‘Marvel Heroes’ Goes Cosmic

With “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hitting theaters this week, the “Marvel Heroes” MMO has tons of new Guardians-themed action headed your way. From new costumes, to team-ups, to updates on “Marvel Heroes Omega,” Gazillion Lead Designer Ben “TheArtofRawr” Gilbert digs into everything players can expect with this cosmically awesome update.

Marvel.com: Let’s talk about all the cool new “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” content coming down the pipeline! Can we get a tl;dr of this stuff?

Ben Gilbert: Everyone here has been looking forward to seeing the return of the Guardians of the Galaxy. So to celebrate, we’re launching a ton of new content for players inspired by the film. Both “Marvel Heroes Omega” and “Marvel Heroes 2016” players can look forward to brand new costumes for Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and the Guardians of the Galaxy Team-ups: Drax and Gamora—all inspired by the film.

Marvel.com: So we have new costumes for Star-Lord and Rocket? What goes into preparing new Hero costumes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Ben Gilbert: There’s so much that goes into creating new costumes. Our treatment of the Cinematic Universe is fundamentally no different than our approach to comics, TV shows, etc. At the end of the day, it all comes down to deep respect for the characters and careful attention to detail. The look, sound, and gameplay feel must all come together to evoke the essence of the character or context that we’re working to bring into the game.

Marvel.com: And holy crap, is that a tiny Groot?! Tell us about tiny Groot!

Ben Gilbert: It is indeed—and it’s one of the best examples I can think of that demonstrates the care and attention to detail we like to put into each of our themed costumes. Rocket Raccoon’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” costume isn’t just a new coat of paint. We put in a lot of love to make sure his abilities, gameplay, and effects all capture the unique look and feel of Rocket and his little companion Groot. We hope fans will appreciate our complete expression of the beloved characters in the new film.

As I’m sure folks have noticed from all the trailers, Groot is now much smaller than Rocket—and so we’ve played around with that big size change in subtle ways. The best example that comes to mind involves the “We Are Groot” talent tree for Rocket, which augments the “Warpath” ability. With previous costumes, this talent/ability combination would find Rocket hopping on the back of Groot, who lumbers about while Rocket unleashes a giant barrage of blaster fire. With Rocket’s new costume inspired by “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” we instead have Groot climbing onto Rocket’s back! The destructive duo then commences to laying down heavy fire while Rocket flies about by his jetpack. It looks great and we hope Rocket and Groot fans find the juxtaposition as amusing as we do.

At the same time, even players enjoying other Heroes can still make sure that little Groot is always by their side with the new Groot pet. In fact, as a thank you to our PC audience, we’re holding a special login event this weekend that comes with a free Groot pet inspired by “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

Marvel.com: The team’s pulling out all the stops with Drax and Gamora coming out swinging and slashing as the game’s newest team ups. What are these two capable of?

Ben Gilbert: We’re very excited to add “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”-inspired team-ups for both Drax and Gamora to our roster of team-up Heroes for “Marvel Heroes 2016” for PC and Mac. For any readers who aren’t familiar with “Marvel Heroes,” team-ups are only available in “Marvel Heroes 2016” at this point. Team-ups are companions who aid your Hero in battle. They level-up, grow in strength, learn new skills, and can even equip gear!

[The] Drax and Gamora team-ups both come with kits that capture their attacks seen in the films. Drax’s level 60 power “Vengeance” sends him into a state of rage, boosting his attack speed, critical hit chance, and brutal strike chance. On the other hand, Gamora’s level 60 power “Flashing Blade” sends her blazing across the screen for an incredible 10-hit combo chain.  Drax’s infinite thirst for brutal vengeance contrasts nicely with Gamora’s graceful, elegant combat maneuvers that make use of high-power firearms and her lethal blade. We think fans will enjoy their new look, inspired by “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

Marvel.com: But awesome Guardians content aside, how’s the “Marvel Heroes Omega” closed beta going?

Ben Gilbert: The PlayStation 4 closed beta for “Marvel Heroes Omega” is going great! It’s so exciting to see players and press sharing their impressions of the closed beta; all the great gameplay and let’s play videos on YouTube and Twitch.tv are fantastic. We’re especially delighted to see lots of players enjoying local couch co-op for the first time. We think it’s a great new way to enjoy “Marvel Heroes Omega.”

Marvel.com: Super psyched to hear that the beta is going well, but a focus on the beta doesn’t mean the team is slacking on the PC updates right?

Ben Gilbert: That’s absolutely correct! We’re committed to continued support of “Marvel Heroes 2016” on PC with new content and improvements; we talk about it every day here in the office. In fact, our Creative Director Jesse Decker recently shared a roadmap for new content Gazillion is working on for “Marvel Heroes 2016.” There’s some really exciting stuff there, including teases for Carnage, new Terminals, and more. I invite all “Marvel Heroes 2016” players to check it out, ask questions and share any feedback. We read it all. Seriously. Both positive and negative feedback from our players plays a critical role in our long-term goals for improving the game.

Marvel.com: There’s a lot happening in “Marvel Heroes” land right now—what do players need to know?

Ben Gilbert: For PlayStation 4 players, the “Marvel Heroes Omega” closed beta is live! Players interested in immediate access can select from a variety of Founder’s Packs for sale on the PlayStation Store. But we’re also working with a lot of media and free closed beta voucher codes are out there in the wild. For PC players, there [is] lots of exciting new content we’re working on for “Marvel Heroes 2016” that I wish I could tell you more about right now. In the meantime, I’d encourage you to check out the PC roadmap for “Marvel Heroes 2016” mentioned earlier. For Xbox One players, expect more news about “Marvel Heroes Omega” very soon!