The halfway point of Season 3, aka Season 3.5, ofMarvel Rivalscomes with a major balance patch to alter many abilities of several characters. Some heroes are receiving nerfs that balance their toolkits to be more in line with the rest of the cast, while others are getting buffs to elevate their status. Every adjustment could shift the game’s meta, so it’s worth knowing each change.
Thedrastic changes of Season 3have already helped to shape the game’s current status. For example, the addition of a new Team-Up ability between The Phoenix and Wolverine has made the latter character extremely strong, making him banned in most competitive matches. With the inclusion of the new character, Blade, in Season 3.5, even more balance adjustments could have a huge impact.
Every Season 3.5 Character Buff
Stronger Skills For Additional Use
Buffs are far more numerous than nerfs in Season 3.5, increasing the viability of several heroes who may have struggled up until now. Thesechanges could be to rebalance characters who’ve been nerfed before, or raise up otherswho still haven’t managed to equal other heroes with similar skills.
The table below goes over every character buff in Season 3.5, whether it is a tiny change or a significant balance modification:
Strategist
The biggest winners from the Season 3.5 buffs are definitely Thor, Iron Fist, and Adam Warlock, whose abilities all change in some way.Adam and Thor gain ways to use their valuable abilities or resources more often, whileIron Fist’s damage has drastically increased, along with his overall potential for surviving team fights.
Every Season 3.5 Character Nerf
Slightly Lower Resources Gained To Make Abilities Fairer
Only a couple of characters got nerfed in Season 3.5 across all roles, with many losing fast access to their Ultimate abilities as a common adjustment. This will likely cause some heroes to still remain strong in the game’s power fantasy, but prevent them from being thestrongest characters in a teamthrough fast-charging Ultimates.
Some characters, like Mantis for example, got both buffs and nerfs for this seasonal update. This might keep them around the same level of strength, but adjust what their role on a team is with all the other changes present.
Just like the last table, the table below shares information on all character nerfs in Season 3.5:
Every Season 3.5 Team-Up Balance Change
Only One Adjustment To A Pre-Existing Partnership
Although theTeam-Up changes in Season 3.5take away two synergies and add a few more,only one Team-Up gets a balance changein this update. Several Team-Ups gain new members with never-before-seen abilities, but the adjustments for other cooperative skills only boil down to another from Season 3’s launch.
The relevant Team-Up is listed below, along with what has changed about it as soon as the Season 3.5 patch drops:
Buff or Nerf?
The Human Torch/Spider-Man
Buff
After using the Team-Up ability, Spider-Man does not move as far back, allowing him to have more reliable follow-ups for a combo of attacks.
The backflip that Spider-Man performs after using his Team-Up with Human Torch often leaves him in a weird position, unable to continue damaging opponents.This change makes this synergy far more viable, giving Spider-Man an extra combo tool that pairs well with the rest of his kit. For example, you can now use Ever-Burning Bond’s flaming web, then use Spider-Man’s Amazing Combo attack to instantly deal more damage, possibly eliminating a target in the process.
The adjustments seen in this update are far more quality-of-life than drastic changes, reflecting the faster pace of seasons being released. While Season 3.5 doesn’t have as many buffs or nerfs inMarvel Rivalsas past midpoint patches, the direction of these changes perhaps mark what more drastic modifications will look like in Season 4.
