What’s going on in the world of Marvel Rivals, the NetEase hero shooter that is forecast to get two new heroes every three month season, and thus stands to double its starting roster of 33 heroes providing it stays afloat for at least four years? The word on the street is that they’re adding new Team-Up skills in Season 2, beginning 11th April – and when I say “the word on the street”, I mean it’s been officially confirmed by game director Guangyun Chen. I apologise, I will try not to sound like a cool reporter again.
“The content for Season 2 is ready and set to go,” Chen observed in a new interview with Peter Parker Gamer. “The designs for Seasons 3 and 4 have also been completed and are currently under intensive development! Overall, everything is progressing smoothly.”
I’m not sure it’s been progressing smoothly for the people they laid off last month, and let’s not forget about NetEase suddenly junking plans to reset player ranks mid-season following an outcry. But Marvel Rivals continues to attract droves of players.
The game’s first season added the Fantastic Four to the line-up – which, the mathematicians amongst you may notice, is actually double the anticipated rollout speed for new heroes. NetEase have yet to reveal Season 2’s offerings – beware the rumour-mongers – but the game’s Gallery Cards suggest that half-vampire Blade is one of the new heroes.
More important, perhaps, than the introduction of new heroes is the addition of new Team-Ups. As the name suggests, these see characters merging their abilities for beaucoup superheroism. I haven’t played a lot of Marvel Rivals lately but I’m intrigued by how Team-Ups seem to be serving as a pressure release valve for the balancing. Given the rate at which they’re injecting new blood, and given that Marvel’s archives harbour thousands of heroes with very mismatched capabilities, NetEase have their work cut out for them ensuring that nobody is either too strong or useless. Team-Ups are helpful here because a weaker hero can still contribute to a match by joining a powerful Team-Up.
I’m sure there are more arcane multiplayer balancing getarounds than this, but I enjoy it regardless. I will attempt to carry on enjoying it when I next sign in and am immediately shredded by a Symbiote Bond.