We’re only a week away from War for Wakanda, the first major expansion for Marvel’s Avengers, so it seemed like a good time to jump back in and see what’s new. After reviewing the game last September, I stuck with it long enough to get Captain America to max level but fell off pretty quickly when there was virtually nothing left to do. Mega Hives didn’t hold my attention for long thanks to disappointing rewards, frequent game-breaking bugs, and the lack of multiplayer. Over the last ten months, I’ve passively marveled at Avengers’ lack of content, ever-shrinking player base, and occasional moments of player revolt over things like changes to the leveling process. At the height of the MCU when even Scarlet Witch and Kang the Conqueror are household names, the Avengers video game is somehow one of the most disappointing games of all time.
But I’m not so cynical that I’m hoping to see Marvel’s Avengers fail. Live Service isn’t a four-letter word to me, and I don’t mind waiting for the day when Avengers finally lives up to its potential — it’s just taking a really, really long time. There’s clearly a lot of hope for the upcoming War for Wakanda. The two previous character releases, Kate Bishop and Hawkeye, didn’t bring players back, but the most recent free weekend saw the biggest activity spike since the game’s release, and a lot more people are still playing the game today than they have all year. That said, even a 2000 player boost surely won’t be enough to sustain the game, so I have to assume there’s a lot riding on next week’s expansion, both for new/returning players and the developers.
If you’re thinking about coming back to check out the Black Panther expansion, I’d recommend starting now. There’s a decent amount of story content to get caught up on this week, and I’ve really enjoyed getting a feel for the game again. The game hasn’t changed nearly as much as I would have liked in the last year, but the ways it has changed have been pretty significant.
Related: Marvel's Avengers Sees Massive Player Spike During Free Weekend
The biggest problem with the game around launch was just how unstable it was. Issues with loot, progression, and lack of variety are fairly subjective, but the sheer number of bugs and crashes in those first few months were, frankly, unacceptable. It gave players the sense that Avengers released before it was ready, which only made all of its other problems even more frustrating.
I don’t know when it happened or how long it took to polish the game up, but virtually all of that friction is gone now. I haven’t tested a ton of multiplayer or matchmaking yet, which was another major issue, but the six hours I played over the weekend were incredibly smooth and without even the slightest technical hiccup. If the bugs were what drove you away from the game initially, it's worth a second look now.
The other thing that pleasantly surprised me was the two new characters, Kate Bishop and Hawkeye. It’s no secret that these two weren’t the most hotly anticipated characters, and a lot of people, myself included, felt like Hawekeye and Hawkeye Jr. were weird choices for the first two post-launch Avengers, but I’ve actually had a ton of fun playing both of them. Kate Bishop is an archer, but her kit of trick arrows feels a lot more secondary than Hawkeye’s. Kate is a teleporter, and her playstyle is heavily focused on moving quickly around enemies and chaining attacks together to build up her intrinsic meter so she can keep teleporting all around the battlefield. Hawkeye is the more ranged-centric character, and I think there’s a really nice distinction between the two that makes them feel like worthy additions to the game.
The big end-game problems are still very much present, however. Mission variety is bland, and the new Tachyon Rifts and Omega Level Threats haven’t added much variety. This makes the power grind a real bear, and farming for gear still feels unrewarding because the gear itself isn’t that impressive. Right now, you can actually earn double XP during the entire month as well as three exotics per week from OLTs and Mega Hives. These bonuses should be permanent until the gear system gets an overhaul in my opinion, but regardless it's still a nice incentive to come back and grind.
Avenger’s end-game left a really bad taste in my mouth when I first put the game down last October, but coming back this week has been surprising to me because, damnit, the game is a lot of fun. I’ve always loved the combat and the opportunity to be the Avengers with my friends, and it's been really nice to come back just to see the new stuff after all this time. I don’t see myself grinding Hives and Vaults to level up Kate Bishop, if I’m being honest, but depending on what War for Wakanda has to offer, there’s a good chance I’ll be sticking around longer this time than I did at launch.
I’m not under any illusions that War for Wakanda is going to “save” the game. I think there’s about a zero percent chance that the expansion fixes all the problems and brings tens of thousands of players back. At this point, we just need the expansion to be a step in the right direction that doesn’t rub the dedicated players the wrong way. The story content is always cool and the combat is as fun as it's ever been, and now that the bugs have been squashed, I think that alone is enough for a lot of people. Plus, other than Spider-Man or maybe Wolverine, you probably couldn’t ask for a more popular hero than Black Panther for the first expansion. Crystal Dynamics really should have had Scarlet Witch or Loki ready to coincide with their shows, but that's a topic for a different article.
I am hopeful for the game’s future, in part because I’m having so much fun diving back into the game already. If you haven’t played through the Kate Bishop and Hawkeye campaigns yet, now's the perfect time to check it out ahead of War for Wakanda’s release date on August 17.
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