The first season of the acclaimed team shooter Marvel Rivals is coming next Friday. We summarize the balance changes you can expect.
Major updates and new seasons are always tricky in team shooters. This is because they usually bring with them new heroes and changes to the established meta. And these are either a complete success or a real letdown. There seems to be no middle ground in the eyes of the shooter community, as the many hours in Overwatch taught us back in the day.
Now the first season of Marvel Rivals, the new genre heir to the throne, is also about to begin, and players are understandably excited. Because, of course, everyone wants to know which heroes will be nerfed or buffed and what other changes there will be to the game balance.
Developer NetEase is already revealing one thing in advance: With Season 1, the Fantastic 4, led by the super-elastic Mr. Fantastic, will find their way into the Marvel shooter. You can see the trailer here:
What buffs and nerfs can we expect?
So far, Marvel and NetEase have not commented on the specific balance adjustments in Season 1. So if you want to know the exact details, you will have to wait for the official patch notes when the season is released on Friday. However, based on developer statements in recent weeks, we can already make some educated guesses.
In the current pre-season, players were largely satisfied with the existing hero balance. However, it has since become clear that some ranged Duelists were somewhat more effective than other damage dealers. Lead Combat Designer Zhiyong from the responsible developer NetEase says: “Shield and ranged hero combos seem to have become our first meta.”
It is clear that ranged Duelists in particular dominate the hero lineups. Accordingly, it can be assumed that both Hela and Hawkeye will be nerfed so that other Duelist heroes feel valuable. Together with Mantis’ healing ability, the two damage dealers were previously difficult to stop.
Jeff’s Ultimate will also be adjusted slightly. In the future, it should be easier for you to see a bit earlier whether you are within range of his mighty jaws.
The quoted statements from developer Zhiyong
, by the way, come from the following developer video shared by the studio on YouTube:
Of course, there will also be buffs.Some Vanguards, the Marvel Rivals tanks, are to be strengthened. Agile heroes like Venom and Captain America should benefit the most from this.
While Combat Designer
has not been able to be seen in the cards in detail so far, we expect that both heroes will be able to deal more damage and thus provide more of an incentive to get right in the middle of the action. It is also possible that some specific abilities will be revised.
But that’s not all: some heroes like Wolverine and Storm, who complement each other in their combos, are planned to be upgraded.The developers want to achieve that they become the cornerstone for unique strategies.
While Wolverine is already good at disrupting enemy tanks, Storm is simply too slow so far.
The mutant doesn’t have the same versatility in gameplay and the same damage output as Iron Man, for example, and is therefore often at the bottom of the Marvel Rivals tier lists.
There are also changes to the healers, known as Strategists in Rivals. Cloak & Dagger, for example, are to receive a higher damage output so that it feels more rewarding to switch to the dark Cloak from time to time. You can find out the exact update details from us on Friday at the start of the season.
What do you think of the upcoming changes to Marvel Rivals? Are you satisfied with the current meta or do you want urgent adjustments? Let us know in the comments!
