The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Marvel Rivals’ Season 1 launch update, Version 20250110, arrived on January 10, 2025, with two new heroes, a new Convoy map, Doom Match, ranked changes, PC options and a substantial balance pass. The official patch notes cover content, settings and fixes; a separate January 9 balance post details hero and Team-Up tuning. The changes below are historical January 2025 values, not a description of live balance in 2026.
What came with the Season 1 launch update?
Season 1 was titled Eternal Night Falls. The January 8, 2025 Version 20250110 patch notes listed the following launch additions and system changes.
Heroes, costumes, map and mode
- New heroes: Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman joined the roster. Their new costumes were Mister Fantastic – The Maker and Invisible Woman – Malice.
- New Convoy map: Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown.
- New Arcade mode: Doom Match, set in Sanctum Sanctorum. The notes say 8–12 players compete and the top 50% win.
Season features and match flow
- The update introduced a Battle Pass containing 10 costume sets, the first half of the Midnight Features event, and a Twitch Drops event.
- In Convoy and Convergence, both teams could move to the next spawn room after attackers completed the current target.
- Quick Match loading screens began showing Nameplates for both sides.
- The daily mission unlock, new store-item availability and most event start times shifted from 07:00 to 09:00 UTC. The notes also say some harder mission types were removed.
Ranked, tournament and social options
- Celestial, divided into three divisions, was added between Grandmaster and Eternity. Season 0 ranks reset downward by seven divisions; the notes give Platinum I to Silver II as an example.
- New tournament-follow and faction-reporting features were listed.
- Streaming Mode could hide a player’s name locally, but other players in the match could still see it.
- Spectator chat and an option to block active invitations and faction join requests were added.
PC settings and fixes
- Anti-Aliasing, Global Illumination and Reflection Quality gained Off options; Model Detail gained a Performance option.
- Mouse smoothing and acceleration settings were added. The update also listed Intel XeSS 2 support, including XeFG and XeLL.
- The patch notes list fixes for maps, collision, audio, hero abilities, notifications, text, matchmaking displays and controller settings.
- A “get unstuck” feature returns a character to spawn after they remain stuck in terrain for a specified duration.
Which Season 1 content was not available at launch?
Season 1 content arrived in phases. NetEase’s January 7 announcement said Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic would arrive in the first half, with Human Torch and The Thing following in the second half. It described three maps across the season: Sanctum Sanctorum, Midtown in the first half and Central Park in the second half. Midtown was part of the January 10 launch update; the announcement does not mean all three maps or all four heroes were available on day one.
Hero balance changes by role
The balance figures below come from the official post dated January 9, 2025. Changes are grouped by role; increases and reductions are described separately so a mixed adjustment is not mistaken for a blanket buff or nerf.
#1 Best Overall
Vanguard
- Captain America: Living Legend’s shield-restoration delay fell from 3 to 2 seconds, and Liberty Rush’s cooldown fell from 12 to 10 seconds. Base health rose from 650 to 675. Freedom Charge’s energy cost fell from 3400 to 3100, while its additional self-health per second fell from 110 to 100.
- Doctor Strange: Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma Maelstrom gained damage falloff starting at 5 meters, reaching 70% at 8 meters. Shield of the Seraphim recovery fell from 80/s to 70/s.
- Thor: Base health rose from 500 to 525. God of Thunder gained immunity to control effects.
- Hulk: Hero Hulk’s Indestructible Guard gamma shield fell from 250 to 200.
- Venom: Symbiotic Resilience’s bonus-health ratio per lost health point rose from 1 to 1.2. Feast of the Abyss base damage rose from 40 to 50.
Duelist
- Black Panther: Spirit Rend’s additional self-health after refreshing Vibranium Marks fell from 40 to 30, and its upper limit fell from 120 to 75.
- Black Widow: Edge Dancer’s first-effect radius rose from 3 to 5 meters. Fleet Foot stamina recovery from empty to full fell from 12 to 4 seconds. Electro-Plasma Explosion reached maximum power in 0.6 rather than 1 second.
- Hawkeye: Blast Arrow’s spread angle was slightly reduced. Archer’s Focus trigger distance fell from 60 to 40 meters, and its maximum additional damage fell from 80 to 70.
- Hela: Base health fell from 275 to 250.
- Magik: Umbral Incursion damage in Darkchild form rose from 115 to 135.
- Moon Knight: Hand of Khonshu generated 14 rather than 10 talons; each talon’s explosion radius rose from 4 to 5 meters.
- Namor: Monstro Spawn and Frozen Spawn throwing were adjusted for more accurate placement.
- Psylocke: Dance of the Butterfly began checking for barriers, including Magneto’s Metal Bulwark and Hulk’s Indestructible Guard.
- The Punisher: Deliverance and Adjudication spread was slightly reduced.
- Scarlet Witch: Chaos Control’s fixed damage rose from 50/s to 60/s, while percentage damage fell from 5%/s to 3%/s. Chthonian Burst projectile damage rose from 30 to 35.
- Storm: Wind Blade projectile speed rose from 100 to 150 m/s and left-click damage from 50 to 55. Bolt Rush damage rose from 70 to 80. Omega Hurricane bonus health rose from 350 to 450, then decayed at 100 per second after the ultimate ended instead of disappearing instantly.
- Squirrel Girl: After bouncing, Unbeatable Squirrel Tsunami squirrels began rushing toward the nearest enemy instead of bouncing randomly. The ultimate’s health fell from 600 to 300.
- Winter Soldier: Bionic Hook and Tainted Voltage bonus health rose from 30 to 40. Roterstern projectile damage rose from 70 to 75, area damage fell from 70 to 65, and damage decay at 40 meters changed from 65% to 60%. Base health rose from 250 to 275.
- Wolverine: Base health rose from 300 to 350. Undying Animal damage reduction fell from 50% to 40%.
Strategist
- Cloak & Dagger: Dagger Storm’s cooldown fell from 15 to 12 seconds. Eternal Bond gained a fourth dash, up from three.
- Jeff the Land Shark: It’s Jeff! changed from a 10-meter sphere to a cylindrical spell field with a 10-meter radius and 5-meter height. Joyful Splash healing rose from 140/s to 150/s.
- Luna Snow: Fate of Both Worlds’ interval for switching between healing and damage rose from 0.1 to 0.5 seconds.
- Mantis: Nature’s Favor movement boost fell from 2.5 to 1.5 m/s.
- Rocket Raccoon: Repair Mode healing rose from 60/s to 70/s.
What changed in Team-Ups?
The first-half adjustments were selective value changes to existing Team-Ups. The balance post said more extensive redesigns were planned for Season 2.
- Hawkeye – Black Widow: Hawkeye’s season bonus fell from 20% to 15%.
- Hela – Thor – Loki: Hela’s season bonus fell from 20% to 15%.
- Luna Snow – Namor: Frozen Spawn damage rose from 25 to 27 and its slow rose from 25% to 30%; berserk-state Frozen Spawn damage rose from 16 to 18.
- Rocket Raccoon – The Punisher – Winter Soldier: Ammo Invention’s cooldown fell from 45 to 40 seconds.
- Scarlet Witch – Magneto: Metallic Fusion projectile damage rose from 55 to 60 and spell-field damage from 30 to 35.
- Thor – Storm – Captain America: Charged Gale’s cooldown fell from 20 to 15 seconds and its damage rose from 50 to 55.
Were these changes all buffs or all nerfs?
No. The update mixed increases, reductions and behavior changes across all three roles. For example, Captain America gained health and shorter cooldowns but lost some self-healing from Freedom Charge; Hulk’s shield and Hela’s health were reduced; and Mantis’s movement boost was lowered. Other adjustments changed targeting, range, barriers or ability behavior rather than simply raising or lowering a number. The official post does not provide pick rates, win rates or match-outcome data, so these patch values alone do not establish how strongly any hero performed afterward.
Quick Recap
Official sources
- Marvel Rivals Version 20250110 patch notes, January 8, 2025
- Marvel Rivals January 9, 2025 balance post
- NetEase Season 1 announcement, January 7, 2025
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