Marvel Rivals' Legendary Start: Update Highlights

The zero season has wrapped up, and the first season of *Marvel Rivals* is now in full swing, bringing a wave of fresh content and strategic balance changes to the game. Let's dive into the significant updates and adjustments that players need to know about.

What’s New in the First Season?

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This season introduces an electrifying theme: an undead invasion led by Dracula! To counter this dark force, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members of this iconic team are already playable, with the rest slated for release as the season unfolds.

New Heroes

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Mister Fantastic: As a duelist, he excels at medium-range combat. His abilities enable swift movement between enemies and allies, inflict area damage, and offer temporary damage absorption.

Invisible Woman: A strategist whose attacks not only deal damage but also heal allies upon impact. She can conjure shields, manipulate enemy positions with push and pull mechanics, and, unsurprisingly, become invisible, adding a strategic layer to her gameplay.

New Maps and Mode

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The new map, "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown," transports players to a devastated New York City, where battles can take place at iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal.

A thrilling new game mode, "Doom Match," has been introduced, designed for 8-12 players. The match concludes when a specific number of knockouts are achieved, with the top 50% of players emerging as winners.

Battle Pass

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The first season's Battle Pass is significantly larger than the zero season's, boasting double the content. With seasons now lasting three months, expect even more from future Battle Passes.

Of the 10 skins available, 8 are exclusive to the premium version. While most skins are visually stunning, the Blue Tarantula skin for Peni Parker, which is merely a color swap of her default outfit, falls short in terms of visual impact. Players can still earn Units and Lattice by completing tasks in the free portion of the Battle Pass.

Celestial Rank

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A new rank, "Celestial," has been inserted between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," comprising three divisions. While most players might not reach this lofty tier, it could potentially ease the climb through the rankings in future seasons.

As with many online games, *Marvel Rivals* resets player 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 instance, ending the zero season at Platinum I would place you at Silver II for the start of the first season.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

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Balancing a diverse roster of heroes with unique abilities is a challenging task, and *Marvel Rivals* has implemented a series of adjustments to keep the gameplay fair and exciting.

Vanguard

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Captain America: Previously one of the weaker tanks, Captain America has received several buffs to enhance his viability. His Shield cooldown has been reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds, the cooldown on his Rush ability has dropped from 12 to 10 seconds, his health has 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.

Doctor Strange: Adjustments include a 70% damage reduction for Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version at a range of 8 meters (up from 5 meters), and a decrease in Shield recovery speed from 80/s to 70/s.

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Thor: His health has been boosted by 25 points, and he now gains crowd-control immunity during his ultimate ability, enhancing his survivability.

Hulk: A slight nerf sees his Gamma Shield now granting 200 health instead of 250.

Venom: Already a strong hero, Venom has been further buffed with increased armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2) and a 10-point increase in his ultimate ability's base damage.

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 lowered to 75 from 120.

Black Widow: Several small changes have improved her gameplay. The radius for the first effect of Edge Dancer has increased from 3 to 5 meters, the recovery time for Fleet Foot has been reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and the time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability has been shortened from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.

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Hawkeye: While maintaining his strengths, he's been slightly nerfed. The spread angle between explosive arrows has been narrowed, the activation distance for his passive ability Archer’s Focus has been reduced from 60 meters to 40 meters, and the maximum bonus damage from his passive skill has decreased from 80 to 70.

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Hela: Her health has been reduced from 275 to 250, yet she remains a top-tier DPS hero. New Twitch Drops are available, offering a skin and other rewards for Hela. To claim them, watch live streams of the game on Twitch with Drops enabled.

Magik: In Darkchild form, her damage to Umbral Incursion has increased from 115 to 135, although this doesn't enhance her resilience.

Moon Knight: Already a formidable character, he's been further enhanced. The number of talons generated by his ultimate has increased from 10 to 14, and the blast radius of each claw has expanded from 4 meters to 5 meters.

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Namor: The accuracy of his throws in his abilities has been adjusted, likely addressing a previous bug.

The Punisher: The spread for Deliverance and Adjudication has been slightly reduced.

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Scarlet Witch: Her damage from Chaos Control has increased from 50/s to 60/s, the damage-over-time percentage has been reduced from 5% to 3%, and the damage of Chthonian Burst has risen from 30 to 35.

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Storm: Significant enhancements include faster, more damaging projectiles from normal attacks, increased damage from right-clicking, and bonus health after using her ultimate increased from 350 to 450, now decaying at 100 per second instead of disappearing instantly.

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Squirrel Girl: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, adding predictability to her attacks. The health of her Squirrel Tsunami has been halved, making them easier to destroy.

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Winter Soldier: His health from using abilities has been increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage has risen from 70 to 75, area damage has decreased from 70 to 65 with 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 boosted from 300 to 350, despite being high for a damage dealer, and the damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal has decreased 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 the healing from Joyful Splash has increased from 140/s to 150/s.

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Luna Snow: The only nerf is a 0.5s break during mode change while dancing, up from 0.1s, which won't significantly impact her survivability.

Mantis: The acceleration from Nature's Favor has been reduced from 2.5m/s to 1.5m/s.

Rocket Raccoon: The healing speed in recovery mode has increased from 60 to 70 units per second.

Team-Up

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The following changes affect the benefits heroes receive from Team-Up:

Hawkeye and Hela: Both have seen their season bonus reduced by 5%.

Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm: Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals more effectively, Magneto's projectile damage has increased, and Storm's charged storm hits more frequently and with greater impact.

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Overall, these balance adjustments are subtle yet impactful. While some heroes may see a slight rise in popularity, Hela continues to be a constant ban at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes will undoubtedly shake up the meta, and only time will reveal the full extent of these shifts.