Marvel Rivals is all about balance. The competitive hero shooter needs every character to be viable in several scenarios, and while that’s mostly been true of Season 0, the wall has some cracks. Some ranged DPS characters are dominating matches, and other heroes don’t have enough versatility to make them practical picks over the rest. This is bound to happen as a meta emerges, which is why it’s now up to NetEase Games to make changes to bring other heroes back into the forefront. Luckily with Season 1, this is exactly what’s going to happen.
With the Marvel Rivals Season 1 release date scheduled for this week, the biggest questions on everyone’s minds are about potential nerfs and buffs. Season 0 might have been well balanced, with the ranked pick/ban system helping weed out any unwanted heroes ahead of time, but it certainly wasn’t perfect. A few ranged Duelists proved to be much more effective than others in the multiplayer game, and even a handful of ults (I’m looking at you, Luna Snow) go on for what feels like forever. So I’m delighted to tell you that ahead of the full Season 1 patch notes, Marvel Rivals developer NetEase Games has teased plenty of hero changes that are on the way.
Lead combat designer ‘Zhiyong’ says “Shield-and-ranged hero combos seem to have become our first meta,” with ranged Duelists in particular “dominating lineups.” That’s why, to the joy of everyone I’m sure, both Hela and Hawkeye are being tuned down to ensure that all ranged heroes feel viable. These two heroes have been dominating the casual, ranked, and professional scene, and often find themselves on a match’s ban list because of it. Paired with Mantis’ damage boost ability, Hela and Hawkeye can feel unstoppable, so I’m happy to see them being tweaked.
Now we get to the buffs, and there are a lot. Mobile Vanguards like Venom and Captain America, who leap around the battlefield and punch through defenses straight into the backline, are being buffed. Zhiyong doesn’t tell us exactly how these two heroes are being overhauled, but I’d expect damage and ability improvements that incentivize you to get stuck into the action.
Next up, heroes that shine in “specialized compositions” like Wolverine and Storm are getting a boost. Zhiyong says NetEase Games wants to ensure they are “the cornerstone of unique strategies.” While a good Wolverine is brilliant at disrupting and moving tanks from key positions, Storm is too slow. The mutant doesn’t have the same versatility and output that Iron Man does, and while her ult and Thor team-up are pretty good, she often finds herself at the bottom of Marvel Rivals tier lists.
My favorite Strategist to play (sorry Rocket Racoon, I love you) is also being buffed. Cloak and Dagger is being made “more formidable in diverse team setups” – that makes it sound like their damage capabilities are being enhanced. You typically don’t spend much time as Cloak in a match, often switching to them for short bursts of damage, escapes, or to blind enemies. I don’t think this is bad, per se, but giving us more reasons to switch to Cloak will make the duo a more diverse and appealing healer.
Last up, adorable menace Jeff the Land Shark’s ultimate is being tweaked. Zhiyong says the “detection range for Jeff the Land Shark’s ultimate ability will also be fine-tuned to better align with early warning signals.” This doesn’t sound so much like a buff, but it’s needed. Plenty of counters make you invulnerable to Jeff’s swallow, but I always find that the circle shows up after his voice line with almost no time to counter in the first place. Also, I swear I’ve been just outside of his ult’s range when it ends and I’ve still been swallowed, so changes to the detection range are needed.
On the whole, these nerfs and buffs are the changes Marvel Rivals sorely needs. Thankfully NetEase Games is trying to implement as few nerfs as possible, instead lifting other heroes up to make them more fun and viable in a variety of situations. I hope more Strategists are set for buffs as well, though, because the game needs to motivate more players to take on the role.
Full and detailed Marvel Rivals character adjustments are coming to the official website around the start of Season 1, so we should get more information fairly soon.
Don’t forget to check in on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for some freebies, alongside all the best Marvel Rivals crosshairs to help improve your aim.
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