Balance changes are always the hot topics of the day in the ever-changing realm of competitive gaming, and the just-around-the-corner Major 2.5 Update of Marvel Rivals is no different. NetEase has just told us about these forthcoming changes, confirming a set of changes aimed at refining the gameplay experience, adding a new dominant fighter, and granting some flailing heroes a power boost in Marvel Rivals.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the arrival of Ultron, who becomes the game’s first-ever airborne Strategist on May 30. This brings about a new factor in the makeup of teams and command of the battlefield, which makes players revise their gaming style to counter or complement his air superiority. The addition of a new character with non-normal movement capabilities is always high on everyone’s radar, and Ultron, one of the most well-known characters in the Marvel universe, will become a competitive play staple in no time.
Apart from the new character, the patch includes a series of buffs and nerfs for current characters. Captain America and Human Torch are a couple of characters that will be seeing some reworks, meaning a change to their current meta value. Doctor Strange and Squirrel Girl, on the other hand, will be seeing buffs, which should be well-received by those players that like these characters but perhaps felt they were missing in more recent versions of the game. These rebalances are necessary in order to maintain a healthy balanced competitive scene where lots of different characters remain profitable rather than just a few that dominate the tier lists.
Although the specifics of “Jeff the Land Shark” fans not being entirely shown in this given overview, the reference does imply a continued effort at refining even the more specialized aspects of the game. These kinds of details tend to imply an increased level of work from developers with the assistance of their user base and an effort to make all characters, even those that ultimately prove unpopular, useful to the composition of a team.
Finally, these balance updates and the rollouMarvel Rivalst of Ultron show that there is always ongoing effort to maintain a live-service game as fresh and exciting. As Marvel Rivals enters its Major 2.5 Update, players will be curious to see for themselves how these changes rearrange the competitive scene and impact their favorite playstyles.