Cable guy, Deadpool, and teleportation

Okay, so just yesterday, I experimented with another character in Marvel Heroes. He's none other than the Cable guy.

Erm... not this cable guy pls...

This is the correct Cable guy minus his bro

Cable: From 1 to 10

First impression

Firstly, I find hero testing free of charge can be an effective way of eternal splinters farming. With the Cable guy alone, I managed to farm around half a hundred. In fact, it seems that an effective area dps game can result in a higher yield. While testing Gambit before spending 400 splinters, there were moments where 2-3 splinters dropped after one-shotting the mob. For Deadpool, it's pretty much the same case. Ditto for Cable as well this time round. Of course, it may be that drop chances for eternal splinters are now upped. Then again, neither Nightcrawler, Black Panther, or Invisible Woman was able to farm this much individually.

My first impression on Cable was that he's someone synonymous with a heavy tank. When I say heavy tank, I'm not referring to the likes of Colossus, Hulk, and Cain Marko. I'm actually referring to heavily armoured vehicles complete with a turret. Why I made this daring assumption is very simple. In the real deal done by Marvel, Cable is an extremely resilient mutant. At the same time, being a time traveller means seeing plenty of stuff that is pretty grim indeed. I still remember the X-Men cartoon when I was 12. The impression I got was definitely not the real deal (then again, the cartoon was more for kids than the fans).

As it turned out, Cable in the game actually plays like how one might expect Nathan Summers to fight in the original comics. Imagine Frank Castle plus the Man of Steel. When you have 33% damage resist at level 10, it has to mean something since Cable is a range-melee hybrid like Gambit.

I only got Phase Magnum, Quick Bodyslide, Plasma Submachine Guns, Psimitar Sweep, Vortex Grenade, Mind Bullets and Viper Beam since we're talking about a max level cap of 10. Because I tend to bind the powers to 4 keys instead of the maximum 6, my style tends to work around an effective one-two more than anything else (apparently, this was mainly due to me getting too used to the Neverwinter power tray UI). After messing around here and there like Deadpool, I basically did a 3 key binding (mainly because I'm too used in binding signature moves to S key while ultimate moves are reserved for the H key).

Left click: Phase Magnum

Right click: Quick Bodyslide

A: Plasma Submachine Guns

D: Vortex Grenade

F: Psimitar Sweep

For the infinity points, I invested them into Reality and Time, two things commonly associated with the Cable guy himself (being a telepath, however, makes the Mind tree also 100% relevant). For Reality, I focused on increasing the Energy rating. For Time, it's all about movement speed and right click cooldown. Then I did a Total Recall where the focus is now on Mind and Reality. The reason why being one of the skills capable of proc'ing mental damage. Perfectly Cable if I say so myself.

The thing with Cable is that he has some big hitting moves which would eat away his Spirit in no time. Which is why some of his passive skills involve converting non-basic moves into basic moves. Currently, my eternal splinters stand at 350+. Which means if I want to get the Cable guy, I only need 40+ more. If there's anything I've done decently well while using Cable, it'd be my status as a frag king. The reason why I use this term is very simple: Vortex Grenade>Phase Magnum>rinse and repeat. Well, not exactly that, but this is a very effective anti-boss tactic. I tried that against the likes of Gorgon and Taskmaster, bosses who always pull off that annoying dash spam. In fact, this tactic can be absurdly effective against mobs despite Phase Magnum being a single line range attack. Either I pull off Phase Submachine Guns to crowd clear or I just do things Cable anti-boss way. Trust me, the fragging approach works like hell.

Which now comes to knowing better why the people at Gazillion have to place certain restrictions in the form of the passive power/traits tree. Imagine using Invisible Woman without such a restriction. Every Stormy Sue would become a Mary Sue in the form of Storm of Spheres spamming. I kid you not, SoS is one of, if not the most effective AoE damaging move in Stormy Sue's arsenal. Ultimately (no pun intended to Marvel fans), it's only a question of extent rather than aye or nay when it comes imposing this restraining device on every character so as to speak.

Verdict-The Cable guy is surprisingly easy to use for range character. Traditionally, I'd always have trouble using such characters in this game due to left clicking having a chance of the toon moving instead of shooting. His incredibly high defensive game ensures an insane dps game for solo running. When it comes to group running or instances like Midtown, Hightown, and Industrial City, a tactical approach may work better. Unlike Gambit, it's actually possible to create a melee/psimitar Cable with your only option of ranged warfare coming from basic attack left clicking. Personally, I'd still recommend using the frag and destroy strategy. The best part of this deal? You can actually implement the fragging part into your psimitar Cable.

Deadpool: From 1 to 10

First impression

It feels absolutely surreal doing this part right now. The reason why? Someone died. No, I'm not kidding you and I'll never find another person's death funny despite my tendency to crack dark jokes concerning my own imminent end. For the lack of a better response to a tragedy, let me continue on-topic here.

Left click: Big Bang Bang Bang

Right click: Quick Bodyslide by One

A: Flesh Wound

D: Awesome Lunge of Death

F: Real Armor Buster

For some weird reason, Koreans have a weakness for Deadpool. Despite being a traditional Asian nation well known for grappling with Western values (something which we Singaporeans should understand so well), it seems that not even the salty Koreans from the south are free from Wade Willy Wonka Wilson's trolling.

Invisible Woman: You're a bad influence, Wade. Let's get you an etiquette class.

Like his bro, Deadpool has the ability to go defensive mode after executing a melee move. In this sense, using a lunging attack is the most straightforward way to proc this effect (for Cable, it's the psimitar dash). Unlike Cable, however, Deadpool has a better melee game. This is due to Flesh Wound being a more-than-capable melee combo move in terms of racking up hits. At the same time, this move also grants bonus deflect per hit. Although Deadpool is far less a tank than Cable, it must be stated that Wade Willy Wonka Wilson is all about pure dps unlike Cable, who is definitely much more versatile.

Big Bang Bang Bang is an anomaly in the sense that I'm not exactly a fan of single target range basic attacks. However, Deadpool's version of (the Korean) Bang got me absolutely sold. For some funny reason, holding down left click, be it from afar or point blank, gave me some sort of grim mirth. Firstly, it's exactly what Wade Willy Wonka Wilson would do anyway. Secondly, it feels so much like classic Deadpool in the most simplistic way that... well, the imagery in my head ended up being that of dark humor in courtesy of the man in red (and black). In fact, there was this one moment where Wade Willy Wonka Wilson traded fire with an arsonist despite standing in the middle of a fiery puddle. At that point of time, an inkling of the real Deadpool reacting to this while shooting made me laugh like a sick juvenile bastard Wade Willy Wonka Wilson truly is.

For Awesome Lunge of Death, there's nothing much for me to say apart from the fact that it's the most effective way to play Deadpool tactically. Just zip by and open fire. If you're close enough, just use your BFF pairing of Muramasa and Masamune.

Real Armor Buster has to be the greatest lol I've ever had in using Deadpool till level 10. Imagine Wade Willy Wonka Wilson's reaction before opening fire. The impact was nothing short of a shotgun one-shot fatality. I don't know about you, but everything about Deadpool's gameplay till level 10 just screams "DEADPOOL!" in a certain... well, for the lack of a better way to describe it, artistic sense.

Verdict-Initially, I planned to get Cable first. After going through this, I changed my mind. Deadpool should be quite straightforward. In fact, he's most likely one of, if not the easiest character to master. The learning curve shouldn't be an issue, but tactically speaking, I can't say the same. He doesn't have Gambit's level of one-shot dps both in terms of area powers and sheer damage (however, this logic is only applicable should Gambit be able to utilize his kinetic gauge). Unlike Nightcrawler, he doesn't have an effective hit-and-run game where the damage can just hit a massive burst (read: Teleport+Bamf Bomb=the reason why Japan lost WW2). Yet, Wade Willy Wonka Wilson shouldn't be seen as a serious choice for serious gamers. He's basically every casual gamer's dream alt where having fun is all that matters. For this reason alone, I think I want to have a Deadpool asap.

Note: Cable's hero synergy involves a total of 4% crit hit chance bonus. That one nearly scored him a victory over Wade Willy Wonka Wilson.

Nightcrawler: From 1 to 60 (and beyond)

I'll have to be brutally frank with myself here. Kurt will most likely become my main with Remy and Wade being my alts. My gaming style involves momentum and tactical movement (whatever the latter term means anyway). Which means Nightcrawler fits my style to a tee. At the same time, I actually identified myself the most with Nightcrawler more than any other Marvel characters. Yes, I do admit having a weakness for girls, women, and ladies. In this sense, I'm like Gambit. Yes, I do admit having a history of struggling with mental/emotional instability. In this sense, I'm like Deadpool. In terms of being (somewhat) a cynic, I do identify myself with Cable. Yet, there are more just a thing which I have in common with the son of Mystique and Azazel.

Like Kurt, I have suffered from social isolation since young. In fact, I have to spend near 20 years of being a social outcast so as to speak. To be honest, not even my family are able to cross over to my side in the same way I'm unable to do the same. Like Kurt, I don't belong to a society others have learnt to take for granted. In fact, Magneto's lengthy preaching to Kurt summed things up just nicely for me. Imagine my future girlfriend's BFF (at Hamburg) asking her questions like these below.

How can your boyfriend forgive those who hurt him, those who trampled upon him?

They laughed at him, physically and verbally bullied him. Some of them betrayed him and one of them called him pus.

They called him annoying, yet they never lifted a finger to help him.

He was punched once in the stomach and character assassinated in a hypocritical way.

His knuckles were stepped upon, no one wanted to be his friend.

How can he forgive these people who trampled upon him?

However, it must be stated that Magneto's questions were filled vitriol and brimming with disbelief (not to mention ire as well). Never mind whether Marvel will make him Scarlet Witch's boyfriend (after all, Wanda's relationship with Vision was officially over while Kurt's romance with Jimaine Szardos was tragically short-lived). Even though I don't identify myself with Nightcrawler's Roman Catholic faith, I do identify myself with him in terms of a common past, living in the same present, and facing an identical, if not at least a similar future.

Note: Skillset 1 is for non-boss duelling. Skillset 2 is for boss duelling and instances involving compulsory team matching/forming. Please note that in every stage, chances are that the final boss would be fighting you either one on one or with minimal adds.

Skillset 1

Left click: Sneak Attack

Right click: Bamf!

A: Righteous Frenzy

S: Brimstone Blitz

D: Bamf Bomb

F: X-Slash

H: Rain of Bamf!

Traits and Talents

The Incredible Nightcrawler; Enguarde!

Surprise Attack; Ausweichen; Infernal Brimstone; Obscuring Brimstone; Carried Momentum

This is mostly focused on crowd clearing. Hence, it's more important to deal as much damage as possible. Initially, I tried Shadowmeld instead of Ausweichen. It works decently well, just that Ausweichen works better. I just did a Google out of curiosity. Apparently, Ausweichen has got nothing to do with any person with Wei in the middle of his/her name. Basically, it means dodge.

Ryan: So did you manage to clear up that misunderstanding caused by your own stupidity?

Me: Yeah. Thankfully, Stevia knew that's just a prank I pulled on Wei Ling

Ryan: Damn, I think you really pulled off an Ausweichen in the form of an understanding girlfriend.

Above skit should be seen as 100% fictional. In the event where fiction becomes more real than non-fiction, I'm pretty sure my future girlfriend would have understood what kind of person I am. To quote Jean Grey here: "Kurt, have you and Logan gotten into trouble again?"

Long story short, Ausweichen provides an easy outlet for added dps. The most important part isn't about the dodge bonus. In fact, it makes more sense to focus on defense rather than dodging for Nightcrawler if we're talking about the blessings (read: just opt for Blessing of Volstagg). I personally find dodging quite... well, dodgy for characters like Kurt. If it's Remy or even Wade Willy Wonka Wilson, they can survive decently on a dodge based build since one is primarily a range-hybrid while the other is too hard (and awesome for that matter) to kill.

As for the so-called Brimstone BFF synergy, it gives plenty of offensive options. In the free-for-all patrol instances, consistent usage of Obscuring Brimstone can speed up any boss fight (this is especially important once you hit the Industrial City with a super BAMF! instead of just a bang). In solo running, this can be used as a last resort reversal. Infernal Brimstone, however, is truly the bomb here. While there's not much point doing a multi-porting with this one, pairing it with some painful combos is a fun thing to do. Which is why there's an X-Slash on standby.

Bamf Bomb, as I've implied via real life history, is extremely lethal. Without stealth or invisible status, it can already deal tons of damage. With either, it's an A-bomb that won't give the mob time to use their F-bomb. The AoE is also damn big, which makes Bamf Bomb the perfect B-bomb to rival the A-bomb (A/N: Because I understand only too well how depraved the human mind can be, let me just stress home the fact that neither bomb has got anything to do with attractive girls in your workplace).

For Sneak Attack, because the damage bonus will persist for 10 secs, using it to link from a Bamf Bomb is something 100% doable. If you can't even perform such a simple one-two combo, you're better off watching YouTube videos of Running Man instead.

Note: Infernal Brimstone, in particular, presents an unpredictable aspect to Kurt's gameplay where a stealth B-Bomb-Sneak Attack combo can be a one-shot alternative to persistent X-Slash. This approach is particularly effective against bosses with high mobility.

Skillset 2

Left click: Swashbuckler Slash

Right click: Bamf!

A: Righteous Frenzy

S: Brimstone Blitz

D: Bamf Bomb

F: Death Blow

H: Rain of Bamf!

Traits and Talents

The Incredible Nightcrawler; Enguarde!

Surprise Attack; Shadowmeld; Element of Surprise; Tireless Teleporter; Crescendo of Steel

This is more of sword build. The difference between a sword build and bare-knuckle teleporting build lies in the nature of the damage. The latter is more about consistent dps while the former is more about lower dps in exchange for large bursts of damage. Because this build is also for final boss fights, survival is of utmost importance. For Nightcrawler, Shadowmeld alone won't compromise the dps. At least not much by my hope. Another jailbreak option would be Tireless Teleporter where the onus lies in a full heal. In this sense, Tireless Teleporter should only be seen as a last resort jailbreak. However, Brimstone Blitz will only give you 5 seconds of invulnerability. In other words, some of the attacks can just one-shot you to fatality's end so long the 5 seconds rule expire. Thankfully, it's possible to cancel the signature attack after the invincible window hit its expiry date. Some of the bosses which can one-shot you include Living Laser and Juggernaut with Man Ape and Rhino being the possible ones as well. Incidentally, I really hate fighting Electro due to his constant AoE electrocution bs.

For Death Blow, it's all about using Element of Surprise and Crescendo of Steel. This is a deadly combo especially if the sword combo meter hit max. In fact, this complements perfectly well the Blessing of Hela, something which I already have on Nightcrawler. At the same time, Death Blow damage actually scales according to the amount of the target's missing HP, so the potential to deal a one-shot damage is quite high. Which is also why I eschewed Sneak Attack in favor of Swashbuckler Slash. The onus of this build lies in meter building. At the same time, using Death Blow while the meter has yet to hit max would amount to quite a hefty damage, so you don't really have to wait for the combo meter to hit max mode (also, dealing Death Blow once the meter hit max would result in increased cooldown since it's a flourish move).

Note: Inspiration for this build comes from Kurt Darkholme, who was actually an alternate version of Kurt Wagner in Age of Apocalypse. Not surprising to see how a different reality can warp even the kindest soul, though.

Add note: My choice of infinity powers hinges on two trees. Namely, Soul and Space. Because I find it quite fun to base my infinity power tree on how I'd envision the respective characters, I actually decided to base my planning on striking a balance between gameplay and canon. For Soul, it's because of a prior episode where he had to host the Soulsword. That plus the fact that he's always a technical fighter rather than one relying on force and aggression. For Space, that's because of how I interpreted the concept of dimension. In Kurt's case, it's the Brimstone Dimension. This was also the reason why I based Gambit's infinity tree on Soul (due to how he honed his fighting capability plus Apocalypse messing him up) and Reality (because the tooltip blatantly linked this tree with the law of physics. And that includes kinetic energy).

P.S: To round things off, I decided to go Google for some Nightcrawler CP artworks.

Credit: Emily369

Credit: Twynsunz

Credit: Lana125

Pretty sure this one is official. I mean the art itself.

Add P.S: Just a question which I sometimes ask myself. Is it possible for one to do an image search on FB without the relevant person's name being tagged? If so, it means my cover might have been officially blown at the courtesy of the entire CT-MRI.