Marvel Strike Force is a dream come true for Gacha fans who also love the Marvel universe. Heroes are well represented, there’s lots of things to do every day, you can dabble in both PvP and PvE, and you can still have fun even if you don’t want to spend real currency to advance your S.T.R.I.K.E. team.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

Although, at its core, Marvel Strike Force functions like any other Gacha, the in-game content is diverse enough to feel new when you dive into it for the first time. We’ve already put together a guide for beginners, which you can check out here. In this article, we’ll focus specifically on the early-game, what your priorities should be during this time, and how you can take important decisions without causing later regrets.

Early Spending Guide

Most of our guides are dedicated to F2P players first and foremost, but if you’ve decided that you’re willing to spend some real currency in Marvel Strike Force, there are a few things you should prioritize over others. For example, take Newcomer Packs.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

In many games, these packs are just annoying pop-ups with little value, but this is not the case in MSF. There is actually no pack that you can access later in the game that will hold more value for your progression than these Newcomer Packs. The most advantageous such offers include heroes, XP chips, gold, and orbs. If you’re lucky enough to get an offer for a villain, this is a must-buy, since your first priority will be to put together a team of at least 3 villains for their respective campaign.

This is not to say that you have to buy these packs in order to enjoy the game. You should only do so if you’ve decided to spend in MSF and you’re looking for the highest value per purchase.

Daily To-Do List for More Heroes

As you start a new game, your first priority should be to complete campaign missions, preferably with a 3-star score. The further you get in the basic campaign, the more content you unlock, and the more opportunities you have to get more resources and new heroes. After a couple of days, you should have most battle modes unlocked and ready to go. At this point, your priorities should be the following:

1 – You can obtain new characters by farming campaign nodes. You should do this every day in order to deplete your energy reserves.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

2 – New heroes can also be found in the Blitz, Arena, and Raid stores. These game modes give you the opportunity to test your PvP skills while also helping you build a stronger team.

3 – Completing Blitz challenges is particularly important since this game mode awards new heroes through milestones.

4 – Timed events grant special hero orbs: some for completing campaign missions and others for successfully tackling raids with your alliance. Participate in them whenever you get the chance!

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

Farm the Right Campaign Nodes

During your first few hours of Marvel Strike Force, it will seem like your Energy reserves are never-ending. However, the cornucopia will soon end and you’ll be forced to prioritize between different campaign missions in order to make the most of your available Energy.

Our recommendations include the following heroes/campaign levels:

Jessica Jones (on Villains 2-9 or Nexus 4-9). A great support character, JJ should be on any F2P player’s team. She can dispel taunts, generate energy, and cleanse debuffs from allies.

Punisher (Heroes 1-6). A hero that is accessible fairly early in the game, Punisher does decent damage and synergizes well with a team of Defenders.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

Merc Lt (Villains 3-3). This hero is a must-have for the Villains campaign and can even make a good addition to your late-game team.

Yondu (Heroes 1-9). A well-rounded character, Yondu has great AoE potential and can even dispel enemy buffs.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

Iron Fist (Nexus 1-9). Another ideal hero for F2P players, Iron Fist deals great damage and gains a fantastic heal by synergizing with Defenders.

Great Characters from the Blitz and Arena Stores

Three great characters can be found in the Arena Store and these are Drax, Mordo, and Daredevil. Drax is a great tank for the early game thanks to his auto-taunt, although he does lose some utility later on due to frequent dispels. Mordo, on the other hand, can be used late into the game thanks to his amazing potential for control. Finally, Daredevil is a must-have hero due to his blind immunity, which makes him the ideal DPS for Blitz challenges.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

The Blitz Store has even more amazing offers. Although you get Luke Cage for free when you start a new game, you can use this store to improve his star rank for more HP. Similarly, you can and should get more copies of Spider Man, who is particularly useful thanks to the Defense Down debuff he applies to enemy units. Other great characters to be purchased from the Blitz Store include Crossbones, a Protector with an amazing Nuke potential, Gamora, a great DPS character for Cosmic Campaigns, and Merc Riot Guard, who can become a decent tank in some situations.

The Raid Store and Gear

The Raid Store also has a lot of attractive-looking offers, but our recommendation is that, once you’ve purchased Hand Sentry and Rocket, you prioritize gear over additional heroes. The first of these characters is a peculiar tank that actually puts Stealth on all allies and gives them additional evasion against AoE attacks. At present, he is considered to be one of the best tanks for Arena Defense. The second is a great DPS character that can get you even further in Raids, especially if you manage to include Star-Lord in his team.

Marvel Strike Force: A Complete Guide to the Early-Game

In terms of gear, you should focus on Advanced Phosphates, Basic and Advanced Catalysts, as well as Advanced Unstable Molecules – in this order. You’ll notice that these reagents are most often required by some of your best heroes, which is why you’ll find yourself spending most of your Raid currency on them. If you find that you don’t have enough resources for either of these important Stores, pop open our guide to currencies in Marvel Strike Force  and find out how you can quickly get more of what you need.

Of course, there’s much more to MSF than what we were able to include here. However, these heroes should keep you busy for up to several weeks, depending on how much time you spend on the game and how much real currency you’re willing to part with. It will take some time to get them all, yes, but at least you’ll know that you’re on the right track once you begin to collect and upgrade some of the best early-game heroes for free.