11.9 Update Recap - Gods and the God Butcher

Introduction

Kind of a random filler update theme whose main objective is to get Gorr a Tier-4 (which could have fit nicely as the mid-month for the Olympus EQ update, but oh well). Despite this, the character upgrades are all solid with one new meta for each of PvP and PvE, and three new uniforms for staple support characters. Certainly beats out the "Mighty Machines" update and similar crap we've had to put up with.

Also notable is the lack of new Tier-3 or Transcended skills this update, especially as there is no new character. 4 new Tier-4s makes up for it though, and a new Dispatch expansion (Sector 15) is always welcome, especially as there are no challenges as difficult as the 14-5 "3 Inhumans" challenge from last time.

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• Characters

  Characters

  All-Powerful

  Odin [Lord of Asgard]

  Odin [Lord of Asgard]

  Odin's prior [Avengers 1,000,000 BC] uniform was, at the time, the only instance where Odin got a new uniform that wasn't completely busted. Thankfully this new uniform corrects the course, putting Odin back on top of the PvE meta in both performance and versatility (thanks to the revamped ABX/L restrictions which heavily favour his tags).

  Despite his crazy strength the prices are steep - 2500 to unlock and another 1500 (if on 40% sale) for the uniform, plus all the costs of building a double-cost Native Tier-2 up to Tier-4. A case can still be made for Loki's usefulness as he's dirt cheap in comparison, but with the amount of Alliance Battle versatility he provides (3 ABX and 5 ABL per month), anyone who cares about pushing scores should be gunning for Odin.

  The real loser here is Zeus, who finally looked like a worthy final Epic Quest unlock only 5 updates ago, only to be replaced twice by Kid Loki and now Odin. Even considering Odin's cost to unlock + cost of uniform, Zeus still costs more due to the Deluxe Pack and will probably never get an update.

  Gorr [The God Butcher]

  Gorr [The God Butcher]

  As expected at this point from a Native Tier-3 uniform (Mephisto being the sole exception), Gorr's new uniform and Tier-4 are huge PvP upgrades that bring him roughly in line with the existing big three (Sentry, Knull, Kang) in PvP and Zombie Survival. The addition of the Symbiote tag also allows him to benefit from Agent Venom's supports like Knull does.

  If you already have 2 or more of Sentry/Knull/Kang built already, there might be some redundancy with building Gorr as well - keep in mind these uniforms cost heaps - but having more options is always nice. Visually this uniform is hella unfortunate though.

  Valkyrie [Asgardians of the Galaxy]

  Valkyrie [Asgardians of the Galaxy]

  A decent uniform that kind of has to exist for her to get a Tier-4 - the main benefit here is clearly that Valkyrie can now enter WBL+ as a support. Speaking of supports, this uniform provides an additional 5% to Ignore Dodge and Damage to Villains: nothing crazy if you already have the [Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder] uniform, but a good upgrade from the non-uniformed support (no Ignore Dodge, 45% Damage to Villains).

  You can also get some use out of her as a DPS in ABX/L under certain conditions: she works for Female Alien if you don't have Gamora (and/or don't want to build Gamora for a single ABX day), and is a good substitute for Combat Female if you don't have Crescent's [B-Girl Crew] seasonal uniform. Overall she remains a great support, especially with her Artifact, and has some additional usability if you are lacking other ABX options.

  Mid-Tier Gods

  White Fox [Agent F-One]

  White Fox [Agent F-One]

  White Fox is finally free from seasonal jail - [Lifestyle Series 2] was released in Dec 2020 - though this new uniform is quite the disappointment other than that fact. Her support barely changes with an additional 20% All Resistances and 10% extra All Basic Attacks, and her skills are extremely weak and hard to chain into cancels, so she'll never cut it as a DPS.

  This is a far cry from the paywall uniform which was actually fantastic at all 3 roles at the time of its release: as Leader, the Debuffs effect was huge for Dispatch; as a DPS, her 4th skill's All Defense Down melted World Bosses and Dispatch enemies; and her Support remained one of the best in the game.

  Probably still worth it to pair with Luna's similar no-longer-paywall status with the [Mirae 2099] uniform last update, but if you already have the seasonal uniform this isn't a big upgrade.

  Black Cat [Queen in Black]

  Black Cat [Queen in Black]

  Another one leased from the paywall prison with a catch: this uniform swaps her to Universal Hero with the same supports. Her new set of tags is already quite saturated with supports (e.g. Nova, Phyla-Vell, Angela, Doctor Voodoo), not to mention Black Cat's support value lies largely in her leadership, and many Universal DPSes have strong self-leads. Is a character truly free from the paywall prison if the desired attributes remain within?

  As a DPS, she's got some nice skills and is stronger than White Fox, but still isn't a serious character you will actually use. Making her a somewhat viable main would have been an easy way to offset the disadvantages of her new Universal Hero status, but the marb remains mostly allergic to making support characters playable.

  Obviously all this is fine for players who already own the [Winter Criminal] Speed Villain uniform, as they only gain additional versatility for a character they likely have built up nicely already. But overall a mixed bag, and the [Winter Criminal] uniform is definitely old enough that no one would have complained if this new uniform was a straight-up replacement.