The Legendary Beginning of Marvel Rivals: what the Update brought

Season Zero is over, and the first season of Marvel Rivals is here, bringing a wave of fresh content and balance tweaks. Let's dive into the significant updates.

Table of Contents

• What's New in the First Season?
• New Heroes
• New Maps and Mode
• Battle Pass
• Celestial Rank
• Balance Adjustments for Heroes:
• Vanguard
• Duelist
• Strategist
• Team-Up

What's New in the First Season?

This season's theme? An undead invasion orchestrated by Dracula himself! To combat this darkness, the Fantastic Four have answered the call. Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman are already playable, with more team members arriving throughout the season.

New Heroes

• Mister Fantastic: A mid-range duelist with abilities that let him swiftly move between enemies and allies, unleash area damage, and temporarily absorb incoming attacks.
• Invisible Woman: A strategist whose attacks heal allies on impact. She can create shields, manipulate enemies with pushes and pulls, and, of course, turn invisible.

New Maps and Mode

Two new maps, part of the "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" set, are now available. Prepare for superhero battles in iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal amidst the ruins of a ravaged New York City.

A new game mode, "Doom Match," enters the fray, supporting 8-12 players. Once a certain knockout threshold is reached, the top 50% are declared victorious.

Battle Pass

Season One's Battle Pass is double the size of Season Zero's. Unlike the previous season, future seasons will span three months, resulting in richer Battle Pass content. The premium version offers 8 out of 10 skins, many of which are visually stunning. However, Peni Parker's Blue Tarantula skin, a simple color swap, feels a bit underwhelming. The free track still provides Units and Lattice for diligent completion of tasks.

Celestial Rank

A new rank, "Celestial," has been introduced between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," divided into three divisions. While many players might find themselves stuck in Bronze, this addition could potentially ease future ranking climbs.

As with many online games, Marvel Rivals resets rankings at the end of each season. Your starting rank in Season One will depend on your Season Zero finish, with a seven-level drop. For example, a Platinum I finish in Season Zero translates to a Silver II start in Season One.

Balance Adjustments for Heroes

Balancing a diverse roster of heroes with unique abilities is a challenge, and Season One introduces several minor adjustments.

Vanguard

• Captain America: Received significant buffs due to previous weakness. Shield cooldown reduced from 3 to 2 seconds; Rush cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds; health increased from 650 to 675; Ultimate ability cost reduced from 3400 to 3100 (now grants 100 extra health instead of 110).
• Doctor Strange: Reasonable adjustments to Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version damage and shield recovery speed.
• Thor: Health increased by 25; gains crowd-control immunity during his ultimate.
• Hulk: Slightly nerfed; Gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250.
• Venom: Buffed; gains more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2); ultimate ability base damage increased by 10.

Duelist

• Black Panther: Extra health from Spirit Rend reduced; maximum additional health reduced.
• Black Widow: Improved with several small changes to Edge Dancer radius, Fleet Foot recovery time, and ultimate ability power-up time.
• Hawkeye: Slightly nerfed; explosive arrow spread narrowed; Archer’s Focus activation distance reduced; maximum passive skill bonus damage decreased.
• Hela: Health reduced from 275 to 250. New Twitch Drops available.
• Magik: Increased Umbral Incursion damage in Darkchild form.
• Moon Knight: Ultimate ability talons increased from 10 to 14; claw blast radius increased.
• Namor: Throw accuracy adjusted.
• Psylocke: Ultimate skill now checks for barriers against opponents.
• Punisher: Slightly reduced spread for Deliverance and Adjudication.
• Scarlet Witch: Enhanced; Chaos Control damage increased; damage-over-time percentage reduced; Chthonian Burst damage increased.
• Storm: Significantly strengthened; normal attack projectiles are faster and deal more damage; right-click damage increased; ultimate ability bonus health increased and decay rate adjusted.
• Squirrel Girl: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy; squirrel tsunami health reduced.
• Winter Soldier: Health increased; main attack damage increased; area damage reduced; base health increased.
• Wolverine: Health increased; Undying Animal damage reduction decreased.

Strategist

• Cloak & Dagger: Dagger Storm cooldown reduced; ultimate ability dashes increased.
• Jeff the Land Shark: Ultimate range adjusted; Joyful Splash healing increased.
• Luna Snow: Dance mode change break increased.
• Mantis: Nature's Favor acceleration reduced.
• Rocket Raccoon: Recovery mode healing speed increased.

Team-Up

Several Team-Up bonuses have been adjusted, weakening Hawkeye and Hela while enhancing Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm.

These balance changes are largely subtle. While some heroes might see increased popularity, Hela remains a top ban at higher ranks. The impact of the new heroes on the meta remains to be seen.