You read that title correctly. I have taken a break from playing Marvel’s Avengers until the next major update. No, I have not found any exotic gear. I didn’t max out any character cards. So far, I’ve only really gotten Thor and Hulk past the 110 Power Level. In reality, I have a lot more grinding to do so that I could proclaim I’ve maxed out all my characters. I am also not a person to chase down PlayStation’s platinum trophies. The story was great, and I enjoy playing as the different Avengers. Not everyone will share my outlook on the game. That is why I started this series, and I am taking a bit of a break. Crystal Dynamics promised future updates, so I don’t feel the urge to burn myself out early. From what I’ve seen online, I would recommend it to anyone reading this right now
A Current Limitation
The Avengers Initiative is currently barebones. I have repeated this statement multiple times throughout these entries. After releasing their latest patch 1.3.1 the general mood seemed to be in an upswing. All players wanted now was more content, but that didn’t happen this week. Right now, theories are that we will get something by the end of next week. This would include the S.H.I.E.L.D. Substation Zero and the A.I.M. Secret Lab. These are great additions that hopefully are also accompanied by new mission chains and environments. I’ve finished the last mission chain titled “Reigning Supreme”. It will build-up towards the new cloning technology that Monica Rambeau has been cooking up. My motivation was to finish up this mission chain as it contained small story hints, teases of future content, and even unique animations. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it felt like the story was moving forward. I finished it around 50 to 60 hours in as I took my time to grind a bit to adjust to specific mission caps.
Afterward, most people hit the “now what” phase of the game. From what I’ve seen and discussed, a lot of players continue to focus on the additional checklists. There is a lot to do, but you are going to repeat existing missions to do so. The only new content added was the single-player focused Mega Hive. It’s the same as the sixteen-floor Epic Hive that was the final mission of the last mission chain. It is a single-player experience that rubbed people the wrong way, as it was new content that recycled existing concepts. Personally, it is a fine addition, but it felt like a quick way to add more content as they focus on fixing bugs. As long as matchmaking has issues, there is no point in adding a Raid mission. Technically, it was a safe move by Crystal Dynamics. Still, people wanted those Exotics that rarely drop, and kept playing it even if they were vocally frustrated. We want to play the game with friends to make the repetition easier. There are multiplayer options, but it just drops Exotics at a much lower rate. Right now, getting the best gear won’t serve any specific purpose outside of a stat increase. There is no point focusing on getting something that will only end up frustrating you. If there is a mission that would require these stats, then it might be worth the time.
A Personal View
As much as I enjoy the combat, attempting it multiple times with Mega Hive’s 40 floors and crash issues, no wonder someone will get mad. Plus, if you manage to finish it and don’t get the reward you want, you will be frustrated. My approach to the Mega Hive is to try it out now and then. I generally only play one or two missions every other day if I feel like it. Sometimes I try to get in some mission cards. I’ve gotten to the point with now 40 more hours in that it’s a bit repetitive now. Also, I have other games and projects I need to spend time on. Currently, I feel no drive to play the game for long sessions, and I don’t see any issue with that. It’s been only a month, and the game will only grow from here. I don’t lose anything by taking my time. Crystal Dynamics has been working hard on the game to get it where it needs to be. Should it have released like this? No, absolutely shouldn’t have, but we can’t change it now as it is already released. I respect the work they put in with consistent updates. I do hope we get more transparency in the future. It all depends on the reveal of the roadmap, which will give us a better feeling of what the future entails.
Right now, my future investment depends on what content they plan to add. The selling point of this game is the potential of what it may offer in the future. I enjoyed my time with the game and spent countless hours playing it. This is only the third game I put in more than 100 hours into the game. So, how could I proclaim the game wasn’t worth my investment? Plus, future additions are for free, so that covers a lot of additional hours. I’ve seen some state that this game is predatory with its time-based missions to force people into paying for it. In the end, it is all just optional. The game wants you to play for a long-time rather than rush through it. So, why rush through the experience? At some point, you will hit the limitation of content with any game. There is no point forcing yourself to play through everything now if it only ends up frustrating you. Of course, it is easier said than done. I am just sharing my own approach to the game.
A Look to the Future
This is a bit of a different journal entry. I am not focusing on the game’s content, as I covered most of what was available. Even I felt like I played through it faster than I initially expected. People are proclaiming the game’s death as they focus on Steam numbers and Twitch streams. There is no point in doing so. We don’t know how many people are actively playing it on other consoles. Who knows how many are just sitting it out until new content drops. In the end, the developers need to know if enough players are around to make it worth investing in it. All of us want the same thing, to have a good time playing Avengers and see it succeed so we can see it expand throughout the coming years. This sentiment is shared by the man responsible for saving Final Fantasy XIV Online. I look forward to what the future holds and to continue to share my experiences with it, as I leave you with Naoki Yoshida‘s quote:
It’s not about forcing players to keep playing the game consistently. If you just consume everything with each major patch then you’ve played everything, then you can play other games, you can spend your time and plan around your timing. If you want to come back to Final Fantasy XIV, you can come back and catch up easily. Everybody has different hobbies and ways they want to spend their time, they’re quite busy.
Source: WCCFTech
