The final update for Marvel's Avengers is now live, meaning players now have full access to "nearly all" of the game's content, including outfits, emotes, takedowns, and nameplates, plus a special "Founder's Gift" for everyone who's earned at least one achievement or trophy by April 1.
The end for Marvel's Avengers came in January, when Crystal Dynamics threw in the towel after more than two years of trying and failing to find a sustainable audience. The game stumbled right out of the gate—we said it "didn't exactly look superheroic" in our first preview in 2019—and it didn't get much better from there: Fans were confused by platform-exclusive content releases, a 2020 beta test left us cold, and by the end of 2021, Square Enix conceded that it was a "disappointing" release.
Marvel's Avengers soldiered on from there, but in January of this year Crystal Dynamics surrendered to the inevitable, announcing that the 2.8 update, slated for March 31, would be the last, and that "official support" will be ended on September 30. Fortunately, that's not the end of the road: Singleplayer and multiplayer modes will remain accessible for the indefinite future, although Crystal Dynamics warned that it can't guarantee that it "will be able to address issues that occur due to unforeseen circumstances" after that date.
The biggest change in the 2.8 update is that it unlocks the Marvel's Avengers Marketplace, the repository of all the game's optional cosmetic items. Here's what that means for players:
- Nearly all MCU- and non-MCU-inspired Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates are now automatically available on your Hero Card.
- Items that are earned through the campaign or purchased through the Cosmetic Vendor must be earned or purchased, respectively, as they always have been.
- Both the Shipments system and Hero Challenge Cards have both been completely removed from the game. Items that were previously earnable from Shipments and Hero Challenge Cards are included in the hundreds of Marketplace items that are automatically granted when you update to v2.8.
- You do not need to be connected to the internet to be able to access all of the unlocked Marketplace content after updating to v2.8.
- As a thank-you to players who’ve been with us on the journey, we’re granting a special Founder’s Gift – Iron Man’s ‘Variable Threat Response Battle Suit.’ This Outfit will be automatically granted to any player who has earned at least one Trophy/Achievement before April 1.
- All existing Credits balances have been converted to in-game resources. Please see our Patch Notes blog, which breaks down that conversion. For questions regarding your balance conversion, please contact our Support team at: http://support.crystald.com/
- Owned Hero’s Catalysts and Fragment Extractors have been completely removed from the game. In their place, there is now a permanent 1.5x multiplier on Fragments earned and XP gained.
- There will be a small hotfix, Update 2.8.1, that goes live on April 4 to address a Known Issue. (This issue is detailed in the Patch Notes.)
It's a win and a loss for players, who now have a plethora of superhero stuff at their fingertips, along with the cold certainty that there will be no more. Accordingly, some have expressed gratitude for the game and disappointment over its end, while others are angry that some promised feature or gameplay change isn't going to be made.
Thank you so much for this magical experiences! HERE WE GO TO 2.8!!! 💙✨ pic.twitter.com/rTptm4EqodMarch 31, 2023
Marvel's Avengers will be removed from digital storefronts on September 30 when official support ends, so if you're curious and want to give it a try now that the grind is gone, you've got until then to pick it up. It's still going for full price on Steam—$40/£30/€40—which isn't super-attractive for a game that's just been condemned to oblivion, but the Humble Store has Steam keys on sale until April 6 for $10.
Along with unlocking the Marvel's Avengers marketplace, 2.8 update also makes a number of fixes and gameplay tweaks. Full patch notes are below.
REASSEMBLE CAMPAIGN & AVENGERS INITIATIVE
- Friendly fire! AI Companions will no longer target Kate Bishop’s Decoy when it is deployed during certain boss encounters.
- We fixed an exploit where the Winter Soldier could activate the heavy intrinsic attack ‘Blast Zone’ as a heavy dodge attack if ‘Vengeful Ghost’ was not a purchased skill.
- Banter between Jane and Bucky, which wasn’t activating for some players, now triggers when intended.
COMBAT
- We fixed an issue where Black Panther’s ‘Kinetic Boom’ skill was not increasing the damage of ‘Panther’s Dive.’
- Thor’s ‘Rampant Supercharge’ perk now functions properly when ‘Warrior’s Fury’ is activated.
- Hawkeye’s ‘Rocket Arrow’ wasn’t initiating for some players when the ‘Volatile Rockets’ skill was activated, but the ‘Rocket Arrow’ now activates, as intended.
- Switching gun types at the start of a charge animation no longer prevents the Winter Soldier from executing ranged power attacks.
- You are no longer able to use the Winter Soldier’s ‘Press the Charge’ skill without having first acquired it.
- The Mighty Thor’s gear perk ‘Divine Blast Assistance’ now applies intrinsic overload to teammates, as intended.
- The Winter Soldier’s ‘Lethal Rampant Plasma Boost’ perk now grants nanites when intended.
- Ms. Marvel’s ‘Ultimate Lethal Cryo Administrator’ gear perk now applies the correct number of Cryo charges to allies.
- The Ultimate Lethal Plasma Administrator gear perk now grants charges when defeating an enemy on the initial hit.
- The Winter Soldier’s ‘Reactive Gamma Administrator’ gear perk now grants the correct number of charges to allies when using ‘Soldier’s Generosity.’
- Similarly, we fixed the Winter Soldier’s ‘Reactive Gamma Administrator’ perk so that it grants charges, as intended, to allies for hitting enemies with ‘Bloodletting.’
- Both the Winter Soldier’s ‘Cryo-’ and ‘Plasma Administrator’ perks now grant charges to allies.
- Ms. Marvel’s ‘Polymorph Counter Spike’ perk now increases Critical Attack Damage, as intended.
- Kate Bishop’s ‘Explosive Blast Frenzy’ perk now increases the firing speed of explosive arrows, as intended.
- We fixed an issue with Heroes and invisibility where completing a takedown would enable enemy attacks on the player while the invisibility effect was active. That’s not how invisibility works!
GEAR & REWARDS
- Endgame Mission Rewards (Both OLTs and Raid)
- Gear Upgrading – PL 165 to PL 175
- Gear
- Superior gear can now be obtained from every completion, not just the weekly rotation.
- Family Reunion and both versions of the Discordant Sound raid now grant up to PL 165 gear.
- Events and Cloning Lab now provide a path to PL 175 gear.
- Resources required to bring a piece of gear from the old PL cap to the new PL cap has been reduced.
- Upgrade module cost is now capped at 150 per upgrade within this range.
- Dismantling exotic gear returns 100 upgrade modules. 50 are returned from legendary gear.
- Nanite charges from Cloning Lab gear now apply status damage via heavy melee attacks. Status build-up has been increased.
- Cooldowns reduced for major artifact active effects.
- Exotic artifact stat scaling improved.
USER INTERFACE
- The Winter Soldier’s skill icons now display properly in the Hero Terminal.
- JARVIS is back online! The Cloning Lab gear reward charges were not always appearing on the HUD when defeating enemies, but charges now display properly.
- Lorem oop-sum! We replaced the placeholder text that appears in Captain America’s ‘Vanguard Charge’ skill with the correct description.
- We repositioned Hawkeye’s Heroic Mission Chain reward icon to appear in the correct place.
ART & ANIMATION
- When wearing his “Wasteland Warrior” Outfit, Hulk’s right shoulder no longer tears during gameplay.
- The Winter Soldier’s gun no longer clips through his armor during gameplay.
- The Winter Soldier’s muzzle flash VFX now display properly when executing takedowns on dreadbots during multiplayer sessions.
- There’s a glitch in the multiverse! The Mighty Thor now uses the correct Mjolnir when activating her Ultimate while wearing her MCU-inspired Outfit.
- Cap’s shield can do many things, but invisibility is not one of them! We fixed an issue where Captain America’s shield would disappear momentarily when using the ‘Looking Sharp’ emote.
- We fixed an issue where the Winter Soldier’s rifle would appear, stuck to his hand, during several interactions on the Helicarrier (including the interaction with Mjolnir).
- Similarly, the Winter Soldier’s rifle no longer attaches to random props when performing various emotes.
- We adjusted The Mighty Thor’s ‘Unhelmed’ Outfit mesh so that the Outfit displays the correct hair color.
- Bucky’s legs no longer distort or experience clipping with Cap’s shield when using the ‘Passing the Mantle’ emote.
- Captain America’s shield now reseats on his arm properly when activating his intrinsic ability while vaulting.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Faction Terminal Missions and Assignments will not be completable from 12 p.m. UTC to 5 p.m. local time. This will be fixed in an upcoming hotfix, Update 2.8.1, which launches on April 4.
