The final update for Marvel’s Avengers is now live, and with it every cosmetic item in the Marketplace is now available for free. Crystal Dynamics’ live service take on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes only lasted for about three years before it was announced that all support for Marvel’s Avengers would end in September. During that time, the game would add six new playable characters and numerous story missions, but Marvel’s Avengers never truly escaped the poor reception it received at launch.As such, it was confirmed back in January that Crystal Dynamics would halt all support for Marvel’s Avengers, and that the then-forthcoming Update 2.8 patch would be the final one. This means that there will be no more additional heroes for the game after Kate Bishop, Hawkeye, Black Panther, the Jane Foster version of Thor, the Winter Solider, and the PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man - much to the disappointment of players expecting characters like She-Hulk and War Machine after word of their inclusion was leaked online. However, the upside is that players will no longer have to pay real-world currency to unlock the game’s many alternate skins. Earlier today, the official Marvel’s Avengers Twitter account announced that Update 2.8 is now live. This final update unlocks nearly all Marketplace items for free, including the many alternate skins pulled from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Additionally, the patch notes for Marvel's Avengers Update 2.8 list multiple final buffs for heroes like Thor, Winter Solider, and Ms. Marvel, as well as several tweaks to the user interface and gear system. There will be one small hotfix, labeled Update 2.8.1, that addresses one last issue with Faction Terminal Missions.
In addition to making every Outfit and character emote free going forward, Update 2.8 also brings a pair of new skins for Marvel’s Avengers. The first one is Iron Man’s Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, which looks suspiciously like the armor worn by War Machine and is available to any player who has earned at least one Marvel’s Avengers Achievement before April 1. The second is Thor’s 1,000,000 B.C. Outfit, which is modeled after the prehistoric garb his father Odin wore in the Avengers 1,000,000 BC storyline.
Update 2.8 is a bittersweet moment for fans who followed Marvel’s Avengers through its early controversies and post-launch struggles, as it marks the end of all official support for the game. Crystal Dynamics has stated that Marvel’s Avengers’ servers will remain online for the foreseeable future, so at least these players will be able to enjoy all of their free Marketplace items after Marvel’s Avengers is delisted in September.
Marvel's Avengers Update 2.8 Patch Notes
NEW FEATURES
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The Marketplace has been unlocked! What does this mean?
- Nearly all MCU- and non-MCU-inspired Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates are now automatically available on your Hero Card.
- Items that are earned through the campaign, however, or purchased through the Cosmetic Vendor must be earned or purchased, respectively, as they always have been.
- Both the Shipments system and Hero Challenge Cards have both been completely removed from the game. Items that were previously earnable from Shipments and Hero Challenge Cards are included in the hundreds of Marketplace items that are automatically granted when you update to v2.8.
- You do not need to be connected to the internet to be able to access all of the unlocked Marketplace content after updating to v2.8.
- As a thank-you to players who’ve been with us on the journey, we’re granting a special Founder’s Gift – Iron Man’s ‘Variable Threat Response Battle Suit.’ This Outfit will be automatically granted to any player who has earned at least one Trophy/Achievement before April 1.
- All existing Credits balances have been converted to in-game resources.
- Owned Hero’s Catalysts and Fragment Extractors have been completely removed from the game. In their place, there is now a permanent 1.5x multiplier on Fragments earned and XP gained.
- There will be a small hotfix, Update 2.8.1, that goes live on April 4 to address a Known Issue. (This issue is detailed in the Patch Notes.)
REASSEMBLE CAMPAIGN & AVENGERS INITIATIVE
- Friendly fire! AI Companions will no longer target Kate Bishop’s Decoy when it is deployed during certain boss encounters.
- We fixed an exploit where the Winter Soldier could activate the heavy intrinsic attack ‘Blast Zone’ as a heavy dodge attack if ‘Vengeful Ghost’ was not a purchased skill.
- Banter between Jane and Bucky, which wasn’t activating for some players, now triggers when intended.
COMBAT
- We fixed an issue where Black Panther’s ‘Kinetic Boom’ skill was not increasing the damage of ‘Panther’s Dive.’
- Thor’s ‘Rampant Supercharge’ perk now functions properly when ‘Warrior’s Fury’ is activated.
- Hawkeye’s ‘Rocket Arrow’ wasn’t initiating for some players when the ‘Volatile Rockets’ skill was activated, but the ‘Rocket Arrow’ now activates, as intended.
- Switching gun types at the start of a charge animation no longer prevents the Winter Soldier from executing ranged power attacks.
- You are no longer able to use the Winter Soldier’s ‘Press the Charge’ skill without having first acquired it.
- The Mighty Thor’s gear perk ‘Divine Blast Assistance’ now applies intrinsic overload to teammates, as intended.
- The Winter Soldier’s ‘Lethal Rampant Plasma Boost’ perk now grants nanites when intended.
- Ms. Marvel’s ‘Ultimate Lethal Cryo Administrator’ gear perk now applies the correct number of Cryo charges to allies.
- The Ultimate Lethal Plasma Administrator gear perk now grants charges when defeating an enemy on the initial hit.
- The Winter Soldier’s ‘Reactive Gamma Administrator’ gear perk now grants the correct number of charges to allies when using ‘Soldier’s Generosity.’
- Similarly, we fixed the Winter Soldier’s ‘Reactive Gamma Administrator’ perk so that it grants charges, as intended, to allies for hitting enemies with ‘Bloodletting.’
- Both the Winter Soldier’s ‘Cryo-’ and ‘Plasma Administrator’ perks now grant charges to allies.
- Ms. Marvel’s ‘Polymorph Counter Spike’ perk now increases Critical Attack Damage, as intended.
- Kate Bishop’s ‘Explosive Blast Frenzy’ perk now increases the firing speed of explosive arrows, as intended.
- We fixed an issue with Heroes and invisibility where completing a takedown would enable enemy attacks on the player while the invisibility effect was active. That’s not how invisibility works!
GEAR, CHALLENGES, AND REWARDS
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Endgame Mission Rewards (Both OLTs and Raid)
- Superior gear can now be obtained from every completion, not just the weekly rotation.
- Family Reunion and both versions of the Discordant Sound raid now grant up to PL 165 gear.
- Events and Cloning Lab now provide a path to PL 175 gear.
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Gear Upgrading – PL 165 to PL 175
- Resources required to bring a piece of gear from the old PL cap to the new PL cap has been reduced.
- Upgrade module cost is now capped at 150 per upgrade within this range.
- Dismantling exotic gear returns 100 upgrade modules. 50 are returned from legendary gear.
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Gear
- Nanite charges from Cloning Lab gear now apply status damage via heavy melee attacks. Status build-up has been increased.
- Cooldowns reduced for major artifact active effects.
- Exotic artifact stat scaling improved.
USER INTERFACE
- The Winter Soldier’s skill icons now display properly in the Hero Terminal.
- JARVIS is back online! The Cloning Lab gear reward charges were not always appearing on the HUD when defeating enemies, but charges now display properly.
- Lorem oop-sum! We replaced the placeholder text that appears in Captain America’s ‘Vanguard Charge’ skill with the correct description.
- We repositioned Hawkeye’s Heroic Mission Chain reward icon to appear in the correct place.
ART AND ANIMATION
- When wearing his “Wasteland Warrior” Outfit, Hulk’s right shoulder no longer tears during gameplay.
- The Winter Soldier’s gun no longer clips through his armor during gameplay.
- The Winter Soldier’s muzzle flash VFX now display properly when executing takedowns on dreadbots during multiplayer sessions.
- There’s a glitch in the multiverse! The Mighty Thor now uses the correct Mjolnir when activating her Ultimate while wearing her MCU-inspired Outfit.
- Cap’s shield can do many things, but invisibility is not one of them! We fixed an issue where Captain America’s shield would disappear momentarily when using the ‘Looking Sharp’ emote.
- We fixed an issue where the Winter Soldier’s rifle would appear, stuck to his hand, during several interactions on the Helicarrier (including the interaction with Mjolnir).
- Similarly, the Winter Soldier’s rifle no longer attaches to random props when performing various emotes.
- We adjusted The Mighty Thor’s ‘Unhelmed’ Outfit mesh so that the Outfit displays the correct hair color.
- Bucky’s legs no longer distort or experience clipping with Cap’s shield when using the ‘Passing the Mantle’ emote.
- Captain America’s shield now reseats on his arm properly when activating his intrinsic ability while vaulting.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Faction Terminal Missions and Assignments will not be completable from 12 p.m. UTC to 5 p.m. Local time. This will be fixed in an upcoming hotfix, Update 2.8.1, which launches on April 4.
Marvel's Avengers is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Avengers.Crystald.com