Not all Marvel Rivals characters are created equally, and there are already some overpowered heroes and villains that are in desperate need of a nerf.
Balancing is vital in any hero shooter but it’s also incredibly difficult to get right; just ask Overwatch which still has to tweak its roster regularly eight years on from its initial release. Marvel Rivals has launched with a huge lineup of 33 characters, and while they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, some are clearly head and shoulders above the rest.
So, here are 5 Marvel Rivals characters that need a nerf in a future update.
Jeff the Land Shark
Don’t be fooled by his cute appearance, Jeff the Land Shark is arguably the best and most frustrating character in Marvel Rivals at launch. Not only does he offer both incredible healing potential and devastating long-range damage, but he’s also virtually impossible to kill in the hands of a skilled player.
He’s able to submerge himself under the map with just his fin sticking out above the surface, making him a much smaller target to hit and giving plenty of time to escape difficult situations. To add insult to injury this also heals him, giving him better survivability than any other character in the game.
Removing Hide and Seek from his kit would take away one of his most unique abilities, but he needs more drawbacks for the sake of balancing. With this in mind, the best course of action would be to nerf his Aqua Burst long-range attack, leaving Jeff as a powerful healer but reducing his ability to fulfill any role.
Venom
If you’ve played more than a handful of Marvel Rivals matches since launch, chances are you’re already sick of seeing Venom. In a game dominated by Duelists, the iconic symbiote has emerged as the best Vanguard by some distance.
It’s easy to see why; he packs a mean punch, can give himself armor mid-fight to increase his survivability, and can swing out of trouble if things get too hot. He can completely turn a match on its head, and I’ve had to change to Venom multiple times to bail my team out of a losing situation.
Nerfing any of his abilities too drastically would make them feel useless, but a slight lowering of his base health would level the playing field. While his substantial health bar does make him an ideal pick for beginners, in his current state, he can cause a bit too much… carnage.
Iron Fist
Of all the iconic characters in Marvel Rivals, hardly anyone would have expected martial arts master Iron Fist to be one of the most broken in the game. But that’s exactly what’s happened and players have been calling for a nerf ever since the servers went live.
Any Duelsist that thrives when pushing enemies and getting in their faces is always going to be annoying to play against, but Iron First is on another level. He hits like a truck, can heal himself almost constantly, and, most surprisingly, flies faster than Iron Man when chaining together abilities.
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There are plenty of areas you could change to make him more balanced, but movement and healing should be the main concerns. A slight reduction to the range of his melee attacks and his Chi Absorption Passive from 50 health per kill to 25, would go a long way to making him strong but with clear weaknesses you can use to counter.
Moon Knight
Most of the best Duelists still come with some pretty significant weaknesses, whether it be mobility or range. Moon Knight is the exception to this rule, as he excels in virtually every area you could want from a damage character.
His primary attack is absolutely devastating at all ranges, and the fact it can bounce onto multiple enemies with no drop-off lets him wipe out entire teams in the blink of an eye if they’re not coordinated. Plus, his Ancient Ankh lets him hit targets from behind cover, and he can grapple or glide away in search of healing when needed.
It’s a slick kit that’s very in-keeping with his character, so he doesn’t need a complete rework. Instead, a slight drop-off in damage when bouncing attacks between enemies or Ankhs, and small damage nerf across the board would do the trick.
The Punisher
The Punisher is designed to be the character that newcomers go for, just like Overwatch’s Soldier 76, and he fits that role perfectly. His kit is the most instantly familiar of the entire roster thanks to his powerful assault rifle and shotgun, but he treads the line of being a little too easy to use.
While all of his abilities are great damage dealers, the worst offender is his Culling Turret. This skill spawns a huge shielded turret that absolutely melts through enemies; think Bastion’s Assault mode but with no time limit and 200 rounds to burn.
When used in the right moments and positions, the Culling Turret is downright oppressive and comes with far too few weaknesses. Luckily, the solution for this one is pretty straightforward — simply give it infinite ammo but impose a strict time limit and increase the cooldown.
We’re expecting plenty of balancing changes in Marvel Rivals over the coming weeks, especially once the Season 1 update rolls around. So, don’t be surprised to some, if not all of these characters on the receiving ends of nerfs very soon.
In the meantime, you can check out our tier list ranking every character in the game, as well as the best crosshairs with codes. Also, if you want to broaden your Marvel knowledge, here’s how to watch the MCU in order and all upcoming movies and TV shows.
