Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign – How to win without spending any money

Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign is the latest in a series of freemium Marvel-based casual and social games. This one, which is out on the iPhone and Android, matches you up against various generic baddies and supervillains in a match-three style of play, with similarities to games such as Candy Crush. Being that this is a freemium game, there are plenty of in app purchases that you can buy, but why do that when you can play – and win – for free? Read on to find out how to do just that!

There are two things that in app purchases can normally buy you, which are Iso=8 and Hero Points. Hero Points (which look like gold coins) are the rarer of the two, and can buy you goodies such as rare heroes, Hawkeye and Black Widow covers, meaning that they’re a very nice thing to have – however, you can find them without having to spend any money, as rewards for single player battles or as rank-up rewards in versus mode.

Iso-8 is even more common, so there should be no need to spend any real money on it unless you are REALLY impatient. They can be found as battle rewards in both single-player and versus mode, and whenever you beat a stage for the first time in the single player mode, you’ll earn another additional Iso-8 bonus. Iso-8 can also be earned by selling covers that you don’t want anymore.

Get easy Iso-8 by fighting against weak opponents in the versus mode – that is, fighting against opponents whose cards are at an equal or lower level to yours (and importantly, who have less maximum hit points than you do). Beating an opponent in the first round typically yields bigger bonuses than beating them in the second or third round, regardless of how powerful the opponent is.

Use both of these currencies to find new heroes and to train your present heroes, both by upgrading their powers (and adding new powers) and by increasing their levels. A normal, one-star hero that’s upgraded enough will equal a rare hero in hit points and attack power, as well as in the effectiveness of their powers.

When your heroes get injured or killed, you have to use heals in order to revive them or restore their hit points, and once you’re out of heals, you’re done for awhile, but if you set the time on your device ahead by an hour or so per heal, you’ll get all of your heals back.