gazillion
Latest
Marvel Heroes introduces One-Shots!
Greetings, True Believers! If you've been enjoying the scintillating storyline swiftly strung throughout Marvel Heroes, you're no doubt happy at the thought of more tantalizing tales of heroes and villains. But when the game is built on a broad base of boundless maps and mazes, where could the writers weave a web of wonder without damaging the delicate designs of Doom's decisive defeat? Why, the answer is simple -- it's time for the game to embrace the might Marvel One-Shot! One-Shots are episodes carefully crafted to comic concerns, focused on isolated incidents rather than breaking up the flow of the central narrative structure. The first one pits heroes against the sinister schemes of Man-Ape as he seeks to subdue the people of Wakanda and ruin the regency of Wakanda's rightful ruler, Black Panther. Any hero of level 20 or above who's cheering for a change of pace can pick up the One-Shot by selecting the Terminal from any waypoint, so by all means, jump in the next time you're in the game. Excelsior!
Marvel Heroes hosting Bounty Hunter Week
If you're having gift box withdrawals following the conclusion of last week's Marvel Heroes event extravaganza, you'll be happy to know that the devs are kicking off something called Bounty Hunter Week starting May 9th. The festivities involve obtaining A.R.M.O.R. research drives and then turning them in to a special vendor in exchange for new uniques, artifacts, Ghost Boxes, and costume cores. Login gifts are back, too, as everyone showing up on May 10th will get a Bounty Hunter box while everyone who plays on May 11th will get a Mother's Day gift.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever been put off by double XP?
Marvel Heroes features a bunch of firsts for me. It's my first prolonged exposure to the Marvel universe. It's the first ARPG I've enjoyed, and it's the first game that's kind of annoyed me with its promotional XP bonuses. Let me explain. I hate leveling in MMOs. I don't play MMOs for leveling or progression and 99 percent of the time these tropes act as timesinks that get in the way of what I actually want to do in a virtual world. So, normally I love, love, love double XP. Well, last week in Marvel Heroes I was blowing through the levels so fast that I ended up way ahead of the story in terms of level-specific areas. I want to play through the story once, enjoy it, and then go about speed leveling, trying all the other characters, etc. But that was almost impossible to do since I couldn't log in without levels and loot bags hitting my character in the face! Anyway, it's my own fault for starting the game during a promotional period, and I'm not really complaining as much as I'm looking to start a discussion topic. So, how about it, Massively readers? Do XP bonuses ever seem counterproductive or annoying, or is it just me? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Marvel Heroes makes visible the Invisible Woman
Marvel Heroes today revealed new playable character Invisible Woman, though I suppose we'll have to just take the studio's word for it since, you know, she can turn invisible. Sue Storm is the latest member of the Fantastic Four to be added to the roster and joins her brother, Johnny Storm the Human Torch, and Thing in Marvel Heroes. Able to bend light surrounding her to create force fields for both defensive and offensive use, she is informally known as the most powerful member due to the limitless potential of her powers. Gazillion has provided Massively's readers with a special code for a mystery gift in the game: RUNE3. It expires Saturday morning at 2:59 a.m. EST, so if you want some mystery, use it quickly. The studio also announced the start of Rune Week, an event that implements brand-new rune types and doubles rune drop rates across the game. [Source: Gazillion press release]
The Daily Grind: Has an MMO ever sparked your interest in its IP?
IP-based MMOs are a big draw, as games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, Lord of the Rings Online, DC Universe Online and even World of Warcraft have shown us. Clearly these IP-based games have brought pre-existing fans of said IPs into the MMO fold. Does that work in reverse, though? It's working in my case, as my current addiction to Marvel Heroes has caused me to purchase a few X-Men comic books. What about you, Massively readers? Has an IP-based MMO ever sparked your interest in an IP? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Who's your favorite Marvel Heroes hero?
I'm having a hard time picking a main character in Marvel Heroes. I started out with Storm, then F2P guilt intervened so I ponied up for Nightcrawler. Then I got a free Spider-man as a result of Gazillion's 10-month anniversary promotional shindig which only added to my indecision. It's a good problem to have, though, and I guess for now I'll go with Nightcrawler because, well, teleporting. What about you, Marvel Heroes players? Who's your favorite and why? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Marvel Heroes kicks off Big Ten Week
Ten months ago, Marvel Heroes launched. Most games would save their big celebrations for a year or half a year or something else, but Marvel Heroes is celebrating the not-quite-a-year mark with the Big Ten Week. And what's coming back for this week? Well... everything. Every big holiday rush up to this point is coming back in one way or another, with the festivities lasting until Friday, May 2nd. Did you enjoy the whole bonus loot rotation from the Don't Fear the Reaper event? That's back. What about the St. Patrick's Day rewards? Yes, those too, with legendary recipes and the Luck of the Draw promotion (buy a hero and get another random hero for free, buy a costume and get another random costume for free). Winter holiday gifts, Lunar New Year gifts... it's an explosion of celebrations. If that's the sort of upgrade you like to see, you can check out the full list of repeats on the official announcement. And if you're looking for a free random hero this weekend, apply the code RNDMHRO to your account. More free things!
Leaderboard: Do you need to spend money to enjoy Marvel Heroes?
I think I might play me some Marvel Heroes. Which is somewhat odd since I'm neither a Diablo nor a Marvel fan. It's not that I have anything against the latter, it's just that I've always read Batman comics and nothing but, so my knowledge of the Marvel-verse is restricted to The Avengers flick and Bryan Singer's old X-Men films. Anyway, Gazillion's game is of course free-to-play and I'm installing it via Steam as I type. My question for you, though, is should I spring for any of the cash shop bundles or should I just take what the devs are giving away? Which route did you go, and was it the right decision? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Marvel Heroes prepping for big patch, Big Ten weekend
Gazillion has collected player votes regarding Marvel Heroes' top 10 game events from the last 10 months and is bringing back all of them this weekend. Whether you're partial to the game's Christmas, Easter, or Valentine's events or you prefer the Buy-One, Get-One promotion for heroes, they'll each be available starting Friday morning. Marvel Heroes' latest patch will also be debuting at that time. It's bringing with it a new hero -- Invisible Woman -- as well as Squirrel Girl and Black Widow updates and a complete powers pass. Read all about it on the official MH forums. [Thanks Steve!]
The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups
Massively: Last week Marvel Heroes added a new feature to the game in the form of "team-ups." While we know the basics of this new system, we wanted to go into more detail. To help us with this, Gazillion Community Manager Ryan Collins sat down to answer a few questions. So Ryan, let's strip away the game-specific terminology: Are team-up heroes NPC companions? Pets? If you had to compare them to another game's features, what would it be to help us understand what they're like? Ryan Collins: Team-ups would be most similar to companions or hirelings. Like Diablo II's hirelings, team-up heroes have their own gear (with four brand-new item types just for them) that allow you to customize your team-up's stats. Some team-up items even convey bonuses to your hero directly. Team-ups also have a power tree that allows you to customize the way they function, the powers they use, and the passive bonuses they have. The first choice you get to make with your team-up is how they behave, for which there are three "modes."
Super Hero Squad Online commemorates its third birthday
Who says kids MMOs are dead? Not Super Hero Squad Online! The adorable chibi-superhero MMO turns three this week, boasting seven million registrations since launch, 144 different playable heroes, playable villains, and even a new crafting system. The celebratory game additions and perks include new characters (Spider-Ham, Captain America Stealth, Falcon EXO-7, and Winter Solider), new world event heroes, hero sales, Facebook giveaways, a 20%-off sub sale through April, and a birthday card contest. Enjoy the festivities in the brand-new trailer below. [Source: Gazillion press release]
Marvel Heroes now featuring Team-Ups
Gazillion has unveiled a new Team-Ups feature for Marvel Heroes. You can now recruit a few of your favorite heroes to battle by your side, according to the game's latest website update. Current Team-Up possibilities include Spider-man, Falcon, Firestar, and Magik. More heroes will be added "in the weeks, months, and years ahead," Gazillion says. Team-Up heroes have "their own unique set of skills and abilities," as well as a few other specifics that you can learn about by reading the FAQ. [Thanks Sounder!]
Marvel Heroes adds Dr. Strange and Shuri
Marvel Heroes' roster has grown by two characters over this past weekend (sort of). Dr. Strange, the "Sorcerer Supreme," is now available in the game as is a gender-bending costume for the Black Panther that will make him Shuri, the first female to take on that character. The game is also running a "buy a hero, get a hero" promotion that lasts until the end of Monday. Through this, the purchase of any hero (other than Dr. Strange) will give the player a second, random hero (other than Dr. Strange) for free. If the player gets a duplicate of a hero he or she already owns, the bonus will then be a token to upgrade that hero's ultimate power. You can check out the Dr. Strange trailer after the jump!
Marvel Heroes doesn't fear the reaper
Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor does Iron Man or the Thing or Squirrel Girl. Phoenix is probably on a first-name basis with the reaper at this point. And Marvel Heroes doesn't want you to fear the reaper either, as the game is running a special event dubbed Don't Fear The Reaper. No, the event will not involve Romeo and Juliet being together in eternity, but it will instead feature increased rewards from a variety of challenges while also offering increased experience and item find rates. X-Defense, Terminals, Midtown, and Holo-Sims will all feature enhanced rewards on a rotation schedule from now until April 1st. The bonus reward changes every few hours, giving you reason to change what you're doing, and the entire game will benefit from improved experience gain and item find rates while the event is running. Check out the announcement for the exact schedule of rewards so you can be ready to fly -- which might not be all that different from normal, come to think of it.
Marvel Heroes promises a weekend of luck and legends
March 17th is St. Patrick's Day, and that means it's time for everyone to get lucky. Especially players of Marvel Heroes, since the game is running its Lucky & Legendary Weekend in celebration. And what does that boil down to? Why, it means you have a lot of options to get lucky with legendary items in (potentially) legendary ways. You might need to get a bit lucky to get everything you want, though. The biggest element of the weekend event is crafting the legendary Pot of Gold, crafted with dropped pieces of rainbows that can be found during the event. There's also a new random costume case that allows for a chance at all sorts of different outfits for your heroes and a game-wide reworking of drops to be more festive for the duration of the weekend. So if you feel like staying up all night to get lucky in the game, you've at least got some convenient reasons for doing so.
Marvel Heroes brings closed beta access for Mac players
Gazillion Entertainment has released Game Update 2.31 for Marvel Heroes, and with it comes a special gift for Mac enthusiasts: closed beta access. Said access will be open to Mac players throughout the rest of the development process until the game's launch later this spring. An open beta is also planned.
Moon Knight joins Marvel Heroes roster
The mysterious and mystical Moon Knight has surfaced in Marvel Heroes, joining the game's growing collection of superheroes. Moon Knight is a masked vigilante who was given a little supernatural assistance by an Egyptian God. Gazillion is selling the Moon Knight in a hero pack with two costumes and other assorted goodies. Marvel Heroes is also throwing a combined Carnival and Mardi Gras celebration in the game. Players will get a daily gift for logging in, discover themed drops, and have the chance to buy Halloween items and costumes on sale. [Thanks to Spacejesus3k for the tip!]
Marvel Heroes introduces new game mode in Training Day update
Over the weekend Marvel Heroes launched Game Update 2.3, also known as Training Day. This latest update introduced an all-new game mode for players to enjoy. The S.H.I.E.L.D Holo-Sim game mode lets players dive into a high-tech holographic simulation room either alone or with a friend and face waves of enemies and iconic villains; the more waves of enemies defeated, the better the reward. The update also includes design reviews for both Human Torch and Daredevil (the latter of which also got a snazzy new Noir costume) as well as item, crafting, and loot changes. Full details can be found in the Training Day patch notes. [Source: Gazillion press release]
Marvel Heroes adds Asgardian-themed crafting, Mac client coming
Marvel Heroes' Game Update 2.2 is now live. Otherwise known as Forge of Asgard, the content drop features additional item customization, character outfitting, and an Asgardian-themed crafting system. Gazillion is celebrating with a weekend full of bonuses that include increased drop rates and login prizes. Marvel Heroes is also coming to the Mac platform, with closed beta testing slated for late February of 2014. [Source: Gazillion press release]
Nightcrawler live in Marvel Heroes
As promised earlier this week, fan favorite Nightcrawler is now available for play in Marvel Heroes. And just like you'd expect from the acrobatic blue hero, his Ultimate Power Brimstone Blitz instantaneously teleports him to his targets and unleashes a flurry of attacks. Nightcrawler can be unlocked via direct purchase from in-game store or through the alternate in-game currency Eternity Splinters. The cost is 900 Gs in the store (or 1,800 if you go for the Hero Pack with both costumes) or 400 Eternity Splinters.
