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The balance updates for Marvel Rivals Season 3 have just released, and it gives us all the details on what to expect in the next meta shift.
Not every character change is going to make a big impact to the Marvel Rivals meta though, so let's take a look at the update's top changes!
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.
Nerfs
The character nerfs are actually quite mild this season, compared to the frequent "big swing" changes we have grown used to. While it's less exciting, it highlights a healthy meta last season, which is a great sign for the game!
Our first nerf comes to Emma Frost. It's no surprise she has been dominating high level play, so seeing a small hit to her peak damage output makes total sense. Reducing her survivability fits in the same concept. What is a little surprising is to see her ultimate charge time get a small buff alongside nerfs. It's still a net nerf overall, but I wouldn't expect this to make a dramatic impact on her viability.
Wolverine got a nerf as well this patch, though his impact could have more significant impacts. His leap takes 25% longer to recharge now. This may not seem like much at first glance, but this ability is his biggest asset in taking down opponents. Having a larger timer means a lot less combat time, which obviously will make him less effective every match. It is slightly offset by the longer duration, but it's still a longer time between uses.
Low to mid ranks will likely see a big drop in his pick rate. His utility at high level play is so prevalent though, he not see a big decline in that area. That is just looking at his character though NOT considering his new Team-Up. That factor included in his analysis shifts things, and will likely increase his pick and ban rate.
The Punisher and Iron Man both got well deserved nerfs, but not too "punishing" to tank their viability. The increased ultimate times is a huge increase percentage wise, and both are a significant reason why players pick these characters. I would fully expect to see both of their play rates to drop, and Iron Man's ban rate to drop as well.
Buffs
The clear winner this update is The Thing. Getting a new ability to close the gap on opponents is game changing in itself. But also getting to knock flying opponents out of the air gives him an entirely new way of countering the flyer meta. Considering the Fantastic 4 Team-Up is still... Fantastic, The Thing should finally have his chance to sit at the top of the tank meta charts. If this new Wolverine Team-Up with Phoenix is as strong as it looks, Thing could be a relief option from getting thrown around. Needless to say, I'd expect to see a lot more Thing in the meta.
A close second place for buffs is Namor! I've thought the character could use a buff for a while since he's considered "banned if you ban Hulk". If he can't stand on his own, he deserves this buff (as frustrating as he can be to play against). What this buff will likely mean for the meta is less Hulk bans, more Namor direct bans instead. His primary attack can 2 shot kill most DPS characters with a headshot, so I don’t see a world where Namor isn't the new auto ban in most competitive matches.
For those of you higher level players, Scarlet Witch has been known to be mostly terrible in competitive mode. It's mostly thanks to her ultimate being so easily countered if your opponents know what they're doing. Her buff this season will give her enough damage output to finally kill those high HP tanks.
The ultimate movement boost is the most appealing change to me though. Higher speed means more shenanigans you can pull off with revealing yourself to the enemy team just as she detonates. Lower level play already sees tons of Scarlet Witch, so this change won't seem like a meta shift. Higher level play, however, may find a use for her if her ultimate is finally viable enough to warrant taking a slot on your team.
Mantis is finally getting a much needed buff, and it takes her into a very interesting direction. To simplify her patch notes, she is now less effective at healing low HP characters, but significantly more effective with high HP characters. Her healing scales with a player's base HP, so a Groot (for example) will get more healing from one charge than a Star-Lord would. This positions her as tank-centered healer that comps can build around.
This aspect of her character is great. The increased ultimate charge time, however, is not necessary in my opinion. She's easily the most killable healer ultimate in the game, so punishing that with a higher charge time doesn't make much sense. The meta impact on these changes will likely only impact top level play with coordinated teams since she's more comp-specific now. The rest of the meta may see a spike in her pick rate at first, but it will likely drop down as the season progresses.
Team-Ups
There are 2 major Team-Up additions here that are worth talking about. The new Phoenix and Wolverine team-up, Primal Flame, just makes Wolverine outright better. It makes his nerfs look soft with the amount of damage he is a out to have avalible to him. Of course the recharge time will likely be fairly high, but pocketing it for important tank kills will make locking the kill in much easier. Of course, a damage boost to the new DPS character is also an easy win as well.
The crazy thing is that Primal Flame may not even be the best new Team-Up. The new Ever-Burning Bond with Spider-Man and Human Torch gives Spidey an insanely strong ability. A secondary tracer with tick damage will make him the number 1 ban target again. I'm honestly surprised to see such a big swing at buffing Spider-Man considering good players could still do incredibly well with him. Needless to say, prepare yourself for a non-stop ban or play Spidey season.
A final Team-Up worth looking at is the Squirrel Girl addition to the Stark Protocol. Her old Team-Up never really got use, but this new one pairs her with a DPS that actually could work in a comp together. It gives her a solid way to target or kill confirm flying enemies, which was a big weakness for her before. It also gives Iron Man a second character to activate his damage boost as the anchor. The developers have been pushing Squirrel Girl hard on the meta lately, and this looks like another swing at that concept. I've consistently overestimated her buff impacts in the past, but this could finally make the difference in giving her more meta play.
Wrap Up
What are your thoughts on these balance changes? Should there have been bigger adjustments? We're there characters that should have gotten buffs or nerfs that didn't? Let us know in the comments!
