Following the release of the "Future Imperfect" DLC, Marvel's Avengers is finally starting to receive new content at a fairly consistent rate. Since announcing its roadmap for the next few months, players have enjoyed a new DLC story and character in Hawkeye, plus brand new Tachyon Anomalies that let multiples of the same hero play together online. The next DLC event, the "Red Room Takeover," is coming soon, and a precursor event called the "Rooskaya Protocols" is giving players some incentive to get back into the action. However, while one problem is being fixed, another has become more evident.
"The Rooskaya Protocols" doesn't offer much in the way of story content, save for a few codex entries. Instead, it offers a mission chain for each hero over the course of 14 days. As each player completes a character mission chain, they are rewarded resources and an animated nameplate themed after the event. Unfortunately, this reward makes a large issue clear: Marvel's Avengers simply doesn't provide enough incentive to grind through each character's missions.
In the marketplace, players have the option to purchase event-themed animated nameplates for each character. There are also event-themed skins available that feature each character in a red and black recolor. On their own, these items are fine. However, when players complete their chain, they are rewarded with an animated nameplate that is only a picture of the Black Widow symbol instead of any reward tailored to the characters.
The problem here is that the reward for playing the game is meager, while the actual prizes are hidden behind a paywall. Each suit costs 900 credits, while each nameplate is 200. Assuming that a player has zero credits, it would cost over $10 per character to obtain the event items. It'll take the average player hard work over the course of days to complete the mission chains, so not offering even a small chance to earn a suit makes it hard to justify putting in the effort.
This isn't the first time that the game has run into this issue, as fans were upset when it was announced that skins based on each character's appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would cost real-world money. With "The Rooskaya Protocols" lacking real rewards for players unless they spend money, it seems that this is becoming a trend for the struggling live service game.
Marvel's Avengers has shown that its issues don't lie in gameplay or story, but rather with its rewards and marketplace. Fans love things like skins that allow them to customize their favorite heroes. New events placing the best content behind a paywall will result in fewer players returning with each new update. The game has a long road following its rocky launch, and to their credit, the developers are working to make this the game fans were hoping it would be. However, for this to come to fruition, Marvel's Avengers needs to find a way to properly reward those loyal players who keep coming back to the game -- before they turn their backs on it for good.