The zero season has wrapped up, and we're diving into the first season of Marvel Rivals, packed with exciting new content and crucial balance changes. Let's explore the key updates that you should keep an eye on.

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?

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This season's theme is an epic undead invasion, masterminded by none other than Dracula himself! To counter this dark force, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the battlefield. Two members are already playable, with the rest to be introduced as the season unfolds.

New Heroes

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Mister Fantastic: As a medium-range duelist, he's all about mobility and area control. His abilities let him swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, deal damage across areas, and even absorb damage temporarily.

Invisible Woman: Playing the role of a strategist, her attacks not only damage foes but also heal allies. She's equipped to create shields, manipulate enemy positions, and, of course, turn invisible for tactical advantages.

New Maps and Mode

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Explore the new "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" maps, set in a ravaged New York City, featuring iconic locations like Grand Central Terminal. Also, jump into "Doom Match," a new mode for 8–12 players where the top 50% of players win after 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 and will last three months, offering more content. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are in the premium version, with most being highly appealing. However, the Blue Tarantula skin for Peni Parker is somewhat underwhelming with just a color swap. As always, completing tasks from the free part of the Battle Pass can earn you Units and Lattice.

Celestial Rank

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A new "Celestial" rank has been added between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," featuring three divisions. This rank might be out of reach for most players stuck in "Bronze," but it could ease the climb for others. At the end of each season, your rank resets, with your starting rank in the first season determined by your zero season's final rank, dropping seven levels. For instance, a Platinum I finish last season starts you at Silver II this season.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

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Balancing a large roster of heroes with unique abilities is always challenging, and Marvel Rivals has made several minor adjustments in the first season.

Vanguard

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Captain America: Previously one of the weakest tanks, he's received significant buffs. His Shield cooldown has been reduced from 3 to 2 seconds, Rush ability cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds, health increased from 650 to 675, and his Ultimate ability's cost reduced 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 8 meters (up from 5 meters), and shield recovery speed reduced from 80/s to 70/s.

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Thor: Health increased by 25 points, and he gains crowd-control immunity while using his ultimate.

Hulk: Gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250.

Venom: Gains 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

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Black Panther: The extra health from upgrading marks with Spirit Rend reduced from 40 to 30, and maximum additional health decreased from 120 to 75.

Black Widow: Radius for the first effect of Edge Dancer increased from 3 to 5 meters, recovery time for Fleet Foot reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability shortened from 1 to 0.6 seconds.

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Hawkeye: Spread angle between explosive arrows slightly narrowed, passive ability Archer’s Focus activation distance reduced from 60 to 40 meters, and maximum bonus damage from his passive skill decreased from 80 to 70.

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Hela: Health reduced from 275 to 250, yet she remains a top DPS. New Twitch Drops offer a skin and other rewards for Hela, available by watching live streams with Drops enabled.

Magik: Damage to Umbral Incursion in Darkchild form increased from 115 to 135.

Moon Knight: Number of talons generated by his ultimate increased from 10 to 14, and the blast radius of each claw increased from 4 to 5 meters.

Namor: Accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted.

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Psylocke: Ultimate skill now checks for barriers against opponents.

The Punisher: Slightly reduced the spread for Deliverance and Adjudication.

Scarlet Witch: Damage of Chaos Control increased from 50/s to 60/s, damage-over-time percentage reduced from 5% to 3%, and damage of Chthonian Burst increased from 30 to 35.

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Storm: Normal attacks now release faster and deal more damage, right-click damage increased, and bonus health after using her ultimate increased from 350 to 450, decaying at 100 per second.

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Squirrel Girl: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, and the health of squirrel tsunami halved.

Winter Soldier: Health provided by right-click and E increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage increased from 70 to 75, area damage reduced from 70 to 65 with damage falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%, and base health increased from 250 to 275.

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Wolverine: Health increased from 300 to 350, and damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal decreased from 50% to 40%.

Strategist

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Cloak & Dagger: Cooldown of Dagger Storm reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during their ultimate increased from 3 to 4.

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.

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Luna Snow: Mode change during dance now has a break of 0.5s 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

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The following changes impact the benefits heroes receive from Team-Up:

• Hawkeye and Hela: Their season bonus reduced by 5%.
• Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto, and Storm: Enhanced with Namor's monsters dealing more damage, Rocket Raccoon healing better, Magneto's projectile damage increased, and Storm's charged storm hitting more frequently and harder.

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Overall, these balance adjustments are subtle, with a few heroes potentially gaining popularity. However, Hela continues to dominate at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes will likely shake up the meta, and it'll be fascinating to see how the power dynamics evolve over time.