Marvel Rivalsdeveloper NetEase has seemingly opened a Pandora’s box with the announcement of balancing changes in its upcoming season 2.5 update. As the game receives adjustments to accommodate a new character, one ofMarvel Rivals’ most divisive heroes has been caught in the crosshairs.
NetEase Games recently announced a number of changes coming toMarvel Rivalsin its season 2.5 update. Along with a new map and playable character, Ultron, severalMarvel Rivalscharacters are being rebalanced. Among the changes are buffs for characters like Doctor Strange and The Punisher, and nerfs for others, such as The Human Torch, Thor, and Emma Frost. The biggest controversy to come out of the upcoming changes, though, is the decision to buff Jeff the Land Shark’s Joyful Splash ability while nerfing other attributes of the character.
Players Are Heavily Debating Changes to Jeff the Land Shark
While mostMarvel Rivalsfans can agree that Jeff the Land Shark is adorable, there has long been a divide in reception to his playstyle and moveset. Though many enjoy playing as Jeff for his stealthy healing style, others think the character is annoying and overpowered. It seems the only thing that players can agree on is being upset thatJeff and Thor are receiving major changesin the upcoming update. Notably, Jeff’s Joyful Splash ability, which sprays a water jet to heal allies, will now also pass through them to damage enemies. to balance that change, some of Jeff’s other abilities are being nerfed.
These changes have brought theMarvel Rivalscommunity together in their outrage while also growing the rift between players who love Jeff and players who hate him. For fans who already don’t like Jeff, him receiving more power that boosts a healing move to a damaging one feels like a slap in the face. Meanwhile, fans who enjoyplaying as Jeff the Land Sharkaren’t happy that his other abilities will be less powerful as a tradeoff, as his Hide and Seek movement ability now has an energy cap that limits how long Jeff can be submerged and his healing bubble count has dropped from six to three. The additional power of Joyful Splash will allow his ultimate to charge faster, but it will also require more charging to use. While some fans are content to wait and see how this plays out before deciding, others are already up in arms about the rework of an already controversial character.
The update will also add new team-up abilities such as:
Marvel Rivals Players Are Making Their Voices Heard
In all the chaos of the announcement, players have been making various arguments both for and against the changes announced to Jeff’s moveset. While some believe that the new Joyful Splash powers are a fair tradeoff for his ultimate taking longer to charge, others have been quick to point out that Jeff’s ultimate is the issue more than Joyful Splash is. Ever since the game’s release, there have been players who feel that Jeff’s ultimate is too powerful, so changing Joyful Splash or the length of charge time isn’t the real problem in their eyes. The real issue is the matter of whether Jeff remains fun to play or becomes overlooked by his rebalance changing his playstyle too much. Some fans are so upset about the issue that they have circulateda petition to “save Jeff the Land Shark”by removing his changes entirely.
BecauseMarvel Rivalsis a live-service game, it will continue to receive changes and rebalences. The tricky part about adding characters to a game like this is that one change has a butterfly effect that can alter every character included.NetEase games did comment about the changes to Jeff and Thor’s abilities, further explaining their intentions and what the changes will entail. As yet, there hasn’t been any official comment made about the petition. Fans will have to wait and see, as the updates toMarvel Rivalsgo live on May 30th.
