Marvel Rivals season 8 has begun and with it comes a new battle pass, patch notes, and a massive T.rex known as Devil Dinosaur. This dino is complete with seven passives, a shield, and a massive red laser beam, just as the cherry on top. But do you know what’s better than a huge red T.rex? A bunch of Strategist nerfs.
Well, they’re not massive nerfs, but we’ll take what we can get right now. Multiple Strategist characters have had their offense capabilities dialled down: Invisible Woman, Loki, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, and White Fox have all been tweaked in this patch.
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Loki, Mantis, and Invisible Woman are getting damage nerfs: Loki’s illusions will now “heal more reliably” and deal less damage while Mantis will provide a speed boost instead of a damage boost to allies, and Invis’ knockback damage has also been dialled down. Loki’s ultimate cost has also increased from 4300 to 4500, meaning it’ll take a little more time for him to get his ult up and working for a team fight.
This seems like a pretty decent move for both of these Strategists, and while I don’t think either of these are among the most problematic cases, I’m always a fan of supports doing less damage output and focusing on healing their team instead. Sure, the backline needs to be able to defend itself from flankers, but in no world should a Strategist be able to do as much damage as a Duelist or even a Vanguard.
Some higher elos can also get away with being more aggressive. But by and large most Strategist players often get distracted with damage output when the most valuable thing they can do for their team is keep the frontline alive.
Unfortunately, the nerf didn’t go as far as to involve the rest of the support roster, as Rocket Raccoon and White Fox both got buffs. Rocket will output more healing and damage, and get his ultimate faster, while White Fox’s change will “provide a more consistent healing” while in and out of combat.
Other adjustments include Deadpool (Vanguard) getting slightly nerfed, while Emma Frost survivability has been buffed and The Thing’s base health has increased from 700 to 750. Duelist buffs include:
- Iron Fist: Dragon’s Defense cooldown reduced and Kick strike damage increased from 35 to 40.
- Moon Knight: Moonlight Hook cooldown reduced from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
- Spider-Man: Increase ultimate damage from 13.6 to 15.
- Squirrel Girl: Mammal Bond cooldown reduced from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
- Star-Lord: Increased ammo capacity from 40 to 50.
- Wolverine: Cooldown for Regenerative Healing Factor reduced from 105 seconds to 90 seconds.
Mister Fantastic has been rebalanced by swapping out some slow effects in favour of a boost in “direct damage”, alongside Phoenix who’s explosive AoE attack has been reduced to make it more precise and “feel far more lethal.” But her ultimate has been nerfed slightly: “Without damage buffs, Phoenix can no longer one-shot a 250 Health hero with a single mark + direct hit from her Endsong Inferno. However, the increase to her primary attack damage makes her far more threatening in baseline combat.”
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