Marvel Rivals Update Unveils Legendary Beginnings

The zero season has concluded, paving the way for an exciting start to the first season in Marvel Rivals. This season brings a host of new content and significant balance adjustments that promise to shake up the game's meta. Below, we'll delve into all the key updates you should know about.

Table of Content

• 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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This season's theme is an epic undead invasion led by none other than Dracula! To counter this dark threat, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members are already playable, with the rest set to join as the season unfolds.

New Heroes

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• Mister Fantastic: As a medium-range duelist, he can swiftly navigate between foes and allies, deal area damage, and temporarily absorb incoming hits.
• Invisible Woman: This strategist not only heals allies with her attacks but can also create shields, manipulate enemy positions, and, of course, turn invisible.

New Maps and Mode

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The new "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map allows superheroes to clash in a devastated New York City, including iconic spots like Grand Central Terminal. Additionally, "Doom Match," a new game mode, accommodates 8-12 players and declares the top 50% as winners after a specific number of knockouts.

Battle Pass

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The first season's Battle Pass is notably larger than the zero season's and will span three months, offering more content. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are premium, with most being visually striking. However, the Blue Tarantula skin for Peni Parker merely swaps colors and lacks significant changes. As with the previous season, completing tasks in the free portion of the Battle Pass can earn you Units and Lattice.

Celestial Rank

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A new "Celestial" rank has been introduced between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," featuring three divisions. While most players may not reach this rank, it could facilitate climbing the rankings in future seasons. As with many online games, Marvel Rivals resets ratings at the end of each season, with your starting rank in the first season dropping seven levels from your final rank in the zero season.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

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Balancing a roster with unique abilities is always challenging, and Marvel Rivals has made several adjustments this season.

Vanguard

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• Captain America: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he's received significant buffs. The Shield's cooldown is now 2 seconds instead of 3, Rush ability's cooldown is reduced from 12 to 10 seconds, and his health is up from 650 to 675. His Ultimate ability's cost has been lowered from 3,400 to 3,100, now granting 100 extra health instead of 110.

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

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• Thor: His health has increased by 25 points, and he gains crowd-control immunity during his ultimate ability, enhancing his resilience.

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

• Venom: Despite already being strong, his armor gain based on lost health has a coefficient increase from 1 to 1.2, and his ultimate ability's base damage is up by 10 points.

Duelist

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• Black Panther: The extra health from Spirit Rend's marks has been reduced from 40 to 30, and maximum additional health from 120 to 75.

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• Black Widow: Several minor enhancements include an increase in the Edge Dancer's first effect radius from 3 to 5 meters, a reduction in Fleet Foot's recovery time from 12 to 4 seconds, and a decrease in time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.

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• Hawkeye: A slight nerf narrows the spread angle between explosive arrows, reduces the activation distance of Archer’s Focus from 60 to 40 meters, and decreases maximum bonus damage from 80 to 70.

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• Hela: Her health is down from 275 to 250, but she remains a top DPS. New Twitch Drops include a skin and other rewards for Hela, available by watching eligible live streams on Twitch.

• Magik: Damage to Umbral Incursion in Darkchild form has increased from 115 to 135.

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• Moon Knight: His ultimate now generates 14 talons instead of 10, and the blast radius of each claw has increased from 4 to 5 meters.

• Namor: Adjustments to the accuracy of throws in his abilities.

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• The Punisher: Slightly reduced spread for Deliverance and Adjudication.

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• Scarlet Witch: Enhancements include an increase in Chaos Control damage from 50/s to 60/s, a reduction in damage-over-time percentage from 5% to 3%, and an increase in Chthonian Burst damage from 30 to 35.

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• Storm: Significant buffs include faster and more damaging normal attack projectiles, increased damage from right-clicking, and a boost in bonus health after using her ultimate 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, and the health of Squirrel Tsunami is halved, making them easier to destroy.

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• Winter Soldier: His health from right-click and E abilities is now 40 instead of 30, main attack damage increased from 70 to 75, area damage reduced from 70 to 65 with falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%, and base health increased from 250 to 275.

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• Wolverine: His health has increased from 300 to 350, and the damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal decreased from 50% to 40%.

Strategist

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• Cloak & Dagger: Cooldown of Dagger Storm reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during ulta increased from 3 to 4, improving mobility.

• Jeff the Land Shark: Ultimate range adjusted to a 10-meter cylindrical field with a height of 5 meters, and healing from Joyful Splash increased from 140/s to 150/s.

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• Luna Snow: A slight nerf during her dance mode change, now with a 0.5s break instead of 0.1s.

• Mantis: Reduced acceleration from Nature's Favor 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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Team-Up changes include a reduction in season bonuses for Hawkeye and Hela by 5%, while Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm receive enhancements. Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals more effectively, Magneto's projectiles pack a bigger punch, and Storm's charged storm strikes more frequently and with greater force.

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These balance adjustments, though minor, could shift the meta slightly. While Hela remains a staple ban at higher ranks, the introduction of new heroes will undoubtedly influence the game's dynamics. Only time will reveal the full impact of these changes.