Marvel Future Fight: All You Need to Know About the Comic Cards
If you’ve ever played a beat ‘em up game before, then you’d know that they’re all about mindless fun punching and kicking your enemies to oblivion. These games usually consist of multiple stages and, at the end of every level, the player will have to go up against a boss enemy, or a tougher version of a standard opponent. In other words, they’re straightforward games that feed on all our power fantasies which, when you think about it, is a bit cathartic at times.
However, this concept changes significantly when you add a small element to the core gameplay. In the case of Marvel Future Fight, it’s RPG progression elements. Instead of consisting of senseless beatings, you also have to care for and nurture your characters to address the increasing difficulty and strength of your foes. In this sense, it’s not enough to simply unlock your favorite characters since, if they’re low level, they will do no damage to even the most common enemies—despite what the comic books would have you believe.
In this sense, even if you unlock the Incredible Hulk and are thinking of wreaking havoc on the enemy, this might not be possible if your green giant is low level. Do you know what’s jarring? Seeing Hulk tear enemies apart in the Avengers movies, and then watching him get defeated by a regular mook after taking a few hits in Future Fight. Well, this scenario is not only possible in this game, but very likely if you don’t consider the level, abilities, and unique strengths of every character when building your team.
We’ve already talked in length about how to create a decent team with the characters you’ve unlocked. Furthermore, we also briefly addressed the Team menu and how it can be used to increase a character’s rank, mastery, level, or even to enhance their gear and outfit them with special ISO-8 crystals to boost their strengths. During your experience in Future Fight, you’ll find yourself visiting this menu very frequently as character building and progression are both pivotal elements of the game.
However, one element that we haven’t explained thoroughly yet, and which can help to solidify your team’s strengths, or to supplement its weaknesses, is the comic card feature.
What are Comic Cards?
If you’ve been playing this game for a while, you might have known this feature first as Comic Covers as this was what they were called in their first iteration. They consist of comic figurines that you can equip to several card slots, and which amplify the stats of every single one of your champions. Think of them as pieces of gear that you equip to your profile, and which provide passive bonuses to all your current characters.
As soon as you unlock access to this feature, you’ll be able to examine your acquired cards via the menu on the top right of the screen. Once in the Card menu, you’ll be able to check your current card slots, the cards you currently have equipped, as well as your card inventory. It goes without saying that you’ll be able to equip cards from this menu, as well. However, keep in mind that if you ever want to unequip a card, you’ll have to pay to do so. In this sense, make sure that the card you’re equipping is the right one for you.
Card Ranks and Levels
Every card has two main parameters: Rank, represented by stars, and level, represented by the number on the lower right corner of the card. We talked briefly about this feature in our tips and tricks guide for Marvel Future Fight, but we’re going to dig a little deeper this time around.
These parameters are essential for two things: The level will determine the intensity of a buff. For instance, a level 6 card might offer a 5% ignore defense buff, while the same card at level 1 might offer only a 2.5% ignore defense buff. On the other hand, a card’s rank will affect the number of bonuses that a card can have, with a 1-star card offering only one bonus and a 6-star card offering a whopping 6 passive bonuses.
Card Attributes
All cards come with two fixed attributes, which remain the same, even after upgrading the said card. However, as they level up, they might acquire several new randomized bonuses, most of which are entirely dependant on luck. Specifically, a card can have a maximum of 6 passive bonuses: Slots 1 and 2 are fixed and can only increase or decrease in value according to the card’s level. Meanwhile, slots 3 through 6 are entirely randomized and chosen from a pool of bonuses available to that card on each upgrade. Furthermore, every time the card is enhanced, these random stats are also rerolled.
This can get a bit confusing at first, so consider the following: The most critical bonuses of a card are the first two slots, which will determine their utility to your current team. The other 4 bonuses, while also important, are randomized, and thus unreliable. However, once you manage to acquire a card with 6 appropriate bonuses, you’ll become unstoppable.
Upgrading Cards
There are certain nuances to upgrading your comic cards.
For starters, the level can’t be increased directly. Instead, every time you upgrade a card’s rank, the said card will attain a randomized level from 1 to 6. As far as we know, there is no way to manipulate this system, and you’ll always be stuck with the level you get. When it comes to upgrading rank, however, all you need is 5 cards of the same rank. For instance, to improve a card to two stars, you need 5 one-star cards. To upgrade it to 3 stars, you need 5 two-star cards, and so on. In total, you’ll need a whopping 3,125 one-star cards to increase another card to rank 6.
Obtaining New Cards
Acquiring new cards is simple, though costly and time-consuming. The best way to receive new cards as standard players is via completing Dimensional Rifts, which unlock after beating chapter 2. These rifts are randomized and reset every few hours. By completing a particular rift, you can receive specific cards, which is great for when you’re farming for 1-star cards to upgrade your existing repertoire. The only other way to obtain new cards is by purchasing them from the store using the premium currency.
If you’re just starting off in this game, then you won’t have to worry too much about comic cards. However, as you make your way through the story, you’ll want to start thinking about which cards to acquire to optimize your team composition. Luckily, if you don’t know where to start, you can always consult this guide to learn the basics and understand how to get started with comic cards.
