Claws Out
This week, the team behind Marvel’s Avengers has released the biggest update yet. Since the game’s launch, they have added Kate Bishop and Clint Barton (Hawkeye) as playable characters, as well as a number of new events and missions for players to grind the best gear from. Unfortunately, even to hardcore fans, like your ol’ pal Zane, most of these additions have not felt fresh enough.
War For Wakanda, which adds Black Panther as a new playable hero, does come with some of that much desired freshness. While the core mechanics and feeling stays the same, this expansion adds a brand new Wakandan biome, a new Outpost, and new enemies, not just reskinned enemies.
Of course, probably the most exciting part of this expansion is Black Panther. T’Challa is a swift brawler, specializing in close-range combat. Several of his attacks strike for multiple hits in quick succession. He also is able to use his suit’s vibranium-infused abilities for crowd control and knocking back multiple enemies.
Wakanda Forever!
Unlike what his MCU counterpart displays, Black Panther also has a few long-range attacks. His standard ranged weapons are vibranium daggers, which if thrown in quick succession can build up damage in a combo. Black Panther’s Assault Heroic ability called King’s Mercy launches a virbranium spear, which when upgraded can create a vortex that pulls in nearby enemies as it is thrown. It can also forgo the vortex to be broken down into three separate spears.
Black Panther’s Support Heroic ability are his Kimoyo Beads, which apparently have endless uses. These beads are thrown into the air and cause enemies to be more susceptible to stun damage. When upgraded they can also heal nearby allies and even intercept enemy projectiles. His Ultimate Heroic is called Bast’s Chosen, which summons the spirit of the panther god Bast, who then rushes nearby enemies. This ability can be upgraded to also summon two Dora Milaje warriors to fight alongside Black Panther for a short time.
The big bad of this expansion is one of Black Panther’s arch nemeses Ulysses Klaue, who is obsessed with Wakanda’s vibranium. Of course, he is trying to steal it, but if he can’t have it, he will corrupt it and render it dangerous to Wakanda. Crossbones is also there for some reason. The two team up for a really fun double-boss fight at the conclusion of the War For Wakanda story.
While War For Wakanda is a brand new location with brand new enemies and models, the mission objectives are still more of the same. They are dressed up with Klaue’s new creations, ancient and modern Wakandan architecture, but the objectives are still to defeat all enemies, protect these generators, destroy these machines, etc.
Similar to how a new character feels whenever they become playable, Black Panther feels kind of clumsy at first, but once you start filling out his abilities and getting more powerful, you will find a build that you like and the fun really begins. If you fell off the Avengers train early on in the release cycle, you may not be easily won over, but if you enjoyed the base game and the other expansions, you will probably enjoy War for Wakanda.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.