In its upcoming mid-season patch, Marvel Rivals is putting a few heroes and archetypes under the microscope for some minor but much-requested buffs ahead of "more comprehensive balance changes" to come in Season 2.5 with Ultron's arrival.
In a freshly minted blog post, the Marvel Rivals NetEase team notes that "Season 2.0 shifts the spotlight to coordinated attacks and focused targets, along with the necessary collective protective strategies and counterattacks which has led to a more intense combat rhythm."
As a result, Strategists have had their backs against the wall for some time now, "needing to monitor teammates' health closely while carefully using their key abilities and being mindful of their positioning." Consequently, Vanguards and Duelists "must not only attack effectively" but also shield their Strategists.
NetEase's approaching this class friction from a few angles. "Certain Strategists" will deal more damage in the upcoming patch, for starters, and a couple of problem heroes will be toned up or down as needed. Here's the shortlist:
- Groot and Captain America - "slight reductions in survivability"
- Spider-Man - "Amazing Combo damage range will be slightly decreased"
- Doctor Strange - "will require less energy for his ultimate"
- Winter Soldier - "Tainted Voltage and Team-Up Ability will be slightly buffed"
The devs are also looking at how heroes perform in the eyes of the competitive performance rating system, which is "calculated based on the average key combat data for that hero at the player's current rank."
If you play a hero well according to your rank, you earn more performance points, and vice-versa for sub-par play. But how this rating is calculated is a bit of a soft science, and NetEase says "we've noticed that, compared to previous seasons, a small number of Duelists have a slight advantage in performance ratings in Season 2.0, while some Vanguards and Strategists face a slight disadvantage."
While "most heroes remain balanced," the team is making an effort to normalize these calculations across the board so everyone is rated fairly, hopefully making it easier for good players to receive the rep they deserve.
"Balancing the game and rank adjustments is a challenging endeavor, and we can't guarantee perfection 100% of the time," NetEase concludes, reaffirming the ever-changing nature of a live service meta. Again, deeper changes will be reserved for the seasonal handover.
This wave of changes follows a vocal "support strike" among Marvel Rivals players, ignited by a big streamer's dismissal but seemingly fueled by growing frustrations with the role and how it's often treated by others. (Healers: always in demand and simultaneously underappreciated.) Strategists, in particular, should get a bit of a pick-me-up in the mid-season patch, which hopefully improves some of the game feel and discourse associated with the support role at the moment.
So far, Marvel Rivals players seem most excited by the nerfs to Groot and Spider-Man, but there's cautious optimism around the blanket Strategist damage boost and its impact on the resilient dive meta.
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