‘Marvel Heroes’ Officially Kicks Off 2016 With Controller Support, New Story Content

Each year, free-to-play Marvel Heroes seems to reinvent itself with a host of new features, additional heroes, and more content. This year will be no different with Marvel Heroes 2016 off to a strong start. With a whole new chapter of content, visual updates to some of the first heroes, and controller support now available, the game is expanding in some of the best ways.

Now that Marvel Heroes 2016 has launched, the remainder of the content scheduled as part of the 2015 lineup is out as well. Black Cat joins the roster as the 55^th playable hero, the Agent Venom team-up is ready to assist, and the final 52 review, for Deadpool, is complete. A few team-up characters from the Advance Pack 2 remain, specifically Rescue and Archangel, however some team-ups were always expected to slip over into 2016. As the official announcement notes, chapter 10 of the story, controller support, and a plethora of Steam achievements are also part of the 2016 update.

Deadpool's design review makes him feel like a whole new character! #MarvelHeroes2016 #PlayMarvelHeroes pic.twitter.com/HEDfDTyJdy

— Marvel Heroes Omega (@MarvelHeroes) January 30, 2016

New and veteran players will want to check out chapter 10. The Skrull invasion has come to Marvel Heroes and heroes must work to push them back. Chapter 10, complete with new cut-scenes, will reward players with a few new artifact items and access to the new patrol mode. The Hightown Patrol Zone is similar to the Midtown Manhattan and Industry City Patrol Zones with a non-stop rotation of objectives. Players will fight different bosses in Hightown including Skrull versions of some heroes and other bosses not found in the other patrol zones.

Controller support, Steam achievements, and leaderboards are new with the launch of Marvel Heroes 2016, too. Players can now easily use a controller to play the game with easily modifiable button mapping options including a new target lock system. Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Steam controllers will work automatically with no additional effort needed. The additions to the game continue with 50 brand new Steam achievements to earn for the first time and viewable leaderboards within the game. Steam achievements are retroactive for players, and the current leaderboard content includes players’ in-game achievement score and their level progression ranks.

On the visual side of things, Marvel Heroes players will find that some of the heroes that the game launched with are looking a bit more refreshed. Select Black Widow, Captain America, and Jean Grey costumes are now improved with better visuals. More visual updates are planned throughout 2016 as well with even more heroes being remodeled.

Other quality of life improvements have also been made to the game including the removal of element tiers in crafting, a credit cap increase, and further Danger Room tuning. Rogue players will also find a major change to the way her powers are selected. Namely, the attrition, impact, and support abilities are all together in one Support category now. This lets the character gain access to more combinations of powers than ever. Check out the full list of patch notes on the official forums.

Marvel Heroes will continue updating throughout the year with new heroes, new team-ups, new costumes, and other features. In fact, the 2016 lineup of upcoming heroes is already confirmed with Advance Pack 3 now on sale. Instead of the usual 12 playable heroes, Advance Pack 3 contains seven heroes and four team-up characters. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Advance Pack 3 includes Angela, Black Bolt, Elektra, Green Goblin, Nick Fury, and Ultron. Ms. Marvel, Kamala Kahn, and Spider-Man, Miles Morales, are confirmed non-playable team-ups in the pack. One other hero and two more team-up characters are yet to be announced.

Players can purchase either version of Advance Pack 3 for Marvel Heroes right now from the Gazillion website. Each hero will be automatically unlocked as they become available. For $60, players can purchase the seven upcoming playable heroes, their personal bank space, and a handful of boosts. This cheaper pack is also available via Steam. For $80, players can purchase the seven heroes, four team-ups, the heroes’ personal bank tabs, more boosts, and early access to the Iron Spider costume for Spider-Man. Each hero, team-up, and stash will be unlocked throughout the year when each character is officially released. The boosts, however, are immediately given to the player after purchase.

[Image via Gazillion Entertainment]