If you’ve been getting absolutely shredded by Hela or felt like Captain America was basically a wet paper towel in high-rank lobbies, the Marvel Rivals Season 1 patch notes are exactly what the doctor ordered. NetEase finally dropped the massive update to kick off the "Eternal Night Falls" era. Honestly, it’s a lot to digest. They didn’t just tweak a few numbers; they fundamentally shifted how some of the most popular heroes interact.
We’re looking at a complete roster shake-up.
The headline news is the arrival of the Fantastic Four. At launch, we’re getting Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. Later on, The Thing and Human Torch will round out the squad. But while everyone is hyped about the new faces, the real meat of the update is in the balance changes. Some characters got hit with the nerf hammer so hard they might actually fall out of the meta entirely, while others—like Venom and Captain America—are looking like absolute units now.
The Vanguard Shake-up: Tanks That Actually Tank
Steve Rogers has been in a weird spot. Before this patch, playing Cap felt like you were constantly waiting for cooldowns just to stay alive. The developers clearly saw that. They bumped his base health from 650 up to 675 and, more importantly, slashed the cooldown on Liberty Rush from 12 seconds to 10. You’ve also got a faster shield restoration after using Living Legend. It's basically a "get back in the fight" buff that makes him way more aggressive.
Doctor Strange, on the other hand? He’s feeling the heat.
The Sorcerer Supreme had his Maelstrom of Madness nerfed with actual damage falloff. It starts at 5 meters and drops to 70% by the time you hit 8 meters. Basically, you can't just stand in the middle of a point and expect to vaporize everything without consequences anymore. His shield recovery also took a slight hit. It's not a "dead hero" nerf, but you’ll have to be way more precise with your positioning.
Hulk and Venom: Polar Opposites
- Hulk: The big guy was dominating too hard. They cut his Indestructible Guard gamma shield from 250 to 200. You'll feel that 50-HP difference when a Punisher is staring you down.
- Venom: This is the big winner. His Symbiotic Resilience bonus health ratio got a buff, and the base damage on his Feast of the Abyss ultimate went from 40 to 50. Expect to see a lot more of the symbiote in your backline.
- Thor: Finally got some love. He’s now immune to control effects during his ultimate. No more getting stunned out of your big God of Thunder moment.
Why Marvel Rivals Season 1 Patch Notes Change Everything for Duelists
If you main Hela, I’m sorry. Truly. She’s been the undisputed queen of the kill feed, so NetEase chopped her base health down from 275 to 250. It sounds small, but in a game where every projectile matters, that’s one less hit she can take before folding.
Hawkeye also got adjusted to be less of a long-range sniper god. His Archer’s Focus passive now triggers at 40 meters instead of 60, and the max extra damage is capped at 70 instead of 80. They want him closer to the action. To compensate, his Blast Arrow spread is tighter, so he’s actually better in those frantic mid-range scraps.
Black Widow got a massive quality-of-life boost too. Her Fleet Foot stamina recovery went from 12 seconds down to 4. That is a staggering difference. You can basically zip around the map with almost zero downtime now. Plus, her ultimate reaches max power in 0.6 seconds instead of a full second. She’s going to be a nightmare for supports.
"Natasha was very much in need of optimization when evaluating the release experience," the devs noted, which is a fancy way of saying she felt clunky. Not anymore.
Support (Strategist) Meta: More Than Just Healing
The Strategist role usually gets the short end of the stick in patch notes, but Season 1 is changing that. Cloak & Dagger are the big winners here. Their Dagger Storm cooldown dropped to 12 seconds, and they get an extra dash in their Eternal Bond ultimate. They’re becoming the go-to pick for teams that need high mobility and "clutch" saves.
Luna Snow took a hit, though. The interval for switching between her healing and damage forms in her ultimate went from 0.1s to 0.5s. It doesn't sound like much until you're trying to save a dying tank and the game makes you wait a half-second to swap. It makes her feel a bit more deliberate and less like a "spam to win" button.
Rocket Raccoon is also getting a bit more "oomph" in his Repair Mode, with healing jumping from 60 to 70 per second. It’s a nice nod to the trash panda mains who felt like they were falling behind the newer supports.
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New Content: Maps and The Fantastic Four
We aren't just getting balance tweaks. Season 1 introduces the "Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown" map. It's a Convoy map, and if you've played the beta, you know how intense those final chokepoints can get. There’s also a new "Doom Match" arcade mode in the Sanctum Sanctorum. It’s basically a 12-player brawl where only the top half of the leaderboard survives. It's chaotic, it's fast, and it's a great way to warm up your aim.
The Battle Pass is also refreshed with 10 new costume sets. If you’re a fan of the classic First Family look, you’re going to be spending some Units this season.
Actionable Strategy for Season 1
If you want to climb the ranks in Season 1, you need to pivot your playstyle based on these notes. Here is how to handle the new meta:
- Stop solo-diving with Hulk: Your shield is weaker. You need a Strategist like Rocket or Cloak & Dagger to baby you more than before.
- Abuse the Black Widow mobility: Since her stamina recovery is so fast now, use your grapple and dash to bait out enemy cooldowns. You can out-rotate almost anyone.
- Respect the Captain America buff: Don't expect to burst him down as easily. If he has his shield up, find a new target or wait for the Liberty Rush—which, remember, is coming back 2 seconds faster now.
- Learn the new map sightlines: Midtown has some nasty verticality that favor heroes like Iron Man and the new Mister Fantastic (who can stretch to reach high ground easily).
The game is evolving fast. These Marvel Rivals Season 1 patch notes show that NetEase isn't afraid to make big swings to keep the game from getting stale. Whether you're a Vanguard main or a sneaky Duelist, the rules of the game just changed. Get into the practice range and get used to those new cooldown timings before you hop into Ranked.
Check your in-game mail for the Chrono-Rush event details to catch up on any missed rewards from the transition.