Marvel’s Avengers will be jam-packed with neat gameplay features when it launches next year but just how much of its superpowered experience can be customized? Billed, first and foremost, as an action-adventure, developer Crystal Dynamics clearly has no intention of making its most ambitious project to date a number-crunching RPG affair, but by no means is every players’ experience going to be a perfect mirror of each other.
In fact, there’s a great deal of meat on the bones of Marvel’s Avengers‘ customization options, certainly enough to justify repeated play. A hardcore RPG this isn’t, then, but increasingly popular systems such as skill trees, experience-based leveling and, of course, rare gear drops to obtain, will be the cause of most dopamine rushes beyond the story’s single-player conclusion and now, we finally have a clearer idea of how those features will complement core gameplay.
Speaking to BleedingCool at NYCC 2019, Crystal Dynamics head Scot Amos outlined Marvel’s Avengers‘ progressions systems, comparing various key components to that of Bungie’s looter shooter Destiny 2. Each playable hero, whether it be the base cast or future DLC characters, will have a separate leveling system from 1-10. As players progress through these ranks, new skills and equipment will become available, the latter of which can provide gear-specific set bonuses.
Amos doesn’t reveal any specific examples, though does mention that some of these powerful effects will completely change the way some heroes are played, using a comparison of his playstyle with Thor to that of another colleague as being completely different (yet equally effective) to promote the range of possibilities. It’s worth noting, however, that such game-changing effects will likely be confined to the rarest items, of which there are six grades: common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary and a final stage beyond that. Hero items akin to Destiny‘s one-of Exotics, perhaps? Possible, but purely speculative.
Regardless, Marvel’s Avengers is shaping up to be one of gaming’s most anticipated releases and we can’t wait to go hands-on when it launches next year, May 15th, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia.
