Marvel Rivals season 4 is about to begin, bringing a one-winged angel of vengeance to the free-to-play game's roster of playable heroes. No, we're not talking about Sephiroth: The next vanguard is Angela, the former Image Comics angelic bounty hunter and current Marvel Comics Asgardian goddess.
While the radiant new tank is the centerpiece of the season 4 update, a new map, hero balance changes, cosmetics and live events will also shake up how the game plays over the next two months.
If you've been following the character leaks, you might be bummed out that a certain horned Defender isn't making his appearance quite yet. Rest assured that the melee fighter Daredevil has been revealed as the next playable character for Marvel Rivals season 4.5, though it's unclear what his role or abilities will be.
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When does season 4 start?
Marvel Rivals season 4 starts on Friday, Sept. 12. Expect servers to go down for a couple hours around midnight PT before being turned back on in the early morning. When the servers come back online, you can download and play the newest seasonal content.
Angela's abilities in Marvel Rivals
Angela joins the roster as another vanguard -- the first new tank since Emma Frost was added to the game in season 2. The Asgardian angel is the first flying tank, which means the pressure is no longer on Doctor Strange to use his levitation spell to take the fight to the skies. Angela has a strong mix of tools that let her deal damage, block enemy attacks and displace opponents who have wandered too far from their team as a mobile but close-range attacker.
The new tank quickly rotates her arsenal depending on the situation at hand. On the ground, she wields powerful dual axes that hack and slash chunks of enemy health bars away.
When Angela takes to the skies with her third ability, however, she uses a lance that does powerful burst damage -- enemies that are struck by this weapon are skewered, and Angela can carry them a short distance before they're released.
Angela's shield protects her, but it won't do much for any teammates standing behind her. NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET
Angela can also summon a 250-health point shield that protects her from attacks -- it reminds me of Captain America's personal shield rather than Doctor Strange's team-protecting arcane ward.
Once players have dealt enough damage to the enemy team, they can unleash Angela's ultimate ability. The Hand of Heven throws down a battle banner, damaging enemies and binding them to a single location. The banner can be destroyed, but it won't be easy to do once Angela swings her blades at her trapped opponents. This ability is a strong crowd control tool, and is fairly reminiscent of Groot's ultimate, though it seems to be usable from the air, which will grant it more impressive range.
It's not immediately clear to me if Angela will fit into brawl team compositions, where players smash into one another on the frontline, or dive team compositions, where players try to end the fight before it even starts by removing key enemy heroes from the backline. She seems like a Swiss army knife of a tank, with a kit of abilities that lets her do a little bit of everything. Only time will tell if she excels in any of her niches.
Big balance changes inbound for vanguards and strategists
In the Dev Vision Vol. 9 video, Marvel Rivals developers explained which heroes are receiving changes in season 4 and why. The full numerical breakdown of every hero change is included in NetEase's detailed patch notes.
Is it finally time for the White Queen's reign to come to an end? NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET
Individual hero changes keep different roles feeling impactful
The game balance of Marvel Rivals season 3 turned most vanguard heroes into punching bags. These tanky characters (such as the Thing, Hulk and Thor) are supposed to soak up damage to protect their teammates while creating advantages by pushing further into the battlefield, but strong long-ranged damage dealers such as Hela and Phoenix quickly struck them down.
In season 4, many tanks are getting buffed in order to compensate for their lack of shield. Peni Parker and Thor are getting their ultimate abilities buffed. While ultimates are supposed to be game-changing moments that players activate back and forth to change the flow of battle, Peni and Thor's ultimates made them sitting ducks, having to expose themselves for very little advantage. The patch makes their ultimates stronger, hopefully making picking these characters feel like a more impactful choice.
Doctor Strange is also receiving a buff to his offensive power, increasing the power of his dark magic, while dominant tanks Emma Frost and Captain America will be nerfed to bring them more in line with the rest of the cast.
Whereas vanguards have been getting bullied, we saw strategists potentially having their most impactful season yet. These healers defined the flow of the game in season 3, with powerful abilities essentially shutting down fights by making players nigh-on invincible for their duration.
The must-pick strategists, Luna Snow and Loki, are also getting nerfs in season 4 -- they've long outperformed the other heroes in the same role and are getting dialed back. On the other hand, Ultron, Jeff the Shark and Invisible Woman are getting buffs to their ultimate abilities to make them more viable in high-level play.
Damage-dealing duelists also received key balance changes in this patch, though I suspect they won't impact the meta as much as the vanguard and strategist tweaks. Moon Knight, Scarlet Witch and Blade will be on the receiving end of buffs this season.
Squirrel Girl's long range damage is getting nerfed, since she had too much potential to control low-rank matches. Black Panther is losing some health points and Psylocke is losing burst damage, which means players will have more time to react to and defeat these backline threats in high-rank matches.
The Asgardian royal siblings combine their powers to become stronger than ever before. NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET
Team ups shake up as Angela joins the roster
In addition to balance changes for individual heroes, Marvel Rivals is balanced around powerful synergetic "team up" abilities that can only be activated when specific groups of heroes are on the same team. These offer a range of perks, from extra abilities that can be activated in a fight to passive improvements that make heroes even deadlier if they have the right teammates.
In season 4, certain existing team ups are being removed or tweaked, while a new team up is being added for Angela. Here are all of the changes.
New -- Divine Armory: Angela anchors a new team up for Thor, allowing him to throw thunderous spears at his opponents, restoring ability-generating Thorforce charges on hit. Thor is able to jump to the location where the spear landed, which will enable him to become an integral part of dive team compositions.
Angela anchors a new team up for Thor, allowing him to throw thunderous spears at his opponents, restoring ability-generating Thorforce charges on hit. Thor is able to jump to the location where the spear landed, which will enable him to become an integral part of dive team compositions. Updated -- Gamma Charge: Black Panther joins the existing Hulk and Namor team up. If Hulk is on the team, Black Panther gains a gamma shield that protects him from damage after dropping below the threshold of 100 health points.
Black Panther joins the existing Hulk and Namor team up. If Hulk is on the team, Black Panther gains a gamma shield that protects him from damage after dropping below the threshold of 100 health points. Updated -- Arcane Order: Magik joins the existing Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch team up. If Doctor Strange is on the team, Magik gains the ability to throw a magical chain that binds two enemies together, slowing their movement if they try to split up.
Magik joins the existing Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch team up. If Doctor Strange is on the team, Magik gains the ability to throw a magical chain that binds two enemies together, slowing their movement if they try to split up. Removed -- Dimensional Shortcut: Black Panther can no longer use Magik's Limbo dimension to rewind his position and gain temporary health.
The Devil of Hell's Kitchen will leap into Marvel Rivals during season 4's midseason update. NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET
What else does NetEase have in store for Marvel Rivals players in season 4?
Season 4 is shifting the fight away from the planet Klyntar and back to Earth. That means there will be a new map for players to fight across. Players will be able to dive into the Eighth City of K'un-Lun as Daredevil and Angela fight over the fate of the city's newest prisoner.
More casual players will likely be happier about the new Arcade Hub. Previously limited-time game modes like Giant-Size Brain Blast and Clone Rumble will become permanent fixtures in this menu, alongside Conquest, Doom Match and Free Fight game modes.
Free-to-earn accessory cosmetics, which were introduced in season 3, are getting expanded upon in season 4. Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Luna Snow and Cloak and Dagger players will all be able to earn new wearable accessories for their favorite hero.
Another cosmetic change applies to legendary costumes. If a player is using a skin that changes the visual effects of an ultimate ability, other people are now able to see those effects as well (with the option to toggle the visual effects off in the settings menu).
A long-awaited competitive change isn't arriving in season 4, but we finally got an update on it alongside the new info. Placement matches are being worked on and will come to Marvel Rivals' ranked mode at a later date.
When placement matches are implemented, new accounts will need to play a series of games to decide their true rank -- players won't have to fight their way up from bronze if their true skill lies much higher on the ranked ladder. It's promising to hear that this is being worked on, and it gives me some hope that Marvel Rivals' matchmaking -- one of the weakest aspects of the game -- will hopefully be improved in the near future.