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With the zero season behind us, Marvel Rivals is kicking off its first season with a bang, bringing a host of new content and balance changes that promise to shake up the gameplay. Here's a detailed look at what's new and the adjustments made to heroes.
What’s New in the First Season?
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The theme of this season is an undead invasion led by none other than Dracula. To counter this dark force, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members of the team are already available, with the rest set to join as the season unfolds.
New Heroes
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Mister Fantastic: A versatile duelist who excels at medium range. His unique abilities allow him to swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, deal area damage, and temporarily absorb incoming damage.
Invisible Woman: As a strategist, her attacks not only deal damage but also heal her allies. She can create protective shields, manipulate enemy positions with push or pull mechanics, and, as her name suggests, turn invisible, adding a layer of strategic depth to her gameplay.
New Maps and Mode
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Explore the new map, "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown," where superheroes can clash in iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal within a devastated New York City. Additionally, the "Doom Match" mode has been introduced, designed for 8–12 players, where the top 50% of players are declared winners after reaching a set number of knockouts.
Battle Pass
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The first season's Battle Pass is significantly larger than the zero season's, reflecting the extended three-month duration of future seasons. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are exclusive to the premium version. While most skins offer striking visual upgrades, the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker merely changes the color of the default outfit, lacking substantial visual appeal. Players can still earn Units and Lattice by completing tasks in the free tier of the Battle Pass.
Celestial Rank
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A new rank, "Celestial," has been introduced between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," comprising three divisions. This rank may be out of reach for most players stuck in "Bronze," but it could facilitate easier progression through the ranks in future seasons. As with many competitive games, Marvel Rivals resets ratings at the end of each season, with your starting rank in the first season determined by your final rank in the zero season, dropping seven levels. For instance, ending the zero season at Platinum I means starting the first season at Silver II.
What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?
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Balancing a diverse roster of heroes is always a challenge, and Marvel Rivals has made several minor adjustments to ensure a fair playing field in the first season.
Vanguard
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Captain America: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he's now received significant buffs. The cooldown for his Shield has been reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds, and his Rush ability's cooldown has decreased from 12 to 10 seconds. His health has been increased from 650 to 675 points, and the cost of his Ultimate ability has been lowered from 3,400 to 3,100, now granting 100 extra health instead of 110.
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Doctor Strange: His damage for Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version now decreases by 70% at a range of 8 meters (previously 5 meters), and his shield recovery speed has been reduced from 80/s to 70/s.
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Thor: His health has been increased by 25 points, and he now gains crowd-control immunity while using his ultimate ability, enhancing his survivability.
Hulk: His gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250, a slight nerf to balance his overpowering presence.
Venom: Already a formidable character, he's been further buffed. He now gains more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2), and his ultimate ability's base damage has been increased by 10 points.
Duelist
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Black Panther: The extra health from upgrading marks with Spirit Rend has been reduced from 40 to 30, and the maximum additional health has been decreased from 120 to 75.
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Black Widow: Several small enhancements have been made, including an increase in the radius of the first effect of Edge Dancer from 3 to 5 meters, a reduction in the recovery time for Fleet Foot from 12 to 4 seconds, and a shortened time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.
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Hawkeye: A slight nerf has been applied, with a narrowed spread angle between explosive arrows, a reduced activation distance for his passive ability Archer’s Focus from 60 to 40 meters, and a decrease in maximum bonus damage from his passive skill from 80 to 70.
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Hela: Her health has been reduced from 275 to 250, though she remains the top DPS choice. New Twitch Drops are available, offering a skin and other rewards for Hela, which can be earned by watching live streams of the game on Twitch.
Magik: In Darkchild form, her damage to Umbral Incursion has been increased from 115 to 135.
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Moon Knight: Already a strong character, he's been further enhanced with an increase in the number of talons generated by his ultimate from 10 to 14 and a boost in the blast radius of each claw from 4 to 5 meters.
Namor: The accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted, resembling more of a bug fix.
The Punisher: The spread for Deliverance and Adjudication has been slightly reduced.
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Scarlet Witch: Her Chaos Control damage has been increased from 50/s to 60/s, damage-over-time percentage reduced from 5% to 3%, and Chthonian Burst damage increased from 30 to 35.
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Storm: Significant enhancements include faster and more damaging projectiles from normal attacks, increased damage from right-clicking, and an increase in bonus health granted after using her ultimate from 350 to 450, with a decay rate of 100 per second.
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Squirrel Girl: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, and the health of Squirrel Tsunami has been halved, making them more vulnerable to destruction.
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Winter Soldier: Health provided by his right-click and E abilities has been increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage has risen from 70 to 75, area damage reduced from 70 to 65 with a damage falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%, and his base health has increased from 250 to 275 points.
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Wolverine: His health has been increased from 300 to 350, and the damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal has been adjusted from 50% to 40%.
Strategist
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Cloak & Dagger: To enhance their effectiveness, the cooldown of Dagger Storm has been reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during their ultimate has increased from 3 to 4, improving their mobility.
Jeff the Land Shark: The ultimate range has been adjusted from a 10-meter sphere to a 10-meter cylindrical field with a height of 5 meters, and healing from Joyful Splash has been increased from 140/s to 150/s.
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Luna Snow: A slight nerf has been applied, with the mode change during her dance now having a break of 0.5s instead of 0.1s, though she remains a formidable protector.
Mantis: Her acceleration from Nature's Favor has been reduced from 2.5m/s to 1.5m/s.
Rocket Raccoon: His healing speed in recovery mode has been increased from 60 to 70 units per second.
Team-Up
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The following changes relate to the benefits that heroes receive from Team-Up:
Hawkeye and Hela have seen their season bonus reduced by 5%, while Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm have been enhanced. Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals more effectively, Magneto's projectiles have increased damage, and Storm's charged storm hits more frequently and with greater impact.
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Overall, these balance adjustments are relatively minor, but they could lead to shifts in hero popularity. Hela continues to be a constant ban at higher ranks, and the impact of the new heroes on the meta remains to be seen. As the season progresses, we'll discover how these changes influence the power dynamics within Marvel Rivals.
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