A new season dawns Marvel Rivals, with the first season bringing new environments to compete on, additional characters to the roster, and balance changes to refine the meta that has emerged since launch.
Marvel Rivals The full first season begins on January 10, immediately introducing two new characters as well as new maps, game modes, a new Battle Pass and much more. Later, a mid-season update will expand things further.
Below we have highlighted all the major changes and adjustments made to Marvel Rivals from the latest Developer Vision video, culminating with the first patch notes of the first season.
Marvel Rivals Season 1 Patch Notes
To make it easier for you to find the details you’re looking for, we’ve broken the article into bite-sized snippets focused on key areas. You can quickly navigate to the exact point you want using the table of contents below.
New characters, maps and game modes
The highlight of the first season is undoubtedly the addition of four new characters, expanding the already loaded roster, with the entry of the Fantastic Four. Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman join for the start of the season on January 10, with the Human Torch And The thing join six to seven weeks after the start of the season.
Alongside the new characters, three new cards enter rotation. All based in a New York invaded by Dracula, these themed environments will offer new challenges to players. The three cards are listed below:
- Empire of Eternal Night: Sanctum Sanctorum
- Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown
- Empire of Eternal Night: Central Park
In the first part of the first season, Midtown appears as a new convoy map, with the aim of taking HERBIE from the Baxter Building to Avengers Tower, while the Sanctum Sanctorum is the scene of a new Arcade game mode: Doom Match. The new mode features eight to 12 players, with the top 50 percent securing victory. Further details will be revealed before the start of the first season.
New battle pass
Season One features a new Battle Pass full of rewards to earn, which is double the size of the mini pass and features of Season Zero. 10 new costumes to unlock, along with content associated with each, including sprays, MVP screens, nameplates, and much more.
A teaser for the Battle Pass, shown above, shows off new skins for Loki, Wolverine, and Scarlet Witch.
The Season One Luxury Battle Pass is priced at 990 trellises ($9.99)with 600 Lattices earned by completing the Battle Pass as well as 600 units. Once the Luxury Battle Pass is purchased, it can be completed beyond the end of the first season.
Nerves and buffs
While Marvel Rivals allows for diversity in team composition, shield and ranged hero combos have emerged as the premier meta, especially in the higher ranks of competitive. Several balance adjustments are being made to “keep battles fresh and exciting.”
Hawk Eye And Hela receive nerfs that tone down their formidable prowess, allowing other duelists more of an opportunity to shine. Jeff the Land Shark Ultimate is also being tweaked so that the detection ranger “better aligns with early warning signals.”
On the improvement side, mobile type Vanguards like Captain America And Venom receive upgrades that allow them to “charge into battle and protect their allies with renewed vigor.”
Heroes who “shine in specialized compositions”, in particular Wolverine And Storm, are also receiving enhancements to “ensure they are the cornerstone of unique strategies.” In the meantime, Cloak and dagger also receive a buff to “raise their potential” and “make them more formidable in various team configurations”.
According to leaks from the game’s test server, some of these changes include Hela’s HP being reduced to 250 instead of 275, Bucky now having 275 HP and 40 bonus health from abilities (instead of 30), Wolverine now at 350 HP (instead of 300). , Storm gets a damage increase and a health buff for Captain America (now 675 HP) as well as faster movement speed on her ultimate.
Full details on the buffs and nerfs from the first season will be presented before the servers go live for the new season on January 10.
Choose the rates and win the rates
Pick and win rates for Season Zero will be revealed at the end of the current season. In Quick Match, PC and console players will be merged due to cross-play in this mode, but Competitive mode will be separate.
In competitive mode, pick and win rates will be organized by rank to provide a “clearer understanding of battlefield dynamics.”
New information on pick and win rates in Marvel Rivals will be released every half-season.
Classified Adjustments
Players in competitive mode will have their ranking reset for the first season based on their ranking at the end of season zero. Every Competitive player will be demoted seven divisions to begin their journey in the new season, meaning Platinum 1 players, for example, will start the first season at Silver 2.
A new major rank is also introduced to the leaderboard for the first season, with Celeste placing herself between Grandmaster and Eternity. Like many other levels, the Celestial level will have three divisions to go through.
This article will be updated with more official information as it becomes available.
