**Mastery Loadouts**
Due to issues related to the release of Mastery Loadouts, the "free swap" period will be extended.
The new end date will be May 1st.
Due to issues related to the release of Mastery Loadouts, the "free swap" period will be extended.
The new end date will be May 1st.
AA is the second best mutant (behind OR)
NerdNerdNerd1
Posts: 379 ★★★
one of the most forgotten and slept on characters in the game, archangel. ive heard it again and again "But immunities" "but versatility", irrelevant, with the current meta of the game, no one is worried about versatility (provided youre not on your first 3 5/65s), the meta is headed in a direction where the champion that is the absolute best, or atleast one of the best options for a fight is the champion who will be used, so lets look at areas where he excels, shall we?
So... lets start with Alliance war
Archangel first shall we
-Enroaching stun; common placements include doom, nick fury, and thing, archangel covers 2/3 of these, apart from thing, and is one of the best options in the game for these, he completely shuts off Enroaching when you have 3 neuros up, and shuts off stubborn completely, so the fights basically become nothing nodes, and on doom he even shuts off aura of hazareth resisting on specials/heavys. he also has some of the highest DPS in the entire game so will obviously do great in high stress wanting to end asap fights
-Power Snack; common placements include domino, doom, and sasquatch, archangel works for ALL 3.
domino; AA is immune to AAR, parries wont fail
Doom; AA basically ignores all of dooms abilities, and AA shuts off stubborn, complete joke of a fight with aa. also highest dps for ending it before power snack does anything significant.
Sasquatch; Archangel heal blocks and has insane DPS, and shuts off stubborn, its like a match made in heavy, he does go stun immune but with the health pools on this node (250k roughly) the fight will not be long enough for him to go stun immune and unstoppable provided you dont get completely screwed by rng
Path 7 (did whole path for 2 seasons, he excelled on almost every node)
Node 1; the issue is kinetic transfer, AA shuts this off after neuros are applied, generally diversity placements are used here so no real worries though
Node 2; Matador, again another diversity node so no real worries.
Mini Boss 1; usually void is placed here, AA without suicides is easily the best option, when 3 neuros are up the debuffs wont apply anymore so you can ignore cold turkey damage, and aa shuts off stubborn ofc.
Node 3; common placements are Domino, magik, nick fury, and doom. AA is easily the best option for all these, shuts off limbo, immune to AAR, ez NF/Doom counter since he turns off stubborn. he also shuts off the nodes in Spite and power form afar, basically joke fights with AA, with the exception being NF who can cause some issues, but still a reliable solo
Node 4; the real pain in the ass node of path 7. kinetic giving a 3rd of a bar of power and aspect of evolution just adding to the madness
Mini Boss 2; usually Thing/NF is placed here, AA destroys the NF by shutting off all nodes and stubborn, does not work for thing ofc.
Ebb and flow Knockdown; common placements include darkhawk, NF, and invis woman, AA works for 2/3 of these, reliable solo option on NF heavy hitter, and ofcourse invis woman is a joke with AA, constant heavy spam so the node is basically ignored. for NF on heavy hitter in the second phase the strat is to spam L1s ofcourse since you cant counter heavys
LDR (Path 4); common placement is void, ofcourse weve been over this aa shuts off the debuffs applying and stubborn so amazing counter and shuts off LDR.
Ebb and flow intercept; rhino, AA is able to just ignore the 60% damage reduction since he has such insane DPS, basically a act 6 rhino which is not a very long fight even with 60% damage reduction, and ofcourse he shuts off stubborn on rhino aswell
Rage (path 6); AA can shut off rage (both the damage cap, and the furies triggering) and can shut off stubborn which is why rage is really an issue anyways; common placement ive seen is emma frost (Who aa works for, take her above one bar, hold block so she doesnt throw l1, throw your heavies and the neuros will stick when she changes back to diamond form)
AA is also an option for tons of general fights, to just avoid stupid avoidable deaths, with his insane DPS making it so even if youre completely trash you almost cant die.
Act 6 (oh boy this will be a long one, lets go chapter by chapter)
Chapter 1 (not very many difficult fights here so this will be an easy one)
Problems include; caustic dormammu, caustic DS, buffed up symsup, buffed up Magik, aspect of war (multiple lanes), Armor break immune KM, shock 30 magik, spite path 6.1.2, no retreat (in general the whole quest is a tad annoying), coward (although more skill based then counter based), 6.1.5 CB, and AoN 6.1.6, mesmerize
AA works for;
Caustic DS- very very restrictive fight here, almost all furies get nullified, BUT aa can get 3 neuros up on DS, then activate heimdall synergies, the AAR will prevent it from being nullified, one of only 2 reasonably reliable options for this that i can think of (other being aegon) attack values are low so the poisons wont do much and the AAR will shut them off after a few heavies anyways.
Aspect of war- AA shuts off the unstoppable and finishes fights before they can really be an issue
Armor break immune KM- it is a bit of an rng based start with him constantly shrugging the stuns, but once you get those neuros up the fight is done. and yes he shuts off the PG when neuros are up ofcourse.
shock 30 magik- suprisingly YES, he works, i managed to do it with him when i was doing it myself, just get a few neuros up and the DPS is insane, but it is a tad hard to solo, but he will get it to a point where using other champs you can cleanup on magik and avoid using any revives on this path
Spite 6.1.2- he shuts off spite and works for quite a few of the fights on this path, simple enough
no retreat- he shuts off NR and excels for 3 of the most difficult fights when exploring this quest (sabre boss, domino as said earlier he is immune to aar, agent venom in countering tenacity)
6.1.5 CB- he only works for a first clear, take down force of will and turn off biohazard, although he will no longer work after the "nerf" so go quick summoners.
AoN 6.1.6- simple he ends fights too quick for AoN to matter
Mesmerize- ofcourse AAR shuts off evade.
Chapter 2
Problems include; mesmerize, freezer burn, DNGG, 6.2.2 sinister, 6.2.5 mordo, 6.2.6 champion (although not nearly as bad after the nerf), energize 200% AON icarus MK, energize 100% AON DNGG drax, 200% PG DNGG DS, tons of energize 200%, shock 60 and incinerate 60 nodes, energize 100% BF stun immune cornered magik 6* gate DNGG, enroaching energize incin 60 nebula DNGG cosmic gate, 1% regen imiw cosmic gate DNGG, 200% PG havok tech gate DNGG, 200% energize limber punisher DNGG mutant gate, mutant gate 100% energize rising combo aegon DNGG, 100% pg mordo science gate 6.2.6, DYB, micro reflect antman size matters
AA works for;
Mesmerize- again shuts off evade, and none of the path champions are immune
Freezer burn- shuts it off and attack values arent crazy enough to kill you before 3 neuros are up
DNGG- AA is heavy spam so that helps quite a bit with controlling DNGG without altering playstyle
6.2.2 sinister- with heimdall he shuts off the poisons and deals insane damage to just melt sinister, and shuts off EMP Mod (pre nerf)
200% PG DNGG DS- AA works ofc, dont need to bait as many specials if the fight is only 60 seconds long
energize 200% in general- aa works, again dont need to bait as many specials if the fight isnt that long
rising combo aegon- melts him before he can really get his combo high enough to melt through your block
micro reflect antman- heavies cant be glanced and AA makes the fight go mad quick
admittedly, 6.2 is not his strong suit, but still a good deal of difficult fights he works well for.
now onto chapter 3, bare with me, i know this is a crazy long post but i like to be... detailed
problems include; DYB medusa, delirium, footloose/NR path, mesmerize, CSWS, thorns, spry/gassed,, 6.3.3 havok, acid wash mysterio soon to be changed, 6.3.4 imiw, more energize 200% nodes, AoE improved PG hyperion, combo tactics, 6.3.5 mysterio, caustic temper terminal velocity spiked armor, safeguard clap back, 6.3.6 capiw, acid wash emp mod toxicant?, thunderstruck
AA works for
DYB medusa- easy solo, everyone knows
delirium- doesnt heavy parry heavy so easy to just ignore and tons of non immunes
mesmerize- tons of non immunes and ofc cant evade when neuros are up
Thorns- turns it off the same way he turns off electro
energize 200%- all of these are non immune characters, so ofc aa will work and the same insane dps ofc
counter tactics- low combo meters ofc
acid wash emp mod- real issue here is emp mod, aa doesnt gain buffs, he doesnt give the opponent alot of power and he shuts off emp mod, perfect champ for it, and toxicant lets him get neuros up way easier
works for quite a good portion of the restrictive fights in 6.3, solid champ.
now onto 6.4... finally
problem fights include; gimme energize 200%, iceman boss, thermostat, berserker barrage, special connessaur, crit me with your best shot terminal velocity tm soon to be changed, thunderstruck KG, footloose, no retreat anni, 6.4.3 darkhawk, special bias energize,stunning reflection, energy adoption (all), diss track, footloose (again...), diss track, adaptoid boss, thats gonna sting, pull selective time stream, spry gassed mix master, maso 200% vivified, life cycle killmonger, mesmerize redoubled determinations
aa works for...
Thermostat; shuts off the debuffs going onto him and works on 2/3 problem fights on the path (KM and mascre)
Footloose (both)- AAR shuts it off ofcourse
No retreat anni- all you need is a couple parries to stick and your golden, turn off NR and the fights ez
special bias energize- again, not a whole lot of specials when you have such high DPS, ends fights before they can get the l3 option.
Energy adoption (incinerate)- bleeds turn it off, secondary node is icarus and aa basically ignores that, also works very well on the wasp miniboss with rage and rage + icarus is mad annoying
Energy adoption (shock); aar shuts off the shocks from coming, great to burst down the electro
energy adoption (ice)+ diss track; aa shuts off the coldsnaps and has tons of debuffs for diss track, works greatly for punisher and KM aswell 2 of the more difficult fights on the path
Thats gonna sting- same with quake, AA bypasses thats gonna sting with his DOT
maso 200% vivo- again mad dps means barely any specials need to be baited and maso is turned off quick
Life cycle killmonger- real issue is rage limiting the normal km counters, aa ofcourse shuts off pg and life cycle so pretty simple fight
well thats all for act 6. not bad for a single champion to take on so many different problem fights
now onto variants, since this is pretty unrestrictive content ill just explain why he works good for variants as a whole and maybe a few difficult fights per variant he excels at
v3- 50% damage reduction is meaningless with how high his DPS is, also works for v3 kang and the 200% PG path
v2- heavys arent glanced, also works great for all the bleed/poison vuln and enroaching stun on yellowjackets
well thats all folks, i hope at the very least ive convinced you to consider ranking AA.
word count is 2027... sorry for that
So... lets start with Alliance war
Archangel first shall we
-Enroaching stun; common placements include doom, nick fury, and thing, archangel covers 2/3 of these, apart from thing, and is one of the best options in the game for these, he completely shuts off Enroaching when you have 3 neuros up, and shuts off stubborn completely, so the fights basically become nothing nodes, and on doom he even shuts off aura of hazareth resisting on specials/heavys. he also has some of the highest DPS in the entire game so will obviously do great in high stress wanting to end asap fights
-Power Snack; common placements include domino, doom, and sasquatch, archangel works for ALL 3.
domino; AA is immune to AAR, parries wont fail
Doom; AA basically ignores all of dooms abilities, and AA shuts off stubborn, complete joke of a fight with aa. also highest dps for ending it before power snack does anything significant.
Sasquatch; Archangel heal blocks and has insane DPS, and shuts off stubborn, its like a match made in heavy, he does go stun immune but with the health pools on this node (250k roughly) the fight will not be long enough for him to go stun immune and unstoppable provided you dont get completely screwed by rng
Path 7 (did whole path for 2 seasons, he excelled on almost every node)
Node 1; the issue is kinetic transfer, AA shuts this off after neuros are applied, generally diversity placements are used here so no real worries though
Node 2; Matador, again another diversity node so no real worries.
Mini Boss 1; usually void is placed here, AA without suicides is easily the best option, when 3 neuros are up the debuffs wont apply anymore so you can ignore cold turkey damage, and aa shuts off stubborn ofc.
Node 3; common placements are Domino, magik, nick fury, and doom. AA is easily the best option for all these, shuts off limbo, immune to AAR, ez NF/Doom counter since he turns off stubborn. he also shuts off the nodes in Spite and power form afar, basically joke fights with AA, with the exception being NF who can cause some issues, but still a reliable solo
Node 4; the real pain in the ass node of path 7. kinetic giving a 3rd of a bar of power and aspect of evolution just adding to the madness
Mini Boss 2; usually Thing/NF is placed here, AA destroys the NF by shutting off all nodes and stubborn, does not work for thing ofc.
Ebb and flow Knockdown; common placements include darkhawk, NF, and invis woman, AA works for 2/3 of these, reliable solo option on NF heavy hitter, and ofcourse invis woman is a joke with AA, constant heavy spam so the node is basically ignored. for NF on heavy hitter in the second phase the strat is to spam L1s ofcourse since you cant counter heavys
LDR (Path 4); common placement is void, ofcourse weve been over this aa shuts off the debuffs applying and stubborn so amazing counter and shuts off LDR.
Ebb and flow intercept; rhino, AA is able to just ignore the 60% damage reduction since he has such insane DPS, basically a act 6 rhino which is not a very long fight even with 60% damage reduction, and ofcourse he shuts off stubborn on rhino aswell
Rage (path 6); AA can shut off rage (both the damage cap, and the furies triggering) and can shut off stubborn which is why rage is really an issue anyways; common placement ive seen is emma frost (Who aa works for, take her above one bar, hold block so she doesnt throw l1, throw your heavies and the neuros will stick when she changes back to diamond form)
AA is also an option for tons of general fights, to just avoid stupid avoidable deaths, with his insane DPS making it so even if youre completely trash you almost cant die.
Act 6 (oh boy this will be a long one, lets go chapter by chapter)
Chapter 1 (not very many difficult fights here so this will be an easy one)
Problems include; caustic dormammu, caustic DS, buffed up symsup, buffed up Magik, aspect of war (multiple lanes), Armor break immune KM, shock 30 magik, spite path 6.1.2, no retreat (in general the whole quest is a tad annoying), coward (although more skill based then counter based), 6.1.5 CB, and AoN 6.1.6, mesmerize
AA works for;
Caustic DS- very very restrictive fight here, almost all furies get nullified, BUT aa can get 3 neuros up on DS, then activate heimdall synergies, the AAR will prevent it from being nullified, one of only 2 reasonably reliable options for this that i can think of (other being aegon) attack values are low so the poisons wont do much and the AAR will shut them off after a few heavies anyways.
Aspect of war- AA shuts off the unstoppable and finishes fights before they can really be an issue
Armor break immune KM- it is a bit of an rng based start with him constantly shrugging the stuns, but once you get those neuros up the fight is done. and yes he shuts off the PG when neuros are up ofcourse.
shock 30 magik- suprisingly YES, he works, i managed to do it with him when i was doing it myself, just get a few neuros up and the DPS is insane, but it is a tad hard to solo, but he will get it to a point where using other champs you can cleanup on magik and avoid using any revives on this path
Spite 6.1.2- he shuts off spite and works for quite a few of the fights on this path, simple enough
no retreat- he shuts off NR and excels for 3 of the most difficult fights when exploring this quest (sabre boss, domino as said earlier he is immune to aar, agent venom in countering tenacity)
6.1.5 CB- he only works for a first clear, take down force of will and turn off biohazard, although he will no longer work after the "nerf" so go quick summoners.
AoN 6.1.6- simple he ends fights too quick for AoN to matter
Mesmerize- ofcourse AAR shuts off evade.
Chapter 2
Problems include; mesmerize, freezer burn, DNGG, 6.2.2 sinister, 6.2.5 mordo, 6.2.6 champion (although not nearly as bad after the nerf), energize 200% AON icarus MK, energize 100% AON DNGG drax, 200% PG DNGG DS, tons of energize 200%, shock 60 and incinerate 60 nodes, energize 100% BF stun immune cornered magik 6* gate DNGG, enroaching energize incin 60 nebula DNGG cosmic gate, 1% regen imiw cosmic gate DNGG, 200% PG havok tech gate DNGG, 200% energize limber punisher DNGG mutant gate, mutant gate 100% energize rising combo aegon DNGG, 100% pg mordo science gate 6.2.6, DYB, micro reflect antman size matters
AA works for;
Mesmerize- again shuts off evade, and none of the path champions are immune
Freezer burn- shuts it off and attack values arent crazy enough to kill you before 3 neuros are up
DNGG- AA is heavy spam so that helps quite a bit with controlling DNGG without altering playstyle
6.2.2 sinister- with heimdall he shuts off the poisons and deals insane damage to just melt sinister, and shuts off EMP Mod (pre nerf)
200% PG DNGG DS- AA works ofc, dont need to bait as many specials if the fight is only 60 seconds long
energize 200% in general- aa works, again dont need to bait as many specials if the fight isnt that long
rising combo aegon- melts him before he can really get his combo high enough to melt through your block
micro reflect antman- heavies cant be glanced and AA makes the fight go mad quick
admittedly, 6.2 is not his strong suit, but still a good deal of difficult fights he works well for.
now onto chapter 3, bare with me, i know this is a crazy long post but i like to be... detailed
problems include; DYB medusa, delirium, footloose/NR path, mesmerize, CSWS, thorns, spry/gassed,, 6.3.3 havok, acid wash mysterio soon to be changed, 6.3.4 imiw, more energize 200% nodes, AoE improved PG hyperion, combo tactics, 6.3.5 mysterio, caustic temper terminal velocity spiked armor, safeguard clap back, 6.3.6 capiw, acid wash emp mod toxicant?, thunderstruck
AA works for
DYB medusa- easy solo, everyone knows
delirium- doesnt heavy parry heavy so easy to just ignore and tons of non immunes
mesmerize- tons of non immunes and ofc cant evade when neuros are up
Thorns- turns it off the same way he turns off electro
energize 200%- all of these are non immune characters, so ofc aa will work and the same insane dps ofc
counter tactics- low combo meters ofc
acid wash emp mod- real issue here is emp mod, aa doesnt gain buffs, he doesnt give the opponent alot of power and he shuts off emp mod, perfect champ for it, and toxicant lets him get neuros up way easier
works for quite a good portion of the restrictive fights in 6.3, solid champ.
now onto 6.4... finally
problem fights include; gimme energize 200%, iceman boss, thermostat, berserker barrage, special connessaur, crit me with your best shot terminal velocity tm soon to be changed, thunderstruck KG, footloose, no retreat anni, 6.4.3 darkhawk, special bias energize,stunning reflection, energy adoption (all), diss track, footloose (again...), diss track, adaptoid boss, thats gonna sting, pull selective time stream, spry gassed mix master, maso 200% vivified, life cycle killmonger, mesmerize redoubled determinations
aa works for...
Thermostat; shuts off the debuffs going onto him and works on 2/3 problem fights on the path (KM and mascre)
Footloose (both)- AAR shuts it off ofcourse
No retreat anni- all you need is a couple parries to stick and your golden, turn off NR and the fights ez
special bias energize- again, not a whole lot of specials when you have such high DPS, ends fights before they can get the l3 option.
Energy adoption (incinerate)- bleeds turn it off, secondary node is icarus and aa basically ignores that, also works very well on the wasp miniboss with rage and rage + icarus is mad annoying
Energy adoption (shock); aar shuts off the shocks from coming, great to burst down the electro
energy adoption (ice)+ diss track; aa shuts off the coldsnaps and has tons of debuffs for diss track, works greatly for punisher and KM aswell 2 of the more difficult fights on the path
Thats gonna sting- same with quake, AA bypasses thats gonna sting with his DOT
maso 200% vivo- again mad dps means barely any specials need to be baited and maso is turned off quick
Life cycle killmonger- real issue is rage limiting the normal km counters, aa ofcourse shuts off pg and life cycle so pretty simple fight
well thats all for act 6. not bad for a single champion to take on so many different problem fights
now onto variants, since this is pretty unrestrictive content ill just explain why he works good for variants as a whole and maybe a few difficult fights per variant he excels at
v3- 50% damage reduction is meaningless with how high his DPS is, also works for v3 kang and the 200% PG path
v2- heavys arent glanced, also works great for all the bleed/poison vuln and enroaching stun on yellowjackets
well thats all folks, i hope at the very least ive convinced you to consider ranking AA.
word count is 2027... sorry for that
Post edited by Kabam Porthos on
18
Comments
Although there is some stuff I disagree with, Freezer burn for example I would not consider him a viable option. For disstrack, you need to have neuros to shut off the coldsnap, and neuros are passive so you wont have any debuffs, so you wont be dealing damage, I would not consider him viable for that lane.
The No Retreat annihilus had an insane block penetration and will Kill AA quite fast.
With micro reflect ant man, heavies can be glances, micro reflect deals a portion of the damage back when an attack is glanced, aa can shut this off through his aar tho.
The 6.2 doctor strange will likely kill AA before he can kill DS, the power gain is more than you think and you will spend most of the time baiting specials rather than heavy parrying. Due to soft guard and sharpened class, AA is not the best for the 6.4.6 KM.
Rank 2, 6 Star Corvus Glaive
Rank 1, 6 Star Warlock
Rank 4, 5 Star Warlock
Rank 4, 5 Star Sig 134 Aegon
Rank 3, 5 Star Nick Fury
Rank 4, 5 Star Awakened Void
Rank 3, 5 Star Omega Red
Rank 3, 5 Star Awakened Hyperion
Rank 3, 5 Star Captain Marvel Movie
On Deck(Got them so recent), Red Guardian, Ghost, Ghost Rider, Iceman(Rank 2)
Oh wait
I agree with the OP. AA is an absolute monster in fights were he can bleed ad poison the opponent.
In all honesty, I'd put AA as the best mutant. Mostly because he isn't reliant on synergies. Neither is red mags, but AA performs better imo because his AAR is stronger, and his fights are faster. Besides, there's more non-immunes than metal Champs, so AA is a clear winner here.
As for Omega red, he needs that sabreman synergy to be effective. Not everyone has that luxury. In addition, he needs a lot of investment. Suicides, awakening and high sig. As for AA, he doesn't need awakening, performs effectively with any type of mastery setup, and if awakened, can be left at sig 1 and still destroy content.
As for Colossus, we know everybody talks about the "horseman" synergy for him nowadays. Without synergies, archangel is way faster. Even with synergies, archangel is still faster. Colossus is also quite reliant on specials which is derogatory in some scenarios.
He can counter miss as well as autoblock and modok, mystero (provided u can armorbreak him with sp2), darkhawk and guilly2099 are just a joke because of that !
AA does not rely on synergies niether does Magneto but if opponent has either bleed or poison immunity good luck with AA. Also there is a strong RNG factor in how quick u end the fight with AA but Magneto has guarentee prowess on heavy charge & knock down .
However I WON'T deny the fact that Magneto does not work well for Thing and Collosus as (correct me if I'm wrong) they both are only champs in game which are both bleed and armor break immune (as magneto is not tech collosus is armor break immune but not the same can be said with lol collosus)still Magneto can handle them if u wanted to do it but same cannot be said with AA.
Magneto has 2 psudo immunities AA lacks that, also the safety net with unstoppable makes him forgiving.
Lastly magneto benifits with Avakened ability but it is not heavily needed for offensive use which itself is a good point
cannot say the same for AA.
I will conclude here saying that COLLOSUS is the best mutant thanks to his immunities and dammage output but ARCANGEL is not better than the metal master MAGNETO himself, Kudos to Kabam on giving him justice provided they do not nerf his dammage after this forum post!
THANKS FOR READING
Its my opinion so do not get offended,
CHEERS!!
I'm not going to say much bc I could ramble on for ages, to me he's the best mutant but I'm incredibly biased - he helped me through so much content and he's also one of my favourite marvel characters.
If I was to not be so biased, he's useless against bleed immune, debuff immune or nodes that inflict DoT at the start, or heavily disadvantaged against nodes that inflict DoT on contact with Force of Will, with good rng you can probably unit through. He's impacted by stun immune a little, but if you learn to heavy counter and use sp1s, he works fine.
Therefore I do understand OR and Colossus being better - they aren't useless as soon as bleed immunity shows up.
I mean he can technically still do the fight, it's just long and boring (as long as it isn't a bleed immune Electro, Magik, or bad matchups when not immune OR and Cable)
That being said, he has his weaknesses but provided the opponent doesn't have any immunity, they don't stand a chance.
We've seen a lot of armor break immune nodes recently, which discount Magneto's effectiveness against bleed immunes. Good luck using him or Colossus against spite.
Each of these champs is fairly hampered against stun immune or limber matchups, AA I would say is the least affected because he can heavy counter, and his specials also place those debuffs. They all have similar playstyles, but like I said earlier: There are more non-immunes than metal champs, which puts AA above Magnus. As for Colossus, his immunities are good, but he's a bit too reliant on having those armors. Without them or the ability to stun, he's a weakling.
Certainly, for my roster, Archangel is better than colossus