NetEase finally spilt the beans on Marvel Rivals' Season 6.5 update yesterday, ahead of its launch on Friday, 13 February, giving us our first look at Elsa Bloodstone and all the balance changes. Of course, this was conveniently timed right as its competitor, Overwatch, launched its massive yearly refresh, which caused the game to break its player count record on Steam.
However, 'balance' isn't exactly the word I and many others would use to describe the latest patch notes, which continue to drop the ball that was already deep in the ground as far back as launch day.
Venom, the king of stalling and diving, has seen yet another buff, this time to his survivability. Star-Lord, who could already get his ultimate incredibly quickly, has had his ult cost reduced. Hela and Phoenix's precision damage is as oppressive as ever. Oh, and Adam Warlock can fly, which is cool but makes for another pesky flying hero.
Then there's the elephant in the room: healing. Support heroes like Invisible Woman, Luna Snow, and especially Gambit, ever since his introduction in Season 5, have been the ire of the community. Simply put, healing is incredibly strong, leading to a triple support meta even in high-ranked play and competitions.
While Loki's been repeatedly nerfed, the triple support meta is more than intact, and Gambit has miraculously evaded any nerfs, despite being banned in almost every creator tournament match of late. I'm genuinely baffled Gambit isn't on the chopping block.
This is all to say that Marvel Rivals hasn't had the best track record for buffing and nerfing the right heroes, often doing the complete opposite of what you'd expect. Contrasted with Overwatch's surging success, the Marvel Rivals community feels like it's at a breaking point. 'Dyingwords121' over on Reddit says, "Today's patch notes have made me lose all hope", and I've already seen multiple people calling for Zhiyong, Marvel Rivals' lead combat designer, to step down.
The lack of meaningful meta shifts and hero balance in favour of an ever-growing roster has repeatedly fanned the flames. With the pace of new releases not looking to slow down any time soon, I reckon it's time for a season entirely focused on improving the fundamentals.
