Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: How to Unlock Cyclops and Colossus

Today, Nintendo and Marvel released the first free DLC for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. The update brings Colossus and Cyclops to the alliance as playable characters. While the content is free, players will still have to put some work in to unlock the new playable mutants. Here’s how it’s done.

First, make sure you’ve downloaded the update. If you didn’t see a message about the update when you loaded up Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, go back to the Switch home screen. Use the + button with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 selected to head to the game information screen. Navigate to the Software Update menu and download the update. You’ll have to restart the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 software to access the new content.

To unlock Colossus and Cyclops, head to the Infinity game mode. The update will have added a new Infinity Rift, Phi, to this mode. To find it, use the R button to go to the next screen (you’ll have to do this twice if you’ve beaten story mode, unlocking the fourth Infinity Rift).

You start Phi in the middle of its challenge grid, which is right where the challenges to unlock Colossus and Cyclops are. If you’ve at least reached the X-Men chapter of story mode, you should be the right level to take on these challenges. If you’ve completed story mode already, they should be easy to complete.

The challenge to unlock Colossus is a Boost challenge called “Towering Terror.” The recommended level is 23. The challenge has you replay through the Avengers Tower boss fight with Ultron. Your characters and the enemies will both get a boost to damage. Remember to use the mounted guns to take Ultron out, and that those same guns can target the flying Ultron drones that fire at you from above.

The Cyclops unlock challenge is a Survival challenge called “Extermination Protocol.” The recommended level is 24. The trial puts you back on the Xavier Institute’s lawn fighting Sentinels. Your HP declines over time, but dealing damage restores it, so be aggressive. Remember, the explosive objects the Sentinels drop when destroyed can be thrown at other Sentinels. The objects stun them and do significant damage. They’re the perfect weapons for taking Sentinels down, especially if you can catch multiple Sentinels in the blast.

Once those challenges are complete, Cyclops and Colossus will be available in Hero Select. Their levels are in the low 20s, so you may have some grinding to do if you want to play them on higher difficulties. If you’ve been hanging onto some XP cubes, now may be a good time to use them.

There are alternate costumes available for Cyclops and Colossus in Phi, but they’re solo challenges for the characters with recommended levels in the 60s. The update also adds the All-New X-Men team bonus keyword, representing the X-Men team that debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1. Cyclops, Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine all have it. It adds a Strength bonus to your team (doubling down on the Strength bonus the X-Men keyword already doled out). And if you’re wondering, Colossus seems to have gone overlooked in regards to the X-Force keyword.

Are you excited to play at Cyclops and Colossus in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3? Let us know in the comments! Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is available now on Nintendo Switch. You can read our review here.