Greetings Commanders!
A Brand New Battlefield
The faces aboard S.T.R.I.K.E. Helicarriers may have evolved over the past seven years, but Alliance War itself has remained one of MARVEL Strike Force's most familiar battlegrounds since the first salvo was fired. That's about to change.
A new chapter for Alliance War is on the horizon, bringing War Tech, a new way to strengthen your war forces throughout each chapter, alongside a significant update to Leagues, Trophies, and matchmaking.
Here are the big updates arriving for Alliance War with the full briefing down below:
- Alliance War is getting a major update with new War Tech and a League/Trophy system overhaul.
- War Tech lets individual Commanders earn War Modules as upgrades throughout each chapter, including extra squad slots, Reinforcements, and Combat Mods that strengthen both offense and defense.
- Global Rules and room-specific rules are staying, but the overall rules system is being simplified, with some effects moving into War Modules.
- War Tokens are earned from Alliance Donations and by participating in War, including attacks, assists, defense, and full clears.
- League, Trophy, and matchmaking updates are designed to better reflect Alliance performance, with updated rewards also on the way.
Meet War Tech
War Tech is a new progression system built directly into Alliance War.
Throughout each chapter, you'll earn War Tokens by participating in War battles and spend your tokens to unlock upgrades in a new War Tech tree. Upgrades can strengthen your defenses, enhance your offense, and open up new strategic possibilities for your Alliance across the chapter.
The more you participate in each War, the more tools you’ll unlock to make your own forces and your Alliance's Helicarrier more dangerous.
New Ways to Power Up War Forces
War Tech includes several War Module types, each aimed at changing how you approach battle.
Seasonal Squad Slots
As you progress through a chapter, you’ll be able to unlock additional defensive squad slots for that chapter, pushing enemy Alliances to work even harder for every room they clear.
Veteran Commanders will start with the standard 10 defensive squad slots and can work their way up to 12 by the end of the chapter. These extra slots are seasonal, so they reset when the next chapter begins.
Permanent Squad Slots for Newer Players
New players will have an easier time making the jump into Alliance War with War Tech, as they'll only need to fill 5 defensive squad slots. They can earn additional permanent slots through War engagement, creating a nice onboarding ramp.
Current War-eligible players will have permanent squad slots automatically unlocked and remain at 10 squads at the launch of War Tech.
Combat Mods and War Rules
War Tech is also bringing new ways to shape the battlefield through Combat Mods, which you'll activate throughout a chapter and reset at the end of a chapter.
Defensive Combat Mods can be assigned to specific defensive squads, letting you strengthen key teams, reinforce dangerous rooms, or create tougher obstacles for enemy Alliances. Each Defensive Combat Mod can only be placed on one squad at a time, so every choice matters.
Offensive Combat Mods power up your War Offense roster for the chapter once unlocked. These upgrades apply broadly to your attacks, stack with other Offensive Combat Mods you earn, and give you more firepower every time you head into battle.
Global rules and room-specific rules will still exist alongside combat mods. Those rules are being simplified, making the mode easier to read and easier to learn while still preserving strategic identity across the battlefield.
Reinforcements
This is where things really get interesting.
For the first time in MARVEL Strike Force, Commanders can add Reinforcements to their defenses! When an attacking player clears the first wave of a defense, a second wave can drop in and keep the fight going.
Each Reinforcement upgrade grants additional Reinforcement capacity, letting you decide how to distribute those extra characters. Your opponent will not be informed about your reinforcements, bringing the "fog of war" into War.
Stack them behind one brutal defense, spread them across several squads, or build a layout that forces your opponents to think twice. The choice is yours!
Earn War Tokens by Going to War
You'll have to participate in War to reap the benefits of War Tech. Earn War Tokens by engaging with Alliance War and contributing to your Alliance’s success. War Tokens can be earned through several activities, including:
- Attacks - Clear enemy squads
- Assists - When multiple Commanders contribute to taking down a room, players who assisted in the clear also earn War Tokens equal to those earned by the attacker that clears the squad (canceled attacks do not count).
- Full Helicarrier Clears - If your Alliance takes down the enemy Helicarrier, all members receive full War Token credit for attack participation, up to the normal attack/assist cap.
- Defense - You'll receive War Tokens based on defenses left standing, so don't ignore defense!
- Alliance Donations - Alliance Donations will also contribute to War Token earnings, so chip in to help your allies.
Rewards
Alliance War rewards are also being updated alongside these changes.
War Tech
Complete War Tech tiers by upgrading tier trees to earn solo rewards, including Power Cores and Jeff the Land Shark shards
Seasons, Leagues, and Battles
Stock up on Purple Iso-8 resources through battles, leagues, and Seasons to put toward powering up your roster.
League Updates on the Way
A major overhaul to Alliance War Leagues, Trophies are heading your way, with improved matchmaking so competitive Alliances can climb and brag when they're top dogs.
What’s Changing
We're improving matchmaking, the Trophy system, and adding new Leagues. To accommodate these updates and preserve leaderboard order while helping the new system settle into place, some Alliance Trophy totals have been adjusted. A small number of Alliances will see a slightly larger trophy count reduction during the adjustments, but this will not affect their ranking.
Then the first 8 Wars after launch will act as a calibration period:
- Trophies will still be gained from wins
- Trophies will not be lost from losses or draws
- After those 8 Wars, Trophy gains and losses will return to normal
This gives Alliances time to settle into the new system before the full climb resumes.
We’re also speeding up movement for Alliances that are clearly rising or falling. Alliances performing at a high level should be able to climb faster, while inactive or struggling Alliances should drop faster. The result will be a healthier competitive field, cleaner matchmaking, and a climb that feels more earned.
New League and Tiers
Attention top War Alliances: We've got new tiers and an all-new League on the way! Diamond is getting 3 new tiers. After reaching those heights, the Ultimate League is your next stop for War Alliance supremacy. Fight for glory, rewards, and the right to scoff at all those who think they're the top Alliance.
A New Alliance War for Every Player
The updates are aimed at different types of players, but they all share the same goal: a fresh and fun way to play one of MARVEL Strike Force's classic game modes. Solo growth, Alliance contributions, competitive play—War Tech and the new Leagues system promises a way to play unlike before.
The new Alliance War chapter begins on August 2 at 2:00 PM (PDT), so be on the lookout for the arrival of War Tech and these league updates!
**Please note that the information in this blog is subject to change before going live in the game.*\*