Chief amongst these upgrades is the addition of being able to permanently use multiples of the same character. However, it appears Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are making some modifications to the release of the updates after a series of technical issues that arose from the game’s Patch 1.8.0. Find out the details of the updates and what they entail for the Marvel’s Avengers roadmap in the game’s future!
Patch 1.8.0 mishaps
Marvel’s Avengers patch 1.8.0 was released June 22, 2021 which launched the Cosmic Cube event and was intended to improve gameplay. However, the Playstation 5 version was also unintentionally displaying the IP address of players, leading to a massive privacy issue. Crystal Dynamics immediately addressed the probem, calling on players to avoid streaming their games during the interim. This led to the studio to issuing a hotfix patch 1.8b on June 23:
— Marvel’s Avengers (@PlayAvengers) June 23, 2021 This may seem like a trivial matter, but displaying the IP address of players is a serious privacy concern. Aside from the liability that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics would possibly be facing, compromised IP addresses can be exploited by hackers and other internet malcontents, such as DDoS attacks.
Avengers assemble!
On the gameplay side of things, Marvel’s Avenger’s roadmap has confirmed that multiplayer Mega Hives and the first Omega Level Threat will be added. According to the game’s offical Twitter account:
🚧 Patrol Mode has been moved past the War for Wakanda Expansion.✅ Multiplayer Mega Hives, Omega Level Threat: Family Reunion, and the permanent ability to play multiple of the same Hero will be released in July. Read - https://t.co/MX3KpBfawy pic.twitter.com/g8qyfSZJBW — Marvel’s Avengers (@PlayAvengers) June 24, 2021 Mega Hives are aimed to challenge player Strike Teams with increasingly difficult missions and opponents: However, the most anticipated update is the ability of players to select the same characters. This is technically not a new feature, as it was available during the Tachyon Anomaly Event last April, but only for a limited duration. In the July update, the option to choose the same character among players in a strike team will become a permanent fixture. The feature adds a layer of versatility and allows players who had a favorite character in the roster to no longer worry about being forced to choose someone else. So if you want an entire team of Iron Men, a la the Iron Legion from the comics, or the MCU’s Age of Ultron, have at it! Appropriately, outfits that are inspired from the Marvel Cinematic Universe versions of the Avengers will also be added to the features of the game.
Delayed updates
Not everything is good news, however. Due to additional work needed to ensure that a mishap similar to that of Patch 1.8.0 is avoided, some other updates that were expected for July will be pushed back. The War for Wakanda expansion has been moved to August. This includes the addition of Black Panther and content specific to the Wakandan locales, such as the Klaw faction (based on T’Challa’s traditional archnemesis). Furthermore, Patrol Mode, Power Level Increases, additional War Zones and Assignments in the Wastelands Region, and other Omega Level Threat missions have had their status changed to “In Development”, with no specific dates set. Marvel’s Avengers, published by Square Enix and developed by Crystal Dynamics, is currently available on the Sony Playstation 4 and Playstation 5, Microsoft Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and Windows PC.
