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

  • This recap covers answers given on the Discord from July 13 through July 17.
  • This is not an exhaustive recap of every answer. We've picked out answers to questions that we either felt were the most interesting, enlightening, or provided additional context to previous answers.
  • 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.
  • If you want to read our previous Developer Discord Recaps, they can be found here.

Upcoming Nexus Event

  • The blog post with all the information about drop rates and details should be coming this week.
  • There will also be a link to drop rates, pity timer, and odds in the shop when the Event goes live.
  • The first Nexus Event will be included with the next patch/client update.
  • There will also be balance changes in the patch.
  • They're working hard to get the patch live this week.
  • We've got a recap of the initial Nexus Event announcement here.

Australia/New Zealand

  • The beta is coming to Australia and New Zealand some time this month.

Variants

  • The plan is to add new Variants with every patch.
  • Starting with global release, all Season Pass Variants and Headline Character Variants for Nexus Events will be time limited.
  • They aren't going to have time limited Split effects, because that would encourage hoarding boosters and credits.
  • They are adding in a way to swap a Variant into all your decks by setting it as "favorite." Right now, you have to change between versions of a character deck-by-deck.
  • Some Variants don't show up in the shop right now, but not because of rarity. They want to be previewing higher rarities in shop.

Card Acquisition

  • They are getting a lot of feedback from players about the current state of card acquisition.
  • No specific updates, but they are working on improvements to the system.
  • They have no plans to release another batch of cards all at once.
  • New cards will release every 1-2 weeks starting with the upcoming Nexus Event.
  • After 8 weeks, new cards will be added to one of the collection pools (1-3).
  • If a card is added to a pool whose cards a player already owns, that card will the next one that player unlocks.
  • Ben liked a suggestion for the game to have movie promo cards.

Matchmaking

  • Matchmaking changes are coming with the next patch.
  • Players will only be matched with other players who have a similar collection score.
  • Specifically, players who only have Pool 1 cards will no longer be matched with players who have Pool 3 cards.

Locations

  • There are four levels of rarity for Locations: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Ultra Rare.
  • They can, and will, shift a location's rarity in a patch. For example, they're changing the rarity of Mindscape in the next patch.
  • Hot Locations (on Sundays) are chosen based on their synergy with new cards. Ultra Rare Locations are unlikely to be used as Hot Locations.
  • Wednesday's Featured Locations are new Locations.
  • The effect of Scarlet Witch weighs Location rarity when making its decision.

Game Modes

  • They are working on a no-stakes (unranked) mode for players who worry about losing ranks and cubes.
  • You will be able to earn boosters in no-stakes mode.
  • They don't see how a puzzle mode would work with simultaneous turns.

Miscellaneous

  • Ben says that Marvel is great to work with and gives the devs a lot of freedom. They give a lot of useful feedback, and haven't mandated any gameplay changes.
  • There will probably be a clan system in Marvel Snap, but it's a ways down the road.
  • Beta players will not get beta-exclusive avatars.
  • Ben's favorite type of cheese (for pizza) is Mozzarella.

Team Answers Transcript

Quote From Snap Developers

Can we expect that blog post this week?

Ben Brode: better to expect it next week and be happily surprise if it comes sooner (Source)

When will we be told what the pity timer will be to earn the Nexus Event Cards? I believe based on odds disclosure rulings/laws you should be required to give that information.

Ben Brode: we're still working on the blog post but hopefully soon! There will also be a link to all that stuff in the shop so you can check it out there (Source)

Any vague updates as to when to expect nexus events to start? Seems odd we haven't heard anything and there's suppose to be 2 this month..??

Stephen: They will start with our next client update. Very soon! (Source)

Are there any balance changes planned for the next patch? Nakia is definitely rough, but Ghost Rider feels awful to play against. Is he on your watch list too?

Ben Brode: Yes, Ghost Rider is on the watch list. You should definitely expect balance changes in the upcoming patch! (Source)

Can we expect a patch next week? Thanks!

Ben Brode: i think it's better to expect nothing and be happily surprised But yeah we'd love to patch next week, gods willing. (Source)

Any ETA on the Australia/NZ beta release? Is it sometime this month or at a later date?

Ben Brode: This month! (Source)

Any range when are we getting a new batch of variants? I want one for my boi Shang-Chi, hopefully one from Marcus To’s new comic book run, Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings.

Ben Brode: We are going to be adding variants I think like every patch (Source)

Will there ever be variants that are limited time? I know many players wouldn't love this but I love having things that are rare. Gives that real collection feel.

Stephen: Yes after global release all variants for season passes and the headline character variants for nexus events will be time limited (Source)

Will you guys ever have limited event split effects? Like say for the event period there's a special split effect that has a chance to roll on your cards but becomes inaccessible afterwards for a time. Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, is that what you guys are planning to do with the black and white splits for example?

Stephen: We have no plans to do this because it would encourage hoarding and waiting to upgrade. Inkify has some visual bugs and is the only reason it's disabled for now. (Source)

Will there eventually be a way to swap in variants to all your decks at once, rather than having to go to each deck to swap individually? It's a small thing, but it would be more convenient when you unlock a cool variant of a card you have in multiple decks.

Ali: Yes! That's the plan. The thinking is when you set a variant as your favorite, it will ask you if you want to swap into all decks. (Source)

1. Are there variants with a lower rate that they appear in the shop? I guess in other words, are there "rarer" variants?
2. Would it ever be possible to showcase variants in the shop at Infinity level? I think that would be more appealing than just base common and therefore might drive more purchases.

Ben Brode: There are variants that don't show up in the shop, but not sure about rarity. We want to work on previewing higher rarities! (Source)

I've asked a couple times with no response, but is the way cards are obtained being looked at at all? I'm around 1200 collection level and am still missing many staples and counters to the current meta. This game is absolutely phenomenal and I've played everyday since I got the first wave invite, but I feel like as I rave about the game to my friends I have to tell them that just as a heads up it will take a while unlock cards once they start playing. I truly feel like that is the only issue present in the game as it stands, even if I don't get a response again please, PLEASE look into this.

Ben Brode: thanks, and yeah we've been getting a lot of feedback on this. No updates just yet but I appreciate you continuing to give the feedback - it's very helpful as we continue to chat about what the future could look like (Source)

Will there be another “batch” of cards once pool 3 is exhausted?

If so, will they be added to Pool 3 or become a new Pool 4?

Stephen: We have no plans for another batch. A new Card will release every 1-2 weeks once nexus events start. 8 weeks after a card is first introduced it will be added to one of the pools (Source)

Is there a chance that in the future, cards will be added to Pool 1 or Pool 2 instead of solely Pool 3 ? As a way to allow players to explore synergies that were nerfed and now need Pool 3 cards to be good (thinking about the destroy synergy mostly here which disappeared with Nova being nerfed)

Ben Brode: if we add a card to a pool or move a card to an earlier pool, but you already have all of that pool, then the next card you get will be the new card (Source)

One my favourite memories as a kid was going to see one of the yugioh movies and getting one of the promo cards (blue-eyes shining dragon) any plans to do some tie in like that go see the new marvel movie get a barcode and get a limited edition promo card art, I love that sort of thing ♥️

Ben Brode: haha that sounds fun - thanks for the suggestion! (Source)

Players right now can glean a LOT of strategic information based on the opponent’s card rarities.

Is this a concern at all?

ie: Since rarity is directly bound to progression. Someone who has a lot of commons is a lot less likely to have X card. Thus, I should SNAP.

Ben Brode: in the upcoming patch, we will be matching players only with other players that have a similar collection score (within a range) (Source)

If this has been asked before please direct me to the answer. Why are people who dont even have a full pool one collection playing people with op pool 3 cards? Is this a bug? If not what is the philosophy behind this decision?

Ben Brode: it's not a bug, but we are changing it for next patch. You'll only match with players that have a similar collection score. (the bands aren't super tiny but for example they will keep pool 3 players away from pool 1 players) (Source)

What goes into determining whether you adjust the appearance rate of certain locations? You guys made Space Throne, Negative Zone and Nowhere more rare but not stuff like Weirdworld, Mindscape or Subterranea and I'm curious as to how the decision is made.
Edit: as in is it based on how often players T1 Retreat, large effect on W/L rate for staple decks, player sentiment from polls/surveys/QA testing etc

Ben Brode: There are actually 4 levels of rarity for locations, Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Ultra Rare. Some are for complexity reasons, some are just because some locations are more fun as a sometimes-spice. Mindscape is actually getting a rarity bump in the next patch.(Source)

Hi, I love the one- or two-day "pocket" metas we get with featured and hot locations, as it promotes strong deck building and offers a different experience than a normal day. Variety is great! How do you choose what locations will be hot or featured and could we ever see a rare location (i.e. Worldship) as a hot/featured?

rada: Featured locations are new locations, and hot locations are selected with new characters in mind. We try to lean towards locations that have interesting deckbuilding implications where it makes sense. I don't think many or any of the top rarity locations would ever be hot but I won't say never! (Source)

We know certain locations (like Ego) are less likely to show up. Does Scarlet Witch use the same tiered system for the location she generates? A different one? Or is she entirely random (meaning all locations have the same probability of being generated by her)?

rada: Scarlet Witch's pulls are weighted (Source)

Asked before the season ended but, I’ll ask again. Is there a chance we can see highest rank achieved for the season vs rank at reset time?
Could give someone that hits 80 as an example the freedom spend the last day or so just messing around and not worry if they hit 78 which would then be treated as being 70 therefore, falling to 40 vs they could have just stopped playing and stayed at 80 and save 10 levels.

Ben Brode: no plans for that although we are working on a no-stakes mode. It's weird to hit a high rank, then slide down and have your rank go up after the reset (Source)

Any idea on if we can earn boosters in no stakes mode? It would be nice to level up some of my underutilized cards

Ben Brode: yes, that is the plan (Source)

Will we get a new game mode which acts as a puzzle solver? Like in chess games there's a mode where we get a mid-game board and we have to win from there. In marvel snap, we could have a game board at some turn and some cards already on the board and few cards in our hand and we have to win from there.

Ben Brode: i'm not sure how this would work with simultaneous turns (Source)

I am curious to what extent the Marvel IP comes with restrictions on the actual game content/mechanics?

E.g. a developer friend described it being a PITA working with Star Wars due to really nitty gritty rules like "Darth Vader can't be weaker than so and so". Are you dealing with anything like that?

Ben Brode: Marvel has been super awesome to work with. There is a lot of freedom in the Marvel Universe. I mean look at all these crazy ass variants we made together. They love the game and give a lot of great feedback, but I don't think they've ever mandated a gameplay change at any point, ever. They just help us make the game awesome, it really feels like we're all on the same team. (Source)

Will there be clans in the game?

Ben Brode: probably someday! (Source)

Is it true that all of us beautiful beta testers will be getting an exclusive Ben Brode as Captain America avatar at the end of beta? And if that isn't true, is it because we will be getting a Stephen as Iron Man avatar instead? Or is it a Daniela as Captain Marvel avatar?!

rada: I wish [Image of Captain America laughing] (Source)

What is Ben's and/or Jomaro Kindred's favorite type of Cheese?

Ben Brode: FOR WHAT USES

because I wanna make homemade pizza and I wanna use Ben Brode's favorite cheese for it

Ben Brode: for pizza? Mozarella! (Source)