Marvel’s Avengers is on the long road to recovery, and its next major update looks like a step in the right direction. The upcoming Hawkeye expansion will finish the story started in Kate Bishop’s DLC while also making Clint Barton playable. Clint will have plenty of alternate skins as well as a new villain to fight against. However, the Hawkeye content will not be the only big addition in the March 18 patch, as some changes unrelated to his DLC have been announced.
The Marvel’s Avengers community will be seeing a few heavily requested and long overdue features added in the next update, with next-gen upgrades becoming available as well. While it may not be enough to win back all the players that have given up on the game, this is undoubtedly the biggest content drop Marvel’s Avengers fans have seen thus far. If players are interested in giving the game a second chance, or a first try, here is what can be expected when logging into the game next Thursday.
A Playable Clint Barton And Special Skins
The biggest bit of content in the Hawkeye update is, unsurprisingly, Hawkeye himself. Hawkeye’s moveset in Marvel’s Avengers includes several different arrow types, including healing arrows, rocket arrows, tracking arrows, and a powerful arrow barrage. Clint can also use his bow to grapple from point-to-point, allowing for speedy traversal across the game’s Warzones. Hawkeye’s melee attacks see him wielding a sword as well, with the hero’s close-range abilities being a callback to his time as Ronin in the comics.
Speaking of Ronin, the ninja-inspired alter ego will be one of several Hawkeye costumes that players can unlock for the character. Through the battle pass and the marketplace, fans will be able to collect some fully original Hawkeye skins as well as some iconic callbacks to the comics. Hawkeye’s T-shirt outfit is a reference to Matt Fraction’s beloved run with the character, while his Ultimate costume sees him donning shades and a face mask while doubling as a nod to his time in the Ultimate comics. Old Man Hawkeye is another skin inspired by the comics, while his default look is fully original. The other known skin is called “Iron Eye,” and it sees Clint wearing some futuristic, Tony Stark-inspired armor.
A New Biome And Villain
Hawkeye’s story will serve as a continuation of the narrative setup in Kate Bishop’s expansion, taking Clint to the post-apocalyptic future discussed in the DLC. Players will play as Old Man Hawkeye and the younger Clint, with Barton’s dog Lucky making an appearance as well. The ruined future will take place in a massive desert that used to be a city, with Kree corpses scattered throughout the area. Called “The Wasteland,” players will explore this location for the duration of Hawkeye’s story. Offering a hugely different locale to fight through, it will be interesting to explore the future that the characters are working to prevent.
Players will be encountering a new boss in the expansion and Villain Sector missions, with none other than Maestro joining the game’s roster of characters. A twisted version of The Hulk from a distant future, this villain boasts the mind of Bruce Banner but never leaves the body of The Hulk. Ruling over The Wasteland as a misguided king, this antagonist is one of the more interesting takes on The Hulk from the comics. While his fighting style will likely be less intriguing than his backstory and conversations with Clint, as he seems guaranteed to play like a clone of The Hulk, Maestro should provide some fun storytelling options at the very least.
Custom HARM Rooms And Story Replay
While Hawkeye’s DLC is the main thing to be excited about, Marvel’s Avengers is also giving fans access to a special new HARM Room feature. Going forward, fans will be able to customize the game’s wave-based missions, creating special variants and challenges of their own. Players will be able to place down enemy types of their own choosing, demolishing basic AIM bots with ease or taking on a tougher challenge in the form of an Adaptoid-filled arena. Fans will be able to increase the number of enemies with ease as well as apply buffs and hazards to each fight. Though the HARM Room layout cannot yet be customized, this is a solid start for the game’s newest feature.
While some players were asking for more HARM Room content, the number pales in comparison to those hoping for a campaign replay option. Fortunately, fans do not need to wait any longer for this addition, as the long overdue option will be available alongside the Hawkeye content on March 18. Giving standout character Kamala Khan a strong introduction while simultaneously highlighting characters like Bruce Banner, the story mode is widely regarded as the best thing about Marvel’s Avengers. As such, the game’s fans should be happy to finally have the chance to replay the campaign without creating a new safe and losing all their hard work.
Next-Gen Upgrades And Save Transfer
Finally, Hawkeye’s Future Imperfect expansion will be accompanied by the next-gen versions of Marvel’s Avengers. Delayed shortly after the game released, players have been waiting on the game’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X upgrades for some time now. Fortunately, these free boosts to the game’s performance and load times will finally be dropping next week. With loading being a major negative in the PS4 and Xbox One versions versions of the game, this update is a much needed one. The game will also feature smoother textures, improved character models, 4K resolution, and 60 FPS — all of which should come together to make the game look much better than it does currently.
With these next-gen upgrades comes save transfer, with the process described as “easy” by Crystal Dynamics. Knowing that players will get to keep their PS4 or Xbox One save files is a major plus, and this benefit should allow fans to jump into the new content with ease. Further, with Marvel’s Avengers recently seeing some controversial XP changes made, many experienced players would likely not be too thrilled about starting from scratch. Fortunately, they will not have to level up again, as save transfer will be available on the same day as the next-gen launch and Hawkeye content.
With Marvel’s Avengers supposedly still having plenty of DLC heroes on the way, this update could only be the beginning of a bright future for Crystal Dynamics’ growing game.
Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
