Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 has finally arrived so you and your buddies can finally play together as one of your favorite Marvel heroes. The title supports a lot of different ways to co-op with friends and family, so our FAQ is here to help break all that down.
- How many players can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 locally (couch co-op)? Are split Joy Cons supported, or does every player need their own controller?
- How many players can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 via system link or LAN?
- How many players can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 online?
- How many players are supported in combo co-op?
- Is a Nintendo Switch Online subscription required to play online?
- What direction is the screen split in couch co-op for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
- Are there co-op specific moves or abilities?
- What are team synergy bonuses and how do they work?
- Is there loot in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3? If so, is it instanced per player, or is it given to the first player to pick it up?
- How do you begin a co-op session in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
- How does save game progress work for co-op play in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
- Can I join a game if the host is further along than me in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
- Are there co-op modes outside of the story campaign?
- What does the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 season pass get you?
How many players can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 locally (couch co-op)? Are split Joy Cons supported, or does every player need their own controller?
4. Yes, you can use a split Joy Con setup to play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 with a buddy on your couch. The Pro Controller is also supported.
How many players can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 via system link or LAN?
How many players can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 online?
How many players are supported in combo co-op?
A max of 4. The following configurations are supported for Combo Co-Op:
- Couch and Online - two or more players on a single Switch can join another player (or group of players) online. The maximum number of players allowed is 4. For example, two players on one Switch (couch co-op) could setup or join an online game with two other players on a Switch (or two players on two separate Switches).
- Couch and Local Wireless - two or more players on a single Switch can join other players via a local wireless connection. The maximum number of players allowed is 4.
Is a Nintendo Switch Online subscription required to play online?
What direction is the screen split in couch co-op for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
There is no splitscreen. The camera will zoom out and be in a fixed position when playing couch co-op to accommodate all players on the screen.
Are there co-op specific moves or abilities?
Yes. Each character has a max of 4 special abilities that use "Energy Points," or "EP." These special abilities may have a "Synergy Trait," such as "Smash," "Charge," "Burst," etc, and when two players use abilities with different traits, they can combine to create an attack with a greater effect. For example, combining an ability with the "Barrage" trait and an ability with the "Burn" trait results in a rapid-slashing attack that also deals fire damage. These "Synergy Attacks" are handled in-game by a button prompt. When one player uses an ability, a nearby player will be prompted to press a button to trigger their ability that synergizes with it. The different combinations of traits can be found under "Attacks & Abilities" in the "Tips" menu in the game.
Additionally, every character has an "Extreme Attack." These are powerful moves that are charged up as you play and are indicated by a yellow meter that circle around each character's portrait. When the meter is full, you can press the L and R bumper buttons to unleash the attack. If multiple players use their Extreme Attacks at the same time, the amount of damage dealt will be increased.
What are Team Bonuses and how do they work?
Team Bonuses provide percentage-based increases to your party's stats. These stats are Strength, Mastery, Durability, Resilience, Vitality, and Energy and each one provides some benefit to your characters:
- Strength - increases physical damage (melee, piercing, and projectile) dealt by a character
- Mastery - increases energy and ethereal damage dealt by a character
- Durability - increases a character's resistance to physical damage
- Resilience - increases a character's resistance to energy and ethereal damage
- Vitality - a character's total hit points
- Energy - a character's total Energy Points (used for special abilities)
Every playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is a part of different teams. For example, Captain America is part of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Avengers, Generations, and Partners teams. If your party of characters includes Captain America and Hulk, who is also an Avenger, then you'll get a bonus to one of your stats (in this case, Energy). The more characters you include that are part of a specific team, the bigger the bonus you'll receive to that stat.
You can receive multiple bonuses to the same stat for different Team Bonuses, too. For example, the Defenders team and New Avengers team both provide a bonus to Durability. If you include characters that are part of both teams, then you'll get the boost from both Team Bonuses.
Finding the best combination of characters and Team Bonus is dependent upon the types of characters you use and what you're trying to do. In other words, if you want to use characters that use a lot of energy/ethereal attacks, you'll definitely want Team Bonuses that provide a boost to your Mastery stat, but you'll also probably want some Energy (so you can use your abilities as often as possible) and Vitality or Durability bonuses, too, as those character tend to be "glass cannons."
Is there loot in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3? If so, is it instanced per player, or is it given to the first player to pick it up?
Yes. After you complete the third story chapter, stronger enemies will drop special crystals referred to as "ISO-8." These can be equipped on your characters to provide a variety of bonuses, such as increasing their Strength stat, increasing the damage of their basic attacks, adding an elemental attribute to their heavy attacks, and more. The ISO-8 crystals come in different colors and different grades/quality (worst is "D," and best is "AA").
How do you begin a co-op session in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
We'll break this down by each type (i.e., couch, online, LAN, and combo).
- Local/Couch Co-Op (drop-in/drop-out supported) - this can be done at any time during a play session by turning on another controller and then holding down the left and right bumpers (L and R) to join in. The new player will take control of one of the existing characters in the party. To change characters, select "Hero Select" from the Main Menu, or if you're in the middle of story mission, you'll need to visit a S.H.I.E.L.D. point and choose "Hero Select" from there.
- Online Co-Op (available from the second story chapter on)- from the Main Menu, choose "Co-Op" and then "Online." You can then choose to "Create" a room (i.e., lobby), "Search" for a random player's room to join, or join a room setup by a "Friend". If you're creating your own room, you can specify the mode (Story or Infinity Trials), the specific mission or Trial, the difficulty level (Story missions only), the number of players, and a password for the room. Once the room is setup, you can change these settings by going into "Room Details," and then "Edit Room."
- Wireless LAN Co-Op (available from the second story chapter on) - similar to the Online Co-Op, from the Main Menu, choose "Co-Op" and then "Local." You can then choose to "Create" a room (i.e., lobby), or "Search" for any nearby rooms. If you're creating your own room, you can specify the mode (Story or Infinity Trials), the specific mission or Trial, the difficulty level (Story missions only), the number of players, and a password for the room. Once the room is setup, you can change these settings by going into "Room Details," and then "Edit Room."
- Combo Co-Op for Online and Couch - follow the same steps outlined above under "Online Co-Op" to create or join a friend's room. Once you're in the room, couch co-op players can join by turning on another controller and then holding the L and R buttons.
NOTE: The "Max Players" setting for the room will dictate how many total players can be in that room, and couch co-op players from the host's Switch will take precedence. For example, you setup a room and set the "Max Players" to 2. Your buddy joins you online, and then another friend joins you on the couch. The player joining you locally will bump out the online friend as the Max Players was set to 2. If all three of you want to play together, you'll need to edit the room settings to allow for 3 players and have your online friend join you again.
- Combo Co-Op for Wireless LAN and Couch - follow the same steps outlined above under "Wireless LAN Co-Op" to create a room or join a nearby room. Once you're in the room, couch co-op players can join by turning on another controller and then holding the L and R buttons.
How does save game progress work for co-op play in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
For Couch Co-Op sessions, all progress is saved to the account of the player that launched Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 from the Nintendo Switch home page (i.e., the account you select when you launch the game and it then prompts "Select User"). Even if you have multiple accounts setup on the Switch, progress is only saved to the account of the player that was initially chosen.
For Online and Wireless LAN Co-Op Sessions, progress is saved for all players individually. Player 1 uses their characters and ISO-8s, player 2 uses their characters and ISO-8s, etc. All credits, experience, ISO-8s, and story progress made by each player is taken back into their own game.
Can I join a game if the host is further along than me in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3?
Yes and no. Yes, you can join a friend regardless of their progress in the campaign. However, you cannot play story missions you haven't unlocked yet. The game will actually remove you from an Online or Wireless LAN session if the host chooses to play a story chapter that you haven't reached yet. The same applies if the host chooses to play an Infinity Trial you haven't unlocked yet. Therefore, Online and Wireless LAN sessions are limited by the player that has progressed the least.
Are there co-op modes outside of the story campaign?
Yes, the Infinity Trials. These are special missions that grant rewards in the form of ISO-8s, experience cubes, credits, new character outfits, and more. Many of these trials will have special modifiers, such as abilities and Synergy Attacks do more damage, but all other attacks do less. There is no difficulty level associated with these, but there is a recommended character level. As noted above, you cannot join a friend's game and play an Infinity Trial you have not unlocked yet.
What does the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 season pass get you?
Nintendo, Team Ninja, and Koei Tecmo haven't fully detailed all of this, but here's what we know so far. There are 3 DLC releases planned for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. Each DLC pack includes new "playable characters, modes, and additional story." These packs must be purchased as a bundle as part of $20 expansion pass and cannot be acquired individually. The first pack will feature Marvel Knights characters - specifically, Punisher, Morbius, Blade, and Moon Knight - and is slated for release sometime in September 2019. The other two packs will revolve around the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and are due out sometime in 2019 and 2020, but no other details are known at this time.