Summoners!

V31.0 looks like it will be a big update for Marvel Contest of Champions. This May will see the release of Act 7.2 and Carina’s Challenge, 4 champion buffs, and the debuts of Shang-Chi and Mister Negative. Expect to see v31.0 available for download on May 3 or 4, with events beginning on May 5.

Read the Official Release Notes.

V31.0 HIGHLIGHTS
EQ – Corruption
SQ – Tournament of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi
Mr. Negative
Buffs: Black Panther, Vulture, Mister Fantastic, & Odin
Act 7.2
Carina’s Challenge
Bug Fixes & Improvements

EVENT QUEST

In May’s Event Quest Mister Negative has set up shop in the Battlerealm, and his rivals, The Hood and Kingpin, aren’t too happy about having some competition. It’s up to you to track down Mister Negative to see what he is planning.

SIDE QUEST

This May’s Side Quest you’ll need to collect all of the Ten Rings of the Mandarin by completing Solo Objectives. Then use the Rings to unlock paths in the Tournament of the Ten Rings Quest, which features hidden rewards on the paths. I’m getting a little bit of a Mutant Treasure Island vibe here, so hopefully it will be just as good! There will also be an arena to go with the Side Quest, as well as special Healing Potions, Revives, and “Hand-To-Hand” Crystal Shards available during the month. Read the official forum post on the Side Quest.

SHANG-CHI

Shang-Chi was trained to become a lethal assassin by his crime lord father, but instead chose to walk the path of a hero. He is a master of Kung Fu, skilled at fighting with both weapons and with his bare hands, and is a Skill Champion. Every player will receive a 3-Star Shang-Chi for free at the beginning of the month.

Shang-Chi was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin (whose other creations include Thanos and Drax) and he first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973. Since then, Shang-Chi has made over 350 appearances in the main Earth-616 timeline in books such as Master of Kung Fu, Deadly Hands of Jung Fu, Marvel Knights, Heroes for Hire, and Avengers World. His is set to make his MCU debut this September in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings where he will be portrayed by Simu Liu

MISTER NEGATIVE

Mr. Negative was a smuggler of Chinese immigrants who was shipwrecked near New York City. He was able to swim to shore but was captured by a rival crime family. He was given to a criminal chemist named Simon Marshall, who was experimenting with designer drugs and testing them on unwilling victims. While many died, Mister Negative, along with Tryone Johnson and Tandy Bowen (who would gain fame as the duo Cloak and Dagger) developed powers based on the Darkforce Dimension. While Cloak and Dagger went on to become heroes, Mister Negative took over the crime in New York’s Chinatown. Using the forces of both Dark and Light, Mr. Negative is able to corrupt his opponents. Mister Negative is a Science champion.

Mister Negative first appeared in Free Comic Book Day 2007 Spider-Man #1, and was introduced as one of one of Spider-Man’s main villains during the “Brand New Day” story arc. He was created by Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez. Most of his 70+ appearances in the main-616 timeline have been in Spider-Man books, but he has tangled with Deadpool and Cloak and Dagger as well.

CHAMPION BUFFS

Four champions will receive a buff with this update: Black Panther, Vulture, Mister Fantastic, and Odin. Black Panther is the rework for the month of May, meaning he will receive the largest update.

ACT 7.2

Carina’s journey continues in Act 7.2 “Upset the Meta.” When we last saw her, she was searching for the lost ISO-Sphere, which, as she discovered at the end of Act 7.1, had been stolen by Gwenpool. Can she recover the ISO-Sphere before Gwen’s plans destroy the Battlerealm?

Champion swapping will return in Act 7.2, but the Bosses will work a bit differently. There will be a “Boss Island” in each quest, so you’ll be able to choose from any of the final 3 bosses regardless of what path you journey down.

Look for a full post on rewards, along with a release date, soon. New Act content doesn’t usually go live at the beginning of the month.

CARINA’S CHALLENGE

Endgame players have been waiting for some difficult content for quite some time, and now Carina’s Challenge is here. This is not a quest but a series of new permanent Solo Objectives available to Thronebreaker players. Players will be challenged to complete existing content with specific champions and rarities. Note that this is not the “Summer of Pain” endgame content.

Carina’s Challenge objectives will go live later this month, so be on the lookout for a post with the list of challenges, along with rewards and release date information soon.

BUG FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS

● Disorient: Updated all disorient abilities to ensure they are using the same formula for calculating the Block Proficiency Modification. Potency values will remain the same as before this change.

● Domino: Fixed issue where while lucky, Domino could evade while stunned.

● Changed the name of Vulnerability/Vulnerable to Fragility/Fragile.

● Acid Wash Buff: Fixed issue where occasionally Acid Wash was not activating with Black Widow (Claire Voyant) and Archangel.

● Degeneration Quest Buff: Updated from to allow interaction with Champion Abilities that interact with degeneration types.

● Venom The Duck: Updated Critical Hits ability to interact with champions who become Immune to bleed during a fight.

● Havok (Abyss): Fixed issue where plasma detonations did not deal damage

● Proxima Midnight’s Asgardian Hunt Synergy: Fixed issue where Thor (Ragnarok)’s required hits to activate Boon of The Gods was not affected.

● Eternal’s Boon Boost: Fixed issue where the Eternal’s Boon Boost would not prevent the stun from the Mesmerize Buff Node.

● Omega Red and Gambit: Fixed issue where Omega Red and Gambit would receive damage from Glancing caused by Micro Reflect Node in situations where they are not supposed to.

● Yondu: Edited info page to specify that all attacks that generate less power is always active.

● Heal or Hide Buff: Fixed issue where if the Regeneration buff was prevented due to Ability Accuracy, the timer did not return.

● Jabari Panther: Fixed issue where Jabari Panther’s Cleanse would not cleanse the Stun on the Mesmerize Buff node.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Wow, this is going to be a big update which will hopefully have something for everyone. I’m a bit surprised we’re getting Shang-Chi a few months before his movie comes out, but I figured he would be joining the Contest sometime this year. Mister Negative is a bit unexpected (I don’t think he’s in the Shang-Chi movie), but I’ve been reading some of his Spider-Man appearances recently and he seems like a cool villain.

What’s really exciting is there are two big items for Endgame players with the release of Act 7.2 and Carina’s Challenge. Hopefully this will provide the content and challenge those players have been waiting for. It will be a little while before I’m ready to tackle either, but it’s great for those who need something new to take on right now.

-Dano357