NetEase has announced the details of the tenth season of the multiplayer third-person shooter “Marvel Rivals”, which will bring major changes. With the release of the update, which will begin on September 11, Gore will be added to the list of playable characters. He will become a duelist and fight with the help of an all-black Necronomicon sword.
Gore’s gameplay involves symbiotic weapons that can take different forms depending on the situation. By annihilating his opponents and absorbing their flesh, he creates black berserkers who he can then send to attack his enemies. With his symbiotic abilities, Gore will be able to move around the battlefield and suddenly attack opponents from unexpected directions. His superpower transforms the All Blacks into Blades of Destruction. It boosts the hero’s attack power and forces all active Black Berserkers to charge at the opponent at the same time.
The second major part of the update has to do with balance. The developers analyzed data from Season 9 and concluded that the meta stabilized around a few particularly powerful combinations after large-scale changes to the teaming system. The most popular heroes include Magneto, The Thing, and The Hood, while mobile tanks like Captain America, Rogue, and Venom are harder to find a spot in the popular lineup.
In Season 10, changes will affect approximately 70% of the cast. Magneto, Thing, and the Hood will have reduced durability and lose some damage, while Captain America, Rogue, Dino-Devil, Emma Frost, and Deadpool will gain buffs. The developers also want to make mobile tanks more effective when flanking.
Among duelists, Winter Soldier, Elsa Bloodstone, Black Widow, and Sorcerer will be weakened. Black Cat loses invulnerability while using the Phantom Tracking ability, but gains numerical buffs in return. Star-Lord, Namor, Iron Fist, Punisher and Psylocke will become stronger.
More significant reforms await Scarlet Witch. Her new passive abilities will allow her to mark enemies with Chaos with Dark Seal and the new Chaos Brand ability. Hitting a marked target will restore her extra health, and the main attack will immediately begin targeting all marked enemies. The new active skill creates a wave of chaotic magic in front of the heroine, dealing area damage and applying a mark. Superpowers will also be changed to include damage over time during the setup process.
Generally speaking, strategists experience a decrease in the rate at which superpower energy accumulates. Developers believe that the buffs introduced after the start of Season 9 were too effective, which is why Strategists started receiving their ultimate abilities too quickly. Additional nerfs will affect Mantis, Loki, and other popular characters, while Jeff the Shark, Loki, and White Fox will receive buffs. The developers promise to release the full list of changes separately.
The ban system for ranked matches will also change. Each team will take turns choosing to ban heroes according to the following plan:
- Team A bans a hero;
- Team B suspended two players;
- Team A suspended two players;
- Team B bans one player.
Banned heroes will not be selectable by either side until the end of the game. It is also not possible to re-ban a selected character. The new system will be available to players starting at Gold III level.
The first half of this season will also see the launch of the “Eater Jeff’s Dream” and “Jeff’s Search for Superstars” events, which will be updated on September 17. Participating in the event will receive themed clothing and cosmetics rewards. Galacta’s Gift event will return on September 24th, with updated options in the Outfit Token Exchange Shop. On the same day, a new territory mode map called “Sacred Quarry” will be added to the game.
The developers also confirmed that Season 10 will have an unusual number of new heroes. Only one character will appear in it, but NetEase stressed that this format will not become permanent. In Season 11, the team plans to introduce two new heroes at the same time.
