The zero season has come to a close, making way for the much-anticipated first season of *Marvel Rivals*. This new season is packed with exciting updates and balance tweaks that promise to shake up the gameplay experience. Let's dive into the key highlights of this season's launch.
What’s New in the First Season?
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The theme of the season is a thrilling undead invasion led by none other than Dracula! To counter this dark threat, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members of the team are immediately available, with the rest joining the roster as the season unfolds.
New Heroes
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Mister Fantastic: As a duelist, he excels at medium-range combat. His versatile abilities allow him to swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, unleash area damage, and even absorb damage temporarily.
Invisible Woman: A strategist with a unique twist—her attacks heal allies upon impact. She can create protective shields, manipulate enemy positions, and, as her name suggests, become invisible, adding a layer of surprise to her gameplay.
New Maps and Mode
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The new "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map transports players to a devastated New York City, with iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal as battlegrounds.
The "Doom Match" mode introduces a new way to play, accommodating 8–12 players. The objective is simple yet intense: reach a specific number of knockouts, and the top 50% of players claim victory.
Battle Pass
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The first season's Battle Pass is double the size of its predecessor, offering a wealth of new content. With seasons now lasting three months, expect even more from future Battle Passes. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are exclusive to the premium version, with most being visually striking. However, the Blue Tarantula skin for Peni Parker, which is merely a color swap of the default, may not meet expectations. 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 introduced between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity", featuring three divisions. While this might not affect all players, especially those stuck in "Bronze", it could facilitate easier rank progression in the future. As with many online games, a rating reset occurs at the end of each season, with your starting rank in the first season based on 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 no easy feat, and *Marvel Rivals* is no exception. Here's a rundown of the balance changes implemented for the first season:
Vanguard
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Captain America: Previously one of the weakest tanks, Captain America received significant buffs. The cooldown for his Shield was reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds, his Rush ability cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds, his health increased from 650 to 675 points, and the cost of his Ultimate ability was lowered from 3,400 to 3,100, now granting 100 extra health instead of 110.
Doctor Strange: His Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version abilities now deal 70% less damage at a range of 8 meters (up from 5 meters), and his shield recovery speed dropped from 80/s to 70/s.
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Thor: His health increased by 25 points, and he now gains crowd-control immunity while using his ultimate ability.
Hulk: His gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250.
Venom: Already a strong character, Venom received a buff, gaining more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2), and his ultimate ability's base damage increased by 10 points.
Duelist
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Black Panther: The extra health from upgrading marks with Spirit Rend was reduced from 40 to 30, and the maximum additional health dropped from 120 to 75.
Black Widow: Several enhancements were made: the radius for the first effect of Edge Dancer increased from 3 to 5 meters, the recovery time for Fleet Foot decreased from 12 to 4 seconds, and the time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability was shortened from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.
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Hawkeye: His explosive arrows' spread angle was slightly narrowed, the activation distance of his passive ability, Archer’s Focus, was reduced from 60 meters to 40 meters, and the maximum bonus damage from his passive skill decreased from 80 to 70.
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Hela: Her health was reduced from 275 to 250, but she remains a top-tier DPS. New Twitch Drops, including a skin and other rewards for Hela, are available by watching live streams of the game on Twitch with Drops enabled.
Magik: Damage to Umbral Incursion in Darkchild form increased from 115 to 135.
Moon Knight: The number of talons generated by his ultimate increased from 10 to 14, and the blast radius of each claw grew from 4 meters to 5 meters.
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Namor: The accuracy of throws in his abilities was adjusted, more like a bug fix.
The Punisher: The spread for Deliverance and Adjudication was slightly reduced.
Scarlet Witch: Chaos Control damage 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: Normal attacks now release faster, more damaging projectiles, right-click damage increased, and the bonus health granted after using her ultimate rose from 350 to 450, 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 the squirrel tsunami was halved, making them easier to destroy.
Winter Soldier: Health provided by right-click and E abilities increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage rose from 70 to 75, area damage fell from 70 to 65, with damage falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%, and his base health increased from 250 to 275.
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Wolverine: His health 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: The cooldown of Dagger Storm was reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during their ultimate increased from 3 to 4.
Jeff the Land Shark: The ultimate range was 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.
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Luna Snow: The mode change during her dance now has a break of 0.5s instead of 0.1s.
Mantis: Acceleration from Nature's Favor was 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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The Team-Up feature saw the following adjustments:
Hawkeye and Hela: Their season bonus was reduced by 5%.
Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm: 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 some heroes may see a slight surge in popularity, Hela remains a staple ban at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes and the evolving meta will undoubtedly keep the gameplay dynamic and engaging. Only time will reveal the full extent of these shifts in power dynamics.
