Marvel Rivals is deviating from its established cadence of introducing two new heroes each season, a practice maintained for 17 months. The upcoming season will feature only one new hero, Gorr the God Butcher, as the development team shifts its focus towards improving the game's foundational elements.
Creative designer Guangyun Chen explained in a developer diary that the first half of the current season will introduce the new hero and a new map. The latter half will concentrate on "phase 3 and phase 4 of the Path to Doomsday" events, which will include two new game modes. Specific details for these modes are expected closer to their launch.
This decision stems from the strain that introducing new, often overpowered, heroes twice per season places on game balance. NetEase's "fun first" approach, coupled with a backlog of fixes, frequently results in new characters being significantly unbalanced upon release. By limiting new hero additions, the team aims to alleviate this pressure, allowing for more thorough polishing of existing heroes and a greater focus on other areas of the game, such as expanding game modes.
Chen emphasized that this change is not permanent, assuring the community that a single-hero season is not the new standard. The development team has already planned for two new heroes to be introduced in season 11.
Beyond hero additions, Marvel Rivals is implementing substantial balance changes, affecting approximately 70% of the roster. Lead combat director Zhiyong detailed these changes, noting that while many are minor tweaks, they represent a significant effort to address gameplay issues. A notable shift also occurs in the competitive ban system. For lobbies in Gold 3 and above, teams will now take turns banning and revealing heroes in a specific order: one team bans one hero, the other bans two, the first team bans two more, and the second team bans the final hero. The system will also prevent double bans, with any hero banned by either team becoming unplayable for both sides for the remainder of the match, totaling six hero bans per game. This adjustment is intended to introduce greater strategic depth to the banning phase.
These measures are expected to provide the development team with crucial breathing room to tackle complex issues like power creep and the significant healing output of the Strategist class. A successful resolution of these pain points could help stabilize Marvel Rivals after several inconsistent seasons.