Summary
Season 3 ofMarvel Rivalsis almost here, and while this will mark the introduction of brand-new characters to the cast, it is also ushering in some major changes for many playable heroes and villains. While some characters have managed to evade being heavily nerfed or altered, there are still some who have received some significant alterations to their abilities, which could change the way they play on the battlefield.
Considering that being able to counterplay the enemy team is such an important part of winning a match inMarvel Rivals, it’s important for players to be well aware of these balance changes to know what they’ll be coming up against, even if they don’t play these specific characters. Therefore, it’s time to take a look at the biggest changes that are being made to the heroes and villains ofMarvel Rivalsin Season 3.
Iron Man Will Need To Pump Out More Shots To Inflict Significant Damage
Changes:
Iron Manhas long been one of the most annoying characters to face off against, primarily because he’s able to stay airborne indefinitely while raining down terror onto his opponents. While he may not be receiving the heavy nerf that many would have wanted, Tony will still be having his Repulsor Blast dialed down a little, at least for the first two shots.
This will help to give the enemy team time to react to Iron Man any time he starts throwing down a barrage of explosions from afar. In the same vein, it encourages Iron Man players to be a bit more strategic about their playstyle, since shooting random blasts and hoping for the best isn’t going to work all that effectively anymore.
Faster And Deadlier Projectiles For Namor
When it comes topicking off enemies at a safe distance, there aren’t many characters inMarvel Rivalswho can do this quite as well as Namor. The devious ocean dweller has already been a pretty tricky character for enemy teams to deal with, but he’s going to be even more formidable in Season 3, where his projectiles will be not only sped up but also a lot more damaging.
Raising the projectile speed will enable Namor players to land attacks on a more consistent basis, considering they don’t need to take as much time to estimate where the trident is going to land once it leaves Namor’s hand. While the damage boost may seem small, it will go a very long way when taking down Strategists or weak Duelists who can only take a little bit of punishment before being out for the count.
Venom Can Catch Up To His Prey More Easily
Change:
Venom is only receiving one change to his abilities in the latest season, but it’s a pretty big one. Cellular Corrosion, which is the ability that connects to nearby targets to slow them down, is now going to have a Slow effect of 25% rather than 15%. This is a significant upgrade that will allow Venom to stalk his prey a lot easier if they attempt to escape from his grasp.
At the same time, it also gives him more options for taking outStrategistsin the back line, since he is now able to swing over to his target before slowing them down to a crawl to inflict the finishing blow. Venom ended up becoming pretty unpopular in Season 2, so it’s nice to see him getting some attention to ensure he doesn’t lag behind.
Leaps Are Less Frequent, But Lifesteal Helps To Make Up For This
It’s clear that NetEase has had a tricky time trying to balance Wolverine over the course of the game’s lifespan, which is why he usually ends up receiving such drastic alterations to his abilities each and every season. Feral Leap is taking a pretty significant hit, as not only will the duration be decreased, but players will also need to wait around for three more seconds before they’re able to dive head-first into the action.
The most surprising change, however, is that Wolverine now has a team-up ability with the new character Phoenix, which will grant the mutant Lifesteal. Considering how fast Wolverine is able to swing his claws in the middle of battle, this is going to make him an absolute powerhouse, especially when going up againstVanguards, whom he can shred to pieces without putting himself in too much danger.
Emma Is Going To Be A Little Less Tanky In The Next Season
Since Emma Frost was first added to the game back at the beginning of Season 2, many players have struggled to find ways to reliably counter how powerful she is, especially in her Diamond Form. The good news is, she is going to be receiving a pretty significant nerf for Season 3, which will not only reduce the damage of her Telepathic Pulse, but most importantly, will decrease her damage reduction once she enters her durable Diamond Form.
In the past, being able to inflict any kind of damage on Emma once she transformed was extremely difficult, but she’s going to be a lot easier to manage now, especially since herstrong Ultimate Abilityis also being nerfed. This definitely isn’t going to put Emma Frost out of action, considering how strong her overall kit still is in practice, but this does feel like a much-needed nerf that will help balance out the playing field.
Surprisingly, Spidey Is Going To Be Even More Dangerous Than He Was In The Previous Season
Much to the surprise of pretty much everyone, Spider-Man won’t be punished by the developers for his prominence in Season 2. In stark contrast, he’s receiving some slight buffs, which will allow him to dish out even more damage after he gets the jump on an opponent. Get Over Here, Spider Power, and Amazing Combo are all being upgraded so that Spidey can melt enemy health bars even quicker.
While it definitely would have been nice to have seen a slight nerf to his movement speed or survivability, Spider-Man mains will at least be happy to know that the friendly neighborhood hero is going to continue being the menace that he was in Season 2. That being said, though, these buffs do make sense considering Spidey also loses his Team-Up Anchor bonus this season, so it helps to even him out a little.
Some Big Changes For Mantis' Healing Potential
Mantis' healing potential has been altered once again to make her more of a passive healer rather than someone who can provide a boost of HP on the spot. In the new season,Healing Floweris going to provide 2.5% healing to a character for each second in accordance with their total health pool, and while Mantis can still grant some base heals, the amount of HP she can offer is being drastically reduced to encourage a slightly different playstyle.
Because of this, Mantis players will want to get into the habit of providing someone with a health boost before running over to another teammate to provide support, rather than only focusing on a single person at once. It’s also important to note that her incredibly powerful ultimate is also going to take a bit longer to charge up, which seems like a part of NetEase’s attempt to try and nerf the Strategist Ultimate Attacks so that they don’t slow down the pace of a match too much.
The Brawn Of The Fantastic Four Is Getting Even More Aggressive
Despite being introduced to the game not that long ago, The Thing has unfortunately gone under the radar for many players, primarily because his abilities are a little uninteresting to play around with. It seems as though developers NetEase picked up on this, though, and as a result, are making him a lot more aggressive in his style of play by tinkering with some of his abilities, and even granting him a brand new one.
While Thing has always been able to jump towards his teammates to grant them a shield, he will now be able to do so on enemies, of course, without the shield part involved. Not only that, but his deadly Stone Haymaker will also be able to shoot flying enemies out of the sky, meaning characters likeStorm and Iron Manwill need to be a lot more careful when trying to outmaneuver him.
