Entering Marvel Contest of Champions: Doctor Octopus

Otto Octavius finds himself on Battlerealm, tentacles ready to cause as much chaos as possible—and knowing Doc Ock, Spidey’s in for a whole heap of trouble.

We talked to Kabam Designers Dominic O’Grady and Simon Cameron about Otto’s in-game abilities and what players can expect from the newest “Marvel Contest of Champion” villain!

Marvel.com: Doctor Otto Gunther Octavius—his name’s a mouthful and his tentacles a handful. How does the good Doctor Octopus find himself in the Contest?

Dominic O’Grady: The Grandmaster is not a fan of Spider-Man, particularly because his brother, The Collector, is so fond of him. For the Grandmaster it’s double-duty: He prefers villainous Champions to do his bidding, and ones that know how to fight Spidey are all the better!

Marvel.com: Doc Ock has had so many different outfits through the ages, what era or eras did the team channel for this particular iteration?

Dominic O’Grady: The main goal was to evoke a Silver Age feeling with his design, while not being tied to any particular era-associated costume of his. Of course immediate recognition is the most important detail, and we also wanted to pay homage [to] his scientific background; thus the lab coat and pocket pens!

Marvel.com: And you kept the bowl cut! How tempted were you to give players a more fashion forward Otto?

Dominic O’Grady: Not at all. Dorky haircut or bust.

Marvel.com: How do abilities like Power Lock, Heal Block, Fury, and  Armor Up help round out Octopus’ equation?

Simon Cameron: Doc Ock is a scientist; as such, he builds up a library of research on his opponent through observation and testing. In game this means Doc Ock has three Research Categories he builds based on his and the opponent’s actions; for example, he builds Physics research as his Opponent builds Power.

Each of his Research Categories gives him a passive bonus [that] scales as the category builds, and finally each category has a Breakthrough effect which [triggers] when a category reaches 100 lasting for a few seconds before resetting his Research to go again. The last variable in the equation are the good Doctor’s Special Attacks, all of which are based around him interacting with his Breakthrough.

Marvel.com: We all know Doc Ock’s a smart cookie, but how does his signature ability, Academic Background, help him lay his foes low?

Simon Cameron: Doc Ock’s Academic Background gives him two advantages. The first is starting all of his research categories at 60 instead of zero, and secondly it gives all of his Breakthrough effects an upgrade. For Biology, he gains Armor Penetration along with his Armor Up, and for Chemistry and Physics he gains the ability to steal a portion of the Health or Power blocked by his Heal Block and Powerlocks respectively. These effects do stack up to three times, though for the Heal Block/Power Lock on the steal portion of the effect stacks.

Marvel.com: Tell us a little about his allies and how they interact with the Doctor.

Simon Cameron: Doc Ock can bring a number of allies with him that enhance his abilities, as well as taking home a nice bonus for themselves. These effects target his Research Categories doing things like, preventing his Research from falling off over time, and having his Research Categories reset to 50 instead of zero.

Marvel.com: And finally, when will we get to lecture our enemies into oblivion with Doctor Octopus?

Dominic O’Grady: The diabolical doctor is available now in crystals and arenas! Get to work; there are experiments to be done!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more “Marvel Contest of Champions” news and interviews!