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Okay, has the dust settled on the meta yet for Marvel Realm of Champions? Fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of the game’s largest update yet in version 3.0, with Thor joining the list of champions. To learn more about the development behind the update, do check out our interview with Creative and Art Director, Gabriel Frizzera and Executive Producer, Bryan Brandt over here.
It’s been a busy time, but well, I squeezed in some time to give the ol’ god a rumble in the Battleworld. I am in no way gonna claim I’m amazing at the game and god knows I need to somehow get a 25 hour day at the very least to improve. Anyway, here goes!
THOR
The man god himself, or at least one of them? I should’ve asked how champions worked. Anyway, he can use either Mjolnir or Stormbreaker, and I ended up playing with Mjolnir a whole lot. I got the impression this is the shorter range Thor, with a gap closer and small AOE damage. His heavy attack lets him throw the hammer, which I thought wouldn’t be in this skill set, I confess. This is also the playstyle with the Charge mechanic, which I, uh, didn’t really use. Give me a break, as the frontliner for my team, I gotta just do the ol’ slam jam, then die. I guess.
I do prefer getting up close and personal, so all’s well that ends well. With his ultimate ability, I learnt how to Charge it up and hover in the air, unreachable, then make ’em taste the wrath of a thunder god. It’s got an area of effect plus somewhat homes into enemies, so it’s nice to see them try to scramble out of range or you know, just release it earlier before they escape. I didn’t really come across other Thors using the Stormbreaker skill set on me, which is probably fine. I could sure use more support in heals since I don’t have a taunt. Sorry to my more squishy team members.
After playing him a whole bunch, I’d say the easiest way to counter him would be to immobilize him and take down his teammates. I’m speaking from experience, here. All in all, I think he’s nicely balanced when in competitive. Then I get into a group with two other Iron Legionnaires and cry as I see them get pummeled while I can’t draw aggro. (Sorry!)
SUMMONER’S JOURNEY
Now you too can see just how much EXP you need to unlock the next shiny reward! I do like this addition, since I have concrete numbers to set goals towards. Along the way, they’ve added comic stories, giving you a glimpse into the workings of the Battleworld. Obviously there isn’t much to go on right now, as the story’s only just beginning. I’m sure enthusiasts would be much more eager to put forward names on who should illustrate the next House stories as we slowly piece together what really happened, with the ever looming mystery behind Maestro’s death.
Jump in whenever, and the rewards along this track will be waiting for you. You get EXP towards the Summoner’s Journey rewards through consuming Journey Tokens, and completing the daily bounties will also get you more EXP. Journey Tokens will restore over time, and even when you don’t have any, it’s not a Stamina system that limits you from climbing up the seasonal ladders. Just keep on climbing those ranks!
WAR THOR’S CRUCIBLE
a.k.a. the Pinnacle Quests. Each Champion can take their shot at the quest, progressing through increasingly tougher levels up to 24. The maps have certain modifiers to encourage you to try out different gear: be it a buff to certain weapons, or the enemies being of a certain type. Wrangling it on Normal, it starts out easy enough, before it culminates in a Thor battle on certain stages. You can rechallenge other levels if you so wish, though I’d prefer to climb where possible to get my associated shinies.
In between fights, you’ll also get some nice story / world building. Since this one current round of Pinnacle Quests are organized by Queen War Thor, you’ll get to know her better through these story beats. (Un?)fortunately for Thor, Giant Slayer, it seems that his Queen has a certain sense of humour that he’ll need to get used to. Otherwise, the gameplay for this one is pretty simple; just head into the arena and fend off the waves, and win to get the goods.
SHOWDOWNS
At last, arguably the highlight of the update. Baron Skaar’s got his hands on the Black Mirror, and you’d really prefer he not use it. As with the Pinnacle Quests, the arena has modifiers as well. The Showdowns are accessible once you hit Summoner Level 9, and there’ll be three difficulties to choose from. I went with Beginner, thinking it’d be a quick run.
I was wrong.
That Black Mirror is really one heck of an item, because even on the lowest difficulty, I was struggling here and there and died far more than I expected to. There’s some bants with ol’ Skaar, though I was honestly too busy trying not to get pummeled to paste to pay attention. It really does make you reconsider the gear you’ve been bringing from the get go, and if you’ve been thinking regular PVE content has been too easy, well, get ready for Skaar to set you right.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I like that you can get a constant sense of progression not just from completing your daily and weekly missions. The new bounties means you can get that EXP towards your Summoner’s Journey, and they aren’t too difficult to complete if you’re a busy person like me. With the Journey Tokens not limiting you to regular play in the various game modes and only serving as a bonus, even those who prefer to keep on grinding won’t need to worry.
Marvel Realm of Champions is designed to be snappy matches on the go, after all, with matches taking 3-4 minutes at a time. You won’t ever be too far even if you can’t play as often, while there’ll be challenging content yet for those who put in the time. As the story slowly unfolds and the updates roll in, I’ll be looking forward to seeing others put together the pieces of lore, or simply enjoy themselves truly making their champion their own.
