The next Marvel Rivals patch, set to go live later today, isn’t as substantial as players had hoped. It will add new skins to buy for Captain America and Luna Snow, and fix a list of minor bugs, but it won’t make any changes that affect the game’s balance.
Developer NetEase hasn’t provided a roadmap for when to expect the next major balance patch, and because this is the first season, there’s no precedent to work off of, either. The only thing it’s said is to expect new heroes every six weeks. The Fantastic Four’s Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman joined the roster on Jan. 10, which suggests the Thing and Human Torch will arrive around Feb. 21, the halfway point of the three-month season.
Given how much Marvel Rivals has in common with Overwatch 2, it’s possible that the mid-season patch will bring the balance changes that players are waiting for. Blizzard typically waits until the middle of a season to give players time to adjust to the new meta, and NetEase might be doing the same thing.
In an interview with Metro in January, game director Guangyun Chen said the team will look at hero pick rates and win rates to determine what balance changes need to be made. “Once we have some more detailed analysis and through thoughtful consideration, we’ll definitely make necessary balances and adjustments,” he said.
The biggest question in the community right now is how NetEase will handle the grip support heroes have on the game. Healers like Luna Snow and Mantis have powerful ultimates that negate almost anything you throw at them, sparking numerous debates over whether they should be nerfed. And at high skill levels, Storm continues to have the highest win rate out of the entire cast.
For now, the only new toys to play with are a futuristic pink and purple skin for Luna Snow and a scruffy Steve Rogers from Avengers: Infinity War.
