Marvel Rivals' Epic Launch: Unveiling the Update

Marvel Rivals Season One: A Comprehensive Update Overview

Season Zero is over, and the highly anticipated Season One of Marvel Rivals has arrived, bringing a wave of fresh content and balance adjustments. Let's delve into the significant updates.

Table of Contents

• What's New in Season One?
• New Heroes
• New Maps and Mode
• Battle Pass
• Celestial Rank
• Balance Adjustments for Heroes:
  • Vanguard
  • Duelist
  • Strategist
  • Team-Up

What's New in Season One?

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This season's theme centers around an undead invasion orchestrated by Dracula! The Fantastic Four have answered the call, with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman already available, and more team members to be introduced throughout the season.

New Heroes

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• Mister Fantastic: A mid-range duelist with abilities for rapid movement between enemies and allies, area damage, and temporary damage absorption.
• Invisible Woman: A strategist whose attacks heal allies. She can create shields, manipulate enemy positioning, and, of course, turn invisible.

New Maps and Mode

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Two new maps, part of the "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" set, are now playable, featuring locations like Grand Central Terminal in a ravaged New York City. A new "Doom Match" mode, supporting 8-12 players, introduces a knockout system where the top 50% emerge victorious.

Battle Pass

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Season One's Battle Pass is double the size of Season Zero's, reflecting the three-month season length. Eight of the ten skins are premium, with most offering visually appealing designs. The Blue Tarantula skin for Peni Parker, however, is considered a minor update. Free rewards include Units and Lattice.

Celestial Rank

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A new "Celestial" rank tier has been added between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," comprising three divisions. Due to the difficulty, not all players will reach this rank immediately. A season-end rating reset is implemented, with a seven-level drop from the previous season's final rank.

Balance Adjustments for Heroes

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This section details numerous balance changes across various hero classes. The adjustments aim to address power discrepancies and refine gameplay.

Vanguard:

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• Captain America: Received significant buffs, including reduced cooldown on Shield and Rush abilities, and increased health.
• Doctor Strange: Underwent moderate adjustments to damage and shield recovery.
• Thor: Health increased and granted crowd-control immunity during his ultimate.
• Hulk: Slightly nerfed with reduced health granted by his gamma shield.
• Venom: Buffed with increased armor scaling and ultimate damage.

Duelist:

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• Black Panther: Nerfed with reduced extra health from Spirit Rend.
• Black Widow: Improved with increased radius for Edge Dancer and reduced cooldown on Fleet Foot.
• Hawkeye: Slightly nerfed with reduced spread angle on explosive arrows, passive activation distance, and maximum bonus damage.
• Hela: Health reduced. New Twitch Drops are available featuring a Hela skin.
• Magik: Increased Umbral Incursion damage.
• Moon Knight: Buffed with increased talons and blast radius in his ultimate.
• Namor: Throw accuracy adjusted.
• Punisher: Spread reduced for Deliverance and Adjudication.
• Scarlet Witch: Enhanced with increased Chaos Control damage and Chthonian Burst damage.
• Storm: Significantly buffed with faster projectiles, increased damage, and enhanced ultimate health bonus.
• Squirrel Girl: Adjustments to squirrel targeting and tsunami health.
• Winter Soldier: Buffed with increased health gain from abilities, main attack damage, and base health.
• Wolverine: Health increased, damage reduction decreased.

Strategist:

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• Cloak & Dagger: Dagger Storm cooldown reduced. Ultimate dashes increased.
• Jeff the Land Shark: Ultimate range and Joyful Splash healing adjusted.
• Luna Snow: Minor nerf to dance mode interruption.
• Mantis: Nerfed with reduced acceleration from Nature's Favor.
• Rocket Raccoon: Healing speed increased.

Team-Up:

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Team-Up bonuses adjusted for several heroes, with some receiving buffs and others nerfs.

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The balance changes are generally subtle, with the impact on the meta remaining to be seen. The introduction of new heroes will undoubtedly play a significant role in shaping the competitive landscape.