# Marvel Heroes MMO **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 13, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236 "2013-05-13T15:24:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/1 "2013-05-13T15:24:31Z")
Like the first two Diablos? Liked beating up mooks in Paragon City or Rouge Isles? Give this a try! It will be free to play when it goes live next month. Playable characters will be: [ul][li]Black Panther[/li][li]Black Widow[/li][li]Cable[/li][li]Captain America[/li][li]Colossus[/li][li]Cyclops[/li][li]Daredevil[/li][li]Deadpool[/li][li]Emma Frost[/li][li]Hawkeye[/li][li]Hulk[/li][li]Human Torch[/li][li]Iron Man[/li][li]Jean Grey[/li][li]Luke Cage[/li][li]Ms. Marvel[/li][li]Nova[/li][li]The Punisher[/li][li]Rocket Raccoon[/li][li]Scarlet Witch[/li][li] Spider-Man[/li][li]Squirrel Girl[/li][li]Storm[/li][li]Thing[/li][li]Thor[/li][li]Wolverine[/ul][/li] I played a bit as Cap yesterday during open beta. Bit odd seeing multiple copies of those characters running around and I had trouble registering a name that wasn’t taken (ended up as HeyYou) but I did have fun. Combat and the randomly generated isometric maps are very remiscent of the first two Diablos, which makes sense because David Brevik is behind this. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/2 "2013-05-13T17:28:14Z")
I dunno…seeing scores of the same character would pretty much ruin the game for me. I predict whichever one seems most powerful will become the default choice. Is there no option for unique player-created characters? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/3 "2013-05-13T17:59:26Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Is there no option for unique player-created characters? Diablo-style equipment & power trees only. There’s supposed to be a single player option later so I’m guessing it’ll be very much like B-Net with lobbies and instanced missions. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/4 "2013-05-13T18:12:42Z")
All of the prior-universe hero MMOs have sucked from the gate; people don’t want to be 1 of 32 Spideys or Hulks, they want to be their own super. RIP CoH… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/5 "2013-05-13T18:19:04Z")
There’s also the problem that they’ll have to make all those heroes approximately the same power level, which is going to strain suspension of disbelief somewhere or another. Even in the movies, where everyone’s a badass and has plot armor, Black Widow and Hawkeye were still mostly in support roles compared to the heavy hitters like Thor and Iron Man. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/6 "2013-05-13T18:22:47Z")
So it’s an MMO version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance? Sounds awesome. Those games rocked. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/7 "2013-05-13T18:34:11Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > All of the prior-universe hero MMOs have sucked from the gate; people don’t want to be 1 of 32 Spideys or Hulks, they want to be their own super. > > RIP CoH… I dunno; Just because it worked in CoH doesn’t mean it’s what everyone wants (You will observe that CoH is now dead, so clearly what it was doing wasn’t good enough). Additionally, I gathered that everyone was disappointed in DC Online or whatever it was called because they had to be “nobody” superheroes running around in a world that had Superman/Batman/etc. Basically, I think the concept of the “superhero MMO” is basically doomed - in existing worlds, people don’t want to be some random schlump, and CoH already did as good a job with a non-franchise game as I think was likely to happen and it died, so I don’t have a lot of optimism for this genre. I guess Champions Online is still running, for the like, 47 people who play it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/8 "2013-05-13T18:36:57Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > (You will observe that CoH is now dead, so clearly what it was doing wasn’t good enough). The evidence is that CoH was killed off by internal politics at NCsoft, with over 200,000 paying players and ~2M free players. Some of us don’t want to play another super-soldier or elf on a quest. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/9 "2013-05-13T18:45:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The evidence is that CoH was killed off by internal politics at NCsoft, with over 200,000 paying players and ~2M free players. I think you are grossly oversimplifying. The game was for sale. Seeking buyers. If it was successful, why did no one buy it? The whole thing stinks of lies to me. > [@](#): > > Some of us don’t want to play another super-soldier or elf on a quest. Apparently not enough of you. Also, easy on the derogatory stereotyping. Super Hero genres are even easier to tar with that brush. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/10 "2013-05-13T18:52:40Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Also, easy on the derogatory stereotyping. Super Hero genres are even easier to tar with that brush. SH games are a particular and very narrow niche. I wouldn’t argue otherwise. I, OTOH, have played all the vague medieval maging, questing, SCAing, magicky sort of games I ever care to play in the rest of my life, and it takes real innovation for me to be interested in another vaguely space-mariney or Real Truly LIfelike Soldiering game. Doesn’t leave much. ETA: Yet one more iteration of hyper-graphics and mocap doesn’t count as innovation for me, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/11 "2013-05-13T18:53:18Z")
The base game will be free to play and I’ll have a couple weeks off shortly after it goes live so I’ll check out the release and report back. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/12 "2013-05-13T18:53:38Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > All of the prior-universe hero MMOs have sucked from the gate; people don’t want to be 1 of 32 Spideys or Hulks, they want to be their own super. > > RIP CoH… Yup - ol Coppertop - an electrical defender…a short guy with a brown shirt (with a ‘D’ on it) with black pants and his head all silver. or the villian ‘Math Teacher’ - a balding older guy in a bad suit whose powers were to attack the mind with sleep, confusion and despair… I miss CoH ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/13 "2013-05-13T19:00:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > SH games are a particular and very narrow niche. I wouldn’t argue otherwise. I, OTOH, have played all the vague medieval maging, questing, SCAing, magicky sort of games I ever care to play in the rest of my life, and it takes real innovation for me to be interested in another vaguely space-mariney or Real Truly LIfelike Soldiering game. > > Doesn’t leave much. > > ETA: Yet one more iteration of hyper-graphics and mocap doesn’t count as innovation for me, BTW. It might even suggest that you might need to branch out to other genres rather than other settings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/14 "2013-05-13T19:31:57Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > It might even suggest that you might need to branch out to other genres rather than other settings. 😉 I’m really not much of a gamer. That said, your comment makes no sense to me. A vaguely medieval magicky game is pretty much the same no matter how it’s dressed up; ditto for uber-soldier ones. I could get slightly interested in the wide-ranging space games but… I already have a stack of single-players here I haven’t even taken the wrappers off. No time, and I’m just not much of a gamer. I’m one of those that finds one he likes, and stays with it until everyone else has forgotten it. CoH is a special and sad case, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/15 "2013-05-13T20:02:41Z")
I’ve been in the closed beta for a while, so feel free to ask me any questions. I’ll answer as best I can. The heroes I’ve played are Cyclops, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and a little Hulk, Black Panther, and Scarlet Witch. The game is a lot of fun, especially if you like ARPGs and especially especially if you like Marvel. There is still some balancing to be done, crafting needs to be re-tooled and end game hasn’t been implemented. There should be a BIG patch coming, hopefully this week, since early play starts on the 28th and the game goes live on 6/4. The free starter heroes are Daredevil, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Storm, and Thing. So far you can choose one to go through the entire game with. All other characters can be bought in the in-game store or received as drops. Costumes and boosts are received the same way. There are also wildcards you can buy that have unknown and random results. Buy one, click on it, see what you get. In the time I’ve been playing I have found 4 costumes, 2 heroes (Spider-Man and Black Panther), and many boosts of different varieties. It is a little weird seeing 3 Hulks or 4 Cyclops or 2 Thors, etc. I try to think of them as classes. Like a regular MMO where you might see multiple wizards all dressed the same or multiple warriors all with the same spear and magic helmet. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/16 "2013-05-13T21:39:45Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > It is a little weird seeing 3 Hulks or 4 Cyclops or 2 Thors, etc. I try to think of them as classes. Or Diablo II characters reskinned & retooled for Marvel content. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/17 "2013-05-13T22:54:38Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > I think you are grossly oversimplifying. The game was for sale. Seeking buyers. If it was successful, why did no one buy it? The whole thing stinks of lies to me. From my experience with NCsoft, they’re quite willing to close down games that are only mildly profitable, and don’t seem too willing to work with other groups. Or at least that was my impression with what happened to Tabula Rasa. City of Heroes probably had different circumstances involved. I played CoH at release, and played a fee years back when it went free. It’s hard to imagine any super hero mmo doing better, the whole issue of playing an unk own vs a well known SH in an established setting is just something I can’t see getting solved. I could see a CoH2 doing okay if they had more variety and interesting things to do. It seems most mmos do better when they arent grounded in an established and lore rich setting. Even WoW seemed to have a lot more lore and depth added compared to the Rts games. (Not that i played them much) ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/18 "2013-05-13T23:11:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > So it’s an MMO version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance? > > Sounds awesome. Those games rocked. No, its a super hero version of diablo with mmo style shared zones for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/19 "2013-05-13T23:16:46Z")
To clarify: Does “free to play” mean that the game itself is free, or that you pay initially but then there’s no monthly fee? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236/20 "2013-05-13T23:21:27Z")
It’s free, but your hero selection is limited to five and you gotta buy more. They are also rare drops though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-heroes-mmo/658236.md?page=2)