watch (aerial shockwave landing) to give enemies a much-needed stagger.
3 Understand Stats
Aside from its action-adventure gameplay, Marvel's Avengers also has a few RPG elements mixed into it. All heroes share seven major statistics, each of which both corresponds and differs from other typical RPG statistics. As such, players should have a general idea of what each stat corresponds to have a better sense of character progression.
For instance, Resolve has to do with maximum Willpower (Health) and Willpower Recovery. Moreover, Resilience handles overall Armor and damage mitigation. Lastly, Intensity tackles damage resistance and overall damage from stun and status effects.
Melee attackers should focus on Might, as it handles physical damage. Meanwhile, ranged attackers rely on Precision. Interestingly, players who want to pay attention to crit should note their crit chance and Perk proc via Proficiency, while Valor dictates the damage of their critical and Heroic Effects.
2 Take Note Of Status Effects
In addition to unique stats, Marvel's Avengers also have special status effects. These effects, which both come from Perks and hero abilities, factor in on a lot of combat situations. As such, understanding them allows players to maximize their playstyles.
- Gamma Poisoning poisons enemies and forces them to explode when they die.
- Cosmic Ionization essentially acts as a life steal.
- Plasma Burn interrupts enemy attacks through burning.
- Cryo Freeze slows enemies and lowers their defenses.
- Electric Shock boosts attacks against its victims.
- Pym Shrink "shrinks" enemies to deal less damage and take more damage.
1 Check Out Challenges
While it's true that Marvel's Avenger's campaign is entertaining, players who want to go pro should likely explore outside-story content. This factor becomes extremely important if they want to eventually focus on endgame content, especially in co-op and DLCs. This extra content comes in the form of various missions, especially from Factions that let players access shops
Moreover, players should probably explore the world more often as they can rescue trapped metahumans in big boxes. Doing so will grant them much-needed Faction points, which can quickly improve a hero's reputation with the Factions across the game.