Temporada de rivales de Marvel 8 went live on May 15 and marked the arrival of Devil Dinosaur to the Vanguard roster, a brand new Battle Pass, a wave of new hero skins and collectible cosmetics, new events, y mucho más. Por supuesto, a new hero balance patch was also introduced into the game with Season 8, which brings with it a number of nerfs, buffs and hero adjustments for the three playable roles of Vanguard, Duelista y estratega.
If you’re wondering which heroes were most affected by the hero balance changes in Season 8, in this list we’ll be going over the six heroes that made the most significant changes – be it in the form of nerfs, buffs, or minor tweaks to better balance them across the meta.
Emma Frost is getting more of a front-line presence again
Emma Frost is getting a nice little buff to her Diamond form after suffering a few nerfs in recent seasons. She gains increased damage resistance during Diamond Form and her ultimate ability (de 20% a 25%). Además, the cooldown for repositioning Mind Aegis will be reduced from 3 segundos para 1 second. Además, Telepathic Pulse now begins to decay four seconds after no enemy is hit, en lugar de 3 artículos de segunda clase.
This will allow Emma Frost to have a much greater presence on the front lines, allowing her to be a menacing vanguard with much greater efficiency. The Diamond Form and Ultimate buffs will help Emma persevere and turn the tide in important teamfights, making her a realistic choice without being overwhelmed.
Mister Fantastic trades crowd control for direct damage and benefit
Mister Fantastic has struggled to consistently fit into the meta, as his crowd control and stall potential are among the highest in the game of any hero. This means that he often felt overwhelmed or was so weakened that he could no longer perform at all. En estación 8, Reed receives some adjustments, trading the strength of his slowing effects for an increase in direct damage and increased utility.
Stretch Punch, his primary fire, is increased from 65 damage per hit to 70. Sin embargo, the movement speed reduction from Flexible Stretch has been removed and the charge time for each use has been reduced from 8 segundos para 2 artículos de segunda clase. This prevents him from being such an aggressive anti-dive and anti-flank hero with his CC while still enabling the peel. Finalmente, he will receive his ultimate a little more regularly as the cost is reduced from 3400 a 3100 ult. cargando.
Iron Fist is back in brawling
Iron Fist has been almost “dead” in the roster for a few seasons now, having released in a very overpowered state and suffering nerfs and changes throughout the game. Now in Season 8, Iron Fist is receiving improvements to his burst damage and combo potential, helping him run more efficiently in the current meta.
Iron Fist’s Jeet Kune Do hits now reduce the cooldown of his Block/Dragon Defense by 1.2 seconds per hit (was 1 second). Además, K’un-Lun Kick’s first strike damage has been increased from 25 a 40, giving it much more brawl opening and closing potential.
Phoenix’s AOE damage has been nerfed in favor of direct hits
Jean has been one of the best mid to long range hitscan picks in the meta for several seasons. En estación 8, Phoenix is receiving some adjustments to make her explosive AOE less threatening while still retaining her serious direct hit damage. These changes reward good aim and tracking, meaning players will have to be more consistent with their shots instead of relying on detonating their explosion damage bonus.
Cosmic Flames damage per hit increased from 50 a 55, with Spark Token explosion damage reduced from 40 a 35 – a fairly even change. According to the developer notes, this ensures that Phoenix can no longer kill a 250 HP hero with one shot + a direct hit from her ultimate. En cambio, the base damage buff makes them more threatening in basic combat.
Loki clones receive a healing buff with less damage
Loki is another character that has fluctuated in the meta, receiving his fair share of buffs and nerfs throughout the season. Estación 8 once again attempts to rebalance Loki for the meta, this time improving the healing power of his clones while also reducing their damage. Mystical Missile healing rate on Loki’s clones increased from 90% a 100%. To compensate for this, the damage of these clones is reduced from 90% a 80%.
This allows Loki to heal his teammates more efficiently without increasing his DPS potential. Además, his ultimate cost has been increased from 4300 a 4500, which is intended to help accumulate his healing changes as this is his main method of earning ultimate charge.
Mantis gets a layer with a brand new base speed buff
Mantis is getting some changes to her kit in Season 8 that, in addition to healing and damage increases, should also help her provide a lot more utility to her team – this time in the form of a speed boost. While this comes at a slight cost to her base damage increase, it seems like a worthwhile trade that will help with repositioning allies and getting in and out of teamfights.
Her allied inspiration damage boost from Inspiration has been reduced from 12% a 8%. Además, the ability now provides affected allies with a flat 100 movement speed buff. According to the developer notes, this is a direct result of Ultron’s recent changes that allow him to provide better damage buffing abilities. Por lo tanto, they feel that Mantis needs a more specific niche alongside Ultron to be a viable choice. It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out throughout the competitive season. More specifically, these changes should significantly improve triple strategist compositions and Brawl or Dive lineups, Por ejemplo.