NetEase has released the first look at Season 2 of Marvel Rivals, which features numerous character and system changes. Rivals has undoubtedly had one of the most successful starts of any game, especially for a free live service title. This is due in large part to a mix of engaging, unique gameplay, -friendly systems, and the backing of the beloved Marvel franchise.
Though Season 1 was double the size of a normal season, it gave great insight into what to expect from seasonal updates. Future seasons will include two new heroes, at least one new map, and balance changes to keep the game healthy. This may also come with system changes that NetEase deems worthwhile, as it has proved to be listening and adjusting to community .
All Character Changes In Season 2
Resetting The Balance Of Damage
Season 2 has plenty of balance changes, with specifics found on the official Emma Frost (Vanguard) and Ultron, whose role is unconfirmed but was leaked as a Strategist early on. Emma Frost will be ing the roster at the start of the season, while Ultron s in the second half.
"It's Going To Make Rocket A Lot Less Fun To Play": Players React To Major Marvel Rivals Nerf
Marvel Rivals is set to begin its second season with a lot of character adjustments, and players aren't happy about Rocket Raccoon's nerfs.
To start with the Vanguards, Captain America will see slight nerfs to his base health and shield health. Doctor Strange is receiving a small nerf to his primary fire and Maelstrom damage but is rumored to be gaining more survivability. To wrap up the nerfs, the cost to charge Magneto's ultimate is being increased by 300, and The Thing's damage-reduction shield is dropping from 30% to 25%.
As for buffs, Hulk is getting more mobility buffs while also reducing the cooldown of his shield ability. Thor is also seeing his solo tank capabilities increase, with a buff to his health and movement speed. Peni Parker is getting the biggest of the buffs, receiving 75 more health along with a chance for her primary fire to crit and move faster while firing.
For Duelists, Hawkeye is receiving some surprising buffs to increase his movement speed while charging while massively buffing his ultimate. Meanwhile, his counterpart Hela is receiving damage buffs, but her escape ability will have a longer cooldown. Two of the flying units — Iron Man and Human Torch — will also receive temporary health when using their Armor Overdrive and Flaming Meteor, respectively.
Iron Fist got a heap of balance changes, tuning down how much survivability he has but increasing the damage he can put out. Star-Lord, who has been a nuisance for most, is receiving damage falloff on his ultimate to balance things out. Winter Solider will have less presence versus Vanguard with health damage changes but keep his impact against smaller targets. Meanwhile, Wolverine will keep his Vanguard-shredding potential but have less crowd control.
Marvel Rivals: Every Duelist Character, Ranked From Weakest To Strongest
Marvel Rivals is a competitive game that has a variety of roles and heroes, and some Duelists are much stronger than other, less effective ones.
The biggest buffs are coming to Mr Fantastic and Moon Knight. The former is getting massive buffs to his damage and health but is losing how fast he can build into his Inflated State. Meanwhile, Moon Knight's primary fire will travel faster and build him up to 100 extra health to aid his survival. His ultimate, Hand of Khonshu, will also last longer and shoot more projectiles.
Strategists receive the least changes, and most are nerfs. These include key nerfs to Loki's Regeneration Domain and Adam Warlock's Bond of Life to increase counterplay. Sue Storm also sees a small decrease to her Guardian Shield's maximum health. Cloak and Dagger, Mantis, and Rocket Raccoon all receive various buffs to their kits to make their healing feel more efficient against quick bursts of damage.
All System Changes In Season 2
Keeping A Friendly Environment For Players
While there are fewer system changes for Marvel Rivals, they are no less important. Arguably, the biggest change announced is that starting in Season 3, seasons will only be two months long, and each month will introduce a new hero. This is a massive change for the hero shooter genre, as it is a nearly unprecedented speed to release new characters, though it may be easier for a game that has the backing of Marvel.
Most hero shooters are lucky to add four new characters a year, so Rivals moving to a plan to release at least 12 a year is game-changing.
Second, Rivals will receive the first big shake-up to some of its best team-ups. To start Season 2, Emma Frost will introduce a duplication team-up with Magneto and Psylocke, Scarlet Witch gains a burst ability from Doctor Strange, and Captain America and Bucky reunite for an offensive team-up. To balance the others, the Magneto/Witch and Thor/Storm/Cap team-ups have been removed.
Competitive will also see some changes in Season 2. The main feature is more weight behind individual performance when it comes to gaining or losing ranked points. To compensate for this slightly, the pick/ban feature will now start in Gold III rather than Diamond. Lastly, Competitive will have a smaller map pool that will rotate with all the maps in Quick Play. Though none of these changes seem to target Marvel Rivals' rank inflation issue directly, they may smooth out other issues.
Marvel Rivals Is Changing Live Service Gaming
Setting The Bar For Others
All of these changes continue to show how Marvel Rivals is changing the live-service landscape. This is akin to what Fortnite did when it first implemented its battle system. While Rivals's battle is not as friendly as Fortnite's, the rest of the features are, especially when compared to other games. The battle is a great deal for the price tag, and the shop currencies continue to be easy to earn.
The change to a hero a month is also monumental. Most hero shooters are lucky to add four new characters a year, so Rivals moving to a plan to release at least 12 a year is game-changing. Though this may cause some worry about the ease of entry for new players loading into a game that will already have 50+ characters after a year, the Marvel branding holds enough sway to warrant some patience for those with real interest.
Marvel Rivals Reveals New Character Release Strategy Starting With Season 3
In a change of direction that fans should love, Marvel Rivals will follow a monthly release strategy for its new heroes, starting with season 3.
Overall, Season 2 is another big step towards the successful future of Rivals. It may not feel as big as Season 1, but it will be no less important. Emma Frost and Ultron may be the big draws, but the changes to popular heroes and the still tricky Competitive mode should not be ignored. All the changes coming in Season 2 of Marvel Rivals can be experienced when the season starts on April 11.
Source: Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals
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- Top Critic Avg: 78/100 Critics Rec: 84%
- Released
- December 6, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
- NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
- NetEase Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Limited - console crossplay, no PC crossplay
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