A Beginner’s Guide to Playing Marvel Super War

Anurag Ghosh
(Last Updated On: November 25, 2022)

NetEase Games have released an excellent Marvel-themed MOBA named Marvel Super War. Gameplay is very smooth and engaging. There’s also a training mode that lets you know the basics of the game.  

Additional game modes can be found under “PvE” clash. You and other players will fight tougher bots in a 5 vs. AI match. But that’s not all, under “Arcade”, you will get two more game modes – Battle for Vibranium and Free for All. The former is a 5 vs. 5 PvP match where players in each team have to collect vibranium and bring it to collection points to get rewards.

There’s so much to learn about Marvel Super War and in this guide, we are focusing more on the basics, turret attacking strategies, choosing tactics, item sets and proper control mode to emerge victorious in a match game.  

Getting Started 

If you have played Mobile Legends, then you will be familiar with the gameplay, but if you have just started out, then you must know how to play Marvel Super War:   

  • Let’s begin with the win conditions and the map. Battle is between two teams – Blue and Red. Blue is your team and the Red is your opponent’s team.  
  • Start with the 5 vs. 5 “Match Game”. This is where you will earn coins and crystals. You will gain EXP while playing and after the match ends, you will receive a chest if you level up. The EXP earned will be player EXP and not hero EXP, which he/she earns only during battle.  
  • Your five-member team will be battling 5 players from the opposing team. Every team member gets to choose a superhero (or villain) from their list of recruited or weekly “Free” characters. You will get a few seconds to “lock” a hero before going live. Choose wisely. You might also be interested in reading our Marvel Super War guide to all classes if you want to get additional details about each character class.  
  • The map is located on the top-left corner of the screen. You can zoom in by tapping the tiny magnifying icon on the bottom far corner of the in-game map.  
Marvel Super War Map
Zoomed Out Map
  • On the map, you will notice three lanes and tiny blue and red turrets. Blue turrets are yours and red turrets are your opponent’s. There’s a big red tower on the end of the opponent’s base. Your team will have to attack and destroy it only after destroying all turrets on any one lane.  
  • Teamwork is very important in achieving victory. Team members may choose any one lane out of three and focus on destroying all turrets on that lane to reach the enemy’s base. The enemy team will also try to do this, so keep an eye on the map and make sure some members defend their base or turret if they getting closer to your base.  
  • You can choose and select a hero’s item set from the “Archive” section on the home screen. During a match game, you can use coins to buy items from that gear set.  An item boosts hero stat, triggers bonus effects and makes your hero more powerful.  
  • You will start a match with 300 coins. Use them to purchase starter items, either by tapping the item’s icon beside the golden shopping cart icon on the left side of the screen or by tapping the golden cart and then choosing a gear. You can buy items from the “suggested” list or from several categories, such as Attack, Defense, Move Speed.  
Buy items using coins shown on the shopping cart
Check the items and the shopping cart on the left side of the screen
  • You keep earning coins automatically. Coins accumulate over time. Check the golden cart icon on the left side of the screen to check how much coins you have earned so far. Earn additional coins by defeating enemy bot minions. 
  • Your character gains EXP when he defeats an enemy unit. The number beside the HP bar on top of your hero shows his/her current level. Each time he gains EXP, the border on the level number fills up a bit (it’s light orange in color). When it fills completely, your hero levels up and becomes more powerful than before.
  • Attack enemy minions to gain coins and XP quickly. On leveling up, you can unlock and upgrade his abilities. Tap the + icon on top an ability to unlock it. Whenever your hero levels-up, the plus icon again appears above an unlocked ability. You can tap the plus icon again to make the ability more powerful.  
  • While battling, you can recall your hero anytime, especially when his HP is dangerously low. Recalling a hero brings him back to your base and his HP regenerates quickly. It will take a few seconds to recall him.  
  • The numbers on the top of the map shows the total number of hero KOs. If your team members get killed by an enemy team member, the opponent’s team will gain a KO. At the end of a battle, you will get a complete list of KOs, deaths and the MVP (Most valuable player).  
  • You can issue commands to your team-mates. Tap the command icon located just above your attack and abilities on the right side of the screen and then issue attack, assemble and retreat order.  
In-Depth Hero Stats
Get Detailed Stats About a Hero
  • While playing a match, you can gain additional insights about your hero. This includes lane (top, bottom), abilities and also detailed values, such as physical attack, Max HP, attack speed, crit. rate etc. Tap the arrow below the callout on the right side of the screen to access your hero’s detailed stats.  

I hope you got to know Marvel Super War a little better with the help of this basic guide. Now let’s learn more about winning a match game with the help of these tips, tricks and strategies:  

When Should you Attack a Turret? 

Like I said earlier, you will have to destroy all turrets in a lane before you can knock down the main tower on the enemy’s base. But tearing down an enemy tower isn’t a piece of cake and you will need to plan ahead before getting in its line of fire. Here are some strategies:  

Turrets are self-protective in nature and are placed on strategic zones to protect the enemy’s base. When you get closer to an enemy’s turret, you will notice a circle around it. The circle is its attack range and any unit within the circle will be automatically attacked by the turret.  

You will make a big mistake if you enter a turret’s range all alone. The turret will take reduced damage if you attack it with no minions nearby.  

If your hero enters a turret’s range all alone, he/she will draw all of the turret’s fire power and the damage received will be much greater.  

A unit that enters a turret’s range will be attacked first.  

Turrets protect allies, so if your hero attacks an enemy hero and if your hero is in enemy turret’s range, your hero will attract the turret’s attention and it will prioritize attacking him.  

The best strategy would be to approach a turret with minions. Let the minions enter the turret’s circle first as it will prioritize attacking the first unit that enters its range. You can then start attacking the turret. Also make sure you attack in groups. So, a team of heroes + minions attacking a turret will bring it down very quickly than a hero + minions attacking it.  

Know Your Hero’s Abilities  

Abilities are shown above a hero’s basic attack (fist icon). You can unlock them one by one when your hero levels up during a battle. You can even upgrade them further whenever your hero levels up to make them more powerful.  

Press and hold an ability to get additional info, such as bonus effect/damage, cooldown time etc.  

Before attacking an enemy, you should know how to cast it. Don’t just tap an ability, press and drag to know whether it’s directional or positional. A directional ability will allow you to launch an attack in one particular direction. Press and drag the ability icon in the specific direction to cast it. A positional ability usually targets multiple enemies. When you press and drag a positional ability, you can see a circle, which shows its attack range.  

Practice Fighting in Hero Training 

Only “Free” characters and recruited heroes can be selected for the main match. But if you want to know the strengths and abilities of all 40+ heroes, start practicing under “Hero Training”.  

Hero Training
Tap on the Hero Training section to Try out a new Hero

It’s a one vs one match between you versus a bot or AI hero. Go to Match > Training and then select your hero and the enemy hero in the versus screen. Tap the empty space under “Vs” to add an enemy hero.  

Press Start and begin your practice. Hero training simulates a real match pretty nicely, but you will be fighting only a single enemy and its minions. The bot Hero is not easy to defeat, so you will get some good practice before you can start battling real players in a 5 vs. 5 match.  

Change Tactics on the Fly Just Before a Match 

There are nine main tactics in Marvel Super War – Blink, Paralyze, Accelerate, Wound, First Aid (Heal), Reveal, Teleport, Leech and Dispel. Each tactic has its own battle advantage. To get detailed information about a tactic, including a video demo, go to Archive > Tactic.  

You can choose two starter tactics before a match begins:  

Tap Match > Match Game. Press the red “Match” button to confirm. Press Accept.   

Change Tactics in Marvel Super War
Tactics Icons are Located Above the “Lock Hero” button

On the Hero Selection screen, select a hero by tapping his/her portrait. You will have to “lock” your chosen hero before time’s up. There will be two small tactic icons above the lock button. Tap on any one icon to go to the tactics page.  

You can change your initial tactic with a different one from the list. Tap the first tactic and select a new one from the list. Do the same for the second tactic below the first one.  

Complete Quests to Earn Battle Reports 

Tap on Quests on the left side of the home screen. A list of quests or tasks will be shown on the right side of the quests screen. When you complete a task mentioned on the list, you get battle reports.

Get battle reports from quests to unlock chests

Tap the “Claim” button beside a task and watch the battle report gauge fill up. When it reaches a particular level, you will unlock a chest which will grant a lot of EXP and coins.

For example, if you earn 30 battle reports, you will unlock the green chest, which grants 30 EXP and 20 coins. The tasks are easy to complete, so you will receive battle reports in no time.   

Customize your Own Item Set  

Items improve a hero’s stats/abilities and provide bonus effects, which are usually passive in nature. A hero’s item set contains 6 items. You can purchase them with coins during a match. To know his/her item set, go to Archive and tap a character’s portrait. Under Item, you will see his item set on the bottom of the screen.  

You will have to pre-select an item set before playing a match game. Pre-selected items in a set will show up just beside the golden shopping cart icon on the left side of the main battle screen. When battle begins, just tap on an item to purchase it.  

How to change item set of a hero
Changing a Hero’s Item Set

In Marvel Super War, you can change a hero’s gear set from the items list under “Archive” > Hero Portrait > Gear. Simply tap on the “Edit” button beside his set and then tap the “X” above each item to remove it from the set.

Now tap on an item from the list and then tap on the grey button above the empty slot to add the new item to your set. Do this for other items and don’t forget to press the checkmark icon on the right side to confirm your new item set.  

I have explained more about items and coins in the “Getting Started” section. Please read that first and then come back to this section to know how to select your own item set.  

Choose a Control Mode that Fits your Attack Style 

There are three main control methods of which I will explain the first two. You can select a control mode from the settings menu (gear icon) during combat. It’s located on the top-right corner of the screen.  

Auto Target Lock Mode: Recommended for new players and melee heroes. When an enemy hero is within your hero’s attack range, tap the basic attack button and it will lock the target. Since the target is locked, your hero will keep attacking and even chase the enemy if he runs away. You can unlock the target by attacking someone else.  

Free Target Lock Mode: There will be two additional icons located next to beside the big circle (fist icon). Tapping the fist icon will let to  target a nearby hero. If you tap the tower icon on the top of main control, your hero will target the enemy tower. If you tap the minion icon on the bottom of the big circle, your hero will target only enemy minions and no one else.  

You can select a control mode out of these two. Once you get enough practice with the first control mode, you should definitely try the Free Target Lock Mode as it provides more options and lets you focus on only one enemy type without leading to any confusions.  

Select Auto Casting Ability Control 

If you are new to Marvel Super War, you should select auto casting under settings > control. With auto casting ability control mode selected, players won’t have to press and drag the ability icon to cast a directional or positional ability. Just tap on an ability and the job will be done. 

We will try to add more tips and strategies to this guide. If you have any questions, please post them via the comment form below.