Marvel Rivals may have been a huge hit when it launched last month, but the game has been plagued with several balance issues—especially when it comes to specific characters.
With Season 1 launching this week, though, it’s been revealed that the developers are coming in with several buffs and nerfs for specific characters to make sure players get a more balanced overall experience.
Which Heroes Are Getting Nerfed?
In a recent post from @RivalsLeaks, it was revealed which characters will be tweaked by the developers after Season 0. As far as nerfs go, Hela and Hawkeye will be the ones to get the boot.
No notes about their specific nerfs have been released, but they may involve both characters being able to one-shot enemies. Most fans complained about this issue when MR first launched, and many assumed it would happen, especially since Overwatch also used to have one-shot kills before it was removed because it was deemed too overpowered.
At best, headshots should be able to inflict critical damage to give players some more time to react when a sniper gets them. This also puts an emphasis on teamwork, as the snipers would need other teammates on the ground to help inflict damage to solidify their kills.
Who is Getting Buffed?
Players have reported that many other characters, besides the OP characters, needed to be buffed. The leak says that Captain America, Wolverine, Storm, Cloak & Dagger, and Venom will receive buffs for Season 1.
While there hasn’t been much complaining online for C&D, heroes like Cap, Wolverine, and Storm are frequently mentioned when it comes to ‘broken’ heroes in the game. Captain America and Storm are considered too weak, considering their respective roles, but Wolverine probably takes the cake for misrepresented skills. Many say that his healing factor is barely felt when he’s in use.
If anything, some think that the issues with Wolverine are just a skill issue, and the proper way to use him is to keep wailing at enemies and building up his Berserker Rage meter.
Season 1, Here We Come
Hopefully, the developer update will explain why they decided on specific buffs and nerfs. A month after its release, Marvel Rivals received a lot of feedback from players.
Since its launch, Overwatch has undergone major overhauls, and fans should expect the same from Marvel Rivals. The great thing is that OW eventually paved the way for MR to avoid the mistakes they made, and it already seemed like NetEase was doing several things right by the time the game launched.
Marvel Rivals is now playable for Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PS5. Season 1 launches on Jan. 10.