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 8.8.5 - "Quiet Council". If this is outdated, look for a newer version at thanosvibs.money/beginners.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.

  • Character Collecting

    Go through and pick up all of the characters under "Support Shop Grinds" and the "Starter Characters" 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.

  • Mid-Game Uniforms

    These are roughly in order of what you should purchase first, but it's not set in stone. Make sure you pick up the uniforms in "Part 1 - First Uniforms", including the "Viable Alternatives", if you have not gotten them all already.

    Recommended Picks
    Taskmaster [Marvel Studios' Black Widow]
    Taskmaster [Marvel Studios' Black Widow]

    Taskmaster himself isn't too impressive, you're mainly buying this for the uniform passive support.
    Taskmaster remains relevant into late-game as he has a Tier-3, allowing you to bring him into more content.

    Sif [Asgard Invasion]
    Sif [Asgard Invasion]

    As the day 72 Transcended Selector recommendation, get this uni around the time you will pick her.
    Makes her into a very nice dual lead and support for Combat types, and not too bad on her own either.

    Niche/Optional Uniforms
    Wave [Classic]
    Wave [Classic]

    Improves her support capabilities so that she has a 25% All Attack leadership and 50% damage to villains for Heroes (10% higher than base).
    A solid support uniform, though while she is a little better on her own, she's still not worthy of being a main.
    Worth it if you'll be building and Transcending Wave for a WBL support.

  • Tier-3 and Transcending
    Tier-3 Guided Quest

    Once you're done with a set of three Tier-2 Guided Quests, you will get a single Tier-3 Guided Quest where you can pick a character. You will then get a second and final Tier-3 Guided Quest when you complete another three Tier-2 ones. This doesn't get them directly to Tier-3, but gives you a lot of the materials needed.

    Don't buy any of the offers related to this Guided Quest, they're not worth it.

    Below are the six characters you can pick from, with the uniforms the Tier-3 Guided Quest tries to sell you. Similarly to with Tier-2 Guided Quests, these are all outdated and are no longer recommended for any players.

    The recommendations for who to pick are below. You should pick that character regardless of if they are already Tier-3 - this allows you to progress through the quest anyway and gain the resources to put towards a different character.

    Captain America [Heroic Charge]
    Captain America [Heroic Charge]

    Provides a nice stat bump for both PvP and PvE, and a great Tier-3 skill with fantastic damage.
    You can then use a 2nd Potential Realisation Ticket to allow him to be levelled past Lv.70.

    Spider-Man [Web-Warrior Wrecker]
    Spider-Man [Web-Warrior Wrecker]

    Awesome skill animation that improves his damage a lot - and the stat bump obviously helps in PvP.
    Like Cap, he has 2nd Potential unlocked and can be levelled past Lv.70.

    Tier-3 Advancements

    Play World Boss Ultimate to farm the materials needed for a Tier-3 Advancement. Tier-3 requires the character to be at level 70 with +25 gears, with the advancement itself costing Titan's Records, Cosmic Cube Fragments, Titan Component Packs and Essence of Dimension.

    Shuri [Embrace of the Ancestors]
    Shuri [Embrace of the Ancestors]

    A fantastic upgrade and a high-damaging Tier-3 skill that maintains her easy playstyle.
    Being Tier-3 allows her to enter WBL, where she is both an excellent main and support.

    Awakening/Transcend Potential

    Play Alliance Battle and World Boss Ultimate to farm the materials needed for Potential Awakening/Transcendence. To "Awaken" Potential, you just need the character at level 70 - Awakening unlocks a 6th skill which should be levelled up for additional buffs. To "Transcend" Potential, the character's Awakened Skill must be at level 6 and gears at +25 (like a Tier-3) - Transcending unlocks a large stat bump.

    Valkyrie [Valhalla's Defender]
    Valkyrie [Valhalla's Defender]

    Allows you to bring Valkyrie as a support in WBL.
    Her Awakening Skill is strong on its own, and even with a proc is decent for tagging in during WBL.

    Shadow Shell [Venomous Roar]
    Shadow Shell [Venomous Roar]

    A Transcend mostly for the stat bump, unfortunately - but she's good enough that it's still worth it.
    The actual Transcend animation is cool, but unfortunately does not fit in her rotation so it should be instantly cancelled.
    Has 2nd Potential unlocked and can be levelled past Lv.70.

    Sif [Glorious Advance]
    Sif [Glorious Advance]

    Extends Sif's use as a lead and support, allowing her to enter World Boss Legend.
    The Awakening Skill also boosts her damage significantly, allowing her to score high (though not meta) in ABX and do decent work as a WBL main.
    Note that you shouldn't upgrade Sif to Transcended manually if you have the 90 Day Check-In, as she is the best pick for the free selector.

    Support Advancements

    These are Tier-3s or Transcended Potential characters whose primary use is as a support. If you feel your mains aren't doing enough damage in higher-level content, it might be a good idea to build one of these supports up.

    Note that the below characters are "support-only", meaning they are generally no good on their own as mains. Some of the other Tier-3s or Transcended charcters listed above may also have support capabilities but are also good on their own as mains.

    Taskmaster [Perfect Mimicry]
    Taskmaster [Perfect Mimicry]

    Tier-3. Doesn't really do much, but allows him to enter T3/TP-gated modes like WBL.

    She-Hulk [Sentence: Smash]
    She-Hulk [Sentence: Smash]

    Tier-3. A decent character on her own with her show uniform, but her main value is still in her leadership.

    White Fox [Kumiho Moon]
    White Fox [Kumiho Moon]

    Tier-3. Like Taskmaster, mostly just a support uniform that allows her to enter WBL.
    However, if you buy her "Lifestyle Series 2" paywalled seasonal uniform, she becomes a great Dispatch lead and WBU clear.

    Wave [Tornado Orb]
    Wave [Tornado Orb]

    Transcended Potential. Alows you to bring Wave as a support in WBL.
    Her Awakening Skill does solid damage, so she's also good for tagging in for a rotation every 30 seconds.
    Please don't be fooled into building Namor just because of her leadership.

  • Native Tier-2

    Native Tier-2s are powerful and very costly characters, so your first choice should be an important one. Uniforms are required for all of the below characters, and if you are working on them, go all the way to Tier-3 or Transcended.

    Jean Grey [Dark Phoenix]
    Jean Grey [Dark Phoenix]

    The overall best character in the game right now, dominating in both PvE and PvP, but a huge pain to obtain.
    See the "Rise of the X-Men" Epic Quest guide for more information.

    Doctor Strange [Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange 2]
    Doctor Strange [Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange 2]

    Arguably the highest-DPS Tier-3 in the game, but not that useful outside of GBR Dormammu for characters with no Tier-4s.
    Also requires a C.T.P. of Rage to excel, which is another disincentive.

  • 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.

    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.

    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 - this Quest is recommended mostly due to how easy it is to complete.

    X-Force
    X-Force

    Not a lot of useful characters here, but worth progressing through to unlock missions to farm Mutant materials.
    These can be used in the Crafting system to acquire Cards.

    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 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.

    The Galactic Imperative
    The Galactic Imperative

    A difficult Quest to complete, with very high material costs, but you end up with Beta Ray Bill and a Tier-3 Star-Lord, both decent PvE leads.
    While her being a Shifter makes the Quest slower to complete, Phyla-Vell is also a useful support character.
    The Deluxe Pack is nice for the rewards, but not a must-have as Nova and Gladiator are not a priority in their current state.

    Dark Reign
    Dark Reign

    This is by far the most costly Epic Quest, and arguably not worth the cost anymore.
    Sentry, who is the Native Tier-3 you build along the story, is still formidable in PvP, but not as dominant as he once was.

    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.

    You can find guides for Epic Quests at thanosvibs.money/epicquest.

  • 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.

    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 "Starter 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.

    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 Defense, Energy Attack/Physical Attack respectively.

    AVENGERS (1963) #318
    AVENGERS (1963) #318

    Obtainable from Dimension Missions.
    Fixed Stats: Max HP, Ignore Defense.
    Desired Random Stats: All Attack, Skill Cooldown, Critical Damage, Energy Attack respectively.

    THE PUNISHER #19
    THE PUNISHER #19

    Obtainable from Card Chests, which can be purchased in the Dimension Mission Support Shop.
    Fixed Stats: Ignore Defense, Attack Speed.
    Desired Random Stats: Critical Damage, Skill Cooldown, All Defense, All Attack respectively.

    UNCANNY X-MEN (2018) #8
    UNCANNY X-MEN (2018) #8

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

    Premium Cards

    I have only listed 4 cards under "Improving Cards" 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

    In update 7.1 the "Craft" system was added, 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 than was possible in the past.

    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.

    Since card acquisition is much easier than before, 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. 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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