Marvel’s Avengers has been long-awaited. Fans haven’t gotten their quarterly dose of the MCU since Spiderman: Far From Home. Thankfully, Marvel’s Avengers hits the nail on the head, and beautifully unifies fans of both the comics and the MCU.
Players have been comparing Marvel’s Avengers heavily to Destiny in its overall playstyle. They aren’t wrong. The overall mission and level mechanics are essentially copy-pasted from the Destiny formula (and that’s a good thing). The early game gives off a Last of Us feel as Kamala and Dr. Banner (aka Hulk) navigate rough terrain and sneak by guards. It’s almost like looking over Joel’s shoulder again as they banter back and forth; age gap clearly defined. Of course, it’s as soon as Dr. Banner goes full Hulk mode that the game really opens up. This guide will focus on how players should best invest their early game skill points while playing as Hulk in Marvel’s Avengers.
Marvel’s Avengers - Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk
Fans may playing The Incredible Hulk (2008) on PlayStation 2 & Xbox 360. Marvel’s Avengers brings all that nostalgia back and ramps it up 1000x with our big green friend. Hulk will smash, bash and crash his way through everything in his path. He’ll devastate the immediate area with environmental damage as well. He’ll grab weaker enemies and fling them around like rag dolls before ultimately drilling them into the ground. Hulk is amazing for maintain ground control while Ironman flies above and provides aerial . However, there are a few downsides to Hulk that players will need to be aware of.
Hulk is a tank, nobody is arguing that. However, tanks are pretty big targets and very hard to miss. Players need to be keeping track of their Willpower (Health) when in heated combat. They’ll be charging in with a green head of steam (as they should) and doing what Hulk does best. He’s amazing at clearing mobs and dealing a wide area of damage. At the same time, Hulk is very susceptible to damage and will go down easily. This is especially evident when controlling other Avengers and allowing the AI to control Hulk. Players will be reviving him more often then they assumed they would.
Hulk’s Boneshaker Ability ( Hero) will draw aggro from surrounding enemies. Hulk’s defensive rating will shoot upward and he’ll be able to withstand damage as he swings his mighty green arms. Stranglehold (Assault Hero Ability) will send Hulk careening forward, knocking away all enemies in his path. He’ll end the move with a violent ground pound that players can trigger early on if they’d rather not run too far. Finally, Hulk’s Ultimate Thunderclap will devastate anything in the blast radius. Unfortunately, Hulk's Hero abilities can only be upgraded once he's reached a higher level (10 & 15). That being said, here are Hulk’s 10 early game skills that players should be investing in.
Marvel’s Avengers: Hulk - 10 Early Game Skills
*This guide is tailored to PlayStation controls.*
The most important skill area players should be focusing on for Hulk is his Rage skill tree. As mentioned, Hulk goes down easily. However, landing attacks while Rage is active will recharge Hulk’s Willpower. This is especially useful when taking on Elite enemies as Hulk can wail on them to pretty much fully recover his Willpower. Therefore:
Devil’s Rampage - “Takedowns boost the energy of the intrinsic Rage meter by 15 points.” Players must unlock this skill first to continue building Hulk’s Rage skill tree. However, the 15 point boost will help in extending his Rage as he demolishes weaker enemies.
Controlled Chaos - “Reduces the cost of using Rage by 20%” This is absolutely huge as that 20% increases is really 20% more health players can recover.
Monster of Mayhem - “Further reduces the cost of using Rage and increases the amount of intrinsic energy boosted from attacking and taking damage by 15%.” This will allow Hulk to refill is Rage meter much faster, thus allowing for more healing opportunity. More opportunity to heal allows Hulk to be more aggressive in combat.
Survival Instincts - “Increases Willpower recovery while Rage is active by 100%” There, now Hulk won’t be going down as often, and players can now begin focusing on unlocking attack combos.
Aftershock - “After Executing a Power Attack, press Triangle (PS4) to perform another massive radial attack that knocks back opponents” Shielded enemies are the absolute worst. Players will encounter them and be dumbfounded that their tiny shields are blocking the attacks of their mighty Avengers. Thankfully, Hulk’s heavy attacks will breakthrough shields and demolish smaller enemies.
Earth Smasher - “While in midair, hold Triangle to slam into the ground with a powerful area attack that knocks down nearby enemies.” This maneuver is great for thinning a crowd of Aim-bots (trigger all Call of Duty: Warzone players) as well as smashing down on top of heavier enemies such as armored mechs.
Siphoning Grasp - “Restores up to 60% of maximum Willpower based on the amount of damage dealt with Stranglehold” Once again, the Hulk’s best friend is health regeneration. This skill will allow him to be both offensive and defensive, and might just save the Hulk in a pinch. So long as player’s aim for a crowd, they ought to get the most out of this one.
Smackdown - “Hold Square while already holding an enemy to grab a second opponent.” With two enemies in hand, Hulk can repeatedly smash them into other enemies or just bounce them off the ground. In either case, the double grab is great for clearing out the little guys with guns.
Aerial Gamma Crusher - “When in midair, hold Triangle to slam both enemies together” This will also send out a shockwave of damage along with killing the enemies Hulk was holding. This move does require that players unlocked ‘Smackdown’ prior.
Ram Reinforcement - “Creates a small radial explosion on impact and generates additional Rage energy when Battering Ram is used.” This maneuver buffs Hulks ‘Battering Ram’ ability which allows him to press Square while sprinting to lunge forward and hit enemies. However, players are investing in this skill for the Rage boost primarily.
Ideally, players should have a Hulk that can easily heal himself while still dealing the massive amount of Hulk destruction they know and love. As far as gear goes in the early stages of Marvel's Avengers, players should be waiting to find Epic gear before they waste recourses on upgrading it. If former Destiny players have learned anything, its that a better piece of gear is always one mission away.
Marvel’s Avengers is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One & PC
