One of the big questions on the survey was “Should Corvus Glaive Be Able to Survive a Time-Out”. This was a hot topic at the time, because there was a change that accidentally went live during Alliance Quest which prevented champions from surviving a time-out when they were at low health. This change particularly impacted Corvus users, as he has always been able to survive a time-out, even at 1 HP, if he has Glaive Charges. Here is the breakdown of answers by map played most often.
As you can see, the higher the map you play, the more likely you think Corvus should be able to survive a time-out. This is likely because this method is used more often, and is viewed as almost necessary at the highest level of AQ. What some Summoners playing lower-level maps see as an “Endgame Cheat” is viewed as a needed tool to defeat over-tuned nodes and save valuable potions by the Summoners actually running Maps 6 & 7.
In week two of the Northern Expeditions (Canadian Difficulty), there is a node called Diss Track. This node requires the defender to have 3 Debuffs on them before you can do any damage. This can be 3 of the same Debuff, or can be a combination of different Debuffs. Passive effects do not count as Debuffs.
All of the defenders on the Diss Track lane are from the Mystic Class, so keep that in mind when putting together your team. Furthermore, Dormammu is immune to Bleed and Poison, so those Debuffs won’t help you in that fight.
Here’s a list of some champions that can get you through Diss Track. There may be some that I’ve missed, but this will give you some options if you are new to this node. The more Debuffs the champion spams, and the longer the Debuffs last, the easier the fight.
I think the top picks for this path include Human Torch, Void, and Sunspot. Human Torch and Void also counter the other node on the lane, Buffet, by reversing healing, while Sunspot is a Debuff-producing machine.
Diss Track Counters Human Torch (Don’t Use Pre-Fight Ability) Void Mr. Fantastic Quake Blade Black Widow Deadly Origin Elsa Bloodstone Gwenpool Nick Fury Night Thrasher Squirrel Girl Archangel Iceman Sunspot Sentinel Hyperion Medusa Vision Aarkus Claire Voyant Doctor Voodoo
Who did I leave out? Leave your picks in the comments below.
My buddy Vetlegge is back to open 20 5-Star Basic Crystals. Sure the Basic Pool is huge, but with 20 crystals he’s bound to pull someone he wants… right?
About a month ago, a number of content creators circulated a survey covering several issues important to the MCOC Community. We apologize we couldn’t get the results out to the community sooner, but we’re ready to share some takeaways with you. For more general information on the survey, please read MCOC Concierge’s Twitter Thread.
For this post, I’m going to look at the question that asked Summoners to rank listed game-modes from most favorite to least favorite. We also have prestige data from the survey, so I wanted to compare how players at different prestige levels ranked the various choices in an effort to find trends and identify pain points.
Note that the labels above the prestige rankings are my own, and are used as a general way to group player progression.
Monthly/Special
This is the most popular game-mode for all prestige levels with the exception of +11K players. I attribute this drop-off to the current lack of a Cavalier difficulty. The Uncollected difficulty is seen as repetitive, not tuned to their rosters, and with meaningless rewards. Otherwise, monthly performs quite well across the board, with its highest rating coming from 8K prestige players, who likely find the Uncollected rewards very helpful for progression. 100% exploration of Uncollected is still a big deal for this group. Main Story Acts
A consistent #2 pick across the board, except for +11K players who ranked it #1. These are the players who have likely 100% explored Act 6 (that’s where their prestige comes from along with Abyss), so they are the ones benefiting from the rewards. Story Mode dips with 9K players. I see these players as “New Cavaliers” who have pushed to get their title, but are likely stuck at either the Mr. Sinister fight in 6.2.2 or The Champion fight in 6.2.6 and are frustrated. Even if they can get through these fights, they don’t have the roster depth to 100% Act 6 maps.
Alliance Quest
Alliance Quest is the #3 pick for all prestige groups, likely due to quality rewards for the effort involved. The group that rated AQ the lowest is 10K prestige players. These players are likely playing the hardest maps but may be struggling with either the hardest modifiers or late-week Map 7, and by virtue of their prestige are shut out of the highest level of rewards, so they may feel like they have hit a bit of a wall.
Incursions
Incursions are most popular with 9-11K players who still value 5 Star champions and can likely get to Zone 10 in Sectors 6 and 7, so they feel like they are maximizing the rewards from Incursions. There is a marked drop-off for +11K players. This is not surprising as there has been consistent talk that Incursions rewards are not properly tuned for the needs of players who are focused only on 6 Star champions. Many of these players are also big Cavalier Crystal buyers, so they don’t really need any extra gold.
Alliance War
Again, relatively stable rankings, but it is least popular among the 10K mature Cavalier players, who are likely struggling on the difficult Tier 3-5 maps and have to deal with Defense Tactics, while not seeing top rewards.
Arena
Arena is most popular with progressing players, who by definition have the most roster-building to do. Arena ratings slowly drop off as prestige rises. I think that is likely due to the repetitive nature of arena, and that the longer you’ve been playing the game, the more likely you are burnt-out on arena.
Everest Content – Realm/Labyrinth/Abyss
The standout here is the big spike in interest in “Everest Content” with +11K players. This of course makes total sense, as these players have done everything else and have the rosters to actually run Abyss. Endgame players are always looking for the next big challenge. For players below 10K, this content isn’t very relevant, as Abyss is out of reach, and the Labyrinth hype is long over and those rewards aren’t seen as a useful part of progression these days.
So there you have it, my quick takeaways from this data. I know we’re got a lot of smart people in this community that love to analyze data, so if you think I’ve missed any important take-aways or if you have drawn a different conclusion from the data, let me know in the comments.
The crystals have been spun, now it’s time to rank-up some champs! In this video I go over my inventory management strategy and decide on my next three 5/65 5 Star champions.
It’s Episode 24 of the Contest Realm Podcast! The Road Maps are finally out. Rich and I recap all the news about the future of MCOC and review our experience testing Hulkbuster out in Incursions.
It’s July 4th, and that means its time to trade in my units for the best deal we’ve seen so far in Marvel Contest of Champions. In this video I review the Cache offers, make my selections, and open my 5 Star and 6 Star Nexus Crystals.
Next week in Marvel Contest of Champions Guardian officially joins The Contest as the Featured Arena Champion, Northern Expeditions Week 2 releases, and Alliance War Season 19 kicks off. The Hotel M.O.D.O.K. Gift Shop closes on July 8, so make sure to spend your Gold Coins by then.
I hope you and your family are staying safe during these difficult times.
Alliance Wars Seasons We are currently in the Alliance War Off-Season. Season 19 will start on July 8. Rewards eligibility for Season 19 locks on Friday, July 24 at 6pm EST, and the Season ends on Tuesday, August 4.
Full Roster Availability (No AW/AQ): 100% champion availability starting at 2pm EST on Friday, July 10 through Saturday, July 11 at 2pm EST.
Sunday, July 5: Sunday Arenas begin at 1pm EST.
Monday, July 6: Round 2 of the 4 Star Squirrel Girl and Sabretooth Featured Arenas at 1pm EST. Summoner Sigil Owners, your Solo Event, Gold Quest, and items on a 7-day timer and the 5 Star Featured Crystal in the Black-ISO Market reset at 1pm EST. UMCOC Podcast, Live on Discord at 8pm EST.
Tuesday, July 7: Incursions Milestones and Top Zone Bonus rewards reset at 2pm EST. Server Maintenance begins at 11pm EST and will last for up to 2 hours.
Wednesday, July 8: The Hotel M.O.D.O.K. Gift Shop closes at 1pm EST, so make sure to spend all your Gold Coins! Northern Expeditions Week 2 opens at 1pm EST. Alliance War Season 19 kicks off with matchmaking at 6pm EST.
Thursday, July 9: Round 1 of the 4 Star Basic Darkhawk and Guardian Featured Arenas begin at 1pm EST. The Alliance Quest Series concludes at 3pm EST. The Alpha Arena begins at 6pm EST.
Friday, July 10: 100% Roster Availability beginning at 2pm EST.
Saturday, July 11: 100% Roster Availability ends at 2pm EST.
Kabam has just released Part 3 of the Road Map – Champions of the Contest. Once again, this is a pretty long post, and covers the future vision of champion design, balance, and acquisition. It’s worth a read when you have time. With that being said, let’s get into the highlights.
CHAMPION BUFFS
Not all buffs will be created equal. Kabam is looking at 4 categories for champions.
Balanced – No changes needed. Tune-Up – Just needs a numbers boost. Update – Needs a numbers boost and minor ability changes. Overhaul – Needs a full rework.
The general repeating “buff cycle” will be Overhaul – Tune Up – Update.
The first Tune-Up will be Punisher 2099, which is expected in October with v28.2, then Gambit and Falcon will receive Updates in November with v29.0.
MAGNETO
Release Date: End of August
Important Notes: Yes, both classic Magneto and Magneto Marvel Now are getting full Overhauls (reworks). There will not be Betas for these reworks.
My Thoughts: What I’m really excited about here is that the buffs will make them different champions. Magneto will be more of a classic villain, and will be designed to take out Metal and Hero champions, while Magneto Marvel Now will be a support champion for Metal and Hero champions. Hopefully they do both Magnetos justice!
DUAL CLASS 5 STAR BASIC CRYSTALS
Release Date: Late July/Early August
Key Information: Uncollected and Cavalier players will soon be able to purchase a Dual Class 5 Star Basic Crystal for 10K 5 Star Shards. The class pairs will be Mutant/Skill, Science/Mystic, and Cosmic/Tech, and will rotate in the store daily.
My Thoughts: I love this idea, especially because it costs the same as a regular 5 Star Basic. For Summoners targeting a handful of champions, this will be the way to go. I imagine I’ll be just spinning the Science/Mystic one until I pull Doctor Doom and Human Torch for Abyss.
WISH LIST CRYSTAL
Release Date: Late 2020/Early 2021
Key Information: This idea is early in the development stage, but it may be a Cavalier Crystal where you can select 5 champions from each class to create your own custom pool for a crystal.
My Thoughts: This is a really cool idea, I just hope once the tech is developed, it isn’t restricted to just Cavalier Crystals. I would certainly pay a premium in crystal shards for a 5 Star or 6 Star Wish List Crystal. This idea is quite a ways off, so it is likely to evolve a bit before release.
SOLO EVENTS/SIGNATURE STONES
Release Date: Late August/Early September
Key Information: A big update is coming to Solo Events, including more variation in events, progression appropriate tiers, a new Solo Crystal, and a rewards update. Regarding Signature Stones, one 5 Star Sig Stone Crystal will be added to the Uncollected 22 Hour Solo Event Milestones. Cavalier players will receive an additional 5 Star Generic Sig Stone.
My Thoughts: 5 Star Signature Stones have been an area I’ve talked about a lot, so I’m glad to see we’re finally getting a regular way to grind some. Solo Events have been in need of an upgrade for a while, so hopefully the other rewards are more in line with the needs of Uncollected and Cavalier players as well.
What did you think of the Champions Road Map? Are you excited by the buffs and the new Dual Class 5 Star Crystal? Let me know in the comments below.
Kabam has just released Part 2 of the 2020 Road Map “Amping Up Alliances.” This post rehashes a number of items that have already been talked about in the v27.2 Release Notes, such as Leadership Tools and the Season 19 Alliance War Update.
Regarding Alliance Wars, the Road Map covers how Season 19 was developed prior to the recent community feedback, and that long-term Alliance War needs a complete redesign. The Alliance War Future section of the post is limited to goals and doesn’t have any set timelines or designs at this time. If you’re interested in AW, I suggest reading this section of the post directly as I won’t be covering it here, but will be likely discussing it this Sunday on Episode 24 of the Contest Realm Podcast with RichTheMan. For now, I’m just glad Kabam acknowledged the current meta of Alliance War is unsustainable, although that does leave the community in limbo with regards to Season 19.
With that being said, let’s get into the break-down and learn what we can expect for the future of Alliance game-play in Marvel Contest of Champions
ALLIANCE QUEST ENERGY
Release Date: July
Important Notes: The Energy Cap is being raised to 6, starting Energy will be increased to 4, and Timers are being reduced from 60 minutes to 45 minutes on all maps.
My Thoughts: This is a massive win for the community! For anyone playing high level Alliance Quest, this is a huge Quality of Life improvement, and it may make higher maps available to some that couldn’t manage the time restrictions in the past. These changes are long overdue, but very welcome.
AQ LINK NODES:
Release Date: July for Link Node Removal, TBA on Map 6 Restructure
Important Notes: The first set of link nodes will be removed in Maps 6 and 7, and the Map 6 link nodes will be changed to flow more like Map 7.
My Thoughts: Another great change that will allow Summoners to capitalize on that increased starting energy and reduce logins. More good stuff.
MAP 7 RE-BALANCING
Release Date: August
Important Notes: Pain-points in Map 7 are being addressed. The Mesmerize node is being removed (replaced with Mix Master) and the Mephisto on that lane is being replaced with Green Goblin. Captain Marvel is being removed from the Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Lane. Vivified is being reduced from 200% to 100% Defensive Power Gain, Korg and Killmonger are being removed from that path, and Redoubled Determination is being removed in favor of Blood in the Water. Problematic Champions such as Mordo, War Machine, Captain Marvel, and Magneto are being removed, or their buffs will be adjusted, in Variation 1.
My Thoughts: The good news keeps coming for Map 7. Some of the worst nodes and match-ups are being removed or tuned down. Some of these fights were unnecessarily specific in their need for counters.
AQ MID-SEASON UPDATE
Release Date: July
Important Notes: There is another Alliance Quest post, expected on June 30, which will reveal the new Epic Modifiers, Honor Reward Milestones, and Mini-Boss changes.
My Thoughts: I’m cautiously optimistic here. I’m very curious to learn what the new modifiers are, how much more difficult they will be than the Master Modifiers, and how accessible T5CC from Honor Rewards will be.
BOSS RAIDS
Release Date: Unknown
Important Notes: Boss Raids are set to be massive, Alliance-based battles that will feature Marvel’s greatest villains and recreate epic moments from movie and comic book history. This will be a unique game-mode that should give Alliances a new way to work together.
My Thoughts: The information here is very preliminary, but I love the idea. I hope they get real creative with Boss Raids, this could be an awesome social game-mode.
HELP SYSTEM
Release Date: September
Important Notes: Two words: Help All.
My Thoughts: Arena grinders rejoice, it’s finally happening! One button to clear them all.
UNDO BUTTON
Release Date: Unknown
Important Notes: Kabam is working on the tech to get an Undo Button into AQ and AW, so the days of accidentally heading down the wrong path may be a distant memory someday.
My Thoughts: As an officer, I can tell you I’ve had more than one day ruined scrambling to cover lanes and deciding which nodes to leave up when someone goes the wrong way, particularly in Map 7. I never thought an Undo Button was ever going to be on the table, so this is quite the pleasant surprise.
DEFENDER PLACEMENTS
Release Date: Unknown
Important Notes: This is still in development, but Kabam is working on a way for Officers to directly place defenders from a member’s Top Champs list.
My Thoughts: This is another pain point. Sometimes people forget to place and you’re trying to set defense, or have a legit life conflict. This will certainly help ease player stress.
PATH ASSIGNMENTS
Release Date: Unknown (2020 Target)
Important Notes: Kabam is currently in design with this new feature, which will allow officers to assign AQ and AW lanes to members.
My Thoughts: As attached as I am to my AQ lane spreadsheets, having paths assigned in-game is going to be pretty great.
AQ OFFICER
Release Date: 2021
Important Notes: This feature is designed to give Leadership more breathing room by showing the upcoming AQ Map variations, and queuing up the following round of Alliance Quest in advance.
My Thoughts: It’s always awkward when members start pinging leadership to start AQ, and you’re busy with something and then have to scramble to login, remember the order of the modifiers you’re running, and setup the maps without making a week-ruining error. Needing officers to be available during a very specific time-window can be problematic, and I like that this is being addressed.
What do you think of these new features? Do they meet your expectations, or does Kabam need to do more to improve the Alliance experience?
Let’s break down how July’s Side Quest, Northern Expeditions, works so you can maximize your rewards.
THE BASICS
If you remember Mole Man Expeditions, then you already know the setup for how Northern Expeditions will work. There will be 4 quests, with a new one unlocking each week in July. There are 4 difficulty levels: Heroic, Master, Epic, and Canadian. Canadian Difficulty is a new “Cavalier” tuned map, and you must be Level 60 to access it, but you do not need to have the Cavalier title.
Your quest team will be limited to 3 champions, and Sasquatch will be a random ambush, so be prepared to deal with him by adding a mystic counter to your team.
Canadian Difficulty will have an added Global node, and all paths but one will have linked nodes.
There will be no energy requirements for Northern Expeditions, and you can run all difficulty levels you have access to. All the rewards are on the paths, there are no completion or exploration rewards.
SCHEDULE
Week 1 (8 Paths) – Wednesday, July 1 at 1pm EST Week 2 – (8 Paths) – Wednesday, July 8 at 1pm EST Week 3 – (12 Paths) – Wednesday, July 15 at 1pm EST Week 4 – (12 Paths) – Wednesday, July 22 at 1pm EST
The Northern Expeditions ends on Wednesday, August 5 at 1pm, and all maps will close at that time so be sure to complete the event before the August event goes live.
REWARDS
Here is the break-down of rewards for Northern Expeditions. These are the total rewards than can be achieved by running every path of the event.
Here’s some info to get you prepped for what’s happening in Marvel Contest of Champions next month. Expect to see the v27.2 update available for download around June 29. Read the Full Release Notes.
NEW CHAMPIONS
As Guardian, James MacDonald Hudson leads Canada’s greatest Super-Hero Team, Alpha Fight. He is a Tech champion powered by a suit that grants him Armor Up, Perfect Block, and Shock damage, and looks to be a very defensive champion. He has a unique synergies with himself, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Squirrel Girl, Deadpool, Sasquatch, and Mole Man.
Dr. Walter Langkowski transforms into the mighty Sasquatch to become Alpha Flight’s resident powerhouse. He is a tanky Mystic Champion with Regeneration, Unstoppable, and Rupture. Sasquatch’s unique synergy partners are Man-Thing, Sabretooth, Hulk, Squirrel Girl, King Groot, Thing, Sentinel, and Hulkbuster.
EVENT QUEST In July’s Event Quest, Guardian and Sasquatch set out to stop a mysterious crystal smuggling ring in the Battlerealm.
SIDE QUEST Welcome to Canadian Difficulty! This month the Road to Cavalier Difficulty begins with the Northern Expeditions Side Quest. This event will work very much like the Mole Man Expeditions, as you can only bring 3 champions into the quest. There are 4 total maps for this quest, and a new one will be released each week. Note that you do need to be Level 60 to access Canadian Difficulty. Week 1 opens on July 1 at 1pm EST.
HULKBUSTER BUFF It’s finally here! Read all about the Hulkbuster rework going live with v27.2.
EXTRA REWARDS July will have a special 2-week calendar beginning on June 30th, as well as new Objectives. In addition to the usual shards, signature stones, and gold, you can also gain special Canadian themed revives (Poutine) and health potions (Maple Syrup).
NEW FEATURES The new quality of life features in this update are Battlegroup Assignments, which allows leadership to assign members into Battlegroups for War and Alliance Quest, Top Alliance Champions for AQ, AW Attack, and AW Defense, and a new fight menu screen.
BUG FIXES Big fixes for the month include fixes to the animations of Luke Cage and Mr. Fantastic, Crossbones not always receiving critical failures vs Domino, and an issue with the evade call-out not always appearing during specials.
FINAL THOUGHTS After a couple of slow months, it looks like MCOC is starting to pick up steam again. There is a lot packed into this update. The Leadership Tools debuting in v27.2 have been requested for years, and as the owner of an awakened 6 Star Hulkbuster, I can’t wait to try out his new kit in Incursions. Alpha Flight, while previously mentioned, is a team that has been noticeably absent in-game, especially considering Kabam is based in Canada. As always, the new champions need to be play-tested to see their true worth, but I have to admit Sasquatch looks like my kind of champion and I like his synergy partners. At the end of the day though, the community response to the rewards and difficulty for the Canadian level of the Northern Expeditions will define the month, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the first quest opens on July 1.
If you plan on clearing some difficult content in Marvel Contest of Champions this July, perhaps the new Canadian Difficulty for the Side Quest, you’ll need to know when all your champs will be available. Here is the full schedule of 100% Roster Availability (no AQ/AW) for the month. All times are EST, 2pm is based off of the approximate end of AW attack.
Wednesday, July 1 at 3pm EST – Thursday, July 2 at 2pm EST
Friday, July 3 at 2pm EST – Saturday, July 4 at 3pm EST
Friday, July 10 at 2pm EST – Saturday, July 11 at 2pm EST
Friday, July 17 at 3pm EST – Saturday, July 18 at 2pm EST
Sunday, July 19 at 2pm EST – Monday, July 20 at 2pm EST
Sunday, July 26 at 2pm EST – Monday, July 27 at 2pm EST
Kabam has just released Part 1 of the 2020 Road Map – The Future of Quests. This is a very long blog post, and I recommend you read the entire post when you get a chance for more insight from the Developers, particularly when it comes to changes to design philosophy. That being said, let’s break it all down!
ACT 6CHANGES
Release Date: Unknown
Important Notes: The big headline is the 6.2.6 Champion Boss Fight is being changed. The No Retreat node is being removed, damage taken from Nullify in the “Main Event” Phase is being reduced from 10% to 2%, The Champion’s Block Penetration is being cut in half, and the number of Dexterity triggers required in the Final Phase is being reduced from 5 to 3.
Regarding the rest of Act 6, attack values will see a big reduction. Attack values in 6.4 will come down 40-60%, which will put them in the 5K-9K range. Acts 6.1-6.3 will be scaled down accordingly. The attack values of the 6.4 final bosses will also see reductions of 60-75%, with corresponding drops to the earlier bosses as well.
Kabam will also be conducting a review of the Act 6 Boss Fights to identify “Pain Points” with a player focus group of 20-30 Summoners. The rest of the community can submit feedback via the official forums.
My Thoughts: As far as The Champion fight goes, I’m very happy. No Retreat had to go, that was a terrible node considering the requirements of the fight. The Dexterity reduction from 5 to 3 will help make the fight more accessible as well.
The reduction of attack values is great, as is the idea of a player focus group to help the Developers better understand the trouble spots in Act 6. The review of Act 6 looks like it will take a fair amount of time, so players choosing to hold off on further progress in Act 6 until the changes go live may be waiting a while.
Unfortunately, those hoping for a removal of gates and the lifting of the 4 star ban appear to be out of luck. There also isn’t any information on compensation for those who have already explored Act 6, other than options are being discussed.
BOOK 2 ACT 1
Release Date: December 2020 (Projected)
Important Notes: This section of the post has a good deal of developer information on how they want to change their fight design goals following the reaction to the Book 2 Beta.
As part of the new design of Book 2, Kabam is going to add in Path Rewards to smooth out the map exploration process, keep paths under 70 energy, reduce the time required to run a path, and reduce the need for specific champion counters.
There are also two new big features coming with Book 2. The first is that Quests will now feature multiple Final Bosses, which should significantly reduce the repetitive nature of beating a boss 6-10 times per quest. The second is that Champion Swapping (like we have in Incursions), will also be a feature available to players in Book 2.
Other design intention changes include a reduction in number and length of paths, reduction and simplification of Defender Nodes, and more clarity on which paths are the “easy paths” and which paths are the “hard paths.”
My Thoughts: There is a lot to take in here, and even more to execute. It looks like Kabam is moving in the right direction thanks to the Beta feedback. I really like that they are getting creative here, bringing multiple Bosses into play for the first time, which will make for some interesting strategy choices and should allow for easier initial completions. I’m very excited that they are stealing Champion Swapping from Incursions. Hopefully there will be a new Book 2 Beta in a few months and we’ll really get to see that Story Quest is headed in a more player-friendly direction.
BACK ISSUES #5 – BLOOD AND VENOM
Release Date: Sometime in August as part of v28.0.
Important Notes: Blood and Venom will have Champion requirements, as well as tag-specific buffs. Since this issue features Venom and Guillotine, I expect their enemies such as the various Spider-Man champions and possibly Morningstar to be the beneficiaries of these buffs. Maybe Classic Spider-Man will be the Sentinel of Back Issues #5! We’ll have to wait and see.
Variant 6 wasn’t officially confirmed. For those wondering, the 6th MCOC Event Quest was “Contamination,” and it featured Luke Cage, Netflix Daredevil, and an NPC version of Jessica Jones, so this will likely be the next Back Issue. Kabam hopes to have Variant 6 out by the end of 2020.
My Thoughts: What’s really interesting to note is that Kabam was planning on scaling back the release of Variants, which we already saw from the 9-month gap between Variants 4 and 5. It’s hard to understand how they interpreted the overwhelmingly positive reviews to past Variants and decided to slow down the release pace, but thankfully the community has bumped Back Issues up on the priority list.
BOSS RUSH
Release Date: Late July
Important Notes: Get ready for “The Summer Smackdown” which will feature not 1, but 5 Boss Rushes, each released weekly. Completing all 5 five weeks will grant you access to the OMEGA Quest, which will feature the Bosses from each of the previous 5 weeks.
My Thoughts: I’m very excited for this. I love Boss Rushes and this should make for some excellent community content. Between this and the Cavalier Side Quest, people should have enough to keep them busy in-game until Variant 5 drops.
CAVALIER DIFFICULTY
Release Date: September 2, 2020
Important Notes: As we learned from the Road To Cavalier Difficulty post, we’ll have Cavalier Side Quests in July and August, culminating in the first Cavalier Event Quest in September. The team will be gathering feedback during the months of July and August to help tune difficulty and rewards for the September Event Quest.
My Thoughts: We didn’t learn too much new here, but it’s great to finally have a confirmed go-live date for Cavalier Difficulty.
SUMMER OF PAIN
Release Date: Summer 2020
Important Notes: This is a new challenge for Endgame players. We don’t know much but expect a very difficult challenge that is geared toward the Top .1% of the player base.
My Thoughts: This sounds to me like The Maze 2.0. Could make for some interesting challenges and videos from our high-end content creators.
REWARDS UPDATE FOR EARLY ACTS
Release Date: Unknown, likely staggered per Act
Important Notes: In March of 2020, Kabam updated the rewards for Act 1 to bring them more in-line with where the game’s progression is at in 2020. The Act 2 update is imminent, and it is likely – although it was NOT confirmed – that Acts 3 & 4 will eventually be updated as well. If you have completed Act 2 within three months of the update, you will receive compensation.
What’s interesting here is that all players will have the option to rerun Act 2 to pick up new path-specific rewards.
My Thoughts: While this likely won’t change anything for the majority of players reading this post, it’s a nice update for newer players to smooth out their progression. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out on my new account.
NEW MUSIC
Release Date: December 2020 (with Book 2)
Important Notes: We’re getting 4 new audio tracks added to the game with the release of Book 2. There will be new battle music, a special track for boss fights, another new track during quest exploration, and finally a new track on the champion selection screen.
My Thoughts: The addition of new music and audio wasn’t on anyone’s list, but why not? It’s been 5 years, we could use a little variety to the soundtrack.
That’s it for the Quest Road Map. Stay tuned for the release of the Alliance Road Map on June 25.
Kabam has followed up last week’s Alliance War update, which included new maps and nodes, with additional information about the new Defense and Attacker Tactics for Season 19, as well as the updated Alliance War Season Rewards.
Before we get into the specifics of Tactics, it was also announced that all Hidden Nodes are being removed from the maps, and Alliance War fight timersare being extended to 5 minutes.
SCHEDULE NOTES:
New Maps Go Live: June 24
Defense Tactics Update Live: July 1
Alliance War Season 19 Starts: July 8
DEFENSE TACTICS
Removed: Dodge & Crush (due to lack of use)
Updated: Bulwark is being changed so that in addition to #Metal Defenders being immune to Armor Break Debuffs, they will also have the chance to go Indestructible. When a #Metal Defender loses more than 7/5/3% of their Max Health from a single hit, they gain an Indestructible Buff for 6/8/10 seconds. This Indestructible Buff is removed at the conclusion of the attacker’s Special Attack, and has a 10 second cool-down following the expiration of the Indestructible Buff.
New: Stubborn applies to #Defensive champions. Whenever a #Defensive champion’s attack fails to land (evade/dodge/miss), the defender gains Passive Indestructible stack (1/2/3). The attacker can remove the Indestructible by blocking a hit or being struck by the defender.
Protect applies to #L (Large) and #XL champions. When the attacker deals more than 300% of their Base Attack in a single hit, the Defender gains a stack of Protection, reducing all damage taken by 10/20/30%. The Defender can have up to 4 stacks of Protection. 2 Protection stacks can be removed by intercepting the Defender
ATTACKER TACTICS
Attacker Tactics are new for Season 19, and thankfully they will function a bit differently than we initially expected, which will make them more useful for players.
Basically, any attacker that has the same tag as the Defense Tactic selected by your opponent will also receive a bonus. They will receive this bonus whether or not they are entering a fight where the Defense Tactic is active on the defender, a positive change from the initial announcement.
Protect: #L & #XL champions will receive a Passive Unstoppable for 3 seconds whenever the Defender is knocked down.
Stubborn: #Defensive champions will have a %15 chance to Perfect Block for 10 seconds (max 2 stacks) after a Well-Timed Block (Parry).
Bulwark: #Metal champions will see an increase in the potency of their Damage of Time effects by +35% for each Damage over Time effect already on the opponent.
Flow: #Control champions can reduce the potency of the Defender’s Power Gain effects by -35% (max 3 stacks) for 15 seconds via the last hit of their Heavy Attack.
Siphon: #Villain champions gain +2,500 Block Proficiency for 15 seconds following a Special Attack
ALLIANCE WAR SEASONS REWARDS UPDATE
Rank 1: 40K 6 Star Shards, 50K 5 Star Shards, 2 T5CC (25%), 2 T5B
Rank 2: 37.5K 6 Star Shards, 50K 5 Star Shards, 1 T5CC (25%), 10 T5CC (2%), 2 T5B
Rank 3: 35K 6 Star Shards, 50K 5 Star Shards, 1 T5CC (25%), 6 T5CC (2%). 2 T5B
Master: 30K 6 Star Shards, 40K 5 Star Shards, 2 T5CC (10%), 5 T5CC (2%), 2 T5B
Platinum 1: 20K 6 Star Shards, 30K 5 Star Shards, 10 T5CC (2%), 1.75 T5B, 3 T2A
Platinum 2: 15K 6 Star Shards, 25K 5 Star Shards, 7 T5CC (2%), 1.5 T5B, 3 T2A
Platinum 3: 10K 6 Star Shards, 20K 5 Star Shards, 4 T5CC (2%), 1.25 T5B, 3 T2A
Platinum 4: 5K 6 Star Shards, 15K 5 Star Shards, 1 T5CC (2%), 1 T5B, 3 T2A
Gold 1: 2.5K 6 Star Shards, 10K 5 Star Shards, .75 T5B, 3 T2A, 3 T4CC
Gold 2: 1K 6 Star Shards, 8K 5 Star Shards, .5 T5B, 3 T2A, 3 T4CC
Gold 3: 6K 5 Star Shards, .25 T5B, 2 T2A, 3 T4CC
Silver 1: 3.5K 5 Star Shards, 6K 4 Star Shards, 1 T2A, 3 T4CC, 3 T4B
Silver 2: 3K 5 Star Shards, 5K 4 Star Shards, .5 T2A, 2 T4CC, 3 T4B
Silver 3: 2.5K 5 Star Shards, 4K 4 Star Shards, .25 T2A, 1 T4CC, 25 T4CC (2%), 3 T4B
Bronze 1: 2K 5 Star Shards, 3K 4 Star Shards, 1 T4CC, 15 T4CC (2%), 3 T4B
Bronze 2: 1.5K 5 Star Shards, 2K 4 Star Shards, 30 T4CC (2%), 2 T4B
Bronze 3: 1K 5 Star Shards, 1K 4 Star Shards, 5K 3 Star Shards, 15 T4CC (2%), 1 T4B
Kabam will announce later today that the long-awaited release of the Marvel Contest of Champions Road Map will be broken up into four separate blog posts over the next two weeks. Given the amount of information that is expected to be revealed, this seems like a good thing, because there is a lot of territory to cover.
Below is the schedule of the Road Map releases. Note that while we know the topics that will be discussed, we won’t learn the specifics until the post is released. So here’s what we know so far!
This post will cover the future of MCOC story quests, event quests, side quests, and Variant Content.
What’s Confirmed: This post promises a “fresh 6.2.6 Champion fight” as well as changes to Act 6, including a reduction in attack values.
What Do We Expect To Learn: Overall, this post should cover the vision the design team has going forward with Book 2 and Cavalier Difficulty, as well as some teasers for Variant 5, the next Boss Rush, and more special content.
This post will cover the future of Alliances in MCOC, including new alliance tools and quality of life additions to the game.
What’s Confirmed: The Alliance Officer Tools had already been announced, and the War refresh for Season 19 was also something that was expected.
What Do We ExpectTo Learn: The stakes are high for Kabam to deliver on promises of reduced stress and game/life balance. Changes to timers, energy, and node design are expected, but the details are critical. Also expect to hear more about the future of Alliance Quest (including new modifiers), Alliance War, and an improvement to the Help System.
This post will cover the future of champion buffs, reworks, and acquisition.
What’s Confirmed: For many, the headline will be the announcement of a rework for Magneto (but which one?) and Kabam’s commitment to buff two champs a month!
What We Expect To Learn: Topics that are expected to be addressed in this post are the specific old champions getting a buff after Magneto, additions to the 5 Star Pool, a tease of future releases, new crystals to help with champion acquisition, a revamp to Signature Stone acquisition, and Kabam’s vision for future champion design and balancing.
This post will feature an assortment of topics relevant to Summoners, including teases for new features, content, re-balancing, changes to progression, and more.
What’s Confirmed: The only item that is a clear confirmation is the addition of Duel Targets, which actually started to go live in-game yesterday.
What Do We Expect To Learn: This post will cover a lot of bases (but not actual bases), including future Quality of Life additions, Arena changes, the future of Incursions (game-play, buffs, & rewards), a new social progression system, new game-play mechanics, early designs on new game modes, and Kabam’s “Content Commitment.”
What do you think about Kabam’s “Prelude to the Road Map?” Is there a particular item you are excited about, or are you waiting until all the details are out to get your hopes up?
Overall Impressions: If you’ve played through Variant 1 and 2 already, you’re going to notice a decrease in both the difficulty and the number of paths in each chapter, which is a welcome improvement. Variant 3 is also different from the first two in that it has one common theme in the global nodes. If you have a strong tech roster (I would recommend having at least three 5* 4/55 or better tech champs for the average player), this is the easiest Variant for an initial clear and to 100%, because it does not require the extensive roster that the others do.
The general theme for Polar Opposites is that tech champions are the best choice because all non-techs suffer a -50% attack penalty. There is also a global node that increases the length of tech champion’s debuffs, and the debuff length is increased for each additional tech on your quest team. This leads to some useful interactions we’ll cover below. Furthermore, the mutant hunting robot Sentinel gets a unique global buff which allows it to get to 100 Analysis Charges much faster than normal.
Champion Recommendations& Tips
Sentinel First off, Variant 3 was specifically designed to give Sentinel a huge advantage. If you don’t have a 5* or 6*, even a 5/50 4* can do major work. While Sentinel doesn’t need to be awakened, it really helps with the damage ramp-up. At the most basic level, you want to get your Sentinel to 100 Analysis and then launch a SP2 for maximum damage. If you are unfamiliar with Sentinel and want to take a deeper dive into one of my favorite champions, check out my Champion Guide to Sentinel.
Stark Spider-Man He’s a great champ, but you’ve probably been focused on his SP2 damage, which is amazing of course. But what you don’t want to forget here is that the increased debuff timer also applies to the stun on his SP1, allowing you to stun-lock many opponents if you bring a team of Stark Spider-Man, Mile Morales, and three additional tech champs.
Warlock I’m not a Warlock owner, but after reviewing the lanes in Variant 3, Warlock might be the second best option after Sentinel. With his heal block, shock damage, power control, and immunities, he can take pretty much any fight.
Ghost Ghost is arguably the tech champ that benefits the least from the global nodes, since she doesn’t rely on damaging debuffs to do big damage. That being said, if you’re a great Ghost player and just want to bring the Quantum Trinity, you’re going to mow through a lot of Variant 3.
Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus will give you huge value on a number of lanes that require power control options.
Vision Much like Doctor Octopus, Vision will bring power control to the table, and also is double immune, which is also helpful.
Star-Lord Yes, it’s time to get Star-Lord off the bench. The large health pools mean Star-Lord can get ramped-up and do some big time damage. I used Star-Lord for some of the easier fights so my Sentinel was at full health for the more difficult ones.
Other Options: Here’s a few other options to consider. Darkhawk is double immune, which will be useful for the Bioharard path. Guillotine 2099 is a champion I don’t have to play right now, but clearly does big damage. Iron Man Infinity War will benefit from the extended debuff timers and can be a good pinch hitter in certain match-ups, like against Iceman. Mysterio is a great counter to Domino and can save you some revives. Nebula is underrated, and her shock damage makes her one of the better options for the final boss.
If you choose to go outside the tech class, it will likely be because you need to counter a specific difficult defender like Korg, Mephisto, Magik, or Dormammu that deals unavoidable damage that the tech class doesn’t counter. Your usual go-to champions for these match-ups like Namor, Blade, Hulk Ragnarok, and Void will still work, it will just be a longer fight.
Overall Impressions: Variant 4 Waning Moon is the easiest of the four current Variants to 100% explore, assuming you have not skipped over a star-level in roster development. This is not likely to be an issue with veteran players, but newer players who rushed their progression may be a little weak in spots and will need to do some targeted rank-ups. Even if that is the case, the cost of ranking 2* and 3* champions isn’t cost prohibitive these days, and the rewards are certainly worth it.
Cheaply clearing Variant 4 is dependent on a few facts. The first, as always, is reading nodes and selecting proper quest teams. Next is dealing with a few select fights along the way, and understanding how you will have to alter your play-style and what counters to use.
These fights are: – Electro Boss in 1.1 – X-Force Deadpool Boss in 1.2 – Moon Knight Boss in 2.2 – Caustic Temper Mordo Mini Boss in 3.2 – Moon Knight Boss in 3.2
Details on all these encounters is contained in the individual chapter guides, linked above.
Here’s your Marvel Contest of Champions news brief for Thursday, July 9, 2020.
Schedule Notes: Round 1 of the 4 Star Basic Darkhawk and Guardian Featured Arenas begin at 1pm EST. The Alliance Quest Series concludes at 3pm EST. The Alpha Arena begins at 6pm EST.
Here’s your Marvel Contest of Champions news brief for Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
Schedule Notes: The Hotel M.O.D.O.K. Gift Shop closes at 1pm EST, so make sure to spend all your Gold Coins! Northern Expeditions Week 2 opens at 1pm EST. Alliance War Season 19 kicks off with matchmaking at 6pm EST.
Here’s my guide for Act 1.1.4 “Sneak Attack” in Marvel Contest of Champions.
General Thoughts: From a combat perspective, Act 1.1.4 is consistent with what you’ve seen in the earlier maps.
Once you’ve explored Act 1.1.4 you’ll be able to complete your first Solo Objectives, which should grant you a few more 2 Star Champions in short order. More importantly, you’ll unlock the Mastery Screen. The first mastery you want to unlock is Parry, which will grant you the ability to stun an opponent with a well-timed block. This is a real game changer, so do this as soon as you can.
If you have questions about the basic attack moves and combos in Marvel Contest of Champions, please check out my MCOC 101: Combos guide.
Best Champs: Any
Restrictions: None
Global Node: None
Boss: Hawkeye
Lane 1 – Upper Path
Gate: None
Defenders: Falcon, Kingpin, Captain America WW2
Nodes: None
Team: 2 Star Black Bolt, 1 Star Spider-Man, 1 Star Iron Man
Tips: Nothing to worry about here, just continue to practice you combo and heavy-counter skills.
Lane 2 – Lower Path
Gate: None
Defenders: Falcon, Hulk, Captain America WW2
Nodes: None
Team: 2 Star Black Bolt, 1 Star Spider-Man, 1 Star Iron Man
Tips: Hulk gains Fury the more you hit him, so be careful as he hits much harder at the end of the fight. He can also stun you with his Special 1 attack.
Here’s your Marvel Contest of Champions news brief for Tuesday, July 7, 2020.
Schedule Notes: Incursions Milestones and Top Zone Bonus rewards reset at 2pm EST. Server Maintenance begins at 11pm EST and will last for up to 2 hours. Alliance War Rating reductions are currently in progress.
Here’s your Marvel Contest of Champions news brief for Monday, July 6, 2020.
Schedule Notes: Round 2 of the 4 Star Squirrel Girl and Sabretooth Featured Arenas at 1pm EST. Summoner Sigil Owners, your Solo Event, Gold Quest, and items on a 7-day timer and the 5 Star Featured Crystal in the Black-ISO Market reset at 1pm EST. UMCOC Podcast, Live on Discord at 8pm EST. There will be no Alliance War attack today.
