Marvel: Contest of Champions: Tips, tricks, and cheats

What do Iron Man, Groot, Venom, Kamala Khan, and Black Bolt have in common? Well, besides the fact they're all Marvel universe characters, they're also some of the options you have to play with as you battle your way through Marvel: Contest of Champions, for your mobile device.

While the game's story is somewhat loosely based off of Marvel's 1982 comic of the same name, it also pulls from other more recent Marvel movies, like "The Avengers" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."

If you haven't quite figured out how to become the ultimate champion in the Contest of Champions, never fear – this list is here!

May the odds be ever in your favor

Every time your Marvel character goes to fight their opponent, you get to see how the odds are shifted depending on your character's abilities. The middle of the 'Select Your Champion' box has a big, cartoonish VS with a dial indicator on top showing if you have better — or worse — chances of winning in your epic battle.

Don't forget about your heavy attack!

Throughout your battle, your character will charge their special attack in the lower right-hand portion of the screen. Once it is full, you can unleash a killer attack on your opponent that deals a ton of damage, far more than a basic tapping attack.

… But, did you forget about your heavy attack?

By pressing and holding the right half of the screen, your character takes time to charge their heavy attack which doles out a quite a bit of damage. Though it's not as powerful as your special attack, it's the next best thing for taking down your enemy — keep in mind that charging this attack can leave your character vulnerable.

Keep your eye on the crystals

Throughout the game, you gather crystals for different upgrades and resources. With them, you can get new Champions to join your team, collect battle chips, and more!

There are dozens of rare crystals throughout the game that you can fight to collect, but completing quests will grant you purple crystals, which yield a variety of rewards.

Other crystals appear depending on how long you've been playing; for every four hours you battle, you'll get access to crystals that can heal your characters, and, for every 24 hours of play, you'll get the type of crystals that will give you the options of stronger Champions.

Repeat quests to beef up your Champions

Sometimes your team is too weak to take on bigger challenges as you progress in the game. This can be frustrating, but there's a simple solution! By going back and replaying earlier quests, you can beef up your characters for bigger, more intense battles so they're not as big of a challenge.

Play on your iPad!

For better control and a wider view of the game, try playing Contest of Champions on your iPad. You'll be able to get a better feel for the fighting style on a larger screen, and you'll have better control as you smash your opponent into the ground.

Now you're playing like a real Marvel hero! Have fun kicking butt with Spiderman, slicing through enemies with Wolverine, and Hulk smashing with... Well, that one's kind of obvious.*

Cella Lao Rousseau

Cella writes for iMore on social and photography. She's a true crime enthusiast, bestselling horror author, lipstick collector, buzzkill, and Sicilian. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @hellorousseau