The Developers over at Second Dinner have been answering player's questions over on the Marvel Snap Discord, and we've gone through to find the most interesting answers thus far and summarized them for you here.

  • This recap covers answers given on the Discord from May 29 through June 24.
  • This is not an exhaustive recap of every answer. We've picked out answers to questions that we either felt were of the most import, or ones that were asked the most frequently (Hey there, Agatha/Ego!)
  • The transcript below covers the full answers given to the points we've summarized; for the full experience you'll have to scroll through the Discord and see what we haven't covered.
  • Love you.

Monetization

  • Monetization is a tricky topic; it's one of the hardest things to test.
  • Marvel Snap is unique among TCGs because it doesn't have booster packs or, like Clash Royale, allow you to upgrade a card's power level for money.
  • The devs were inspired by CCGs from the '90s. No one had "complete" sets and built decks based on what cards were in their collection. They wanted to recapture that feeling of experimentation as a collection grows organically over time.
  • They wanted to monetize cosmetics, but this is not an effective strategy for most games.
  • They prefer a F2P model where all players get all cards eventually, but can pay to get those cards faster. The goal is to create an awesome experience for paying and non-paying players.
  • More cards means more options, not more power.
  • They'll be trying other monetization strategies over the coming months.

Gameplay

  • There is currently no visible discard pile, but it's one of the Ui bits they'd like to add.
  • They have some cool ideas for game modes, one of which they hope to have in the game before global launch.
  • They're likely to add a practice mode vs AI at some point.
  • There's no mulligan in Marvel Snap because it would decrease variance and make games more same-y.
  • They are working to add the option to play friends before global launch.
  • There is only one tiebreaker: total power across all 3 locations.
  • They are unlikely to add rank floors beyond Infinite because it undermines the Snap mechanic; cubes are no longer meaningful for players at a rank floor.
  • They originally gave players the option to choose one of the locations in a match, but it led to significant balance issues and added complexity while reducing the fun.

Progression

  • Players that buy the season pass get access to new cards "exclusive" to the pass faster, but F2Players get those same cards eventually.
  • Season pass players get 10 XP per location won and 1 XP per turn played.
  • Ranked seasons and season passes usually end on the first Tuesday of the month.
  • Their long term plan is to release at least one new card per week. This includes season pass cards, but cards will also be added as part of Nexus events and future game modes.
  • There is no way to reset collection level if you receive cards you don't want.
  • Season chapters unlock weekly. If you started the season at the end of the month, all 4 chapters would be available immediately.
  • They limited non-Daily Quest XP because they didn't want a massive gap between casual and non-casual players.

Collection

  • They plan to add new variants every season. Art styles will vary from classic to modern.
  • There *may* be emoji-style emotes to collect that are based on Marvel characters.
  • The shop will only offer players Variant deals for cards they own.
  • Gold (the real-money currency) can be spent to buy in-game currency (credits) and Variants. They will later add other things to spend it on.
  • Daily login reward: Players can get 50 credits for free from the shop every day. They are working on making this more visible to players.
  • Mystery Box Item Drop Rates: 10% Chance for a Variant, 40% Chance for 50 Gold, 30% Chance for 100 Credits, 20% Chance for 200 Credits.
  • There will be more card backs and avatars added to the game.
  • You can play with variants of cards without owning the "base" card.
  • When you Infinity Split a card, you get a new card with the same art and a mod. If you later Split a Variant of the same card, the Split starts at Infinity Split Level 2.
  • Seasonal rewards in the Beta will be available after global launch; they will be added to the general pool for new players rather than re-running beta seasons.

Accounts

  • Accounts will have the ability to be shared across multiple devices, including PC and mobile, iOS and Android.
  • Marvel Snap has multiple regional servers with their own internal matchmaking. They may go to global servers later.
  • There is no region-lock. You should be able to play with friends cross-region.
  • Usernames are not unique; they want players to control what they're known by and make setting their name to be easy and clear when first joining the game.
  • Ben Brode's username is Ben Brode (please don't steal it).

Miscellaneous

  • There is no plan to come out with an official game guide, they expect the community to fill in the gaps.
  • There are no measures in place to prevent datamining (it would take the team away from other endeavors), but they hope people won't peek.
  • Many of the cards will have voice acting; they're in the process of adding more.
  • Brode is not the "SNAP!" voice (the current one is temporary), but we can hear him in-game currently (but only temporarily).
  • Ego can still show up in a game if one of players has Agatha Harkness in their deck. It does not matter which one takes priority (they do basically the same thing). This question was asked A LOT.

Team Answers Transcript

Quote From Marvel Snap Developers

Are the monitization methods right now not up for debate/under your control at second dinner?

Ben Brode: Monetization is obviously a tricky topic, but I'll talk about our philosophy a little.

A lot of devs got into their career because they love the craft of making games. At the same time, devs generally want to make money so that the studio can stay alive and continue to grow and attract talent, and players who enjoy the game want the studio to succeed there so that the studio keeps making more of the game they enjoy. So we’re all very aligned in creating something that keeps the lights on for everyone. 🙌

MARVEL SNAP is a pretty unique game when it comes to monetization. The classic TCG monetization method is booster packs, but that direction requires a HUGE amount of cards each year, sometimes in the 1000s, and SNAP just isn’t the kind of game that needs or would benefit from that quantity. The other big comparable genres are hero collectors or games like Clash Royale – but we don’t have the option to let you upgrade a card’s power-level because it breaks the balance in a turn-based game where the numbers are exposed. So we really had to start from scratch on how monetization should work.

One big inspiration for us was thinking back to collecting MARVEL trading cards or other CCG’s back in the early 90’s. This was a pre-internet era, and so nobody really had “complete” sets, and everyone had different decks based on whatever specific cards they’d manage to collect. It was kind of a magical time, with such a focus on collecting. We wondered what a card game that intentionally slowed down the collection experience would be like. You’d get more focus on each card, and more time to spend with each card as you collect them individually. That feeling of experimentation and invention as the collection organically grows might be possible again. It’s a pretty big departure from other digital card games, where you can just day 1 drop hundreds or thousands of dollars and acquire every card, but we think it’s pretty interesting to explore this direction.

We knew we wanted to monetize cosmetics, but in most games (and I realize this runs counter to what some players believe), this has not proven to be an effective way for games to monetize. I realize there are very high-profile examples to the opposite, but they are usually cooperative games (where you want to show off to your friends), and so giant that even small amounts of monetization per player ends up being a lot.

So how do we bridge the gap? Well, for card games, the traditional F2P model gives players access to all the cards eventually, but not immediately. Paying players get to get all the cards super fast, but F2P players end up getting those same cards after spending a bunch of extra time. We tried to adapt this philosophy in our unique progression model. You can get all the cards eventually by playing for free, but paying players get those cards faster.

One of the nice things about card games is that more cards doesn’t necessarily mean more power. It means more options. You can build a fantastic deck without every card in the game. But if you want more options faster, that’s something we feel great about providing an option for players to buy.

We’ll be trying other monetization things (like Nexus Events) over the course of the coming months, but our goal is to create an awesome experience for every player. For players who choose to pay, we want them to feel great about their purchase. For non-paying players, we want them to be able to get access to all the cards eventually while making meaningful progression.

Even though we have been playing and testing Snap for years, Monetization is one of the hardest things to test because there is so much we only learn once people are playing the game and deciding what they want to buy. So we are learning a TON right now, and we are going to keep learning and trying things out. Your feedback is super valuable as we tune this stuff and prepare for global launch! (Source)

Is there a way /can we add a way to see the discard pile? I look away from my screen for a sec and miss crucial info I can't find again

Jurgis: Yes we'd like to add that, bunch of little ui bits that would be nice (Source)

A question I'm sure you heard enough in the past, any plans for a tournament mode?

Ben Brode: we have some cool ideas for more competitive game modes (Source)

Is the game mode teased by Ben Brode likely to release after the launch of the game, or before?

Ben Brode: we are hoping for before global launch (Source)

What are the odds of us getting this new game mode in the next client patch?

Ben Brode: You should expect it to be a few months away still. (Source)

Are there any plans on adding a 'practice' mode vs ai that does not affect your rank status, enabling deck exploration and

Jurgis: Thanks for the suggestion! This is something we are likely to do (Source)

I was wondering if there was ever an option where you did let players mulligan at least one card from they starting hand?

Jurgis: With 6 turn, super-fast games, it is a bunch of extra time. It's more complexity. But mostly it's a way to decrease variance and make games more same-y. I think that'd be less fun. Variance also hurts less in this game thanks to Snap mechanic. (Source)

Are u guys making the friendlist thing / play a battle against the friends before global release

Stephen: Yes we will do our best to have the ability to play against a friend before global (Source)

Is there another tiebreaker besides total power at a location?

Ben Brode: No just the one tiebreaker - total power across all 3 locations (Source)

If there were floors I think this would add much more variety, as well as the spirit of exploration to the game. Maybe at Iron/Bronze, Platinum, and Vibranium as well as Infinite?

Stephen: We have discussed floors a lot. Unfortunately, floors bend the relationship with cubes and snapping to a point where cubes are no longer meaningful for players at the floor. We think the game is healthier and more fun when snapping and caring about cubes is meaningful (Source)

Have you considered allowing players to deckbuild One location per deck?

Ben Brode: yes, we actually started that way but it led to significant balance issues between archetypes (some archetypes have lots of really beneficial locations while other have very few), and a bunch of added complexity while mostly just reducing that fun problem-solving variance (Source)

Does this mean f2p players cant unlock the season pass???

Jurgis: It does mean that, but the new card that comes out with the season pass will eventually be available for to earn for F2P players. That's generally the difference - you can pay to get stuff faster. (Source)

The word "eventually" here worries me. Does that imply that there will be a period where only paid players have access to new cards?

Jurgis: Yes, that's what it means. But that's already true. Paid player already have access to more cards than F2P players. (Source)

How much season pass xp do you get for each game?

Stephen: 10 per location won and 1 per turn played (Source)

Will the current ranked season ends at the end of the month or at the end of the season pass?

Stephen: It ends the same time as the season pass. Usually that's the first Tuesday of a month. (Source)

When a new season is released (lets say Thor event) are you releasing multiple cards related to that characters comics?

Stephen: Long term our plan is to release 1+ cards per week. The season pass card will be one of those but others will come from nexus events or future game modes. (Source)

Is there a way to reset your collection level, and not lose $$ spent within the game? I am at level 1070, and have gotten a ton of "bad" cards.

Ben Brode: There is no way to reset your collection level. (Source)

Are all Chapters available to complete during the Season, or you only have one Chapter per week?

Ben Brode: the chapters unlock weekly. If you start the season in the last week, you'll have all 4 chapters available right away. (Source)

Do you think that ranking up and a small amount of season pass XP are enough reward to jeep playing after dailies, or is that another concern that is being discussed behind the scenes (or maybe something you're not allowed to talk about yet)?

Ben Brode: I think that's very fair feedback. We did want to have some limits (soft or hard) on this stuff in the same way that rested XP works in games like World of Warcraft, we want the first few games you play each day to be highly rewarding and then taper that down so it isn't such a massive gap in progress between casually engaged folks and hyper engaged folks. Y'all's feedback is helpful in determining how to reach these goals in ways that feel as good as they can. (Source)

How frequently will new artwork be added?

Stephen: We plan to regularly add new variants every season. Art will be a mix of marvel classics and new unique art. (Source)

Any chance we get cute emojis based of marvel characters?

Ben Brode: maaaaybe (Source)

Are variant deals only on cards you own?

Ben Brode: If you're talking about the ones at the top of the shop, yes, only on ones you own. (Source)

Is Gold going to be used for anything else except buying credits?

Ben Brode: You can buy variants! Also we will be adding Nexus Events and some other cool stuff (Source)

Do you plan to do like a daily login kinda rewards?

Ben Brode: This already exists! Hard to tell (and we'll make it clearer) but you can get 50 credits for free in the shop every day! (Source)

What are the drop rates of items in the mystery boxes?

Ben Brode: 10% Chance for a Variant

40% Chance for 50 Gold

30% Chance for 100 Credits

20% Chance for 200 Credits (Source)

Are there going to be more deck backs, and icons available?

Ben Brode: we definitely have more card back and avatars coming! (Source)

Will this be a regular thing, getting variants before the base card?

Stephen: Yes you can play with variants without the base card. There will be times you get the variant from the season pass, nexus event, etc. before you get a base card (Source)

How does upgrading a current card help with a variant?

Stephen: When you upgrade a card to Infinity, you are able to Infinity Split the card. At that point a new card with the same art + a mod (new visual effect) is created for the card you upgraded.

If you later get a variant for that character and level it up to Infinity and Infinity Split it, then that card starts at Infinity Split Level 2 instead of starting from scratch (Source)

Will everyone have access to the game by the time the first "real" season pass is released? Would be very disappointing if people missed out simply due to not being chosen for the beta or being region locked out

Jurgis: Stuff in the beta seasons will be available again once we launch globally (Source)

Could you clarify please? Do you mean the beta seasons will be repeated as the launch seasons, or that the rewards in the

Stephen: Beta rewards will go into the general pool after global so everyone will be able to access them (Source)

Q1) If a player starts playing on a mobile device and then wants to continue playing on PC, can we sync our accounts on launch?

Q2) If I play for the first year on android and then switch to iOS, can I bring my account progress?

Q3) Can I jump back and forwards from PC and mobile?

Jurgis: 1-3) Yes (Source)

can i ask about server of Marvel snap it's Global or Region Server?

Stephen: There are multiple regional servers. Matchmaking is sharded based off those regions. We may go back to global matchmaking in the future. (Source)

Will region lock be a thing?

Ben Brode: No, should be able to play cross region unless there are regions where local laws make it unlikely (Source)

Are Usernames unique?

Stephen: No, we want to enable players to be known the way they want to be known. Finding your name can be one of the most frustrating experiences when joining a game. We wanted setting your name to be easy and clear (Source)

@Ben Brode is your username in game… Ben Brode?

Ben Brode: yes please don't steal it (Source)

Any plans to come out with a game guide explaining the keywords, order of operations, etc?

Ben Brode: no plans but this is the kind of thing community pages often fill the gaps on (Source)

Why is the teams opinion/stance on datamining and third party sites/tools in general

Ben Brode: gosh i sure wish people wouldn't datamine but it would take us so much time away from rad features for us to do anything to stop it. Hopefully nobody peeks! Maintain the surprises! (Source)

Will the cards be voice acted, like hearthstone?

Ben Brode: a bunch of them are - tons more coming! (Source)

Ben, are you the voice when we snap?

TheChrisAlan: He is not the voice of the "snap" guy (this is temp placeholder btw, the real voice is coming in the next update! (and it's epic!)), however he IS currently the voice of something/someone else though! (again as a temp placeholder) (Source)

Can ego show up if someone is playing Agatha? If so then which one will take priority?

Ben Brode: yes, and uh, i don't think it matters