Marvel Rivals Balance Update to Buff Groot and Nerf Magneto
|
|
- NetEase announced a balance update for Marvel Rivals on July 31, with the update debuting on Aug. 8.
- The patch will focus on hero balancing, helping prepare the meta for season 3.5.
- Doctor Strange is to be buffed, Magneto is receiving a nerf, and more.
NetEase’s upcoming update for Marvel Rivals prioritizes hero balancing for the team-based shooter, with plans to implement nerfs and buffs for the appropriate picks. In addition to the balance patch, NetEase revealed the hero statistics, showcasing the pick and win rates for each pick in the game.
The balance update appears to prepare for Marvel Rivals season 3.5, which begins on Aug. 8. Downtime for maintenance is planned for Aug. 8, at 9 am UTC. Numerous heroes were updated, including Doctor Strange receiving a buff, while Magneto received nerfs.
Here are the full Marvel Rivals version 20250808 patch notes, according to the official update blog:
ADJUSTMENTS
VANGUARD
Doctor Strange The Master of the Mystic Arts is getting a little oomph in his arsenal!
- Increase Daggers of Denak projectile charges from 8 to 10.
- Reduce Cloak of Levitation cooldown from 15s to 12s.
Groot I am Groot! (Translation: Groot’s got slightly more reach and a bigger effect radius.)
- Increase Vine Strike range from 20m to 22m.
- Increase Flora Colossus effect range radius from 20m to 24m.
Magneto The Master of Magnesium’s shields and survivability are getting a slight tune-down.
- Reduce Metal Bulwark and Iron Bulwark Shield Value from 300 to 250.
Thor The God of Thunder’s gameplay gets a jolt of improvement and utility!
- Gain a fixed 1 Thorforce upon exiting the Awakening Rune awakened state.
- Lightning Realm New Effect: Enemies leaving its boundary are Grounded for 2s, restricting aerial abilities.
DUELIST
Black Panther After addressing hit detection, T’Challa’s Spirit Rend is getting a longer cooldown.
- Increase Spirit Rend cooldown from 8s to 10s.
Iron Fist With his Team-Up Anchor removed, Lin Lie’s raw power gets a slight boost to even things out.
- Increase Jeet Kune Do’s fifth strike damage from 50 to 55.
- Increase Yat Jee Chung Kuen percentage damage of the enemy’s Max Health per strike from 2.1% to 2.7%.
- Adjust Harmony Recovery Bonus Health decay start time from 1s to 2s.
- Increase K’un-Lun Kick’s first strike damage from 30 to 35.
Star-Lord Peter Quill gets a little more staying power in the heat of battle!
- Gain 25 Bonus Health when using Stellar Shift (max 25), which lasts for 3s before decaying to 0 over 1s.
Wolverine Logan’s ultimate is a little bit tougher to unleash; time to earn that berserker barrage!
- Increase the energy cost of Last Stand (Ultimate Ability) from 2800 to 3400.
- Lifesteal gained from the Primal Flame – Phoenix Warrior Team-Up Ability no longer contributes to Wolverine’s Ultimate Ability energy.
Spider-Man Spidey’s Ultimate just got stickier, and deadlier!
- Increase Damage per second of Spectacular Spin (Ultimate Ability) from 150 to 170.
STRATEGIST
Adam Warlock Adam gets a slight cosmic buff to his Ultimate Ability frequency and strength, plus increased healing.
- Reduce the energy cost of Karmic Revival (Ultimate Ability) from 5000 to 4700.
- Karmic Revival New Effect: Revived allies gain Bonus Health equal to 70% of Maximum Heath, which lasts for 5s before decaying to 0 over 2s.
- Cosmic Cluster New Effect: Each hit now reduces Avatar Life Stream charge times by 0.3s.
Cloak & Dagger Ty and Tandy’s Ultimate Ability now takes a bit more energy to unleash their Eternal Bond!
- Increase the energy cost of Eternal Bond (Ultimate Ability) from 4000 to 4300.
Mantis A new Team-Up Anchor effect for Mantis, but her base healing gets a gentle nerf to balance the cosmic scales.
- Increase healing by 10% with the new Team-Up Anchor effect.
- Reduce Healing Flower’s Healing Over Time effect from 12.5/s to 10/s.
- Reduce Life Energy Blast projectile charges from 20 to 15
- Increase Soul Resurgence (Ultimate Ability) excess healing to Bonus Health conversion rate from 0.7 to 1.
TEAM-UP ABILITIES
NEW
Duality Dance (Adam Warlock – Luna Snow)
- Luna Snow unlocks the new Light & Shadow Karma ability from her Team-Up with Adam Warlock.
Vibrant Vitality (Mantis – Groot/Loki)
- As the Team-Up Anchor, Mantis gains a 10% increase in healing effects.
- Groot gains the new Wild Wall ability from his Team-Up with Mantis.
- Loki gains the new Deific Blessing ability from his Team-Up with Mantis.
ADJUSTED OR REMOVED
Atlas Bond (Iron Fist – Luna Snow) The bonds have been broken.
- The Team-Up Anchor effect for Iron Fist has been removed, along with the Atlas Bond Team-Up Ability.
- Luna Snow loses the Frozen Chi ability from her Team-Up with Iron Fist.
Chilling Assault (Luna Snow- Hawkeye/Iron Fist) – Iron Fist joins the assault and unlocks the new Lunar Chi ability through his Team-Up with Luna Snow.
Guardian Revival (Adam Warlock – Mantis/Star-Lord) – The Guardian Revival Team-Up is being laid to rest.
- Mantis loses the Nature’s Soul ability previously gained from her Team-Up with Adam Warlock.
- Star-Lord loses the Leader’s Soul ability previously gained from his Team-Up with Adam Warlock.
Lunar Force (Cloak & Dagger – Moon Knight/Blade)
- Blade launches into Lunar Force and gains the New Moon ability through his Team-Up with Cloak & Dagger.
Ragnarok Rebirth (Hela – Thor/Loki)
- Loki has other plans in stall and loses the Laufeyson Reborn ability previously gained from his Team-Up with Hela.
Rocket Network (Rocket Raccoon – Peni Parker/Star-Lord) – Star-Lord connects to the network and unlocks a new Astral Jump ability through his Team-Up with Rocket Raccoon.
BALANCE CHANGES
Ever-Burning Bond (Human Torch – Spider-Man) We’ve increased Spider-Man’s combo potential after using this Team-Up.
- Reduced the backflip distance after activation from 12m to 7m, allowing for more reliable follow-ups with moves like Amazing Combo.
In the latest developers vlog for Marvel Rivals, NetEase announced harsher penalties for players who leave matches. Scheduled for implementation as a part of the upcoming season 3.5 update, the penalties for leaving a match will now result in a longer ban from competitive play and bigger point deductions, targeted toward mitigating a widespread rage-quitting issue that has been plaguing the game.
