I know not everyone enjoys Arena in Marvel Contest of Champions, but the fact is playing Arena can really help with your account progression, especially if you’re not going to be spending much money on the game. The Arena highlights are of course always focused on what the latest 5* Featured is going for, but the fact is, for the vast majority of Summoners, grinding for the featured champ isn’t possible. That being said, the steady flow of resources that can be gained from completing just a few Arena milestones will add up over time.
Here’s my baseline routine that helps me get the most out of a little Arena time.
8 Round (24 Fights) Arena Grind: 2 Rounds in the 2* Arena 3 Rounds in the 3* Arena 3 Rounds in the 4* Basic Arena (Using Max Champs)
Total Rewards: Units – 35 Battlechips – 5,920 Gold – 20,830 PCH Shards – 3,500 Arena Boost – 2
By spreading your time out in the lower level Arenas, you’re going to hit the first 2 milestones very quickly. This will give you an immediate sense of accomplishment and positive reinforcement, which can be a big issue with Arena grinds. By getting into a rhythm of doing this grind twice a week, you’re going to see your resources accumulate over time, particularly Units and Battlechips. I think this is helpful for players at any level, but it is especially valuable for progressing players, as you’ll be able to rank-up your champs faster and use the units to unlock masteries and purchase cache offers.
If you plan on clearing some difficult content in Marvel Contest of Champions this April, 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.
Sunday, April 5 at 2pm EST – Monday, April 6 at 2pm EST
Sunday, April 12 at 3pm EST – Monday, April 13 at 2pm EST
Tuesday, April 14 at 2pm EST – Wednesday, April 15 at 3pm EST
Tuesday, April 21 at 2pm EST – Thursday, April 23 at 2pm EST
Tuesday, April 28 at 3pm – Thursday, April 30 at 2pm EST
Here’s your Marvel Contest of Champions news brief for Thursday, March 26, 2020.
Schedule Notes: Round 1 of the 4* Ms. Marvel Carol Danvers and Terrax Featured Arenas begin at 1pm EST. The Tier 4 Basic Arena begins at 6pm EST.
It was a very busy news day in the Contest, as Kabam dropped the Release Notes for v26.1. You can read my thoughts on the April Update, along with links to the Release Notes and Champion Spotlights for Storm (Pyramid X) and Sorcerer Supreme.
Creative Director Gabriel Frizzera shared his views on the upcoming invasion of MCOC by Realm of Champions characters.
If you’re not on Twitter, you’re missing out on some great behind-the-scenes knowledge from Marvel Contest and Realm of Champions Creative Director Gabriel Frizzera (@xgabo). Gabe was in a talkative mood early today and decided to share some context as to why champions from Realm are coming to Contest, and what to expect in the future. For Summoners that haven’t been following the news about Realm of Champions, there may understandably be some confusion about these new additions, which Gabe tries to clear up.
The April update is fast approaching, and it has some exciting implications for both Marvel Contest of Champions and Marvel Realm of Champions. Here’s some info to get your prepped for what’s happening in-game next month. Read the Full Release Notes.
New Champions The two new champions next month will be the Realm of Champions versions of the Sorcerer Supreme (mystic) and Storm (mutant). This version of the Sorcerer Supreme is not Stephen Strange, as in Realm of Champions he has been elevated to the role of Ancient One and is the Baron of the Temple of Vishanti. Based on the tease of her abilities, expect her to have the usual mystic strengths including nullification.
Storm is the playable champion for Pyramid X, which is the Realm of Champions house ruled by Apocalypse. This version of Storm is one of the Four Horsemen, and is said to have “weather bending powers” and “delivers shock and awe” attacks. In the lore of MROC, the customization for Pyramid X comes from Apocalypse tinkering with the genes of mutants, so hopefully this is a super-powerful version of Storm with all of her weather-wielding abilities on full display.
Event Quest In next month’s story, Carina attempts to restore the classic MCOC version of Doctor Strange, but in doing so, brings the MROC Sorcerer Supreme and Storm from Battleworld into the Battlerealm. It doesn’t sound like this will be the classic hero/villain setup, instead I expect the inhabitants of the Battlerealm will be split on who to side with, as evidenced by the structure of the side-quest. The New Event Quest begins on Wednesday, April 1 at 1pm EST.
Side Quest The month-long side-quest will have 4 quests, and one will unlock each week, just like the Mole Man Expeditions. You will have to choose a side (Faction), either that of Storm or the Sorcerer Supreme. Depending on who you choose, the quests will differ, as will the rewards. Side with Storm for Crystal Shards, or Sorcerer Supreme for Rank-Up Materials.
On Wednesday, April 15, when the 3rd week of the Side-Quest opens, there will be a “Double Cross.” The first two quests will permanently lock, and you will either switch sides to get the resources of the other Faction, or continue on your chosen path for even greater rewards than you’ve already earned. Basically, it sounds like you want to stick with a side for all 4-weeks to maximize either shard or catalyst gain, but we’ll need to see the reward setup before we know for sure.
Long-time players will remember the Civil War event where the Summoner had to side with either Captain America or Iron Man. I believe this month will have a similar structure.
New chapters of the Side-Quest will be released on Wednesdays at 1pm EST.
New Objectives There will be Faction Solo Objectives. These are tied to the Faction you join, and if you do decide to “Double Cross” your Faction on April 15, they will change.
Incursions Unfortunately, the big promo for Incursions (flying some Content Creators to Kabam HQ for a preview) had to be cancelled due the Coronavirus, but it looks like Incursions are still going to be released on schedule. If you haven’t heard, Incursions are replacing Dungeons as the new co-op mode. There is still much about Incursions yet to be revealed, but we do know that Ultron will play a major role. From the Release Notes, it looks like Incursions will be more interactive than Dungeons, and allow us to give our champs buffs and abilities to help them fight through Ultron’s Domain. I think we’re all anxious to see some actual game-play from Incursions as well as how the rewards are changing, as it has been teased they will help solve the gold problem.
Final Thoughts I am very excited about what is coming in April. It’s a definitive step toward the eventual release of Realm of Champions, and having a Horseman version of Storm in MCOC is very appealing to me. I also really like the set-up for the side-quest, as I find the once-a-week content release schedule to be much less grindy than the daily events like Doom Invasions. I also enjoy the element of choice for the rewards, because that is a very player friendly structure that I’d like to see utilized more.
I’ve saved up shards for the past three weeks, so let’s see if I can add a meaningful champion to my account. In this video I open 2x Basic 5*, 2x Featured 5*, 1 Basic 6*, and more!
Here’s your Marvel Contest of Champions news brief for Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
Schedule Notes: Feelin’ Green event ends at 1pm EST. The new 5* Featured Crystal, with Silver Surfer, Squirrel Girl, Nova, Longshot, Mojo, and Mole Man goes live at 1pm EST. Silver Surfer enters the Basic Pool at 1pm EST. Alliance War Season 16 ends at 2pm EST. Reminder: There will be a 1 week delay in receiving season rewards. Do not leave your alliance if you wish to remain eligible for season rewards.
Frontline: MCOC 