Part 2: Moving Forward

Introduction

Welcome to the THANO$VIB$ Beginner's Guide! This is the second of three parts, which aims to provide further guidance past the initial guide. As you should be getting more familiar with the game, this will be less rigid than the first part.

This guide has been created for Update 9.8 - "Annihilators". If this is outdated, look for a newer version at thanosvibs.money/beginners.

Made by DUBU, Astrospeedyjm, Ren Vader, wavegangse, Chaebae and anuswarp.

On the web version of this guide (and any THANO$VIB$ guides like this) you can click or tap on any character portrait for more information about that character.

• Goals

  Throughout this section, you should be aiming to:

  - Clear up to Floor 35 in Shadowland, allowing you to build characters faster.

  - Progress through various World Boss Ultimates, with the goal of unlocking World Boss Legend.

  - Build up more Support characters who will be viable in late-game.

  - Get a start on useful Native Tier-2s, and get some characters with 6th skills unlocked.

  - Start progressing through Epic Quests to unlock faster resource gain, especially for Mutant materials.

  - Begin building cards for attack-focused stats to push higher in PvE content, and get started on Crafting.

• Characters - Supporting Cast

  This section shows additional characters you may want to start building on the way to World Boss Legend, or pushing higher Alliance Battle Extreme/Legend scores.

  There is more of a focus on support characters here, as the majority of the Part 1 characters were mains.

  Main/DPS Characters

  Hela [Marvel Studios' What If...?]

  Hela [Marvel Studios' What If...?]

  • Acquisition

    Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 1750 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Very versatile character, being a Lead, Support and Main who is good in both PvE and PvP.
    While she may need her Artifact to be a good PvP main, her support passive is extremely useful.
    For PvE, she is excellent against WBL at Tier-3 (and has the option to go to Lv.80 / Tier-4).

  Doctor Octopus [Ends of the Earth]

  Doctor Octopus [Ends of the Earth]

  • Acquisition

    Tier-2 Guided Quest, or Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 1750 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.

  • Advancement [Transcended Potential]

    Probably do it manually, but is a selector option in the 90 Day Check-In.

  • Usefulness

    Current best Combat Villain, and especially good at Alliance Battle modes.
    Nice and proc-friendly before reaching Tier-4 (at which point he requires a Rage).

  Green Goblin [Red Goblin]

  Green Goblin [Red Goblin]

  • Acquisition

    Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 1750 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Very good for ABX, one of the best T3s in the game.
    However, being stuck at Lv.70, he doesn't have too much use in WBL as a main.
    Also a strong dual Lead/Support for Villains, which future-proofs him.

  Lead/Support Only

  These are in no particular order - decide on which one to build based on what character(s) you want a Lead or Support for.

  Remember you can click on the character portrait and navigate to the "Lead/Support" tab to view their effects.

  Phil Coulson

  Phil Coulson

  • Acquisition

    Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    Not required! [Winter Ops] is a seasonal (Christmas) paywalled uniform, and he works fine for Heroes without it.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Excellent support for Heroes.

  Taskmaster [Marvel Studios' Black Widow]

  Taskmaster [Marvel Studios' Black Widow]

  • Acquisition

    Recruit him at 6 Stars through Legendary Battle, then use Biometric Selectors to level his gears.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 1750 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.
    Required for his primary Support passive.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    A good choice for the Tier-3 Mega Ticket from the 90 Day Check-In.
    Otherwise, you can advance him manually.

  • Usefulness

    Excellent general support - applies to everyone, and boosts damage against Hero enemies too.

  Wave [Classic]

  Wave [Classic]

  • Acquisition

    Paid Heroic Quest, which costs 750 Crystals.
    Use Rank Up Tickets and Tier-2 Tickets wisely so you only have to buy it once.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 1750 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.
    Uniform adds a better Leadership and slightly improves her Support.

  • Advancement [Transcended Potential]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    A great dual Lead and Support (or just Support without uniform).
    Her typing (Speed, Hero, Female, Human) makes her very useful in ABX/L.

  White Fox

  White Fox

  • Acquisition

    Paid Heroic Quest, which costs 750 Crystals.
    Use Rank Up Tickets and Tier-2 Tickets wisely so you only have to buy it once.

  • Uniform

    Not required! Do not buy the [Lifestyle Series 1] uniform.
    [Lifestyle Series 2] is a seasonal (Christmas) paywalled uniform, and not worth the price anymore.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Excellent support for characters with the Leadership ability.

  She-Hulk [All-New]

  She-Hulk [All-New]

  • Acquisition

    Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    [All-New] costs 500k Gold and increases her leadership to 55%.
    [Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law] is not necessary, but makes her a decent ABX main.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Fantastic lead against Male enemies.

  Ghost Panther

  Ghost Panther

  • Acquisition

    Premium character, so he may be tough to unlock without paying.
    Recommended to use Rank Up Tickets and Tier-2 Tickets as much as possible.

  • Uniform

    None available.

  • Advancement [Transcended Potential]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Great support, but especially effective when used alongside fire characters.
    If supporting someone with Fire Damage, his lead also works.

  Ancient One [Unleashed Mystic]

  Ancient One [Unleashed Mystic]

  • Acquisition

    Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    [Unleashed Mystic] adds minor buffs to her lead and support, but mostly useful for countering Energy Damage characters in Timeline.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Probably do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Solid lead and support for Blast characters, especially those with elemental damage.
    Also a very good counter to prevalent PvP characters due to her Energy Reflect with the uniform.

  Sif [Asgard Invasion]

  Sif [Asgard Invasion]

  • Acquisition

    Irrelevant if you choose her for 90 Day Check-In Transcended Selector.
    Otherwise, Support Shop manual rank up and Tier-2.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 1750 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.
    Uniform is required for her to be a Lead/Support.

  • Advancement [Transcended Potential]

    Recommended for the Transcended Character Selector in the 90 Day Check-In.
    Otherwise, you can advance her manually.

  • Usefulness

    A great dual Lead and Support for Combat types.
    Alright on her own too, but not that useful outside of ABX.

  Long-Term Goals

  Jean Grey [Dark Phoenix]

  Jean Grey [Dark Phoenix]

  • Acquisition

    Unlock via "Rise of the X-Men" Epic Quest. Very expensive to build.
    Recommended to start on her only when you have 5 World Boss Legend clears each day.

  • Uniform

    Regular price 2500 Crystals. Purchase during a uniform sale.

  • Advancement [Tier-3]

    Have to do it manually.

  • Usefulness

    Still the best character in the game, likely to be meta for whatever you build her for.

• Characters - Shadowland Fodder

  Go through and pick up all of the characters under "Characters - Support Shop" and the "Characters - The Main Cast" sections of Part 1 that you don't have yet. If you have them below Tier-2, get them there.

  Use Biometrics Selectors from Shadowland or otherwise to farm the characters not in the Support Shop.

  Additionally, here are some decent characters you can find in Biometric Selectors: they weren't listed in the previous guide as they are not ideal starter characters, but they are decent for Shadowland.

  Hydro-Man

  Hydro-Man

  Blast Villain that deals Physical Damage, has excellent crowd control for Shadowland and is able to get 100k in Alliance Battle Extreme.

  Molten Man

  Molten Man

  Combat Villain that deals Physical/Fire Damage, a bit squishy but has really solid damage.

  Sword Master

  Sword Master

  Combat Hero that deals Physical Damage, cool animations but damage isn't great.

  Gorilla-Man

  Gorilla-Man

  Combat Hero that deals Physical/Lightning and regular Physical Damage, super tanky but only decent damage output.

  Korath

  Korath

  Speed Villain that deals Physical Damage, has good damage with a fun rotation.

  Minn-Erva

  Minn-Erva

  Combat Villain that deals Physical Damage, a decent all-rounder but not excellent in any aspect.

• Characters - Tier-4 Advancements

  Not a focus yet, especially if you're still working towards WBL clears, but useful for reference.

  Note that it is strongly advised to NOT invest any Tier-4 resources into a character until you are fairly confident you can instantly Tier-4 them. It takes over a month to accumulate enough resources to Tier-4 a regular-cost character, at full farming capacity (so if you're just starting out in GBR and WBL, it will be even slower).

  In that time, around 2 new Tier-4s will be released, which may supersede the current best recommendations. If you have all your materials stockpiled, you can easily pivot to T4 the new best character. However if you already have materials invested in the old one, you're stuck between T4ing an unideal character, or cutting your losses and starting farming from scratch on the new one.

  General Picks

  Characters that are always accessible to all players (which doesn't mean they are cheap, just not seasonally locked).

  Jean Grey [Dark Phoenix]

  Jean Grey [Dark Phoenix]

  Still the overall best in the game, worth it for your first even with the higher cost.
  Decent few ABX/L days, amazing at GBR, great for WBL with a Judgement.
  One of the few characters ever who is still nuts in PvP with a PvE build, and vice versa.

  Spider-Gwen [Across the Spider-Verse]

  Spider-Gwen [Across the Spider-Verse]

  Not as overall dominant as Jean, but is cheaper to Tier-4, easier to build, and is proc-friendly.
  Being a Speed Hero Human Female allows her to enter a ton of ABX/ABL days, and she's fantastic in WBL too.
  Probably one of the most versatile PvE characters.

  Seasonal Picks

  Characters who you should Tier-4 if you have their limited seasonal uniforms.

  Ghost Rider [Rage Returned]

  Ghost Rider [Rage Returned]

  Only Tier-4 Ghost Rider if you have his [Rage Returned] uniform, which is a Crystal-cost seasonal exclusive for the yearly Halloween event.
  Fantastic for all PvE modes, and has some uses in PvP too, especially if you have his Artifact.

  Luna Snow [Summer Lilac]

  Luna Snow [Summer Lilac]

  Only Tier-4 Luna if you have her [Summer Lilac] uniform, which is a paywalled seasonal exclusive for the yearly Summer event.
  She is generally better than Gwen and also a Speed Hero Human Female, so they cover the same bases.
  If you have this Luna uniform, it's probably best to choose her and not Gwen.

  Rogue [Winter Ops]

  Rogue [Winter Ops]

  Only Tier-4 Rogue if you have her [Winter Ops] uniform, which is a paywalled seasonal exclkusive for the yearly Christmas event.
  She is a fantastic all-around PvE character and covers some Mutant days that Luna can't.

• Epic Quests

  You can make progress on all the Epic Quests if you like, and if you really love some of the characters you can focus on those respective Quests, but the below order is roughly the most optimal.

  You can find guides for Epic Quests using the button below.

  map

  Recommended

  Rise of the X-Men

  Rise of the X-Men

  This Epic Quest offers an all-around very solid assortment of characters, and is the easiest to complete due to the lack of a Shifter character.
  Worth progressing through to unlock missions to farm Mutant materials, which can be used in the Crafting system to acquire Cards.
  Additionally, Jean Grey - the ultimate unlock at the end of the quest - is currently the best in the game.

  X-Force

  X-Force

  Not a lot of useful characters here (though Stryfe and Colossus are nice for PvP), but worth progressing through to unlock missions to farm Mutant materials.
  These can be used in the Crafting system to acquire Cards.
  It is also guaranteed Deadpool will get a new Uniform and Tier-4 with his movie, and Psylocke is likely to be updated in the next year.

  Medium Priority

  Goblin Queen

  Goblin Queen

  Similar to the X-Men and X-Force Epic Quests - helps you increase Mutant Material acquisition.
  The characters are not outstanding, with Madelyne being a good PvP character and that's basically it.
  Unlocking her also requires the Deluxe Pack, which is 1100 Crystals more than regular, and Rachel Summers, who is difficult to unlock.

  The Galactic Imperative

  The Galactic Imperative

  A difficult Quest to complete, with high material costs, but you end up with Beta Ray Bill and a Tier-3 Star-Lord, both decent PvE characters.
  Nova (Richard Rider) and Phyla-Vell are also useful support characters.
  The Deluxe Pack is nice for the rewards, and required to unlock Gladiator, who is very strong with his uniform at Tier-4.

  Low Priority

  Sorcerer Supreme

  Sorcerer Supreme

  The first Epic Quest, with no Deluxe Pack or big Native, just a quest to unlock Strange.
  Strange and Wong are decent with their new uniforms, but not amazing - the main appeal is that this Quest is very easy to complete.

  First Family

  First Family

  Quite an annoying Epic Quest because of Victorious, and the characters in it haven't aged well.
  Doom still has some niche uses, but his overall cost makes him a hard recommendation for anything but diehard fans.

  Dark Reign

  Dark Reign

  This is by far the most costly Epic Quest, and not worth that cost anymore.

  The Fate of Mankind

  The Fate of Mankind

  This Epic Quest is structured differently, with 6 separate stories centred around each Eternal.
  It is recommended to at the very least do Sersi's quest, as she is a cheap and decently strong beginner character.
  The other stories are arguably not worth doing as you'd need to pump resources into Sersi to even start them.

• Future Crystal Investments

  All of the below can be considered optional - you can choose to spend Crystals on some of these options, or grab more uniforms as they come out. Weigh up your options against the amount of Crystals you have (or are willing to grind/purchase) and make an informed decision.

  Deluxe Pack

  All Epic Quests but the "Sorcerer Supreme" and "The Fate of Mankind" ones have a "Deluxe Pack" that can be purchased for 6600 Crystals. While pricey, this mechanic allows you to unlock a mission which you can clear each day for amazing rewards, so it's a one-time investment that pays off for your entire playtime.

  Additionally, most Deluxe Packs will give you a character at 6 Stars instantly. You can earn more Biometrics/X-Genes for this character by running the unlockable mission (which gives approximately 20 a day) and through rebates - you get some "Deluxe Rewards" back for every stage of the corresponding Epic Quest you clear.

  These rebates also include 1500 Crystals, so if you claim the full rebates by clearing most/all of the Epic Quest, you end up paying a net 5100 for the Deluxe Pack and mission.

  Rise of the X-Men - Mutual Enemy

  Rise of the X-Men - Mutual Enemy

  No choice but to do this one if you want Jean Grey, but unfortunately Magneto (without his winter-exclusive uniform) is not very good himself.
  Jean herself makes it a worthwhile investment and is unlikely to be replaced anytime soon.
  Mutant materials are the main way of getting Cards (via Crafting), making this pack a good long-term investment.

  X-Force - Beginning of the Chaos

  X-Force - Beginning of the Chaos

  Like the X-Men one, it drops Mutant materials, which are good for Crafting.
  Unlike the X-Men one, currently none of the characters here are any good - but still good to get at some point for the extra mats.

  Goblin Queen - Sinister Schemes

  Goblin Queen - Sinister Schemes

  Same story, not very relevant characters, but boosts your Mutant materials.
  Note that this Deluxe Pack costs 1100 more than the previous two (7700 total).

  C.T.P. Acquisition

  Celestial Tech Packs (C.T.P.s) are rare and specialised Custom Gears that can greatly enhance the performance of characters. The main method of getting guaranteed C.T.P.s is through Legendary Battles - the ones recommended are shown below.

  Refer to the "Build Priorities - C.T.P. Priorities" section in Part 1 of this guide for recommendations on which characters to put these C.T.P.s on.

  C.T.P. of Energy [Thor: Ragnarok]

  C.T.P. of Energy [Thor: Ragnarok]

  Requirement: Upgrade Hela's "Thor: Ragnarok" uniform to Heroic. The uniform costs 750 Crystals on a 40% sale.
  The most cost-efficient way to get a guaranteed C.T.P., as other Legendary Battles require you to pay Crystals to unlock the ability to get them.

  C.T.P. of Rage [Spider-Man: Far From Home]

  C.T.P. of Rage [Spider-Man: Far From Home]

  Requirement: Purchase the Extreme Difficulty for 2500 Crystals (500 are rebated) and Type Enhance Spider-Man to Stage 3.
  Type Enhancing to Stage 3 is easy, so the main consideration is the Crystal cost.

  Heroic Quest

  Heroic Quests provide a list of tasks for you to do every week, with rewards for each one. You should always be running the free Heroic Quests, but if you are willing to put some Crystals towards one of the premium ones, get White Fox's.

  White Fox [Fox Hunt]

  White Fox [Fox Hunt]

  An okay character on her own, but her main strength comes from her debuff-boosting Leadership and her amazing support buff.
  With the Christmas-exclusive "Lifestyle Series 2" uniform, she becomes a fantastic World Boss clearer but don't worry if you can't or don't want to pay for that uniform.

  Wave [Wave of Destruction]

  Wave [Wave of Destruction]

  Not as important as White Fox, but another decent support character you can get through Heroic Quests.
  Has a Transcend available, allowing you to bring her in to WBL, and does pretty decent damage on her own with her Awakened Skill.

• Improving Cards

  This section assumes you've reached a decent baseline for your cards, as specified in the "Items - Comic Cards" section of Part 1.

  Improving Cards

  Start making higher rank cards and aim for:
  
  - Ignore Defense at about 30%;
  - Attack Speed at about 15%; and
  - as much All Attack, Energy Attack and Physical Attack you can get otherwise.

  Don't expect to get amazing cards instantly, they are a slow grind and it is extremely difficult to roll one properly. It may be best to ask for advice every time you are considering a swap until you get the hang of things.

  Below are some cards you should try and obtain for a solid mid-game set. On slots where All Defense is recommended you can just settle for anything, Defense is not a very important stat.

  DOCTOR STRANGE (2018) #10

  DOCTOR STRANGE (2018) #10

  Given for free in Day 7.
  Fixed Stats: Pierce Damage, Skill Cooldown.
  Desired Random Stats: Ignore Defense, All Attacks Proc, Energy Attack, All Attacks respectively.

  DOCTOR STRANGE: DAMNATION (2018) #4

  DOCTOR STRANGE: DAMNATION (2018) #4

  Given for free in Day 7.
  Fixed Stats: Ignore Defense, Pierce Damage.
  Desired Random Stats: All Attacks, Physical Attack Proc, Critical Damage, Physical Attack respectively.

  WHAT IF? MAGIK (2018) #1

  WHAT IF? MAGIK (2018) #1

  Obtainable from Card Chests, which can be purchased in the Dimension Mission Support Shop.
  Fixed Stats: Energy Attack, Ignore Defense.
  Desired Random Stats: All/Physical Attacks, Energy Attack Proc, All Defenses, Cooldown Duration respectively.

  LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD #17

  LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD #17

  Obtainable from Dimension Missions.
  Fixed Stats: All Attack, Skill Cooldown.
  Desired Random Stats: Ignore Defense, Attack Speed, All Defenses, Energy Attack/Physical Attack respectively.

  Additionally, if you have the 8 Year Anniversary card, keep it equipped. When replacing these Cards with Premium Cards, the Doctor Strange ones should be the last to go, and the 8 Year Anniversary one the second-last if you have it.

  Premium Cards

  Only 4 Cards are listed above, because by the time you have improved those four Cards you should have a Premium Card. For 600 "Premium Card Tokens" you can claim a Premium Card in the store - these Cards have three fixed stats, and usually all three of these are desirable stats.

  Only having three optional rolls makes Premium Cards much easier to get good rolls on, and ideally you should work towards having a full set of Premium Cards, as later in the game you will be able to "Craft" them for additional stats (but don't worry about that for now).

  PREMIUM CARD TOKENS

  PREMIUM CARD TOKENS

  Farm these - you get 300 for completing the Future Pass each update.
  Also grind Giant Boss Raid for 10 Tokens daily - find an Alliance or group of friends that can carry you.

  Card Acquisition

  The "Craft" system is accessible from the popout menu in-game. This system provides by far the best card acquisition rates and it is highly recommended to upgrade it to Level 11, where it can produce the "3-5 Star Comic Card" chests.

  The recipe for crafting Cards requires tons of Mutant materials - Phoenix Feathers and M'Kraan Crystals. You can farm these from unlockable missions (including Deluxe Packs) in the Rise of the X-Men and X-Force Epic Quests, and from certain World Boss Ultimates (Quicksilver, Cable, Scarlet Witch and Apocalypse).

  Securing a steady influx of Mutant materials is super important as it'll allow for you to obtain and optimise your Cards far quicker.

  Card Crafting

  Not to be confused with using the "Craft" system to get Cards, Card Crafting is a late-game system that lets you get additional stats on Premium Cards.

  You should work on Crafting your first good Premium Card as soon as you get it - before you even start rerolling it. Play Dimension Rifts frequently to get Crafting Cubes and hope that you roll the three blue stars needed for 2% Pierce - if you do, you'll have a significant advantage going in to World Boss Legend.

  This section won't explain too much about Card Crafting: if you want to understand the details, look for additional resources (e.g. the button below). To find out what qualifies as a "good Premium Card" check out the "Card Information" section in Part 4 of this Beginner's Guide.

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