Character effectiveness guide

[kfcrispy]

i am surprised there is no real good character guide out there that discusses powers and how to use characters effectively and includes the quirks/bugs of moves (clarifying what things really do vs their in-game descriptions - I posted the ones I know about here)... OLDSCHOOL's FAQ does provide the author's picks but i feel the writer didn't know about a lot of the hidden properties of many moves and thus ignored them.
I know there were people at gamefaqs who used maxed characters in Hard Mode to determine how to kill mobs at the fastest rate, but those threads are gone since gamefaqs doesn't keep topics for too long, and they were pretty limited in scope, anyway - level 99? i'm lucky to get to level 50s when i start a New Game in Hard Mode, and if i continued from my original save where everybody's around level 30 or even 40, the game is far too easy and almost not worth another playthrough. i think it's more important to look at the early and middle levels, for those stating a New Game.

yeah it's really late to be writing something now but i feel like starting one... i will avoid discussing the 360-exclusive characters because I have never used them and I'm not sure how accurate the PC-mods are (especially with bugs/quirks since there was apparently some bug-fixing), but i believe the PSP conversions behave exactly the way they were programmed on PSP (like Ronin doing massive damage w/Spine Teaser)

i welcome any comments!


BLACK PANTHER has some great skills, but they get expensive energy-wise and he has low Focus. you may want to outfit him with a costume and/or item that accommodates his energy problem.
Panther Claw is bugged such that the tapped version deals the damage from the its previous version, so you can unleash a charged version then spam the tapped version to deal the charged version's damage each shot. If you take advantage of this bug, it is probably his best move.
Energy Daggers is not very useful until you start releasing 3 at a time (needs to get near maxed). Once you get to 3, it deals great damage when all 3 hit an enemy at once - just get close enough to do it.
Razor Cyclone drains your EP too quickly to be effective.... if you're using Deadpool's damage boost, the hit frequency from Razor Cyclone will pay off.
Crippling Blow is expensive but somewhat useful, but it has tiny range. If you're not abusing the Panther Claw glitch, this is a decent choice that won't require too many skill points, especially if you're trying to allocate more points into Energy Daggers or his boost.
Pounce is not a very good as an attack, but it is great for getting around. BP's main attack skills are all close range. If bosses like to move around, you can keep this at low levels and use it to get in the boss's face - BP will recover quickly if the target cannot be thrown - then unleash your primary attack.
Stealth boosts critical hit damage, so it is my preferred boost, if i'm going to use any.
Master Hunter isn't useful to me because i rarely have problems with health, especially when BP (and the rest of the team) is used effectively.
Xtreme: Panther's Might is "xtremely" powerful and has a high chance to critical for massive damage, plus it boosts the damage of other Xtremes. If you like building up Xtremes, BP is worth a position in your team. This is definitely a bonus for using BP.

BLADE has major energy issues and doesn't get enough mileage from his powers. you will probably be forced to melee a lot with him, and luckily he's got extra reach thanks to his sword. also, do avoid his "special" throw where he bites the target that he's grabbed because it does terrible damage.
Slayer Slash is your generic close-range charge attack. you will probably want to dump this for Spike of Destruction once you unlock it.
Gun Blast hits a small area in front of Blade and has a critical hit rate bonus if the enemy's stunned. The damage of the attack is not really worth the investment for you can add it to a melee stun combo for style. The knockback effect can help Blade from getting swarmed.
Glaive Strike just avoid this worthless power. i don't remember what it does actually, but it was so bad i knew not to waste points unlocking it afterwards... it's probably just a straight, weak projectile.
Circle of Death looks cool but not very practical due to its poor range. i don't think you'll want to charge the attack if Blade is actually swarmed by enemies, unless you combine this with Flash Bomb, but if you stun everyone, you might want to opt to walk for a couple shots with the faster Gun Blast (which has a bonus critical hit chance on stunned enemies). However, a charged Circle of Death is probably more energy efficient.
Spike of Destruction - finally, a solid power. Careful aiming this, because it loses auto-lock easily. Other than aiming, there is nothing bad about the attack. Fire it for heavy damage, punch them around, then the spike explodes for a little area damage.
Blood of the Warrior is a very useful boost for Blade. go crazy with melee attacks after activating... however he will take extra damage from getting hit so don't use it when you have low life and are being mobbed already.
Flash Bomb would be very useful/fun if it didn't cost so much energy. as you upgrade it, the stun time increases. if you don't have many points in the power, don't bother using it.
Xtreme: Blood Haze is a pretty typical Xtreme, i think sometimes i've seen it do no damage whatsoever, though.


CAPTAIN AMERICA is very good against regular enemies but isn't as effective when it comes to fighting bosses.
Shield Throw has it all: long range, good damage, low energy cost, bounces around and hits multiple enemies, and my favorite aspect of it is that it knocks down regular enemies. You can proceed to beat down a target if you use this on a nearby target.
Shield Bash is a better choice for dealing with bosses, but you'll want to charge it to get the most out of it. You can use the tapped version to pop-up/disable a normal enemy, but Shield Throw will do the job better and will hit more targets.
Energy Shield is a weak radial. don't bother with it. use Shield Throw or Shield bash to deal with mobs.
Shield Charge is not very powerful, but you can use it to run fast.
Reserve Strength turns Captain into a maniac. I mentioned beating down on tripped enemies before, well this helps get the job done faster. It's really useful to know that using the normal attack/melee button on a downed enemy deals about double the damage that a normal melee hit deals. Now imagine Reserve Strength letting you get more hits in before the enemy gets up... Captain American can use Reserve Strength to beat down multiple adjacent enemies after tripping them all with Shield Throw.
Heroism - again, i have never found defensive boosts to be that useful, but it's nice to be able to have it available just in case.
Xtreme: Avenger's Shield is a typical Xtreme attack. It may have a smaller range than others...

COLOSSUS was severely gimped in this game. I miss his XML1 carnation with the Clap That was Heard Around the World.
Pulverizing Punch is Colossus' most damaging move. It can hit twice and stuns on both hits, but it is extremely slow. Against bosses, it generally only hits once because the boss doesn't get stunned and backs up fast enough that the second swing whiffs, but it's still his best attack vs bosses.
Earthquake is very weak and has terrible recovery time. don't bother with this radial.
Soaring Strike is Colossus' best choice for crowd control. It has decent damage but don't start spamming it to look like a monkey because it really isn't that great!
Take Down is yet another attack that is better for movement but has pathetic damage. try not to run into enemies when using it for transportation because Colossus takes his time doing weak punches to the target.
Intimidation makes enemies run away, which can be somewhat useful because Colossus is so bad. use this if he's mobbed and low on health...
Thick Skin is a team defensive boost. Since Colossus isn't going to defeat all your enemies in a timely manner, it has its uses.
Xtreme: Colossal Crash is an above-average Xtreme that covers a huge area. One of Colossus' saving graces...


DAREDEVIL is similar to Black Panther - a brawler-type character who will have to watch his energy.
Baton Smash has worse range than most other close-range chargeable attacks. I wouldn't bother with it, as his better skills become available early on.
Baton Throw is a very useful power i like to leave at low cost. I like to pull enemies in quickly and beat them down. If they collide with another enemy, they become stunned, so being able to spam the attack lets DD effectively manage a crowd. You can't use this on bosses.
Extensive Strike is DD's best damage dealing ability. When you're close to the target, it will most likely hit twice (on the release and return). On top of hitting twice, it already has great base damage. You'll want to spam this on bosses and hope they drop energy so you can repeat.
Devastation is a cool-looking attack that trips everyone around DD, but the recovery time on the attack doesn't allow for an opportunity to capitalize on the situation and the damage is low. you're better off spamming Baton Throw.
Charge is extremely awkward to use and has such poor damage that it's not worth unlocking.
Blind Sight - meh
Hyper Sense - slowing down enemies lets your team get in more attacks while dealing with less from the enemy. this is useful to have at any time, but DD will be low on energy after activating it.
Xtreme: Devil's Onslaught is nothing special.


DEADPOOL has pretty much the best team boost in the game and has a variety of attacks that become very effective when augmented by the team boost.
Assassin Strike is an okay attack, and it hits twice, but you won't bother with it after unlocking Battle Cry and his other attacks.
Dual Shot can be held down to hit multiple targets from long range and will do serious damage with Battle Cry. you need to watch out about getting hit because it will interrupt the attack.
Teleport Flurry is a great looking attack that isn't very effective.
Blade Cyclone is awesome with Battle Cry activated. use it for mobs that are nearby, but like Dual Shot, it can get interrupted by getting hit. don't allocate too many points in this, let Battle Cry set the damage, and you can keep Blade Cyclone running longer this way.
Grenade Toss is a semi-useful radial that looks great. it affects a large area around DP immediately, whereas Blade Cyclone has a small radius and is stopped by obstacles, but Blade Cyclone will deal much more damage with Battle Cry.
Wisecrack is effective on the enemies it affects, but since it's not a self-boost, the bonuses are lost as the affected enemies die. also, DP is more effective when enemies are not trying to punch him (interrupts..).
Battle Cry - you'll want to keep this pumped as high as possible. you can combine the boost with low level multi-hitting attacks for pure pwnage. All teammates benefit from the boost as well except for a few powers.
Xtreme: Merc's Revenge a better-than-average Xtreme because it can hit nearby enemies twice.

[Teancum]

BLADE - Very effective when a new character replaces him.

[marvelfan12345]

True, true.

[Gevth]

Well, if you want something like that, check this (old) topic from gamefaqs:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=932586&topic=37311713

[kfcrispy]

Well, if you want something like that, check this (old) topic from gamefaqs:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=932586&topic=37311713

ah great, i was looking for that! thanks
but again, these guys discuss everyone assuming they have maxed powers. the critiques will be similar, though.

[piutebob]

BLADE stands for: Bloody Loser Asking Death Easily.
(Sorry, just had to say that)

[kfcrispy]

bah, i'm reading through the thread and found i mentioned almost everything i wanted to say in that topic a long time ago! perhaps i forgot to mention Dr. Strange can combo TK into Black Magic so that it doesn't miss (since it easily misses moving targets) - TK to throw them straight forward or back then Black Magic to follow up. The enemy will be on the ground and won't have a chance to escape becoming boxed up!

the PSP character comments i left in these forums...

[piutebob]

Who's TK...?

[Nowhere Man]

uh, I've got one, I've got one!!!! Bonehead Loser Always Dying Embarrassingly \o/

Who's TK...?

TK = telekineses

Black Panther, Daredevil, Cap and Deadpool are great, luv playing with them. Panther doesn't need more mana, he can just turn invisible and kill everyone using melee attacks. Daredevil's 3rd attack takes a ridiculous amount of damage twice. When Cap uses reserve strength he's awesome. Deadpool heals and the gun attack is very effective.

the only other one besides Blade that I really think sucks is elektra. Buuut, unlike blade she's one of my favourite marvel characters. So I edited all I could to make her better.

[xxxxx]

I find that Blade and Elektra have some of the best standard melee in an UNMODDED game. They have lame powers, but they both shine in their boosts. My sister LOVES to play as Elektra, she doesn't use as many powers, so Elektra is perfect for her. Her only complaints are that Elektra should  run faster and jump higher.