Augmented ISOs were a new type of hero ISO released in 2014 for Marvel: Avengers Alliance. Unlike empowered ISOs, which attach to a character and provide a general benefit, A-ISOs attach to a specific power and improve that power. You can buy general A-ISOs in the store or get character specific augmented ISOs by completing boss battles and epic boss battles in season 2. When chapter 5 of season 2 was released, new A-ISOs were also released for chapter 3 bosses as well. The following guide to character specific augmented ISOs in chapter 3 of season 2 of Marvel: Avengers Alliance will help you determine whether they are worth the time and energy to acquire.
Painful A-ISO, Shatterstar, Mission 1 (B-) – This ISO changes the special ability of Blade Maelstrom from pain to pain train. This means that in addition to applying pain, it also applies exposed to a target already affected by pain and wide-open to a target already affected by exposed. This ISO would be better if Blade Maelstrom attacked a single target. But, because it doesn’t, you will never get two attacks in a row with this power from Close Quarters Combat. When the enemies include an infiltrator, this is an amazing ability. When they don’t, this will often go to waste.
Charged A-ISO, Magik, Mission 2 (D+) – Soulsword gains one additional soul charge when you attack with it. Since Magik can never have more than two soul charges, this has a good chance of being meaningless, if she also later counters with Stepping Disc. This provides the best benefit when she is paired with a hero that can grant counterattacks or coordinated attacks, but often the benefit from this is minor and the battle to acquire it is hard enough that you generally don’t want to repeat it multiple times.
Ragged A-ISO, Daredevil, Mission 3 (C+) – Ragged augmented ISO adds the hemorrhaging trait to Manrikigusari. This attack is pretty much assured of only being used against a target that has two to three stacks of bleeding, so this simply adds damage in the majority of cases. The damage is only modest though and the battle against Grim Reaper can be incredibly difficult with only the slightest bit of bad luck, though, so you probably don’t want to spend much effort trying to acquire this.
Formican A-ISO, Hank Pym, Mission 4 (D-) – Formican gives a rather unimpressive boost to one of the least impressive heroes in the game. The Army of Ants power adds the winded status effect in addition to all other status effects. This is one of the weaker status effects in the game and almost entirely unnecessary with Hank Pym unless he is paired with an infiltrator. To add insult to injury, the fight with Baron Strucker is long and boring.
Selective A-ISO, Sunfire, Mission 5 (C) – The Selective ISO causes Sunfire’s Kouen Banjou to no longer damage heroes when it performs a counterattack. This is practically a required benefit to actually make Sunfire even vaguely worth using and yet still doesn’t make him a good hero. Thankfully, the fight to acquire this isn’t too bad and you can unlock an epic boss while trying to get this A-ISO.
Loaded A-ISO, Punisher, Mission 6 (C) – Loaded changes the Walking Armory power of Punisher such that in grants the class power of the class you change him to and has a cooldown. The latter is frustrating because it prevents switching classes after a tactician attack and means you have to have each of his power memorized. You can no longer simply switch to a class, look at the powers, and decide whether you want to use them. If you know the character well and can plan the battle carefully, this is a good advantage, but it is an awful A-ISO for players that are new to using the character.
Upgraded A-ISO, Punisher, Mission 5 Epic / Mission 6 Epic (C+) – This augmented ISO adjusts the Battle Van power. This power gains brutal strike, exploit corruption, and exploit attrition. The last two benefits are unlikely to grant much additional damage in most fights, especially since Punisher gains buffs in his generalist state. Brutal Strike, on the other hand, is quite useful, allowing him to use the van as a finishing strike, the way it is intended to be used, without having to worry about enemies resurrecting. It isn’t the best ISO, but it should added damage most of the time and epic boss battles are good for earning command points.
