Marvel Rivals’ new map is full of references to Spider-Man villains, but will they ever be playable?

Marvel Rivals’ latest new map returns to New York City, which is a hotbed for heroes and villains in the Marvel universe. Naturally, it’s full of a number of cool Easter eggs.

Players have been exploring the new Lower Manhattan map all day and digging through its goods, and there are quite a few references to several villains, especially those who are a pain in the back for Spider-Man. And not just Kingpin, who’s a part of the map and this season’s storyline itself.

You can find Mysterio’s helmet and cape (seen above), framed photos of characters like Norman Osborn (Green Goblin), Dr. Curt Connors (Lizard), Dr. Miles Warren (Jackal), references to Doctor Octopus, Scorpion, and more.

Spidey’s rogues gallery is especially potent, full of some of the most memorable and fun villains Marvel has ever made. So why the hell can’t we play as any of them in the game? Kingpin is in there as a prop, basically. I know that bad guys could still be added down the line, but as any Marvel Rivals player would tell you, the game seemingly has an issue with making villains a part of the hero pool.

Out of 48 playable heroes, Marvel Rivals only has about five or six true villains, and some of them aren’t fully “bad” guys either, being either anti-heroes like Deadpool or having their own “good guy” arc at some point in time. And it’s getting kind of stale.

I’m well aware that there’s an ongoing storyline being told here, and I’m enjoying it, but I would really love to see some sort of Sinister Six arc where we eventually get to play as characters like Doc Ock, or Green Goblin, or Scorpion, or even Lizard.

And although I’m a Spidey stan through and through, there’s plenty more where that came from. Villains for the X-Men (Mister Sinister, Juggernaut, Onslaught, Omega Red, etc.) or the Avengers, and every other team out there would be welcome additions. Give them to us, NetEase!

Thankfully, it appears as though The Hood may be next up on the additions to playable heroes, maybe next season. His powered-up cape can be found in the map, too, and the supervillain was also found within data mined game files around the time the game launched. This is a good start, but I personally wish to see more of Marvel’s top evil-doers playable soon.

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Prototype gears have arrived in The Division 2 with the start of Year 8 Season 1, and they currently sit at the top of all types of weapons/armors. Gears belonging to this item quality sit above High-End, Named, and other set items, making them truly unique.

Let’s find out how you can get these elusive items to improve your arsenal.

How to obtain Prototype gears in The Division 2

To obtain Prototype gears, you’ll need to participate in missions belonging to the Escalation mode. This is a new difficulty to complete missions that you’ve previously completed inside the game. Every week will have a set number of missions to finish.

There are ten different tiers for each mission. The higher the difficulty, the better your chances of getting Prototype gears. However, you can also get more of these items via the route of upgrades.

How to upgrade to Prototype gears in The Division 2

You can upgrade items starting from High-End quality to Prototype gear. To do so, you’ll need a Prototype Core. The cosen item must also be at the maximum Expertise level (30), and the item must be at maximum level (40). The item doesn’t need to be full optimized for the conversion.

Once you change an item to Prototype gear, it can no longer be optimized or recalibrated. Hence, pay full attention to its stats before spending the Prototype Core on it. However, the upgrade is worth it since your gear will improve its stats and also gain augments.

Here’s a list of augments that are currently available.

• Quantum – Provides a small chance to become temporarily immune to damage.
• Echo – Each bullet fired has a chance to deal its damage a second time.
• Atomize – Increases grenade radius and damage.
• Amalgam – Each bullet hit has a chance to apply a random status effect.
• Trapper – Increases the duration of status effects you apply.
• Entropy – Increases your Health based on a percentage of your total Armor.
• Anomaly – Skills restore a portion of the damage they deal as healing.
• Paradox – Provides a chance to refill part of your magazine while firing.
• Synesthesia – Bullet hits have a chance to slightly reduce skill cooldowns.

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