X-Men Legends: Character Building FAQ
Version 0.20
by shadowTerp
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Contents
===============================================================================
1. Introduction
1.1 - Known Game Glitches
2. Character Overview
2.1 - The Mutant Pattern
2.2 - Mutant Stereotypes
2.3 - Mutant Powers: 2 or 3?
2.4 - Passive (and Common) Skills
2.5 - Stat Point Allocation
2.6 - Team Building 101
3. Detailed Character Analysis
3.1 - Beast
3.2 - Colossus
3.3 - Cyclops
3.4 - Emma Frost
3.5 - Gambit
3.6 - Iceman
3.7 - Jean Grey
3.8 - Jubilee
3.9 - Magma
3.10 - Nightcrawler
3.11 - Psylocke
3.12 - Rogue
3.13 - Storm
3.14 - Wolverine
4. Miscellaneous
4.1 - Version History
4.2 - Contact Information
4.3 - Credit
4.4 - Legal
===============================================================================
1. Introduction
===============================================================================
After using a number of FAQs over the internet, I decided it was finally time
to write one. I couldn't believe that no one had created an X-Men Legends
Character FAQ, so I decided to take a stab at it. This FAQ discusses
strategies and builds for characters, and strategies and recommended teams.
Note that if you use this guide, an easy game will become even easier.
1.1 - Known Game Glitches
-------------------------
- Beast will sometimes not appear as a playable character for the second
mission.
- The X-Box version is missing Colossus's Comic Book.
- The Grab Bag will sometimes cost more money than it says it will (the cost is
based on your level and the game probably is jumping between the increases).
- Yes, both of Emma Frost's 4th and 5th level of Psionic Fury says 50-63 added
damage. No, I don't know if the 5th level actually increases to 80-100 like
it should.
- Spoiler: When the Healer is kidnapped by Marrow, you can still buy things
from him. Apparently, he escapes just long enough to complete the
transaction.
- It's well documented that there isn't a "New Game+" option when you complete
the game and you can't go back to the Danger Room from the last Save Point in
the game. I have no idea why the developers decided to do that. Save at the
second to last save point to complete all of the Danger Room Discs.
===============================================================================
2. Character Overview
===============================================================================
The discussion in this section is a broad overview of the game from a character
standpoint. A large amount of information here applies to all characters and
should be understood before progressing to the Detailed Character Analysis.
2.1 - The Mutant Pattern
------------------------
Every character in X-men Legends follows a similar pattern (I'm assuming this
was done to make the characters more balanced... although it didn't work very
well). Each character has three mutant powers: the first two (let's call them
A and B) are attack powers, while the third (C) is a defense/support power.
Usually Power A is directed at one opponent, while Power B can hit multiple
(there are some exceptions to this rule). The first one is slightly less
expensive to execute. Power C is always time-based; lasting between 10 and 40
seconds. For most tanks, this power applies only to themselves, but most of
the other characters' Power C will benefit the entire party. The Xtreme Power
is a highly damaging attack that hits multiple characters on the screen (if not
all of them).
All of the characters skill point, level and energy requirements for the mutant
powers follows a standard formula. That formula is as follows...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skill Points L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Power A 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 -- --
M. Power B 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 -- --
M. Power C 2 1 1 -- -- 2 1 1 -- -- 2 1 1
Xtreme Power 2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum Level L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Power A 1 3 5 7 9 15 17 19 21 23 30 -- --
M. Power B 5 7 9 11 13 20 22 24 26 28 30 -- --
M. Power C 5 7 9 -- -- 14 16 18 -- -- 23 25 27
Xtreme Power 15 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Usage L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Power A 10 15 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 70 -- --
M. Power B 25 30 35 40 45 55 60 65 70 75 85 -- --
M. Power C 60 70 80 -- -- 100 110 120 -- -- 140 150 160
Xtreme Power 1 Xtreme Token
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that every single "Level 1" in the mutant abilities takes two skill points
to activate, while every other skill level takes only one. In addition, every
character has 5-6 passive abilities, all of which take only a single point for
each skill level. As a result, each X-Man has 64-69 skill point slots
available to spend.
Note that each character receives a single skill/stat point per level and an
additional skill/stat point on every level that's a multiple of 5 (5, 10, 15,
20, etc). With a level cap of 45, that's a total of 54 stat and skill points
available for use (not counting the occasional point that's found in the game).
This means that you are going to have to make some decisions on what skills you
aren't going to develop and which stats you are going to spend more on.
2.2 - Mutant Stereotypes
------------------------
X-Men Legends has several categories that the characters fit into. I'll
mention these "stereotypes" quite a bit, so you'll need to understand what my
definition of each is. We'll discuss the major categories first, and then deal
with the specialty categories.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Tanks | Support | Bombers |
|-----------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------|
| Beast | Emma Frost Gambit* | Cyclops |
| Colossus | Iceman* Magma | Jean Grey |
| Rogue | Nightcrawler Psylocke^ | Jubilee^ |
| Wolverine | | Storm |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tanks are short range fighters that should be in the front lines. They can
give physical damage and can take it, since they usually have a "Personal
Shield" to reduce damage. Unfortunately, that shield never helps anyone else,
which means its tempting not to put points into it. Also, because Tanks don't
primarily put points into Focus, activating that shield is going to cost a
large percentage of your overall energy. Ideally you'd want to put a backpack
that increases damage, but one that reflects or reduces damage can be a good
substitute for the shield. Most likely you'll put a DNA Generator on them so
that they'll recover energy, so you can use your shield. Most players will
want to control a tank (since the other characters will follow you around).
All Tank AI Levels should be set to Aggressive.
Support Characters are characters that are flexible enough to go on the front
lines, but usually prefer to be right behind them. They have both hand-to-hand
and melee attacks, although they tend to be better at one than the other.
Typically the melee attack hits multiple targets at once, and usually causes
some sort of status change (either stunning them or confusing them). To use
them effectively in hand-to-hand, you'll have to spend passive ability points
increasing their hand-to-hand damage. Some Support Characters can become Tanks
if you customize them right (marked with a * above), while others can become
Bombers (marked above with a ^).
Think of Bombers as the Wizards of your party; they should use their mutant
powers from the "back row" to annihilate opponents. Bombers usually have a
good shield that benefits the entire party (although sometimes the computer AI
doesn't seem to use it much). While some have passive skills that increases
their hand-to-hand attacks, that should not be their main attack, as their
mutant powers are much more devastating. Wizards should spend as many points
in Focus as possible, because the best defense is a really good offense,
especially in this game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Boosters/Shielders | Confusers | Leaders | Welders | Bridgers/Fliers |
|--------------------|------------|---------|---------|-----------------------|
| Cyclops Jubilee | Emma Frost | Cyclops | Cyclops | Iceman Nightcrawler |
| Gambit Psylocke | Jean Grey | Storm | Magma | Magma Rogue |
| Iceman Storm | Jubilee | | Storm | Jean Grey Storm |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boosters are characters who have a Mutant Power C that benefits the entire
party's attack or defense points (or hurts all enemies). These characters are
especially good in crowd control parties (see below), since they keep you alive
longer or make your normal punches and kicks more effective. The computer AI
seems to be very good about activating these powers. Obviously, if you don't
spend points in Mutant Power C for these characters, don't think of them this
way.
Confusers are characters who have a Mutant Power that adds confusion or
command, which makes it hard to execute combinations. Confusers work very
well together, as you tend to see entire crops of bad guys walking aimlessly
around. Combining Confusers with Tanks is a good combination for Crowd
Control Parties (see below).
Leaders are those characters who have the Passive Skill Leadership, which adds
damage and experience for using a combinations. Combinations add both damage
and experience to your characters. Note that Leadership affects all
combinations in the party, not just ones done with the characters that have
Leadership. Since combos should be aimed for almost all the time, you should
almost ALWAYS try to have at least one of these characters in your party.
Welders are those characters who have a Mutant Ability that welds. There are
only a couple of missions where this is needed, but when it is needed it's
critical. Fortunately, both Leaders are Welders, which makes this pretty much
a non-issue.
Bridgers and Fliers allow you to get around certain environment challenges in
missions. Bridgers are those characters who have a Mutant Ability that creates
a bridge, while Fliers have the Passive Skill Flight. Bridgers are absolutely
critical early, when the only way around a gap is to build a bridge. Once the
Fliers place three skill points into Flight (and can pick up teammates), the
Bridgers ability isn't as important. Fliers are also useful for reaching
hidden items that you otherwise couldn't find. You should always have a Flier
with you, and usually have a Bridger with you. Note that Nightcrawler doesn't
really fly, but his teleportation ability is even more useful.
2.3 - Mutant Powers: 2 or 3?
----------------------------
One of the real decisions in character building is to decide whether you are
going to obtain all three of the mutant abilities for each character (thus
potentially spending 40 of your allocated 54 points) OR to only develop two and
spend the rest on the passive abilities. Yes, you could partially build up
some abilities, but any ability that causes damage (or prevents damage) will
not be very useful at the harder points in the game unless it is fully built up
(there are some exceptions to this).
Unfortunately, this is a decision you need to make early, especially if you
want the computer to control that player. The AI likes to make use of any
mutant attack power, even if you haven't spent many points on it. As a result,
the computer will waste energy (and time) trying to use something that isn't
effective. Now granted, that isn't a big deal (the game is not hard by any
stretch of the imagination), but chances are you will regret spending points
on something you didn't use much. It should also be noted that the AI does not
use energy potions AT ALL, meaning that any energy waste can be irritating.
The one exception to this is abilities that do not directly damage your
opponent (like Jubilee's Photo Flash Tree or Emma Frost's Confuse/Command
Tree). These abilities are still useful when only powered up a little bit
(although their range will be small).
2.4 - Passive (and Common) Skills
---------------------------------
Every character has 5-7 passive abilities to use. The passive powers either (a)
provide a "fifth" mutant power (usually related to movement), (b) increase the
effectiveness of your mutant powers, (c) increase the effectiveness of your
basic punch/kick or (d) increase your character's stats. You should note that
Cyclops and Psylocke are the only characters that don't have a "fifth" mutant
power. Usually the passive abilities are similar to the mutant powers in that
once you start spending, you should keep on spending (but there are exceptions
to this rule that I will note).
Of the passive abilities, all characters have three in common: Toughness,
Mutant Mastery, and Critical Strike. Toughness increases your health points
(+10%, +15%, +20%) and Mutant Mastery increases your energy points (+10%, +15%,
+20%). The 10% bonus you get for spending the first point in each of these is
more substantial than the 5% bonus you get for spending the last two points.
Unless you really need the life or energy, I don't recommend spending your
skill points there (as usual, there are exceptions).
Critical Strike increases your chance to do a critical attack (+2%, +4%, +6%,
+8%, +10%). Except where noted, I don't recommend spending points in this, as
other abilities are more useful. Bombers should NEVER spend points in this at
all. As always, there are a couple of exceptions to this and I'll note them
where appropriate. Note that the computer loves putting points in each of the
common areas, so if you allow the computer to automatically decide what to do,
there's a good chance the points are going into one of these three areas.
2.5 - Stat Point Allocation
---------------------------
Each character has four stats: Strike, Agility, Body and Focus. As you can
guess, Strike affects the amount of damage you can deal (your attack rating).
Agility determines how well you avoid attacks (defense rating), but NOT your
character movement. Body affects your health points, while Focus affects your
energy points AND regeneration.
You will discover that you should be primarily using your mutant abilities to
attack, which means that every character should be placing AT LEAST 25% of
points into Focus (especially because your mutant powers' cost will continue to
increase as shown above). In general, Tanks should emphasize Strike first,
then Body and Focus, leaving the remaining for Agility. Bombers should
emphasize Focus first, then Agility and Body, with very few (if any) in Strike.
Support characters still should emphasize Focus first, but then balance between
Agility, Body, and Strike.
For those who think that Strike can be ignored for all but tanks, you are
(pretty much) correct. Most of these characters have a passive ability to add
energy damage to your punches and kicks and that ability will do more damage
than adding some points into Strike. However, your punches and kicks will
mostly miss without some points into Strike, as this determines your ability
to hit. This is especially true if you are using that character as a short-to-
mid range Support character.
One thing to consider is that the computer NEVER uses energy potions, which
means that when an AI-controlled character runs out of energy (Mask of Xorn not
withstanding), they will just punch and kick. This is one of the biggest AI
laws in the game and is the biggest argument to place DNA regenerators on all
characters you (or a friend) don't control. Therefore, unless you are going
to switch to those characters are make them swallow a potion, or don't care
that the AI will punch and kick a little bit with that character (and don't
care if they miss), you will need some Strike. Which means, most of you will
happily ignore Strike for 750% of your characters...
It should be noted that the Auto allocation of stat points by the computer is
somewhat interesting. The computer will place a point in the category that it
thinks is lowest for that character. If you are having a hard time deciding
between two stats, it can be interesting to press "Auto" just to see what the
computer suggests. PLEASE make sure you undo that auto generation from the
Skill Page (pressing "Auto" automate decisions on BOTH pages). In general
though, if you are trying to decide between Focus and something else, put it in
Focus.
2.6 - Team Building 101
-----------------------
The obvious thing to state here is that a party should have one from each major
stereotype, but that's not really true. You should always have one Tank and
one Bomber, but beyond that, it doesn't really matter what you do. I don't
recommend more than two Tanks, but other than that, almost any combination of
characters can be effective.
There are two goals for parties in this game. You either (a) try and hit
combos, or (b) try for crowd control and confusion. Combo Parties work well in
all situations, but especially against Bosses and Sentinels, while Crowd
Control Parties work well against the general populace (especially the Survival
Missions), but not so much against Boss Characters.
If you are trying for combinations, you'll need to learn the timing of
attacking and requesting aid from your teammates. You should have one (if not
both) Leaders (which will give you two Bombers) for extra experience and
damage. A Tank and <insert random character here> will fill out your party
nicely. You should stay away from Confusers (unless you never spent any points
in that mutant ability), as they make combinations much harder. Combination
parties will go through a lot more energy, since you MUST use a mutant attack
to have a combination.
Crowd Control is more of a button mashing style. Boosters and Confusers will
make this type of party more successful, but are not required. You'll find
that more characters are suited to this style of party, but you'll need to be
careful, as the extra damage that the Combination parties do will not be
present. This type of party is good for certain danger room missions
(especially survival missions), but is really not the way you should be playing
the story missions.
Note that a party should always contain at least one Welder, and one Bridger or
one Flier. Welding only occurs in a couple of missions (read a Walkthrough if
you really want to know which ones). The need for bridges happens much more
frequently (especially early in the game). While you can get around bridges
with Fliers once they can carry teammates, it tends to be a little cumbersome.
Note that fliers will help you reach hidden items, but the Flight ability
doesn't do much else.
===============================================================================
3. Detailed Character Analysis
===============================================================================
This section analyses each character's abilities, providing thoughts for
allocation of skill and stat points. It also provides teaming recommendations
and other notes about each character.
3.1 - Beast
-----------
Type of Character: Tank
When Obtained: After First Mission
Skill Point Slots: 66
3.2 - Colossus
--------------
Type of Character: Tank
When Obtained: After Nuclear Plant Mission
Skill Point Slots: 66
3.3 - Cyclops
-------------
Type of Character: Bomber (Booster, Leader, Welder)
When Obtained: Midway in First Mission
Skill Point Slots: 68
3.4 - Emma Frost
----------------
Type of Character: Support (Confuser)
When Obtained: After Nuclear Plant Mission
Skill Point Slots: 67
3.5 - Gambit
-----------
Type of Character: Support (Booster)
When Obtained: After Third Mission
Skill Point Slots: 69
Description
-----------
Gambit is one of the hardest characters to figure out how to level up, plus he
comes in somewhat late (you already have 9 playable characters) and seems to be
a copy of Jubilee, so he tends not to be used much. He has number of abilities
that add damage to his attacks, but it can still seem like he isn't doing all
that much damage. He also has the standard 3/5/7 projectile melee attack that
starts out slow, but becomes more effective later on. Similar to Jubilee, his
"fifth" mutant power allows him to charge barrels and other objects, and cause
them to explode, which can be useful in spots, but it's hard to want to place
points there.
It would seem that he has a little bit of everything, but he's doesn't excel at
any of it... That's not true, however. And he's not a copy of Jubilee, even
though they have some of the same abilities. Jubilee is a much better ranged
character, while Gambit is much better up close (while having some ranged
abilities as well).
While Gambit's punches and kicks are not very effective (compared to most
short-to-mid range fighters), his staff attacks are (especially when combined
with Staff Master). That's right, he actually has two different types of
physical attacks: staff attacks and non-staff attacks (aka - punches and
kicks). He has two staff attacks, a thrust (press B, then A to execute) and a
spinning staff attack (press A, then B, then A to execute). These combinations
seem to be only unique to him, and do quite a bit more damage. Any other
combination of attacks will only cause him to throw punches and kicks.
Fortunately, his best offensive boosting skill (the Kinetic Boost tree) affects
all of his physical attacks (as well as the entire party's), so you don't have
to worry about pulling of the exact button sequence to be effective.
Mutant Powers
-------------
Charged Card/Charged Shuffle/Card Legend is Gambit's version of the 3/5/7
projectile attack that almost 1/2 of the characters have. It doesn't do as
much knockback as Jubilee's or Psylocke's (nor can he power it up like they
can), but does more than Magma's or Iceman's. It's nice to have the
flexibility when you need it, so it's probably worth investing some points in
(because the computer will use it regardless of whether you put additional
points or not). I would only power it up enough to get 5 cards, or go the full
way and get 7. Definitely an optional power.
Staff Slam/Staff Detonation/Staff Legend is Gambit's best attack move. It
builds quite nicely (doing up to 250 points of damage) and is one of the best
knockback attacks of the entire game. There is a little delay as Gambit jumps
up, but that delay provides a good combination time for characters who attack
your target quickly. I recommend filling it out as soon as possible.
Kinetic Boost/Kinetic Amplification/Kinetic Mastery is the only power in the
game that improves an entire party's speed. The Tanks will be grateful
(*cough* Colossus *cough*) for the speed boost, plus the extra damage. It also
helps Gambit pull of his spinning staff attack more often, since if he gets hit
in the middle, you have to start the sequence over again. As a result, this
tree makes Gambit an excellent booster and a good support character. Highly
recommended.
Passive Abilities
-----------------
Gambit has two passive abilities to increase attack damage: Kinetic
Strike/Kinetic Fury and Staff Master. KS/KF increases damage to all of his
punches and kicks, but not to Staff attack, and it isn't much of a boost for 6
skill points (only 25 points when maxed out). Staff Master adds over 100 points
of damage to his staff attacks... but unfortunately, NOT to Staff Slam. Both
of these passive abilities can be useful, but they are rather expensive
considering the return investment. These are good abilities to place points in
if you are ignoring one of his Mutant Abilities (especially if you are ignoring
his Charged Card tree) or you are focusing him to mainly be a hand-to-hand,
non-Mutant attack character. Obviously, if you aren't going to take the time
to learn his Staff Attacks, don't bother with Staff Master.
Overload is useful if you want to use Gambit as a ranged character and you like
chucking objects at enemies. It would make sense if Overload added damage to
his Charged Card tree, but frustratingly, it doesn't. It is a useful ability
in spots, but since most of you will use Gambit as a short range character,
most of you won't spend points here. If you using him as a ranged character,
this is a good investment.
Toughness and Critical Strike are worth investing in if you plan to use Gambit
like a Tank. Gambit's defense is not real high, meaning that he's going to
need health and CS provides (yet another) he can add damage, but this time to
all attacks. Besides, if you ignore Overload and the Charged Card tree, you'll
have enough points to fill both of these out. Invest in Mutant Mastery if you
are planning to use Gambit as more of a ranged character or you really need the
extra energy.
Team Building
-------------
Assuming you place points in Kinetic Boost tree, Gambit's abilities will help
most Tanks (especially the slow ones), so you'll want to place a couple of
tanks with him. This is why you'll want to invest in the Charged Card tree or
Overload, so you can still attack when there is no way to get to your Tank
characters. The Staff Slam tree works good with Combination Parties, so don't
be afraid to use him there, either.
3.6 - Iceman
------------
Type of Character: Support (Booster, Bridger)
When Obtained: After First Mission
Skill Point Slots: 69
Description
-----------
There are some who will vote for Iceman as the best character of the game and
it's hard for me to argue. He certainly is one of the most flexible. Iceman
can either stand back and freeze opponents to death or activate Ice Armor and
become another tank in your party - by going toe-to-toe with opponents. Not to
mention that he builds bridges, making him a must have early in the game.
Quite simply, he is up there among the most versatile and best characters to
play as.
The versatility does come at a price, as early on you may want to ignore one of
his mutant powers to increase the effectiveness of the others. Fortunately, he
has abilities which tie together well, so it's not difficult to decide to
ignore abilities in pairs. He's one of the few characters that can be very
effective with a couple of different builds.
Mutant Powers
-------------
Freeze Blast/Deep Freeze/Legend Freeze allows Iceman to slow and freeze
enemies. It starts out a little weak, providing only slowness and hitting one
character. Eventually, it freezes enemies (once they thaw they are still
slowed for a time) and can hit multiple enemies at once. Note that there is no
damage caused by this ability. A very useful power that works exceeding well
when protecting characters in the Danger Room. Highly Recommended.
Ice Shards/Ice Spikes/Legend Spikes is Iceman's 3/5/7 projectile attack
(similar to Magma, Gambit, Jubilee and Psylocke). Like the others, it takes
awhile to get this going, but you will see benefits if you spend the points.
Ice Shards doesn't provide any knockback or stun (like the others) but having
Point Blank Shot means they can be pretty effective. If you want to have
Iceman have an distance attack that damages, spend points here.
Ice Armor/Ice Equipment/Ice Forge might be the best armor in the game. Not
only does it among the best at reducing damage (-50 when maxed), but it also
provides a small amount of touch damage, and allies get a small amount of
increased damage as well. Note that it doesn't guard against knockback, but
you can't have everything. This allows Iceman to be a short-to-mid range
character. Highly recommended.
Passive Abilities
-----------------
Code Smash/Cold Crush (CS/CC) is a must if you want Iceman to become an
effective hand-to-hand fighter. Add in Critical Strike as a bonus, and
Iceman's punches and kicks are as effective as any other tank's in the game.
Toughness is a nice addition as well, considering that his defense will run out
on occasion. You shouldn't spend point in CS, if you didn't spend points in
CS/CC.
Point Blank Shot (PBS) is a given if you spent points in the Ice Shards tree.
If you didn't, ignore PBS as Freeze Blast does no damage, so there's nothing to
improve. Ice Tracks is a fun ability (Iceman's "fifth" power", but very energy
consuming. It costs less energy just to get in there and punch them or sling
projectiles at them. No matter what build of Iceman you do, you should invest
at least one point into MM (Iceman uses energy a lot).
Team Building
-------------
Iceman's freezing ability is great for either Combinations or Crowd Control.
If you use either the Ice Armor tree or the Freeze Blast tree, he pairs great
with Tanks who could use a little extra damage or opponents to stand still.
Having both makes him a Tank's best friend. He is another character who can be
useful almost anywhere.
Possible Builds
---------------
Tank Build: Concentrate on the Legend Freeze Tree, Ice Armor Tree, Cold
Smash/Crush, Critical Strike, and Toughness. Ice Tracks is a nice secondary
ability. With this build, he will be more effective than most Tanks at
"Tanking" - provided you remember to keep his Ice Armor activated. Ignore the
Ice Shards tree and Point Blank Shot.
Ranged Build: Concentrate on the Legend Freeze Tree, Ice Shards Tree, Point
Blank Shot, and Mutant Mastery. Ice Tracks, Ice Armor, and Cold Smash are nice
secondary skills, but only do two of them. A point of Toughness is nice, too.
Iceman isn't as tank friendly this way, but he's a good mid-range fighter.
3.7 - Jean Grey
---------------
Type of Character: Bomber (Confuser, Flier, Shielder)
When Obtained: After First Mission
Skill Point Slots: 69
3.8 - Jubilee
-------------
Type of Character: Bomber/Support (Confuser, Shielder)
When Obtained: After Second Mission
Skill Point Slots: 68
3.9 - Magma
-----------
Type of Character: Support (Bridger, Welder)
When Obtained: After Second Danger Room Mission
Skill Point Slots: 67
3.10 - Nightcrawler
-------------------
Type of Character: Support (Teleporter)
When Obtained: After Second Mission
Skill Point Slots: 68
3.11 - Psylocke
---------------
Type of Character: Support/Bomber (Shielder)
When Obtained: After NYC Riots
Skill Point Slots: 64
Description
-----------
I've heard Psylocke described as a combination of Jean Grey and Wolverine, but
in terms of the game, she's more of a combination of Jean Grey and Gambit
(IMO). In short, she is a short-to-mid range offensive machine; one of the best
offense attackers in the entire game. She does large amounts of damage
(killing most in a single blow) and stunning the few enemies she doesn't kill.
Psylocke's downfall is that she comes in so late in the game (about 70% of the
way through) that most people will ignore her. It is unfortunate that she
comes in so late, because she is amazingly useful.
To make her most effective, you'll need to add points to her passive abilities
which add significant damage to her attacks. However, because she comes late
and has the least amount of skill slots (it seems the designers forgot to give
her a sixth passive skill), it's easy to customize her to do that. She also
has a shield, which provides Bombers some extra energy.
There is some question as to whether she has two physical attacks, similar to
Gambit (her punches and kicks and her psychic blade). From what I can tell,
all of her melee attacks are based on the same damage scale (even though she is
using her blade).
Mutant Powers
-------------
Psychic Slash/Psychic Hammer/Psychic Legend is Psylocke's one hit attack,
similar to Rogue's Southern Strike or Colossus's Power Smash (same windup
animation). It doesn't do as much damage as their does alone, but when you add
the Blade Master passive ability, it's very close. The best thing is that it
adds mental damage, so it's effective against physically resistant foes. Not
her best ability, but it isn't bad at all.
Psychic Bolts/Psychic Spikes/Legend Bolts is Psylocke's 3/5/7 projectile
attack, similar to Iceman's, Jubilee's, Magma's, and Gambit. However, it is
the most useful projectile attack in the game, as adding points in Blade Master
also boost the damage of these projectiles, makes this attack VERY powerful (7
blades causing about 250 damage each when maxed out). It also stuns your
opponents meaning those that aren't dead soon will be. Highly recommended.
Psychic Defense/Psychic Armor/Psychic Wall is one of the few group shields in
the game (Jean Grey and Storm have the others). While it's not bad, it's main
focus is to prevent MENTAL damage. Having a hard time remembering who attacked
you mentally? That's because there aren't many. It's useful in certain spots
(especially when fully powered up, increasing all character's Focus by 30), but
is her least valuable mutant skill (and takes away energy points that could be
making Psychic Blades).
Passive Abilities
-----------------
Psionic Strike/Psionic Fury boosts her melee attacks (it's an exact copy of
Jean Grey's). However, since she going to be a little more towards the front
lines, this ability is more important for Psylocke than it is for Jean Grey,
but not critical. Blade Master increase BOTH of her mutant attack damage, and
is one of the biggest bonuses in the entire game (adding over 200 points of
damage when maxed out). Unless you want to make Psylocke weaker, this is a
must have.
Critical Strike is nice for Psylocke, but PS/PF is preferred. In fact,
Psylocke can only be built two ways in my opinion, either placing points in
PS/PF and CS, or placing points in the Psychic Defense tree. Toughness and
Mutant Mastery are quite valuable, she can't take too much damage and she can't
have enough energy points. However, considering how few enemies will actually
get to touch her, Toughness isn't as important as MM.
Interestingly enough, Psylocke only has 5 passive abilities. I'm surprised
there isn't something to increase her martial arts, but I guess the designers
thought she was powerful enough already, and they would be right. She also has
no "fifth" mutant skill (one of only two characters who don't).
Team Building
-------------
Psylocke is useful - period. Both of her mutant attacks work well for combos,
and her Psychic Bolts tree is excellent for crowd control as well. If you use
her Psychic Defense tree, all characters will appreciate the boost in Focus and
the resistance to knockback. Keep her energy high and you won't regret using
her.
3.12 - Rogue
------------
Type of Character: Tank (Flier)
When Obtained: After First Mission
Skill Point Slots: 66
3.13 - Storm
------------
Type of Character: Bomber (Flier, Leader, Shielder, Welder)
When Obtained: After First Mission
Skill Point Slots: 69
Description
-----------
Quite simply put, Storm is the best character in the game. She combines
devastating distance attacks with Leadership to help combinations. Her
Lightning Attacks are the only attack besides Jean Grey's Teleknesis that
doesn't require direct line of sight to hit, and is VERY effective in combos.
Her tornado attack are quite damaging and may be the most fun to sit back and
watch of any in the game (works very well for combo and crowd control). She
flies and welds, can add damage to her hand-to-hand attacks, and has a very
good full party shield. The only downside to her is that she can only allocate
54 of her 69 skill points (unless you give her a couple extra).
3.14 - Wolverine
----------------
Type of Character: Tank
When Obtained: Beginning of Game
Skill Point Slots: 68
Description
-----------
Wolverine is the tank that the majority of players will use throughout the
game, with good reason: He is the only character in the game that can heal
himself without potions. This is especially important early on in the game
when the game is the toughest and you have only a small amount of potions that
your team can hold.
Wolverine is one of the faster tanks in the game (the fastest if you place
points in the Feral Rage Tree) and does a decent amount of damage (but you have
to focus on Strike to really make him effective). Due to his speed, Logan is
(IMO) the best true tank character for combinations in the game. His biggest
weaknesses is that he has no ability to reduce damage taken (the only tank that
can't... but that's the price for his healing ability) and he has no distance
attack (although Claw Flurry will cause him to run across the screen).
Mutant Powers
-------------
Brutal Slash/Eviscerate/Legend Slash is an excellent one shot damage attack.
Comparing to other such attacks, Wolverine seems to get this off faster than
Rogue's Southern Strike and Colossus's Power Smash (the wind-up animation is
less) and it does equivalent damage to both. It works exceedingly well for
combos.
Claw Flurry/Claw Frenzy/Legend Frenzy serves as his multiple hit/multiple enemy
attack, although it can be a little random and little hard to get used to early
on. It will eventually increase to five attacks (meaning that if all five hit
the same target, it will do twice the amount of damage as Legend Slash).
However, it's a little hard to control as Wolverine will sprint across the
screen when this is activated.
Feral Rage/Berserker Rage/Unstoppable Rage gives Wolverine a movement and stat
boost (when fully powered, it increases everything but Focus by 5) for a period
of time. This is useful when you need to do a lot of damage to numerous
characters quickly. However, if you really like the quickness, you could just
place a Muscle Accelerator on him instead of spending points here (and spend
the points elsewhere). This is a useful tree, but not as useful as his main
two attacks (in my opinion), and will eat through his energy points a good bit
(Focus is most likely not going to be Wolverine's main stat).
Passive Abilities
-----------------
Sharpness and Healing Factor are critical for Wolverine. Sharpness increases
the damage to both of his claw mutant attacks (which is especially needed early
on for Claw Flurry) and Healing Factor is what allows him to heal. The only
reason you wouldn't max either of these all the way is that you want to
challenge yourself (or make Wolverine less useful). Critical Strike is a nice
addition, but only when maxed out and it's not overly needed as long as you
continue to improve his mutant powers and Sharpness.
On the other hand, Expertise is a waste of points (IMO). You are simply
getting two stat points (one each in Strike and Agility) by spending one skill
point. That might seem like a good deal early on, but spending skill points in
other areas is far more valuable in the long run. I would also spend at most
one point in both Toughness and Mutant Mastery (and if you are tight on skill
points, don't even spend one).
Team Building
-------------
Wolverine works best in a party with some long range characters he can combo
with (Storm, Cyclops) or someone who can increase his physical damage (Cyclops,
Gambit, Iceman, Jubilee). Someone who can put a group shield (Storm, Jean
Grey) is also useful, but not required. Honestly, unless you place him in a
party with three other tanks, he's going to be well used.
Logan is only character that can be thrown (the move is called a Fastball
Special). It doesn't do much damage, but it's fun. Wolverine is also the only
character who can build up to 90% speed (Feral Rage + Gambit's Kinetic Mastery
+ equipping a Super Muscle Accelerator). The result is scary as he pulls of a
ridiculous amount of punches and kicks in a short amount of time.
Possible Builds
---------------
Speed Build: Who needs teammates when you can go this fast? Pump skill points
into the Feral Rage and Claw Flurry Trees, Sharpness, Healing Factor, Critical
Strike and Expertise. Equip him with the best type of Muscle Accelerator
available (and pair him with Gambit whenever possible). The result is a super
fast Wolverine that's running laps around everyone (literally).
===============================================================================
4. Miscellaneous
===============================================================================
4.1 - Version History
---------------------
Version 0.01 (11/06/2004) - Created Basic Formatting
Version 0.10 (11/08/2004) - Added Character Overview Section
Version 0.20 (11/09/2004) - Added Gambit, Iceman, Psylocke, Woverine details
Version 0.21 (11/09/2004) - Fixed Formatting Width
Future Plans
- Discussions of all characters
- Xtreme Power Descriptions
- Detailed Character Information (Bios)
- Stats for every level of every Skill
- Recommended Stats and Items for each Character
- Recommended Builds for each Character
4.2 - Contact Information
-------------------------
Please contact me with any corrections, suggestions, or ideas for characters.
If you write, please put "X-Men Legends Character Building FAQ" in the subject.
Please don't send questions, as there are plenty of other FAQs that contain
walkthroughs, item locations, and codes. Note that any e-mails with
attachments will be automatically deleted.
My e-mail address is
[email protected].
Also, feel free to leave any message on one of the X-Men Legends Message Boards
on GameFAQs.com. I lurk around a good bit and will try to see any threads
relating to Character Building.
4.3 - Credit
------------
A lot of good information is already on the Message Boards on GameFAQs. Also,
thanks to freac and cablepuff for putting out a couple of character specific
guides already. Freac's guide on Gambit was especially helpful.
4.4 - Legal
-----------
All X-Men characters are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. X-Men Legends
is a trademark of Raven Software and Activision, Inc.
Any information in this FAQ should not be copied with giving credit to me AND
to others listing in the Credit Section.
This FAQ is only meant for entertainment purposes. The author is not
responsible for any pain, anguish, distress, or trauma caused by reading this
FAQ or obsessing over the game this FAQ is about.
===============================================================================
