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HERO POWER RANKINGS
RED - Extremely Strong : Orange - Strong : Green - Average : Blue - Needs help
1. Cable
Cable is the complete package. A Captain America with DPS. Self buffs, party buffs, escapes, sustained damage, burst damage, and a 10/10 on the cool factor. As one poster wrote "Every Hero should be made like Cable". Even when bug fixes are introduced and Cable is potentially nerfed a bit, I still see him at or near the top of the list.
2. Rocket Raccon (-)
I considered a long time before putting him in the top 3. Probably my longest "think" in the orignal placement and one that has caused some to say that I have a Bias towards him. I do not play him, I do not even own him. It is true that his DPS is not the highest, but his skill set is extremely versatile. I know that when RR is in a party, we survive better and clear with greater efficiency. In particular, in Wunda 3, (where you can only have 5 deaths). If RR is in the party, a zero death completion is common, moreso than with any other Hero. In short, I feel RR holds his own while helping a party more than any other Hero.
3. Black Widow
Most People agree that BW currently has the best DPS in the game. But as Nukemi says, this only applies if she is "left alone". Further BW has no skills which buff the party. Some may argue "who needs her to buff the party when she just kills everything in sight? I might agree, except how much fun is that going to be for her team mates? Love her voice over!
4. Capt. America (+/-)
Captain America is a great Hero. Fun to play, versatile, great buffs, tanks well. Yes, he has mediocre DPS but this is not a problem, he is the perfect off tank party leader. I remember once seeing him surrounded by a group of mobs with extra dps and I was weaving and dodging for my very life. I thought "what that heck is that fool doing there?!" After dying, I watched him methodically and calmly clear this group - that had wiped out the rest of our party - and come rez us all. I bought him the next day.
5. Deadpool (+/-)
DP is a great Hero. FUN is at the core of everything he does. It just happens to also be true that he does everything like a boss. A Soloing powerhouse who is also great in groups. If there is any Hero that is "worth the price of admission" DP is it.
6. Colossus (+)
Colussus benefits from a few broken mechanics in the game and I am not sure where he ends up once these get fixed. It should also be noted that he is very limited in his effective builds. But, right now, for what he needs to do, soak up damage and dish out a little pain in return, Colossus is the best at it.
7. Jean Grey (+++/--)
Jean Grey is one Hero I have little direct experience with. I do not own her nor was there a High Level Jean Grey in our guild. So I have relied mostly on the observations and writings of others to place her. When I have played with a Jean Grey, I have to say that I would easily prefer any of the Heroes currently ranked above her to be on the roster and several ranked below her. Many feel she is a Goddess and deserves to be highly ranked. Others, feel she is just so so. Either way, Jean Grey is one Hero who's placement is generating lively discussion.
8. Thing
All around very solid. Always at the front. Always soaking it up. Great self and party buffs. Everything you want from a Tank. Still, due to poor defensive scaling with the current game mechanics he is probably a little more squishy than what a Tank should be.
9. Scarlet Witch
Much Stronger than what initial impressions might suggest. Her CC is second to none and her damage output is very good. Suffers a little from lack of mobility. Make sure you let her catch up before engaging and make sure you protect her during fights and she will make a great contribution.
10. Iron Man
One of the most popular Heroes to play. And why not? Solid is the most applicable descriptive. No glaring weaknesses. He is balanced, tanky, does good damage, has flexible build options, cool costumes and equally good soloing as he is in groups.
11. Storm (+/-)
Some Debate here. Many players feel she should be higher. Many feel she should be lower. Which suggests, she is probably exactly where she should be. Obviously, personal preferences are coming into the mix here. Is her huge AOE damage and stuns enough to compensate for her other weaknesses? I would say yes. So long as she can avoid getting one shotted, she makes life very easy for any party.
12. Spider Man (+++/--)
Spider Man's placement has generated the most lively debate thus far. It would seem that most agree he is currently a second tier Hero but some suggest he should be at the top of this group. I don't disagree, and certainly the arguments to move him up are very valid; however, I feel his direct DPS is not as good as it should be. Further analysis is probably warranted.
13. Cyclops (+++/--)
Wildly different opinions on Scott. One poster said "Should be #1", another said "Way too high." This is probably due to what different people feel is most important to them. Cyclops is best considered as a support Hero. In this role, I feel he can shine. Fantastic clean up, great party buffs, decent damage, poor survive. Not so much fun when soloing. I think bottom end of "strong" is a fair place to put him.
14. Wolverine (+++/-)
My personal long time favourite Marvel Hero. Benefitted greatly from some recent buffs. Additional changes to game mechanics might push him up the list. And many posters feel he should be ranked higher.
15. Punisher
A tough Hero to Rank. Has some uber DPS skills but he is super squshy. Can't do much of anything if you're dead. If I look at the ranged DPS options out there, I have to put him near the bottom of "overall" effectiveness.
16. Hawkeye (-)
This is one Hero where my personal bias may come into play more than it should. Tried playing him, didn't like. When in parties with him, I find the "Chunk, Chunk, Chunk" of his attacks to be a little abrasive on my ear drums. And finally the never ending "Hawkeye sucks" complaints from my guildies, may have influenced my perceptions of him. For this reason, I am monitoring the comments on him closely and thus far I have not seen a compelling argument to give him a ranking increase.
17. DareDevil
Before his buff, I would have ranked him even lower than Hulk. I am a little surprised that some feel his "buff" was a hidden "nerf". At the very least he is more balanced now and I like him. He has 3 levels of damage mitigation and if all are invested in, he has surprising staying power. His two way radar sense both reducing damage by a percentage and increasing damage is one of the coolest skills in the game. Since buff, I have had zero deaths playing him and DPS is better, particularly with a melee AOE build.
18. Thor (+)
Thor Suffers mostly from "perceptive strength" vs. "actual strength". When a player buys Thor, most likely they are thinking (before they even try him) he is going to crush everything in sight and come away without a scratch - because, well, he is Thor; but, this is far from the reality. Thor is a good Hero. He is not OP. And he struggles with staying alive in increasing levels of difficulty as he progresses. The Defense mechanics coupled with no self heal are to blame here, not inherent weakness in Thor. If you want a fun challenge, play Thor. If you want easy mode, avoid at all costs.
19. Black Panther (++)
BP is the Hero I know the most. Some may feel his ranking here suggests a hidden agenda on my part to get him buffed. I feel I should comment on this. First, I already know he is getting buffed, there does not be to be an argument for this to happen - its already in the works. Further, when players would come into the BP forums, for the sole purpose of lamenting on BPs glaring weaknesses, myself and a dedicated group of BP players (including Leloric and Skyfrag who have also posted here), would do our best to point out build options for BP that made him viable, even effective in a group. We took lemons and made lemonade.
That said, BP has a woeful DPS. It's just plain horrible. As well, he has no viability, at all, unless you build completely around two skills, his stealth and his bodyguards. Even still, with this stealth, he does not have any single target burst - something that would seem a given in a stealth build and his body guards can not be controlled or directed in any way - for a pet dependent Hero, this gimps the build. I will say this, when BP gets his buff, he will shoot up. Even with all his shortcomings, for me he is the most fun and coolest hero to play, by far.
20. Ms. Marvel (+)
I own Ms. Marvel but I am waiting for some changes to her before I start playing her. In truth, I have little experience in her game play. Rarely see her and so I rely mostly on what I have read to put her this low. From what I understand she can do alot of things, but nothing particularly well. A jack of all trades with no signature skills is never going to be effective.
21. Hulk
If you have not as yet developed some empathy for Hulk players, you should. A tank that can not tank and one that stuns himself every time he uses the only skill with decent damage. Suffers the most from the current defense issues. When in a party, he is hopeless. Hulks will often hide behind my Capt. America so as not to take aggro (and they should or they will just die). So much potential for a fun, effective Hero - None of it realized.
