Table of Contents
Season 2.5 details are now published, and with it comes a huge wave of buffs, nerfs, and reworks for both characters and Team-Ups on May 30, 2025! Not every change will make a huge impact on the meta, so this analysis will cover everything that is a significant difference. If you want to see the patch notes in full, check out the official announcement!
There is no doubt the biggest change in this patch will be the rework to Jeff the Land Shark. Is it a massive nerf even after the updates to the initial patch notes? Let's dive in!
The Buffs
Doctor Strange
After seeing a significant nerf in the 2.0 balance patch, Doctor Strange has been a bit lackluster in the meta. His damage output made him hard to justify picking. The buffs this update are giving him back that damage capability he desperately needed! With so many other tanks getting nerfs, I think it's safe to say Doctor Strange is about to be back on top.
Hawkeye
The developers have been practically begging players to play Hawkeye since his big nerf at the end of Season 0. While he is definitely playable as is, these buffs might be enough to actually bring him back. While 2 damage on a slow fire rate weapon may seem small, this is the kind of boost that helps him one-shot opponents more consistently. Also, the extra 5 damage from a fully focused shot stacks on that. Critical hits multiply that even further, so I think it's safe to say this is a major bump in his sniping effectiveness (sorry Black Widow).
The other MAJOR buff to Hawkeye is his new team-up with Luna Snow. He is getting a new ice arrow that freezes opponents... with AOE... so you can freeze multiple (clustered) opponents without even needing good aim. Oh yeah, and it lasts for 3 seconds! If you are giving a one-shot sniper an ability that lets him freeze opponents in place very easily, hit headshot accuracy is about to skyrocket. So I think it's pretty clear this is a massive update for Hawkeye that will certainly bring him back to the top of the meta.
Hela
Hela is already good as is, and her ban rate is fairly high at high level play. So why is she getting a buff? With Ultron now making the 4th flying character, counters are incredibly important for balancing. Hela is the most effective option for taking out flyers, so giving her 2 extra shots is a way for her to be more consistent.
Now as for how this impacts the meta, I think this makes her an instant ban for the foreseeable future. The frequent ban targets are all getting nerfs, and Hela was already getting banned, so I unless another character is more effective than her, this buff solidifies her ban picks. So overall, she'll likely see an increase in play rate when she's not outright banned.
Squirrel Girl
First of all, it's important to note that Squirrel Girl is my primary DPS choice when possible. I personally think she is already very strong, and is a very slept on character. These buffs feel like the developers just want to see a bump in her play rate without really caring if she's balanced now or not. I know a lot of players think she's low tier, so understand I may be biased here, but I think this update might be her breakout moment. More ammo, faster cooldown on her best ability, and QOL updates to her abilities are all solid buffs for any character. If your still skeptical, I understand. Just keep your eye on this one though.
The Punisher
Punisher is a pretty straightforward character that often gets overlooked since he isn't very flashy. This patch is giving him 33% more ammo to his primary gun, 1 extra damage per bullet, and less bullet spread. So in terms of damage difference, he's getting an extra 220 damage added per magazine. That's almost the same amount of damage as many characters have as base health! Considering Punisher often failed to counter flying characters, despite having the range and damage total, this buff is likely targeted at making him a decent 3rd option for controlling the sky. He's also losing his Rocket team-up, so that's also likely a factor.
It's hard to say if this change is enough to make players move back to the "basic" character, but I do think it's enough of a boost to make him meta competitive. His ultimate buff is a nice change too, but I don't see that being the reason players pick him up again.
Luna Snow
I was actually a bit surprised to see Luna in the patch notes. She wasn't bad in her current state, but she also wasn't busted like she was in previous seasons. Her changes this patch seem to be trying to give her a little more identity than just her ultimate. The reality though is her new team-up with Hawkeye matters way more than her personal buffs. I can easily see Luna returning to being a top ban pick to effectively take out Hawkeye in the process (like banning Hulk to also stop Namor). If it wasn't for the team-up, I wouldn't expect to see a major shift in her play rate, but now that it exists, I think she will be either a must pick or must ban most games.
The Nerfs
This patch is very heavy on nerfs, which makes sense considering the meta we have now. Captain America, Iron Fist, and Star-Lord are all pretty predictable. They can be a bit over the top at times, so toning them down a bit should make them more tame. I would expect them all to see a healthy reduction in play rate, but still be plenty viable.
Emma Frost
Emma is in a similar position, but seeing as this is her first balance update, the impact could be a bit different. Her diamond form is a big reason players use her, and it's taking a pretty significant here. Her extended range buff is nice, but the nerfs outweigh the buff in my opinion. I don't think it kills her character, but I think the meta is about to shift back toward Strange and Magneto.
Groot
Groot has had a nerf coming for a while clearly. Those Iron Walls just have so much health, it's like a mini-ult. Seeing a 50% cooldown increase makes a lot of sense. I am a little surprised to see such a large swing at his damage output in the same update though. It honestly might be too much at once, but I do understand the meta probably would like a break from him for a bit. I hope this brings him back to a balanced state, but I am a little concerned it might significantly impact his pick rate.
Iron Man
Iron Man is also getting a pretty sizable nerf, but not to an unplayable degree directly. I think the real hit to Iron Man is the wave a buffs to characters that counter him. Like Groot, it seems odd to take big swings at his kit while also boosting playstyles that should naturally make them less effective. Simply put, I think his nerfs are a bit unnecessary given the context of the entire patch. Sadly, I do think this aspect will make him unplayable in higher ranks.
Iron Fist
Now one nerfed character I definitely think is fully warranted is Iron Fist. A decent player is often unkillable between his damage blocks, the bonus armor, and the flying away at the speed of sound. All of these factors are getting nerfed, but to a degree that I think keeps him viable. You might have to be a but more cautious while playing him, but otherwise I think he should be a well rounded pick now.
Psylocke
The final significant nerf targets Psylocke, but she is a much different case than the other characters. She didn't really sport a huge play rate, and definitely didn't have a high band rate. She's been a fairly quiet performer in the meta, but the nerf to her invisibility seems a bit harsh. I get the damage reduction to make her a little less potent, but a 33% hit to her stealth mechanic along with it feels aggressive. Considering her pick/ban rate isn't high as is, its hard to say if those who do play her will find this enough to play her less. Perhaps the developers are trying to get ahead of the meta on this one, but time will tell if this was necessary after all.
The Reworks
Thor
I want to start by clarifying I do not main Thor and definitely am not his best pilot. With that said, this change to his hammer throw makes absolutely no sense to me and feels like a complete kill shot to his viability. He is losing significant usage of it with a big cooldown increase of 2 to 6 seconds. The removal of Thor Force requirement is not a good reason for a 200% increase in cooldown. Especially if you factor in that is no longer gives bonus health AND a huge nerf to its damage output. Sure, it can generate a Force charge on impact, but he would be better off without that addition in leu of keeping his damage or cooldown time.
This change doesn't even get into his reduction on bonus health gained. I completely understand Thor could be hard to kill at times, but this change makes him unplayable in my eyes. And from what I hear from Thor mains, this change makes no sense and kills the character. I really hope I'm wrong and internal testing found a magic spot for Thor, but I find that hard to believe. So long Thor, you will be missed...
Jeff the Land Shark
Speaking of goodbyes, this patch has taken Jeff from a low tier healer to a unplayable healer. I appreciate an attempt at making this adorable guy more useful, but nothing about this rework makes sense to me. Let me explain... in an attempt to buff Jeff, the developers have:
- Reduced his 6, instant 85 HP bubbles to 3, 120 HP over 4 seconds bubbles
- Reduced his attacks from 12 shots to 3
- Lowered his healing rate from 150 HP per second to
100130 HP per second - Added a energy system to his "hide and seek" dive ability,
plus reduced his self healing from 35 HP per second to 15 HP per second - Added a damage function to his healing beam at a rate of 70 HP per second at 20 meters,
BUT hitting an enemy stops your beam from hitting any other ally or enemy
Now they did slightly buff his ultimate to give bonus health and increased his crit resistance by 20%... but how can anyone look at these changes and think "Yep! That's a rework that will make him meta ready!" I get that devs want Jeff to stop being the annoying DPS healer that is hard to kill, but this isn't how you do it.
It's harder now to survive, to heal, and to deal damage. No part of this is a buff. I wasn't a fan of DPS Jeff personally, but I would happily keep him if it meant these "buffs" were canceled. This all may sound like a rant, but I am legitimately baffled by this change, and significantly more so than the Thor change.
The Team-Ups
There are a ton of changes coming to Team-Ups this update, but there are only a few impactful ones in my opinion.
Chilling Assault
The new Luna Snow and Hawkeye Team-Up is the clear highlight here, as mentioned with the character buffs.
Fantastic Four
Reducing the cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 for the Fantastic Four Team-Up is subtle, but makes a lot of sense.
Gamma Charge
The Gamma Charge Team-Up adds a reasonable 5 second cooldown to Namor's Gamma Monstro, but the removal of Iron Man really makes no difference.
Symbiote Bond
Symbiote Bond's removal is pretty significant in my opinion. While Peni didn't often get much value from it, Spider-Man took full advantage of it as much as possible. Seeing it gone now takes away a pretty big combo piece for him that helped secure kills. I'm sure plenty of players are happy to see less of Spidey, so I'm very curious to see if this removal is the dev's soft attempt at nerfing Spider-Man, while cleaning up the team-up list in the process.
Rocket Network
Now, this new Team-Up with Peni Parker and Rocket Raccoon is very interesting to me. I'm a Peni Parker tank main, even though I know she has quite the range of great and horrible matchups. With Rocket already being frequently picked, this Team-Up feels huge! Mines are her biggest asset, and the main reason you even use her. Getting an extra Spider-Nest that also gives armor packs to your team? That sounds really useful and could really make up for her bad matchups.
The upgrade to Rocket's revive station is also a nice buff, but not quite as amazing as some players seem to think. If I play Rocket, I tend to hide my station high up if possible, but now it will drop webs and a few mines that may give its location away. There are plenty of instances where the mines could help guard against drawers trying to destroy it, but I think its good to note that it potentially could have drawbacks at times. Overall, I am VERY excited to see this Team-Up in action.
Wrap Up
What are your thoughts on this patch? Is it too nerf heavy? Are the reworked characters really that bad, or am I missing something? Let me know in the comments!
