The Marvel Rivals Season 1 update will nerf several OP heroes and villains while providing buffs to those who have been struggling. Find out if any of your mains have received adjustments before queuing up for another ranked match.
Marvel Rivals Season 1 kicks off on January 10, 2025, and brings with it the Fantastic Four, a new Dracula villain, and a wave of new modes. However, one of the most highly-anticipated additions is the hero nerfs and buffs.
Just like other live service games, Marvel Rivals is constantly tweaking its cast of colorful characters. After all, ranged Duelists like Hela and Hawkeye have been overperforming, while mobile Vanguards like Captain America and Venom have received some much-needed tweaks.
So, before you go delving into the Season patch, be sure to check out all the buffs and nerfs below.
Nerfs
Hela & Hawkeye
Shield and ranged hero combos have quickly dominated the Marvel Rivals Season 0 meta, with Duelists like Hela and Hawkeye outperforming other heroes. To help diversify the meta in Season 1, the developers announced that they will be toning them down to ensure that all ranged heroes have a chance to shine.
While the devs have yet to reveal how they’ll be “toning down” ranged Duelists, it’s likely that both Hela and Hawkeye will receive tweaks to their damage output. We believe that Hawkeye will receive damage adjustments to his one-hit kill headshots, which is incredibly oppressive to play against.
It’s also important to note that currently Hela and Hawkeye receive a 20% damage buff at all times with or without active Team-Up abilities. Fortunately, this seasonal buff will be removed in Season 1, which will drastically help to reduce their potency on the field.
Jeff the Land Shark
Based on the information shared in the dev announcement video, the “detection range” for Jeff the Land Shark’s ultimate ability will be “fine-tuned to better align with warning signals.”
Since release, many players have been complaining about how the hitbox of the Ultimate is different from how it appears in-game. To make matters worse, the animation is so fast that the current warning cue is hard to notice.
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It’s hoped that this nerf will alleviate some of the frustrations that come with facing Jeff and his game-changing Ultimate.
Buffs
Captain America & Venom
The devs revealed that they are enhancing mobile-type Vanguards like Captain America and Venom, which will likely give them more survivability when protecting their allies from damage dealers. It’s unlikely that they will receive buffs to their damage, but the devs did note that they will be “empowering them to charge into battle.”
So, buffs will likely be tailored around boosting both characters’ movement speed. This means Captain America and Venom will be able to dive into the backline and harass squish DPS units, helping to take the aggro off their own Duelists.
Wolverine & Storm
Next up on the buff list are Wolverine and Storm. It was revealed that they will be receiving some adjustments to ensure that “they are the cornerstone of unique strategies.” We imagine Storm will be getting much-needed damage buff, as she is currently one of the worst-performing heroes in the entire game.
Wolverine on the other hand is the game’s main tank killer and could be receiving tweaks that help him eliminate high-health targets a little more reliably.
Cloak & Dagger
Cloak & Dagger has struggled to stand out against other popular healers like Mantis and Luna Snow, who are the top supports thanks to their amazing ultimates. The devs note that they will be “elevating their potential” to make them more formidable in diverse team comps. This could mean the dynamic duo will be receiving a boost to their ultimate damage, putting it more in line with other supports in the game.
Now that you know everything about the upcoming buffs and nerfs in Marvel Rivals Season 1, be sure to check out our breakdown of all the upcoming content released in the new update.
