The much-anticipated Marvel Rivals patch is set to go live later today, though it isn’t packing the punch many players had hoped for. While it will introduce some new cosmetics available for purchase—such as fresh skins for Captain America and Luna Snow—it primarily addresses minor bugs rather than tackling any game balance changes.
NetEase, the game’s developer, has remained pretty tight-lipped about when we might see the next major balance update. This being the inaugural season, there’s no existing pattern or schedule to rely on. The only hint dropped so far is that new heroes will make an entrance about every six weeks. Following the addition of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman on January 10, it’s reasonable to expect that the Thing and Human Torch might light up the scene around February 21, marking the season’s midpoint.
Considering the parallels that Marvel Rivals shares with Overwatch 2, there’s a good chance that a mid-season update could bring the balance tweaks fans are yearning for. Overwatch developers often introduce changes mid-season, giving players time to settle into the current meta, and it seems like NetEase might be planning to follow a similar route.
In a chat with Metro back in January, game director Guangyun Chen mentioned that the development team plans to monitor hero pick rates and win rates closely to decide on necessary balance adjustments. “Once we have more detailed data and after careful consideration, we’ll step in and make the needed tweaks,” he assured.
The pressing question among the community at the moment revolves around how NetEase plans to manage the stronghold support heroes currently have in the game. Heroes like Luna Snow and Mantis boast powerful ultimates that can counter almost anything thrown at them, fueling debates on whether they need a nerf. At higher levels of play, Storm reigns supreme with the highest win rate amongst all characters.
For now, though, players can enjoy dabbling with the latest additions: a sleek futuristic pink and purple outfit for Luna Snow and a rugged version of Steve Rogers straight out of Avengers: Infinity War.
