The best hangout spots for each hero in Marvel's Midnight Suns
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
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
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
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
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)
- Fishing
- Have a Drink
- Meditation
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Painting
- Picnic
- Playing Cards
- Reading by the Fire
Dislikes (0)
- Stargazing
- Watching a Movie
Captain America
Loves (+7)
- Deep Conversation
- Playing Cards
- Working Out
Likes (+5)
- Stargazing
- Watching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
- Playing Video Games
Captain Marvel
Loves (+7)
- Picnic
- Reading by the Fire
- Stargazing
- Working Out
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Painting
- Pool Lounging
Dislikes (+0)
- Fishing
- Meditation
Doctor Strange
Loves (+7)
- Deep Conversation
- Exploring the Grounds
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Meditation
- Reading by the Fire
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Fishing
- Have a Drink
- Painting
- Picnic
- Playing Cards
- Watching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
- Playing Video Games
- Pool Lounging
- Working Out
Ghost Rider
Loves (+7)
- Fishing
- Playing Video Games
- Pool Lounging
- Watching a Movie
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Deep Conversation
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Have a Drink
- Painting
- Picnic
- Stargazing
- Working Out
Dislikes (+0)
- Exploring the Grounds
- Meditation
- Reading by the Fire
Iron Man
Loves (+7)
- Picnic
- Playing Cards
- Playing Video Games
- Reading by the Fire
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Deep Conversation
- Fishing
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Painting
- Stargazing
- Watching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
- Exploring the Grounds
- Have a Drink
- Meditation
Magik
Loves (+7)
- Painting
- Meditation
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Exploring the Grounds
- Fishing
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Picnic
- Playing Cards
- Pool Lounging
- Watching a Movie
Dislikes (+0)
- Playing Video Games
- Working Out
Nico
Loves (+7)
- Picnic
- Pool Lounging
- Watching a Movie
Likes (+5)
- Bird Watching
- Exploring the Grounds
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Have a Drink
- Meditation
- Painting
- Playing Cards
Dislikes (+0)
- Fishing
- Playing Video Games
- Working Out
Spider-Man
Loves (+7)
- Bird Watching
- Deep Conversation
- Foraging for Mushrooms
- Painting
- Picnic
- Playing Video Games
- Watching a Movie
Likes (+5)
- Fishing
- Have a Drink
- Pool Lounging
- Reading by the Fire
Dislikes (+0)
- Exploring the Grounds
- Meditation