I've now played Marvel Rivals Season 3, having gotten early access provided by developer NetEase. Over the past week, I've been digging into the new Battle Pass, playing on the new map, and testing out Phoenix – the newest mutant Hero added to the roster.
And while the next season of Marvel Rivals makes many changes to the balancing of many Heroes, I've found myself shocked at just how much the new Team Ups alter the flow of certain characters. Better yet, Wolverine finally has a brilliant Team Up, and it's rather fittingly tied to Marvel Rivals' newest Hero.
Marvel Rivals has continued to impress me since launch, adding in seven brand new characters, and massively overhauling Competitive play over time. I've now put in hundreds of hours into Marvel Rivals, and recently covered the launch of Season 2.5 live, leading players through the process of seasonal switchovers. Now, with Season 3 just days away, I think there's a good chance that the ongoing hero shooter will remain ranked highly in my list of the best multiplayer PC games.
As usual, Season 3 is set to make several changes to the meta, which has been dominated by flying Heroes as of late. Heroes like The Thing are getting new abilities to ground fliers, and underused picks like Mantis are getting tweaks to healing output. Since Season 0, developer NetEase has been busy removing and refreshing the selection of Team Ups available to players, with 70% of that original offering now updated. Here's why I think Team Ups could be the real game-changing update in Marvel Rivals Season 3, based on my early impressions of the game.
You win some, you lose some
Team Ups have given Marvel Rivals a way to stand out from the crowd since launch. It's a system that grants bonuses when certain combinations of Heroes are used in a team, and it slots perfectly into the comic hero-stylings of the game. For a few seasons now, NetEase has been refreshing Team Ups with each major update, and with Season 3, the lineup is packed with bonuses that weren't there last year. This new slate is the best yet, especially Primal Flame, which pairs Phoenix and Wolverine, adding a flame effect and life steal to Wolverine's Feral Leap ability.
Up until now, Wolverine has been stuck with the fun, but rarely useful Fastball Special, which lets Hulk or The Thing throw him forward in a leaping attack. It's always felt like a bit of a joke when compared to other Team Ups, though some PC players are able to use high sensitivity setups to pull off incredible jumping Wolverine kills at range. Most of the player base, however, barely uses it. Thankfully, Primal Flame gives Logan a coating of fire, burning enemies around him, and applying life steal to attacks. This adds a lethal element to an already powerful character, and it's not the only Team Up to do so in Season 3.
You buffed him?!
In a move that's sure to send certain parts of the Marvel Rivals player base reeling, Spider-Man receives a new Team Up with Human Torch this season. It's kind of a game changer for the character, giving players an easier way to take out enemies with a single combo.
A new move fires a flaming tracer web at an enemy, triggering a backflip that gives Spider-Man distance to escape. This can be chained with the regular tracer, the zip-web attack, the uppercut, and finally a web-shot to finish foes. In practice, I found it a little difficult to find players willing to run Human Torch in matches, but it's a powerful new combo nonetheless.
Symbiote Shenanigans
Symbiotes like Venom and Knull are the main focus for Season 3, and there's a whole host of new skins for characters, including the iconic black suit Spider-Man. Hela joins Venom and Jeff as part of an existing Team Up this season, adding some symbiotic sludge to her Soul Drainer attack. On top of drawing enemies in, it now slows them, making it easier for Hela to land headshots.
It's a small change, but one that makes an already terrifying character all the more deadly. I'd imagine this new slowing ability could be used in tandem with certain area-of-effect Ultimates. Draw enemies in, then have Phoenix use her dive bomb. The results would be devastating to the enemy team.
It's clear that Marvel Rivals Season 3 is taking aim at the flying meta that's run rampant in Season 2.5. By giving characters like The Thing new abilities, introducing Phoenix, and giving Squirrel Girl a homing attack, NetEase has made it clear that it'll be tough to be airborne moving forward.
What's interesting is that, while the balancing updates of Season 3 might seem slight on paper, they amount to noticeable changes to the flow of matches. Team Ups are a big part of this, giving highly-rated Heroes even more firepower. It'll be interesting to see how the power of these Team Ups influence team compositions in the future. You'd rarely see Human Torch in Marvel Rivals Competitive Mode previously, but if he can give Spider-Man a way to dispatch enemies in a single combo, he may suddenly become viable. We'll have to wait and see how the meta evolves.
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