Marvel Rivals' Legendary Start: Update Highlights

The zero season has come to a close, and we're now diving into the excitement of the first season of Marvel Rivals. This season brings a host of new content and balance changes that are set to shake up the game's dynamics. Let's explore the significant updates and adjustments you need to know about.

Table of Contents

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

What’s New in the First Season?

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Theme of the Season: This season introduces an undead invasion led by none other than Dracula himself! To counter this dark force, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members are already in the game, with more to join as the season unfolds.

New Heroes

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• Mister Fantastic: As a duelist, he specializes in medium-range attacks. His abilities enable rapid movement between enemies and allies, deal area damage, and provide temporary damage absorption.
• Invisible Woman: A strategist who heals allies with her attacks. She can create shields, manipulate enemy positions with push or pull effects, and, of course, turn invisible.

New Maps and Mode

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• Maps: The "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map is now available, featuring iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal in a devastated New York City.
• Mode: "Doom Match," a new game mode for 8–12 players, has been introduced. The top 50% of players who reach a specific number of knockouts are declared winners.

Battle Pass

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The first season's Battle Pass is double the size of the zero season's. Future seasons will last three months, offering more content in their Battle Passes. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are part of the premium version. While most skins are visually appealing, the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker is merely a color swap of the default outfit. Completing tasks in the free portion of the Battle Pass still rewards you with Units and Lattice.

Celestial Rank

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A new rank, "Celestial," has been added between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," consisting of three divisions. While most players may not reach beyond "Bronze," this addition could facilitate climbing the ranks in the future. As with many online games, Marvel Rivals resets ratings at the end of each season. Your starting rank in the first season will be seven levels below your final rank in the zero season. For example, ending at Platinum I in the zero season means starting at Silver II in the first season.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

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Balancing a diverse roster of characters is always a challenge, and Marvel Rivals is no exception. Here are the adjustments made for the first season.

Vanguard

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• Captain America: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he has received significant buffs. The Shield cooldown has been reduced from 3 to 2 seconds, Rush ability cooldown from 12 to 10 seconds, health increased from 650 to 675, and the Ultimate ability cost reduced from 3,400 to 3,100, now granting 100 extra health instead of 110.
• Doctor Strange: His Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version damage decreases by 70% at a range of 8 meters (from 5 meters), and shield recovery speed reduced from 80/s to 70/s.
• Thor: Health increased by 25 points, and he gains crowd-control immunity during his ultimate ability.
• Hulk: Gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250.
• Venom: Gains more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2), and base damage of his ultimate ability increased by 10 points.

Duelist

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• Black Panther: Extra health from upgrading marks with Spirit Rend reduced from 40 to 30, and maximum additional health reduced from 120 to 75.
• Black Widow: Radius for the first effect of Edge Dancer increased from 3 to 5 meters, recovery time for Fleet Foot reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability shortened from 1 to 0.6 seconds.
• Hawkeye: Spread angle between explosive arrows narrowed, passive ability Archer’s Focus activation distance reduced from 60 to 40 meters, and maximum bonus damage from his passive skill decreased from 80 to 70.
• Hela: Health reduced from 275 to 250. New Twitch Drops for Hela include a skin and other rewards, available by watching live streams on Twitch with Drops enabled.
• Magik: Damage to Umbral Incursion in Darkchild form increased from 115 to 135.
• Moon Knight: Number of talons generated by his ultimate increased from 10 to 14, and blast radius of each claw increased from 4 to 5 meters.
• Namor: Accuracy of throws in his abilities adjusted.
• The Punisher: Slightly reduced spread for Deliverance and Adjudication.
• Scarlet Witch: Damage of Chaos Control increased from 50/s to 60/s, damage-over-time percentage reduced from 5% to 3%, and damage of Chthonian Burst increased from 30 to 35.
• Storm: Normal attacks release faster projectiles with more damage, right-click damage increased, and bonus health after using her ultimate increased from 350 to 450, decaying at 100 per second instead of disappearing instantly.
• Squirrel Girl: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, and health of squirrel tsunami halved.
• Winter Soldier: Health provided by right-click and E abilities increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage increased from 70 to 75, area damage reduced from 70 to 65, with damage falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%, and base health increased from 250 to 275.
• Wolverine: Health increased from 300 to 350, and damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal decreased from 50% to 40%.

Strategist

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• Cloak & Dagger: Cooldown of Dagger Storm reduced from 15 to 12 seconds, and number of dashes during ulta increased from 3 to 4.
• Jeff the Land Shark: Ultimate range adjusted from a 10-meter sphere to a 10-meter cylindrical field with a height of 5 meters, and healing from Joyful Splash increased from 140/s to 150/s.
• Luna Snow: Mode change break during the dance increased from 0.1 to 0.5 seconds.
• Mantis: Acceleration from Nature's Favor reduced from 2.5m/s to 1.5m/s.
• Rocket Raccoon: Healing speed in recovery mode increased from 60 to 70 units per second.

Team-Up

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• Hawkeye and Hela: Season bonus reduced by 5%.
• Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm: Enhanced. Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals better, Magneto's projectile damage increased, and Storm's charged storm hits more often and harder.

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These balance adjustments are subtle but impactful. While a few characters may see a rise in popularity, Hela remains a top pick and a frequent ban at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes and these changes will undoubtedly influence the game's meta, and it will be fascinating to see how the power dynamics evolve over time.