The zero season has come to an end, and the first season of *Marvel Rivals* is now upon us, bringing a wave of fresh content and balance tweaks to the game. Let's dive into the key updates that you should know about.
What’s New in the First Season?
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The theme for this season is an undead invasion led by none other than Dracula! To counter this dark force, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members of the team are already playable, with the rest set to join as the season unfolds.
New Heroes
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**Mister Fantastic**: A versatile duelist who excels at medium-range combat. His abilities enable him to swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, inflict area damage, and temporarily absorb incoming damage.
**Invisible Woman**: A strategic mastermind whose attacks not only deal damage but also heal allies upon impact. She can generate shields, manipulate enemy positions with push and pull effects, and, as her name suggests, turn invisible to surprise her foes.
New Maps and Mode
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Explore the new "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map, where superheroes clash amidst the ruins of New York City, including iconic spots like Grand Central Terminal.
The new "Doom Match" mode is designed for 8-12 players, where the top 50% of players emerge victorious after reaching a set number of knockouts.
Battle Pass
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The first season's Battle Pass is double the size of the zero season's, with future seasons lasting three months and offering even more content. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are exclusive to the premium version. While most skins are visually stunning, the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker is a simple color swap of the default outfit. Completing tasks in the free portion of the Battle Pass will still reward you with Units and Lattice.
Celestial Rank
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A new "Celestial" rank has been introduced, positioned between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity", and it's divided into three tiers. While most players might not reach beyond "Bronze", this addition could make climbing the ranks more achievable in the future. As with many online games, *Marvel Rivals* resets ratings at the end of each season. Your starting rank in the first season will be seven levels below your final rank in the zero season. For instance, if you finished at Platinum I, you'll start at Silver II.
What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?
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Balancing a diverse roster of heroes with unique abilities is always a challenge, and *Marvel Rivals* has made several minor adjustments in the first season to address this.
Vanguard
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**Captain America**: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he's received significant buffs. The cooldown for his Shield has been reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds, his Rush ability cooldown has decreased from 12 to 10 seconds, his health has increased from 650 to 675 points, and the cost of his Ultimate ability has been lowered from 3,400 to 3,100, now granting 100 extra health instead of 110.
**Doctor Strange**: His Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version damage decreases by 70% at a range of 8 meters (up from 5 meters), and his shield recovery speed has been reduced from 80/s to 70/s.
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**Thor**: His health has been increased by 25 points, and he now gains crowd-control immunity while using his ultimate ability, making him less vulnerable during its use.
**Hulk**: His gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250, a slight nerf.
**Venom**: Despite being strong, he's been buffed with 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 the maximum additional health has been lowered to 75 from 120.
**Black Widow**: Her Edge Dancer's first effect radius has increased from 3 to 5 meters, the recovery time for Fleet Foot has been reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and the time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability has been shortened from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.
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**Hawkeye**: The spread angle between explosive arrows has been slightly narrowed, the activation distance for his passive ability Archer’s Focus has been reduced from 60 meters to 40 meters, and the maximum bonus damage from his passive skill has 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. New Twitch Drops include a skin and other rewards for Hela, available by watching live streams of the game on Twitch with Drops enabled.
**Magik**: Her damage to Umbral Incursion in Darkchild form has increased from 115 to 135.
**Moon Knight**: The number of talons generated by his ultimate has increased from 10 to 14, and the blast radius of each claw has grown from 4 meters to 5 meters.
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**Namor**: The accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted, resembling a bug fix.
**Psylocke**: Her ultimate skill will now check for barriers against opponents.
**The Punisher**: The spread for Deliverance and Adjudication has been slightly reduced.
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**Scarlet Witch**: The damage of Chaos Control has increased from 50/s to 60/s, the damage-over-time percentage has been reduced from 5% to 3%, and the damage of Chthonian Burst has increased from 30 to 35.
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**Storm**: Her normal attacks now release faster projectiles with increased damage, the damage from right-clicking has increased, and the bonus health granted after using her ultimate has risen from 350 to 450, decaying at 100 per second instead of disappearing instantly.
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**Squirrel Girl**: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, and the health of the squirrel tsunami has been halved, making them easier to destroy.
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**Winter Soldier**: The health provided by his right-click and E abilities has increased from 30 to 40, his main attack damage has risen from 70 to 75, area damage has been reduced from 70 to 65 with damage falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%, and his base health has increased from 250 to 275.
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**Wolverine**: His health has been increased from 300 to 350, and the damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal has decreased from 50% to 40%.
Strategist
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**Cloak & Dagger**: The cooldown of Dagger Storm has been reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during their ultimate has increased from 3 to 4, enhancing their mobility.
**Jeff the Land Shark**: The ultimate range has been adjusted from a 10-meter sphere to a 10-meter cylindrical field with a height of 5 meters, and the healing from Joyful Splash has increased from 140/s to 150/s.
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**Luna Snow**: The mode change break during her dance has increased from 0.1s to 0.5s, a minor nerf that won't significantly impact her protective capabilities.
**Mantis**: The acceleration from Nature's Favor has been reduced from 2.5m/s to 1.5m/s.
**Rocket Raccoon**: The healing speed in recovery mode has increased from 60 to 70 units per second.
Team-Up
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The following changes relate to the benefits heroes receive from Team-Up:
**Hawkeye** and **Hela** have had their season bonus reduced by 5%.
**Namor**, **Rocket Raccoon**, **Magneto**, and **Storm** have been enhanced. Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals better, Magneto's projectile damage has increased, and Storm's charged storm will hit more often and harder.
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Overall, these balance adjustments are relatively minor. While a few characters may see a slight increase in popularity, Hela remains a constant ban at higher ranks. The real excitement lies in how the new heroes will shake up the meta. Only time will tell how these power dynamics evolve.
