Table of Contents
Season 2 of Marvel Rivals kicks off on April 11th, and with it comes a slew of balance changes to both characters and Team-Ups. This analysis will break down the biggest changes of the patch and what it could mean for the meta.
I won't be covering every single change individually since some changes are so minor that most players won't notice much of a difference. There are some major changes to go over though, so let's get right to it!
My Credentials
For those of you that want to know my ranking, I am a Celestial player maining Invisible Woman, Peni Parker, and most recently Squirrel Girl. I study the meta and base info on the game from personal experience, tournaments, twitch streams, and leaderboard highlights.
Vanguard
Hulk
I think a huge shift in the meta from this patch will be from the changes to Bruce Banner (Hulk). Everything you love about this character is about to be much faster. He will move faster, charge his jump faster, and get a quicker cooldown from his shield bubble. [Item]The Thing[/item] has stolen the spotlight from Hulk for quite some time now with his ability to charge in and out of battle quickly. These Hulk changes will definitely make him a huge menace to deal with. This doesn't get into his new Team-Up with Namor, but we will get into that later.
Peni Parker
As a Peni Parker main, I can't express how excited I am to see her buffs in action! Her main weapon is getting a huge buff, giving her a critical hit chance with each shot. Considering her gun has unlimited ammo and no cooldown, infinite attempts at a critical hits seems pretty amazing if you ask me. She also can move quicker while shooting now, so landing those hits should be much easier. And let's not forget the huge 100 HP buff she's also getting. Considering her mines were considered the best way to get kills, I think Peni will be significantly more popular in the meta soon.
Thor
My biggest surprise for Vanguards was seeing Thor get such a big buff. His abilities already grant him bonus health, so increasing his max health will make him much harder to finish off. With a movement buff as well, Thor will very likely be a premiere pick in matches, especially since he can get revived by Hela.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is getting some significant nerfs with this patch. His damage output is taking a significant hit, making him much less effective. While a couple of hit points may not seem like much, a 20 or 30 HP loss over a battle with someone can mean the difference in securing the kill or losing the fight. He also won't be getting that extra damage from the Gamma Charge Team-Up anymore, so he has become significantly weaker.
Impact on the Meta
I think these changes are going to shift the meta to a very aggressive playstyle. Thor and Hulk can be more successful now at getting in and out of battles. The Thing's small nerf won't impact his overall viability, and Captain America's nerfs are being bolstered with his new Team-Up. This gives you 4 really strong takes that want to get in your face constantly. With Doctor Strange and Magneto's nerfs, I think it's pretty clear that the brawler Vanguards are about to be in the Spotlight.
Duelist
Flying Characters
This class has quite a lot of significant changes, so let's start with Iron Man and Human Torch. The devs seem to be really pushing the flying characters into the meta lately, and this patch furthers that idea. Both characters are getting armor generation effects added to some abilities. With Iron Man also getting a slightly smaller hit box, it's going to be a good bit harder to take them out of the sky. Human Torch is also getting another buff to his main attacks, signifying the devs think he is still too weak after the most recent mini-patch buffs. I thought the flying meta was coming in the mini-patch, but now I think the developers are really pushing for it to happen this season.
Hawkeye
Hawkeye all but disappeared from the meta after he was nerfed in Season 1. This patch is trying to make him more enticing by beefing up his ultimate and movement while aiming. His ultimate may actually be extremely good now. Getting to rapid fire arrows at an increased rate should make him significantly scarier to deal with. With the change time also getting a huge reduction, Hawkeye may be seeing a huge return to the meta very soon.
Moon Knight
Another character I did not expect to see a buff for is Moon Knight. He is already plenty deadly in the right hands, but now he's much harder to kill. It's quicker for him to grapple away from danger, and he now gets bonus health from his moon blade. With the health regeneration in Cloak & Dagger's Team-Up from last patch, Moon Knight could become a very viable option at the higher meta ranks. His ultimate also got significantly stronger. While it will likely be a more viable option now for high ranks, lower ranks will be banning him constantly just to avoid the Moon haunting them.
Mister Fantastic
Duelists are getting a ton of buffs this patch, and Mister Fantastic wasn't left off that buff list. The patch notes are pretty lengthy for him, so let me summarize: He's getting more health, will deal more damage, and his ultimate gives him bonus health now. Considering this unique hybrid character was seeing virtually no play after the last patch, these changes should make him way more attractive to play.
Star-Lord
Moving onto the nerfs for Duelists, the Star-Lord Blaster Barrage ability (that move where he spins in a circle and deals a ton of damage) is getting a big nerf. Not only is it dealing less damage, but it's also getting a new damage drop off mechanic. Considering players were using this move constantly to farm their ultimates, this nerf should really reduce the amount of times we hear "LEGENDARY!" every match.
Winter Soldier
Winter Soldier is finally getting a small nerf to his ultimate ability, but that isn't his biggest change. His grapple is getting a 50% increase in cooldown, so he can't constantly yank you away from your team so often. Considering he's also losing the unlimited ammo from Rocket, this could reduce his popularity. I think he is still going to be very strong, but it will likely make him a smaller ban target than he is now.
Impact on the Meta
This patch could really push a different approach to duelists. Flying characters are clearing getting big support, and snipers are getting constant buffs. These changes should spread players out a bit more instead of having them always cluster together behind Magneto and Doctor Strange. Overall it feels like Vanguard are getting a push towards melee, and Duelists are getting a focus on range and survivability.
Strategist
Mantis
Mantis is getting a huge buff this patch! Her heals and buffs can now be stacked, so you can buff up one ally to much more potential instead of having to constantly refresh their heals or buffs. This could make her a very interesting option to buff divers. She stacks a bunch of damage boosts on a diver like Spider-Man, then he can swing in and be much more potent with his combos. This opens the door for some crazy strategies for upper-level play. Lower ranks can still benefit from the change by simply getting more value from her ability.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon is also getting some significant changes! To shorten the patch notes as bit, Rocket will now have stronger heals, but they need to be more accurate and move faster. His ultimate is now more in line with other Strategists, giving bonus HP to players attached to his ultimate (at the cost of reduced bonus damage). This should make him significantly stronger at healing his team. These changes also bring a nerf to his jetpack dashes, making him go a shorter distance and taking longer to recharge. So while he may be better at healing, he should be a little easier to kill.
Revival
Loki and Adam Warlock are getting similar nerfs, making their healing abilities have a longer cooldown. Warlock's ultimate now revives players at 30% health, which should help Vanguard recover easier after coming back. As stated in the developers update, these changes should reduce the amount of time players are seemingly impossible to kill.
Impact on the Meta
Most nerfs won't have a huge impact on the meta, but Mantis and Rocket's buffs could make them way more effective. Manis could see a huge surge in play rate with players using her for neat tactics, and Rocket being a more viable option at top level play.
Team-Up
There are a ton of major changes to Team-Up abilities. Enough so that I would consider it a total overhaul of the existing setup. It's difficult to predict how brand new Team-Ups will impact the meta without seeing them in action, but two Team-Ups in particular have really caught my attention:
Gamma Charge
Namor is getting moved from Luna Snow's Team-Up to Hulk's Gamma team. Considering other Strategists are becoming more viable, this change lets Luna Snow take a break from getting banned over the frozen turret. With Hulk getting some major buffs this patch, his Team-Up with Namor will likely make Hulk a prime ban target once again.
Stars Aligned
The other notable Team-Up is with Winter Soldier and Captain America. We've already seen with The Thing how strong a leap ability is for quickly retreating, so giving that to Bucky could make him much more evasive. It can also help him secure kills from opponents trying to escape from him. The Team-Up also gives Cap damage buffs, which he could really use after losing the Thor Team-Up ability. Both characters are still plenty viable despite their nerfs, but this new team-up could make this combo a frequent occurrence.
Wrap Up
What are your thoughts on the balance patch? How will it shift the meta? Are there buffs or nerfs you wanted to see but didn't? Let us know in the comments!
