With the zero season behind us, the first season of *Marvel Rivals* has burst onto the scene, bringing a wave of fresh content and crucial balance adjustments. Let’s dive into the highlights of this exciting new season.
What’s New in the First Season?
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This season's theme plunges us into an 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 the fight as the season unfolds.
New Heroes
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**Mister Fantastic**: This duelist excels at medium-range combat, swiftly navigating between foes and allies. His abilities include area damage and temporary damage absorption, making him a versatile fighter.
**Invisible Woman**: A strategist who not only deals damage but also heals allies upon impact. She can create shields, manipulate enemy positions with push and pull abilities, and, of course, turn invisible, adding a strategic edge to any team.
New Maps and Mode
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Explore the new "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map, featuring iconic New York locations like Grand Central Terminal in a post-apocalyptic setting. Additionally, the "Doom Match" mode has been introduced, designed for 8-12 players. Victory goes to the top 50% of players once a set number of knockouts is achieved.
Battle Pass
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The first season's Battle Pass is significantly larger than the zero season's, reflecting the extended three-month duration of upcoming seasons. While the premium version includes eight out of ten skins, some, like the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker, offer minimal visual changes. 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," featuring three divisions. While it may be challenging for most players to reach, it promises to enhance future rank progression. As with many online games, *Marvel Rivals* resets ratings at the end of each season, with your first season starting rank determined by your zero season final rank, dropping seven levels.
What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?
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Balancing a diverse roster of heroes is no easy feat, and *Marvel Rivals* has made several adjustments to keep the gameplay fair and exciting.
Vanguard
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**Captain America**: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he's received significant buffs. His Shield cooldown has been reduced from 3 to 2 seconds, Rush ability cooldown from 12 to 10 seconds, and his health increased from 650 to 675. His Ultimate ability now costs less, dropping from 3,400 to 3,100, but grants slightly less health, from 110 to 100.
**Doctor Strange**: His Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version damage decreases by 70% at a range of 8 meters (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, enhancing his survivability.
**Hulk**: His gamma Shield now provides 200 health instead of 250, a slight nerf.
**Venom**: Already a strong hero, he gains 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 maximum additional health from 120 to 75.
**Black Widow**: Her Edge Dancer effect radius increased from 3 to 5 meters, Fleet Foot recovery time reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and her ultimate ability now reaches maximum power faster, from 1 to 0.6 seconds.
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**Hawkeye**: The spread angle between explosive arrows has been slightly narrowed, passive ability Archer’s Focus activation distance reduced from 60 to 40 meters, and 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 choice. New Twitch Drops for Hela include a skin and other rewards, available by watching eligible streams on Twitch.
**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 from 4 to 5 meters.
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**Namor**: Accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted.
**Psylocke**: Her ultimate skill now checks for barriers against opponents.
**The Punisher**: Spread for Deliverance and Adjudication slightly reduced.
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**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**: Her normal attacks now release faster, more damaging projectiles, right-click damage increased, and bonus health from her ultimate raised from 350 to 450, decaying at 100 per second instead of instantly.
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**Squirrel Girl**: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, and the health of squirrel tsunami halved, making them easier to destroy.
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**Winter Soldier**: Health provided by right-click and E increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage 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**: Despite being a damage dealer, his health increased from 300 to 350, and damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal decreased from 50% to 40%.
Strategist
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**Cloak & Dagger**: Dagger Storm cooldown reduced from 15 to 12 seconds, and the number of dashes during their ultimate increased from 3 to 4, enhancing their 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**: The only nerf was a slight increase in mode change break during her dance, from 0.1 to 0.5 seconds, maintaining her protective capabilities.
**Mantis**: Acceleration from Nature's Favor 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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Team-Up synergies have also seen adjustments. **Hawkeye** and **Hela** have had their season bonus reduced by 5%, while **Namor**, **Rocket Raccoon**, **Magneto**, and **Storm** have been enhanced. Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals better, Magneto's projectiles hit harder, and Storm's charged storms are more frequent and potent.
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These balance adjustments, though minor, could shift the meta subtly. While Hela remains a formidable presence at higher ranks, the introduction of new heroes like Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman may shake things up. As the season progresses, it will be fascinating to see how these changes influence the game's dynamics.
