Marvel Rivals Characters Being Balanced In Season 1

Summary

• Storm will receive a buff to increase her AOE potential, making her a more viable option.
• Wolverine will be buffed to enhance his effectiveness in battles, focusing on his Feral leap ability.
• Cloak & Dagger will see enhancements to their ultimate ability and overall damage to elevate their potential and role.

Thanks to a video uploaded to YouTube by the NetEase dev team, Marvel Rivals fans now have a clear picture of the new maps, skins, and characters being added to the game. However, the most intense section of the announcement for many people was the balance adjustments, where, in this case, a total of 8 heroes and villains were specifically mentioned to be receiving big changes in the upcoming first season.

While NetEase was a little vague when detailing the exact adjustments they’ll be making, they still give enough information to deduce why these specific characters are being buffed and nerfed, and how that may end up affecting them in-game. Some of these balance adjustments have been a long time coming for characters who were either underperforming or dominating the meta, but others have left players a little puzzled.

8

Storm – Buff

A Buff To Storm’s AOE Potential Could See Her Become Much More Viable

Storm has been one of the lesser-used heroes since the game launched, with most people instead opting to choose Iron Man whenever they want a hero who can remain airborne. Despite that, she possesses some devastating AOE abilities that can not only damage enemies but also buff the movement and strength of her allies. It seems as though NetEase wants to promote Storm’s uniqueness as a hero a little more by potentially giving her AOE attacks even more range, while also possibly bolstering her base damage.

It makes sense they would want to try and separate her from Iron Man as much as possible so people don’t end up seeing one as objectively weaker than the other. Therefore, buffing Storm to act as a kind of Strategist and Duelist hybrid by amping up her existing abilities would definitely see her pick rate rise considerably.

7

Wolverine – Buff

A Buff That Nobody Saw Coming, But That Could Make Wolverine Even More Formidable To Face

Despite becoming a real problem to deal with online, Wolverine will be receiving a buff in the next patch. Considering he already possesses some of the most effective passives in the game and is also capable of dishing out tons of damage with his claw attacks, hopefully, this will only be a small boost, so as to not make him too overpowered.

One change that seems likely is making Wolverine’s Feral leap a little easier to pull off, since it can be a little janky and requires players to essentially guess whether they are going to hit an enemy out of the sky, or if they’ll just overshoot them. The devs specifically said they want Wolverine to act as the “cornerstone of unique strategies”, which seems to be hinting towards his anti-air capabilities being amplified.

6

Cloak & Dagger – Buff

Cloak & Dagger’s Ultimate Ability And Overall Damage Could See Enhancements Next Season

With Mantis and Luna Snow dominating the Strategist role at lower ranks, it only seems right Cloak & Dagger would get a little more attention for the upcoming season. According to NetEase, their aim with this buff is to “elevate their potential” which could mean lowering down cooldowns so they can provide more consistent healing for their teammates.

At the same time, buffing Cloak’s damage could also make the deadly duo more formidable, making enemies think twice about chasing down the Strategist of the enemy team. An adjustment to Cloak & Dagger’s ultimate would also be a huge bonus, as it can be quite hard to use effectively given how short it lasts.

5

Captain America – Buff

It Looks Like Captain America Is Getting A Little More Durability To Suit His Role As A Vanguard

A big point was made that the “Mobility Vanguards” of Marvel Heroes will be receiving buffs, and of course, that includes the mighty Captain America. Cap’s dash and shield toss already make him a real thorn in the side of the enemy team, but he can admittedly get taken down pretty easily when ganged up on by multiple foes at once.

Therefore, giving him extra armor when using specific abilities, or simply making his shield more durable, would help this guy stay alive a little longer, while also making him much more accessible and easy to play. The devs claimed these specific changes should encourage players to feel more confident when charging head-first into battle, which can only ever mean good things are coming his way.

4

Venom – Buff

A Boost To Venom’s Secondary Fire Would Make This Vanguard More Of A Team Player

Despite being a very common sight in matches due to the character’s popularity, Venom is a little bit of a mixed bag. While he does possess great mobility and durability, his attacks tend to feel pretty limited due to their range and damage. Therefore, it could be worth boosting his damage a bit and maybe even bolstering his secondary fire so that it can slow down enemies for longer, giving the rest of his team a chance to take them out.

Since he is a Vanguard, seeing Venom be able to support the team a little more through his abilities would be great to see, but also seeing a buff to Venom’s own damage would make him a lot more formidable to face.

3

Hawkeye – Nerf

Hawkeye’s Passive And Arrow Damage Will Probably See Nerfs Very Soon

It was specifically mentioned in the update video that some ranged heroes were stealing the spotlight from others, with a specific mention of Hawkeye and Hela. In terms of Hawkeye, while his arrows are already pretty powerful, his passive, which can charge up in seconds and boosts his damage considerably, has meant skilled players can essentially wipe the floor with enemy teams if they manage to land all their shots.

It seems as though his passive and high-mobility abilities have made Hawkeye a little too powerful though, since he will be toned down a little for Season 1, which most likely means his passive and abilities will take longer to activate, or that his base damage and health will be decreased slightly.

2

Hela – Nerf

Toning Down Hela’s Damage And Health Would Make Her A Lot More Risky To Use

In the first few weeks after the game’s launch, when players were still toying around with each character to see who felt strong, Hela was a particular Duelist who many people began gravitating towards. Her lightning-fast projectiles and chaotic ultimate attack allow Hela to melt health bars once she gets in range of her target, but just like Hawkeye, she too will be facing a nerf in Season 1 which will likely strip back some of her stronger aspects.

While a general damage nerf across the board feels like the most probable change Hela will receive, the devs could instead cut down her total HP to turn her into a kind of glass cannon that, is a lot more risky to use compared to a lot of other DPS characters in the game.

1

Jeff The Land Shark – Nerf

Finally, Jeff’s Nightmarish Ultimate Is Being Finely Tuned

Despite looking cute and cuddly on the surface, Jeff’s ultimate attack, which allows him to gobble up an entire team and throw them all off the map, makes him a true threat to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Clearly, the devs have heard the cries of the community to dumb down this ultimate, as they announced they will be fine-tuning the range of the attack so that heroes outside the warning signal don’t get sucked in.

Usually, those who were halfway in and out of the circle, or even just lingered on the outside, had a chance of getting absorbed by Jeff, but that thankfully won’t be the case anymore. Some players may have wished for Jeff’s ultimate to receive a bigger nerf, but this small adjustment at least prevents him from grabbing any nearby enemies who he really shouldn’t be able to in the first place, giving high-mobility heroes a better chance of escaping.