Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: 10 Best Characters To Play As

Sequels that come out for cult-classic pieces of media years after the originals don’t have a particularly strong track record, but Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order proved that there is still plenty of mileage left in this squad-based hero brawler. While most fans weren’t expecting the threequel to be a Nintendo Switch exclusive, the game was released to praise from critics and fans alike.

Ultimate Alliance 3 launched with an impressively vast roster of classic Marvel heroes and villains, but subsequent DLC packs have made picking four team members an even more daunting task for players. While it’s true that every character is good enough to find success with, a few rise above the rest as particularly effective.

10 Black Panther

T’Challa is Wakanda’s only representative in Ultimate Alliance 3, and the vibranium-clad king is one of the strongest characters in the game. Unsurprisingly, he’s a highly agile character and can move around the map better than almost anyone else.

While many of Black Panther’s attacks are strong, Vibranium Slash is particularly notable for its devastating damage to opponents’ stagger bars. However, this attack is single-target, so T’Challa is better suited for bosses or small groups than he is for large swarms of weaker enemies. He’s relatively tanky, too. Bast’s Fury lets Black Panther absorb damage and send it back to enemies in an AOE burst.

9 Wasp

Wasp is among the best attackers in Ultimate Alliance 3. She can strike quickly, and she also has access to attacks that stun her enemies. While she doesn’t do as much raw damage per attack as some other characters in the game, she boasts impressive range and mobility.

Furthermore, her Big Suprise ability is a great way to clear mobs in a pinch. Wasp’s defenses are relatively weak to make up for her offensive toolset, so players need to be sure that they’re utilizing her attack range to keep her out of harm’s way.

8 Ms. Marvel

One thing that comic fans know about Ms. Marvel is her unique powers, which allow her to “embiggen” parts of her body to overwhelm opponents. Ms. Marvel uses her enlargening power to hit enemies at a significant range for a brawler and deal damage over large areas. Her spinning kick sees her whip her leg and embiggened foot around like a helicopter blade, which makes her great at tackling groups of weaker enemies.

She also has a devastating repeating punch, but she needs to stay still to use it. While this tempers its effectiveness against multiple enemies, it’s one of the best moves in the game for taking out dazed bosses. This makes her a great team player who can deliver the final blow after other heroes after already done their damage.

7 Wolverine

Wolverine might not quite be the best at what he does in Ultimate Alliance 3, but he’s pretty close. This strong brawler is surprisingly agile and packs a solid offensive punch. Though he has numerous team affiliations in the game, he gets substantial stat boosts if he’s played with other X-Men.

Logan’s healing factor is also a big positive, and Wolverine has great self-sustain for a character that attacks so well. Logan may not be the single fastest or strongest character available, but he’s an excellent all-arounder that adds value to any squad.

6 Magneto

The Master of Magnetism may be more famous as a villain, but Magneto has often shown a sympathetic side in comics and in Ultimate Alliance 3. Magneto has made appearances in plenty of Marvel games over the years, but his magnetic powers usually see him play as more of a controller than a damage dealer.

Ultimate Alliance 3 bucks that trend. Magneto is an excellent jack of all trades that is an asset to any team. Magneto’s attacks do solid damage on their own, but they’re made even better by his ability to bunch enemies together. To take advantage of this, place him on a team with other allies that can perform big area-of-effect attacks.

5 Mr. Fantastic

Reed Richards is one of the smartest characters in Marvel Comics, and he’s a fantastic fighter in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. Mr. Fantastic takes advantage of his stretchable body to perform devastating area-of-effect melee attacks that can quickly deal damage to large groups of enemies.

This mix of damage and range is most potent with attacks like Elongated Attack that can go on as long as Mr. Fantastic has power. While he’s formidable by himself, pairing him with an energy generator like Phoenix means that Reed Richards can use these high-damage, long-lasting attacks incredibly often.

4 Phoenix

The Phoenix Force is one of the most powerful cosmic characters in Marvel Comics, and the Phoenix-imbued version of Jean Gray is much more intimidating than her two film appearances may lead fans to believe. Unsurprisingly, Phoenix is one of the strongest characters in Ultimate Alliance 3. What may be less expected is that she’s actually more of a support character than a straightforward damage dealer.

Phoenix’s most impactful move places an area-of-effect buff on the ground that generates energy for any character within it. This buff makes the rest of her team much more effective and allows for some terrifying team-wide ability usage. Just like her comic counterpart, Phoenix is often unreliable, but she is powerful when it counts.

3 Star-Lord

Most of the Guardians of the Galaxy may be fairly middle of the road in Ultimate Alliance 3, but Star-Lord is an offensive powerhouse. While he doesn’t shine against stronger single enemies, Peter Quill is great at crowd control. Star-Lord’s element gun reflects its classic strength and versatility by letting Quill dish out elemental damage consisting of lightning, fire, or ice. The gun’s most potent ability in the game is Amped Up, which shoots out electric bolts in a 360-degree circle. The attack deals solid damage and also takes a big chunk out of enemy stagger bars.

2 Storm

Storm can certainly deal damage on her own, but she shines as a supporting character that enables the rest of her team to reach their full potential. Storm uses her weather manipulation powers to imbue teammates possessing the Elemental Charge trait with ice or electricity.

This effect allows her team to lay on a significant amount of freeze and shock against opponents. Ororo Munroe’s abilities also contain several area-of-effect attacks, which further adds to her ability to quickly deal with large crowds of weaker enemies.

1 Thanos (Infinite)

Thanos was one of the original characters in Ultimate Alliance 3, but the Fantastic Four-centric DLC “Shadow of Doom” brought a second version of the Mad Titan to the game. This iteration of the famous antagonist wields the Infinity Gauntlet, and he’s truly a force to be reckoned with. His teleport gives him solid mobility, and his charge attack does devastating amounts of damage.

It’s also worth noting that his gem-infused animations are some of the best in the game. He’s also surprisingly tanky for such a heavy hitter, so he’s likely to stick around in even the most challenging fights.

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