How to raise friendship, and where to take your pals.
For all its tactical chops, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is just as much a game about hanging out with heroes. More Fire Emblem than XCOM, much of your time will be spent in the Abbey—the hub of the Midnight Suns, where the game’s heroes unwind between fights. Each character has their own friendship level with The Hunter, and various interactions can raise—or lower—that relationship.
Why build friendships? Aside from the obvious—it’s nice to do—you’ll also gain the transactional benefit of better passive abilities, upgraded combo cards, increased stats and new hero cards. Raising friendships also contributes to the global team friendship level, unlocking yet more bonuses.
How to build friendship
Throughout the game’s story you’ll have conversations that can provide a small increase in friendship XP—at least if the hero agrees with what you say. But to maximise your friendship gains, you’ll want to actively seek out companionship with your new pals. Here are a handful of things you can do to quickly raise your friendship level.
Hangouts
(Image credit: 2K Games)
Most nights, one of a selection of four heroes can be invited to a hangout. Pick a hero, and you’ll be given three activities to pick from. Each hero has their own preference—younger members like Spider-Man and Ghost Rider love them some videogames; more studious characters like Doctor Strange won’t appreciate spotting you during a workout. If a hero loves your chosen hangout spot, you’ll get a +7 to your friendship. If they like it you’ll get +5. If they dislike it, you won’t earn any extra friendship.
Hangouts also feature conversations with your chosen partner. Pick the responses that vibe with their personality the most and you’ll earn +2 friendship.
Havens
(Image credit: 2K Games)
As you explore the Abbey grounds, you’ll find glowing blue zones marking significant areas of the map. Each one is a Haven, that you can invite a hero to during the day. Havens work almost exactly like Hangouts—taking your chosen hero out for a specific activity—but with two main differences.
Any conversation options picked earned double the normal friendship, up to +4 for the best options.You can only use each Haven once, and you can only invite each hero to a Haven one time, so it pays to match each hero with their favourite choice.
Gifts
At the end of a Hangout or Haven, you get the option to give a gift. There are a number of ways to earn new gifts:
Bought from the Gift Shop—up to three per day depending on your overall team friendship level.Crafted from Agatha’s Cauldron.Collected from around the Abbey.
Gifts come in a number of rarities. Common gifts tend to be just liked—not loved—by everyone, for a +1 friendship score. Rare gifts will give +4 if a hero really loves it, epic gifts give up to +8, and legendary gifts can give +10—but only to the specific hero that gift was meant for.
Compliments
Compliments are a type of resource, earned through completing research, completing Hero Ops or levelling up the Training Yard. You can ‘spend’ them by walking up to a hero and holding down the F key for a +4 boost to their friendship. Spread them around though: compliment the same hero too quickly, and you’ll get diminishing returns.
Sparring
(Image credit: 2K Games)
Each day, you can pick a hero to spar with. This is always worth doing, as—when fully researched—sparring provides a number of benefits. Not only do you increase your friendship with that hero, but you’ll give them a permanent stat boost too.
The best Hangouts for each hero
(Image credit: 2K Games)
Naturally, each hero has a preference for how they spend their time, and you’ll get bigger bonuses for picking activities they love. Below, you’ll find a non-exhaustive list of what each hero loves, likes, and would rather not do. We’ll keep updating this list as we continue to wine and dine our heroes. For now, we’ve also left off some of the late-game additions to the roster, for those avoiding spoilers.
Blade
Loves (+7)
FishingHave a DrinkMeditation
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingForaging for MushroomsPaintingPicnicPlaying CardsReading by the Fire
Dislikes (0)
StargazingWatching a Movie
Captain America
Loves (+7)
Deep ConversationPlaying CardsWorking Out
Likes (+5)
StargazingWatching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
Playing Video Games
Captain Marvel
Loves (+7)
PicnicReading by the FireStargazingWorking Out
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingForaging for MushroomsPaintingPool Lounging
Dislikes (+0)
FishingMeditation
Doctor Strange
Loves (+7)
Deep ConversationExploring the GroundsForaging for MushroomsMeditationReading by the Fire
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingFishingHave a DrinkPaintingPicnicPlaying CardsWatching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
Playing Video GamesPool LoungingWorking Out
Ghost Rider
Loves (+7)
FishingPlaying Video GamesPool LoungingWatching a Movie
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingDeep ConversationForaging for MushroomsHave a DrinkPaintingPicnicStargazingWorking Out
Dislikes (+0)
Exploring the GroundsMeditationReading by the Fire
Iron Man
Loves (+7)
PicnicPlaying CardsPlaying Video GamesReading by the Fire
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingDeep ConversationFishingForaging for MushroomsPaintingStargazingWatching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
Exploring the GroundsHave a DrinkMeditation
Magik
Loves (+7)
PaintingMeditation
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingExploring the GroundsFishingForaging for MushroomsPicnicPlaying CardsPool LoungingWatching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
Playing Video GamesWorking Out
Nico
Loves (+7)
PicnicPool LoungingWatching a Movie
Likes (+5)
Bird WatchingExploring the GroundsForaging for MushroomsHave a DrinkMeditationPaintingPlaying Cards
Dislikes (+0)
FishingPlaying Video GamesWorking Out
Spider-Man
Loves (+7)
Bird WatchingDeep ConversationForaging for MushroomsPaintingPicnicPlaying Video GamesWatching a Movie
Likes (+5)
FishingHave a DrinkPool LoungingReading by the Fire
Dislikes (+0)
Exploring the GroundsMeditation
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