NetEase Games has released the full balance notes for Marvel Rivals Season 11, which launches on November 13 UTC and marks the game's 2nd anniversary. The update nerfs the season's dominant Vanguards, including Devil Dinosaur, Emma Frost and Doctor Strange, reworks Squirrel Girl and adjusts almost every Strategist on the roster. Check out the official post down below:
Maintenance begins at 2 AM MST on November 13 and is expected to last about 2 hours, with the game offline during that window.
Why The Vanguards Are Getting Nerfed
In the Season 11 developer video released yesterday, Zhiyong, who covered combat and balance, said the late Season 10.5 meta still revolved around anchor Vanguards like Devil Dinosaur, Emma Frost and Doctor Strange, with Peni Parker and Groot also strong on certain maps. He added that Vanguards and Strategists stacking Team-Up abilities could "pump out" damage close to Duelists while keeping their survivability and healing intact. The patch scales those roles back so Duelists keep their edge.
The biggest changes in the Vanguard class:
- Devil Dinosaur: Savage Predation's control drops from 0.8s to 0.6s, Buddy Barrier loses its 15% Slow and falls from 6s to 4s and from 450 to 400 shield, and Apex Advantage Bonus Health drops from 150% to 125% of Bleed damage.
- Doctor Strange: Shield of the Seraphim drops from 850 to 800, and its recovery speed falls from 60/s to 50/s.
- Emma Frost: Mind's Aegis drops from 400 to 350 shield, and Psychic Spear's extraction damage changes from 25% Maximum Health to 60 +10% Maximum Health.
- Angela: Axes of Ichors damage for the first 3 strikes rises from 30 to 35, and Divine Judgement now grants its buffs for 6s without needing to stay in the domain.
- Peni Parker: Cyber-Web Cluster explosion damage drops from 15 to 12, and Arachno-Mine detonation delay rises from 0.6s to 0.7s.
Squirrel Girl Gets A Rework
Squirrel Girl has the most changed kit in the patch. Burst Acorn damage drops from 110 to 95, but Squirrel Blockade now creates a 5m Acorn Rain on hit that deals 30/s damage for 2s and applies a 20% Slow. Mammal Bond adds a 100% Attack Speed bonus for 5s, raises her projectile speed from 80m/s to 150m/s and removes gravity from her shots, while Tail Bounce now grants 25 Bonus Health.
Among the other Duelists, Phoenix, Elsa Bloodstone and Winter Soldier take damage nerfs, Black Cat, Black Widow and Star-Lord get buffs, and Human Torch's Fire Cluster switches from random spread to a fixed spread.
Almost Every Strategist Changes
NetEase says it is making targeted adjustments to almost all Strategists, trimming survivability while raising combat strength. Gambit's outer Kinetic Cards spread rises from 2° to 3°, which the developers say means he needs to be about 3-5m closer to land every card. Luna Snow's Absolute Zero freeze falls from 2.7s to 1.5s, Mantis' Spore Slumber drops from 3.5s to 1.5s, and Invisible Woman's Veiled Step cooldown rises from 6s to 8s. Ultron's Imperative: Firewall now gives allies 25 Bonus Health instead of 40.
What Else Season 11 Brings
Season 11 is titled "Doomsday Begins," and its story has the present-day New York and the 2099 Nueva York heading for an Incursion:
Nightcrawler joins as a new Strategist at launch, with Dracula following in Season 11.5. On November 26 UTC, a new map called Incursion Point arrives for the 18 vs 18 Chrono Annihilation mode. The X-Man's arrival was teased earlier this week, as covered in Marvel Rivals Teases A Mystery Teleporter Saving Jeff The Land Shark, Revealing A Well-Known X-Man.
For the anniversary, Guangguang said that after the November 19 update, players can earn 2,500 Units and a free Deadpool costume through events and logins. Galacta's Galaxy Center opens in Times Square on November 26 with 6 mini-games, and an old friend of the game will appear in Times Square on December 5 at 5 PM MST for Rivals' Day. Storm's Sacred Skies swimsuit gets its promised upgrade around Christmas, and Human Torch gets a costume with recolors and new Ultimate Ability effects in early December.
Guangguang also said Season 11 adds an optional experimental optimized client on PC that gives up to a 10% CPU boost, and the most severe chat offenders now face a 365-day chat ban. More on the earlier chat crackdown is in Marvel Rivals Is Cracking Down On Toxic Chat With Significantly Harsher Penalties For Repeat Offenders. Pick-rate and win-rate stats will now be published every 2 weeks.
A Season 11 livestream preview with content creators airs today from 3 PM to 5 PM MST.
Which Season 11 nerf do you think will change the meta most: Devil Dinosaur, Emma Frost or Doctor Strange?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.