Marvel Rivals' Legendary Start: Update Highlights

The zero season has come to an end, and the first season of *Marvel Rivals* is now upon us, bringing a wave of fresh content and balance tweaks to the game. Let's dive into the key updates that you should know about.

What’s New in the First Season?

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The theme for 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 playable, 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 combat. His abilities enable him to swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, inflict area damage, and temporarily absorb incoming damage.

**Invisible Woman**: A strategic mastermind whose attacks not only deal damage but also heal allies upon impact. She can generate shields, manipulate enemy positions with push and pull effects, and, as her name suggests, turn invisible—a surprise that can turn the tide of battle.

New Maps and Mode

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Explore the new "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" maps, where superheroes clash amidst the ruins of New York City, including iconic spots like Grand Central Terminal.

The new "Doom Match" mode is designed for 8-12 players, where the top 50% of players emerge victorious after reaching a set number of knockouts.

Battle Pass

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The first season's Battle Pass is double the size of the zero season's, with subsequent seasons lasting three months and offering even more content. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are exclusive to the premium version. While most skins are visually stunning, the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker is a simple color swap of the default outfit, lacking significant visual 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, positioned between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity", and it's divided into three tiers. While most players might not reach beyond "Bronze", this addition could make climbing the ranks easier 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 instance, if you ended at Platinum I, you'll start at Silver II.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

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Balancing a large roster of heroes with unique abilities is always a challenge, and *Marvel Rivals* is no exception. Here are the minor adjustments made in the first season:

Vanguard

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**Captain America**: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he's received significant buffs. The cooldown for his Shield has been 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 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 (up from 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, making him less vulnerable during its use.

**Hulk**: His gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250, a slight nerf.

**Venom**: Despite already being strong, he's been buffed with more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2), and his ultimate ability's base damage has 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 decreased from 120 to 75.

**Black Widow**: Her Edge Dancer's first effect radius increased from 3 to 5 meters, the recovery time for Fleet Foot reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and the time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability shortened from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.

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**Hawkeye**: The spread angle between explosive arrows has been slightly narrowed, his passive ability Archer’s Focus activation distance 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 has been reduced from 275 to 250, but she remains a top DPS hero. New Twitch Drops include a skin and other rewards for Hela, available by watching live streams of the game on Twitch with Drops enabled.

**Magik**: Her 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 increased from 4 meters to 5 meters.

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**Namor**: The accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted, resembling a bug fix.

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

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

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**Storm**: Her normal attacks now release faster projectiles with increased damage, the damage from right-clicking the mouse button has increased, and the bonus health granted 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, and the health of squirrel tsunami has been halved, making them easier to destroy.

**Winter Soldier**: His 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 his base health increased from 250 to 275.

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**Wolverine**: His health has been 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 reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during their ultimate increased from 3 to 4, enhancing their mobility.

**Jeff the Land Shark**: The ultimate range adjusted from a 10-meter sphere to a 10-meter cylindrical field with a height of 5 meters, and the 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, a slight nerf.

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

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

Team-Up

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

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

**Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm**: Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals better, Magneto's projectile damage has increased, and Storm's charged storm will hit more often and harder.

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Overall, these balance adjustments are relatively minor. While a few characters may see a slight increase in popularity, Hela remains a constant ban at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes will undoubtedly shake up the meta, and only time will reveal how these power dynamics evolve.