With the conclusion of the zero season, Marvel Rivals kicks off its first season with an exciting array of new content and balance adjustments. Below, we delve into the key updates that players should be aware of.

Table of Content ---

• What’s New in the First Season?
  • New Heroes
  • New Maps and Mode
  • Battle Pass
  • Celestial Rank
• What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?
  • Vanguard
  • Duelist
  • Strategist
  • Team-Up

What’s New in the First Season?

Image: ensigame.com

The theme of the first season is an undead invasion led by Dracula! To counter this dark threat, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battle. Two members of the team are immediately available, with the rest joining throughout the season.

New Heroes

Image: ensigame.com

• Mister Fantastic: As a duelist, he excels at medium-range combat. His abilities enable him to swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, deal area damage, and absorb damage temporarily.
• Invisible Woman: This strategist's attacks not only damage foes but also heal allies. She can create shields, manipulate enemy positions, and, unsurprisingly, turn invisible.

New Maps and Mode

Image: wowhead.com

The "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map is now playable, featuring iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal in a ravaged New York City. Additionally, the "Doom Match" mode has been introduced, accommodating 8–12 players. Victory is awarded to the top 50% of players after a specific number of knockouts.

Battle Pass

Image: ensigame.com

The first season's Battle Pass is significantly larger than the zero season's, with future seasons extending to three months and offering even more content. The premium version includes 8 out of 10 skins, though some, like the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker, might not impress with their minimal changes. Completing tasks from the free portion of the Battle Pass can still earn you valuable Units and Lattice.

Celestial Rank

Image: ensigame.com

A new "Celestial" rank has been inserted between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," featuring three divisions. While not all players will reach this level, it could facilitate climbing the ranks. As with many online games, your starting rank in the first season will be seven levels below your final rank in the zero season.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

Image: ensigame.com

Marvel Rivals' first season brings minor balance adjustments to maintain the game's competitive integrity.

Vanguard

Image: ensigame.com

• Captain America: Previously underpowered, he now boasts a reduced Shield cooldown from 3 to 2 seconds, a Rush ability cooldown decrease from 12 to 10 seconds, and a health increase from 650 to 675. His Ultimate ability now costs less (3,400 to 3,100) and grants 100 extra health instead of 110.
• Doctor Strange: His Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version damage now decreases by 70% at 8 meters (up from 5 meters), and shield recovery speed is reduced from 80/s to 70/s.
• Thor: Gains 25 more health and crowd-control immunity during his ultimate ability.
• Hulk: His Gamma Shield now provides 200 health instead of 250.
• Venom: Receives more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2), and his ultimate ability's base damage increased by 10 points.

Duelist

Image: ensigame.com

• Black Panther: The extra health from upgrading marks with Spirit Rend is reduced from 40 to 30, and maximum additional health drops from 120 to 75.
• Black Widow: Her Edge Dancer radius is increased from 3 to 5 meters, Fleet Foot recovery time reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability shortened from 1 to 0.6 seconds.
• Hawkeye: The spread angle between explosive arrows is slightly narrowed, Archer’s Focus activation distance reduced from 60 to 40 meters, and maximum bonus damage from his passive skill decreased from 80 to 70.
• Hela: Her health is reduced from 275 to 250, but she remains a top DPS. New Twitch Drops offer a skin and other rewards for Hela, obtainable by watching live streams with Twitch Drops enabled.
• Magik: In Darkchild form, damage to Umbral Incursion increased from 115 to 135.
• Moon Knight: His ultimate now generates 14 talons instead of 10, with each claw's blast radius increased from 4 to 5 meters.
• Namor: Accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted.
• The Punisher: Slightly reduced spread for Deliverance and Adjudication.
• 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.
• Storm: 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.
• Squirrel Girl: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, and the health of Squirrel Tsunami halved.
• Winter Soldier: Health from right-click and E increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage increased from 70 to 75, area damage reduced from 70 to 65, and base health increased from 250 to 275.
• Wolverine: Health increased from 300 to 350, and damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal decreased from 50% to 40%.

Strategist

Image: ensigame.com

• Cloak & Dagger: Dagger Storm cooldown reduced from 15s to 12s, and ulta now includes 4 dashes instead of 3.
• 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.
• Luna Snow: Mode change during dance now has a 0.5s break instead of 0.1s.
• 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

Image: ensigame.com

Team-Up adjustments include:

• Hawkeye and Hela: Both have their season bonus reduced by 5%.
• Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm: Enhanced abilities include increased damage for Namor's monsters, better healing for Rocket Raccoon, higher projectile damage for Magneto, and more frequent and powerful charged storms for Storm.

Image: ensigame.com

Overall, these balance adjustments are minor, potentially shifting the popularity of a few characters, but Hela remains a staple ban at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes and their impact on the meta will be fascinating to watch unfold in the coming weeks.