The zero season has concluded, paving the way for an exciting start to the first season in *Marvel Rivals*. This new season brings a wealth of fresh content and balance changes that promise to shake up the game's dynamics. Let's dive into the key updates you need to know about.

What’s New in the First Season?

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The theme of the first season is an undead invasion led by Dracula, setting the stage for thrilling battles against the forces of darkness. To counter this threat, the Fantastic Four have stepped into the spotlight. Two members are already playable, with the rest to be introduced as the season unfolds.

New Heroes

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**Mister Fantastic**: A versatile duelist who thrives at medium range. His unique abilities allow him to swiftly navigate between enemies and allies, deliver area damage, and even absorb damage temporarily.

**Invisible Woman**: As a strategist, her attacks not only deal damage but also heal her allies. She can generate shields, manipulate enemy positions with push and pull mechanics, and, of course, turn invisible—adding a layer of strategic depth to her gameplay.

New Maps and Mode

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The "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map introduces two new battlegrounds set in a ravaged New York City, including Grand Central Terminal. This setting provides a fresh environment for superhero showdowns.

A new game mode, "Doom Match," is designed for 8-12 players. The objective is to reach a specific number of knockouts, with the top 50% of players emerging as winners, adding a competitive twist to the gameplay.

Battle Pass

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The first season's Battle Pass is double the size of the zero season's, with subsequent seasons lasting three months and featuring more content. Out of the 10 skins available, 8 are exclusive to the premium version. While most skins offer striking visual appeal, the Blue Tarantula for Peni Parker is a simple color swap of the default outfit, lacking significant changes. Players can still earn Units and Lattice by completing tasks in the free portion of the Battle Pass.

Celestial Rank

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A new rank, "Celestial," has been introduced between "Grandmaster" and "Eternity," consisting of three divisions. This rank may be out of reach for most players who struggle to climb out of "Bronze," but it could facilitate easier progression in future seasons. As with many online games, *Marvel Rivals* resets ratings at the end of each season. Your starting rank in the first season will be seven levels below your final rank in the zero season. For example, ending the zero season at Platinum I will place you at Silver II for the first season.

What Are the Balance Adjustments for Heroes?

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Balancing a large roster of heroes with unique abilities is a challenge, and *Marvel Rivals* has made several adjustments in the first season to address this.

Vanguard

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**Captain America**: Previously one of the weaker tanks, he has received substantial buffs. The cooldown for his Shield has been reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds, enhancing his defensive capabilities. His mobility has improved with the Rush ability cooldown dropping from 12 to 10 seconds. To boost his survivability, his health has been increased from 650 to 675 points. The cost of his Ultimate ability has been reduced from 3,400 to 3,100, though it now grants 100 extra health instead of 110.

**Doctor Strange**: His Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma-version damage now decreases by 70% at a range of 8 meters (up from 5 meters). Additionally, his shield recovery speed has been reduced from 80/s to 70/s.

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**Thor**: He's received a health boost of 25 points and gains crowd-control immunity while using his ultimate ability, making him less vulnerable during its use.

**Hulk**: His Gamma Shield now grants 200 health instead of 250, slightly nerfing his durability.

**Venom**: Despite already being strong, he's been buffed to gain more armor based on lost health (coefficient increased from 1 to 1.2), and his ultimate ability's base damage has increased by 10 points.

Duelist

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**Black Panther**: The extra health from upgrading marks with Spirit Rend has been reduced from 40 to 30, and the maximum additional health has been lowered to 75 from 120, making him less resilient.

**Black Widow**: Several small changes have improved her effectiveness. The radius for the first effect of Edge Dancer has increased from 3 to 5 meters, the recovery time for Fleet Foot has been reduced from 12 to 4 seconds, and the time to reach maximum power for her ultimate ability has been shortened from 1 second to 0.6 seconds.

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**Hawkeye**: A slight nerf has narrowed the spread angle between explosive arrows, and the activation distance for his passive ability, Archer's Focus, has been reduced from 60 meters to 40 meters. The maximum bonus damage from his passive skill has decreased from 80 to 70, though it can still deliver a lethal headshot.

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**Hela**: Her health has been reduced from 275 to 250, but she remains a top DPS choice. New Twitch Drops offer a skin and other rewards for Hela, available by watching live streams of the game on Twitch with Drops enabled.

**Magik**: In Darkchild form, her damage to Umbral Incursion has increased from 115 to 135, though this won't enhance her resilience.

**Moon Knight**: Already strong, he's been further enhanced. The number of talons generated by his ultimate has increased from 10 to 14, and the blast radius of each claw has grown from 4 meters to 5 meters.

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**Namor**: The accuracy of throws in his abilities has been adjusted, resembling a bug fix.

**The Punisher**: The spread for Deliverance and Adjudication has been slightly reduced.

**Scarlet Witch**: Her Chaos Control damage has increased from 50/s to 60/s, making her more effective at lower ranks. The damage-over-time percentage has been reduced from 5% to 3%, and the damage of Chthonian Burst has increased from 30 to 35.

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**Storm**: Her normal attacks now release faster projectiles with increased damage. The damage from right-clicking has been boosted, and the bonus health granted after using her ultimate has increased from 350 to 450, decaying at 100 per second instead of disappearing instantly.

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**Squirrel Girl**: Squirrels now target the nearest enemy after bouncing, adding predictability. The health of Squirrel Tsunami has been halved, making them easier to destroy.

**Winter Soldier**: His health from using abilities has increased from 30 to 40, main attack damage has risen from 70 to 75, and area damage has been reduced from 70 to 65 with damage falloff at 40 meters reduced from 65% to 60%. His base health has increased from 250 to 275 points.

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**Wolverine**: Despite being a top tank, his health has been increased from 300 to 350, and the damage reduction coefficient for Undying Animal has decreased from 50% to 40%.

Strategist

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**Cloak & Dagger**: To enhance their effectiveness, the cooldown of Dagger Storm has been reduced from 15s to 12s, and the number of dashes during their ultimate has increased from 3 to 4, improving their mobility.

**Jeff the Land Shark**: The ultimate range has been adjusted from a 10-meter sphere to a 10-meter cylindrical field with a height of 5 meters, and the healing from Joyful Splash has increased from 140/s to 150/s.

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**Luna Snow**: Contrary to expectations, she's only been slightly weakened. During her dance, the mode change now has a break of 0.5s instead of 0.1s, though this won't significantly impact her survivability or that of her allies.

**Mantis**: Her acceleration from Nature's Favor has been reduced from 2.5m/s to 1.5m/s.

**Rocket Raccoon**: His healing speed in recovery mode has increased from 60 to 70 units per second.

Team-Up

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The following changes relate to the benefits heroes receive from Team-Up:

**Hawkeye** and **Hela** have had their season bonus reduced by 5%, weakening their synergy.

**Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Magneto**, and **Storm** have been enhanced. Namor's monsters deal more damage, Rocket Raccoon heals better, Magneto's projectiles cause more damage, and Storm's charged storm hits more frequently and with greater impact.

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Overall, these balance adjustments are relatively minor, with a few characters potentially gaining popularity. However, Hela remains a constant ban at higher ranks. The introduction of new heroes and their impact on the meta will be the most intriguing aspect to watch as the season progresses.