Marvel Rivals Dev Talk 13: Upcoming Season will Focus on Effective Damage Capacity for Selected Strategists

image via NetEase Games

As expected, Season 2.0 has proven quite dramatic in the world of Marvel Rivals, complete with tons of community feedback, discussions, and excitement from new players. As always, the game has closely followed how players adapt to the evolving meta and where improvement is warranted. Among the main emerging topics are the effects of recent balance changes and competitive performance across different classes.

Marvel Rivals Dev Talk 13 Season 2.0 and Mid-Season Balance Adjustments

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Season 2.0 seems to take a cutting-edge approach in combat. While seasons before were only concerned with using the ultimate energy and their abilities, this even goes so far as to highlight coordinated attacking and synergy within a team. It makes for quick-paced battles in which positioning and timing take priority over everything else.

Increased pressure is put on Strategists, for ally health has to be noted, positioning has to be prudent, and timing must be precise. Meanwhile, Vanguards and Duelists have to prove their worth against damage in protecting their Strategists for victory. Granting this change in meta, the next patch will slightly boost the damage potential of specific Strategists so that they will be much more threatening and flexible in team compositions. Together with that, the devs also made targeted tweaks to specific heroes: 

• Groot and Captain America: Very slight survivability dips.

• Spider-Man: Reduced damage range on his Amazing Combo.

• Doctor Strange: Lower energy requirement for his ultimate.

• Winter Soldier: Buffs to Tainted Voltage and Team-Up Ability. 

These are the smallish mid-season changes expected to technically empower hero experiences without a dramatic shift in the meta. Such dramatic changes are set to happen right about Season 2.5, with the advent of Ultron and more extensive Team-Up Ability mechanics. 

Competitive Performance Ratings: Fairness Through Data 

Thus, users’ performance in ranked matches will be evaluated based on how well their stats compare against the mean for that hero at their rank. Metrics here are time-adjusted and multi-hero match weighted to ensure fairness as well. There are some Duelists who had a slight performance advantage over the average in the current season; there are also some Vanguards and Strategists who have not matched up.

Hence, the devs shall be refining the performance rating system in the next patch to ensure that it is a more accurate and fair representation of impact in-game across all roles.