Inside Marvel Rivals' Disastrous 6.5 Balancing Pass: What Wt Wrong

Although it cannot be denied Marvel Rivals started Season 6 on the right foot – RivalsThe version of Deadpool that filled all three roles was a wonderful surprise, and the Collector's Museum map is largely enjoyable – season 6.5 is treading difficult waters. Yes, Elsa Bloodstone looks fun and serves as a mix between Magik and Overwatch's Ashe, but there's no denying that he's a lesser-known character and can't draw as many eyeballs as Deadpool. Add to the return of the controversial gacha mechanic for Mr. skins. and Mrs. X, not to mention OverwatchIt was a very successful season 1 reboot and there was more pressure than ever to make season 6.5 a big win for balance. Unfortunately, the opposite happened.

Marvel Rivals he's been struggling with balance for a while because he feels like NetEase isn't sure what approach they want to take with their game. Some changes are aimed at casual fans with low ELO, while others seem to be based only on high ELO stats, and some adjustments are completely random. Overpowered heroes often go unchecked for too long, leaving players frustrated, and judging by the reactions on social media, this patch may just be a tipping point. There is a certain meta that has been overbearing recently, as well as a handful of heroes that are in desperate need of a shake-up. Unfortunately, the update doesn't address these complaints, which has led to many players threatening to quit or at least cut themselves out of the game. And with Overwatch look so attractive to the point of frustration Rivals fans at the moment, that's something we should be worried about.

Some players are even calling for developer NetEase and lead combat designer Zhiyong to be demoted. While it's obviously harsh, it's basically the target of all the outrage because it handles the balancing act of Dev Visions.

Marvel Rivals' Balancing Patch 6.5 fails to hit Poke damage or Triple Strategist Comps

While the arrival of Deadpool and Marvel Rivals” Briefly diverting attention from the complaints, Kingsman's drama, the triple strategist meta has been under constant criticism for several months. The natural consequence of the lack of a role queue is that players have unexpected strategies that seem unfair, and it is the developer's job to keep these compositions under control. While Overwatch had the infamous meta GOATs for a while, Rivals“The most frustrating playstyle where players have tripled healers. This basically leads to fights that seem never ending, constantly being dragged down by ultimate strategies that heal all the damage players can do. It's also limiting because any team that refuses to run a triple strategist in response to a team taking it will be out.”

Find all 10 pairs

If players have to play a triple strategist in order to compete with a triple strategist, a role queue could exist because players aren't as loose in team formations as they should be. However, this is not the only solution to the problem, as NetEase could limit it to places with a maximum of two strategists on a given team, reduce the total healing power for each hero on the roster, or find some other ready-made solution that the average player would not think to cook. Sadly, any adjustments to Strategists in Season 6.5 are fairly minor, with the only major change being Adam Warlock's new ability to fly. And while this extra movement is welcome and accurate, NetEase seems to have dropped heroic changes overall.

Another massive problem with Marvel RivalsThe latest balancing update is that it leaves so many overpowered heroes broken or with a slap on the wrist that doesn't fix the problem. These troubled but still powerful heroes include:

Pheonix (health nerf is something but does nothing to prevent her high damage)
Winter Soldier (no changes)
Hela (no changes)
Hawkeye (intact projectile size)
Gambit (no changes)
Star-Lord (the perfect buff that the hero didn't need)

Marvel Rivals players upset about poke damage are really out of luck with the 6.5 update as they can expect something similar in the next few weeks. Some of these characters remaining unchanged is also confusing; Gambit was considered too strong when it first released, but has remained meta since its debut. He's basically an insta-ban, which is frustrating for Gambit mains who want to use him in comp and any characters who rely on his teams. Characters that feel like bans are required also take up a ban slot, which is all the more frustrating when there are multiple characters that feel overpowered at the time (and given how teams can double up on bans and leave more OP characters unchecked).

Marvel Rivals needs to rework its approach to balancing patches

What is frustrating about Marvel Rivals Season 6.5 update is that there are some good changes. The aforementioned Adam Warlock buff, as well as the much-needed adjustments to Storm, deserve praise, as does the decision to go back and add VFX capabilities for some of the existing cosmetics, such as Sue and Reed's wedding outfits. Still, there's so much wrong and so many weird tweaks (Loki's changes are brutal because he's constantly restocking now) that it's clearer than ever that NetEase needs to rethink its approach to game balance.

Clearer communication is first and foremost a must. Regardless of whether players agree to each change—and they often don't— OverwatchMajor fixes include explanations for each hero modification. This way, players know exactly what the developers were thinking when they made the changes and can discuss them appropriately with this extra insight. RivalsUpdates, on the other hand, come with fun little jokes about things like the popularity of NetEase's Luna Snow. While they should be charming, they can be tone-deaf because they should come alongside a detailed explanation of all the changes made, without completely filling out this kind of commentary.

Second, there is a case for which a “recovery recovery” needs to be done. Marvel Rivalssimilar to what happened with Rainbow Six Siege'Operation Health.' While two heroes per season is a big selling point for the game and helps Rivals compete with Overwatcha one-off season where there is only one character (or even none) might be the best way forward at this point. Instead of heroes and maps, frequent balance updates could be done to keep frustrated players satisfied. By overhauling the heals of every strategist, players with nerfing characters have been begging for a change, and properly overhauling characters like Black Widow who need something extra in their kits could be huge for the game in the long run. Maybe now is not the best time to cut back on the content Overwatch he has his foot on the pedal, but after a while the investment in a season of health can pay off. And for now, a closer look through the patch notes and a better understanding of the nerfs the community really wants to see is essential.