NetEase has retracted some changes it made to Wolverine for Marvel Rivals season 3, changes that made him stronger both on his own and as part of a team-up with the new hero Phoenix. All of which, predictably, made life hell for Vanguard players.
“Time to temper Logan’s rage and slightly reduce his survivability,” a blog post says. “In the recently launched season 3, we observed that Wolverine’s new Team-Up Ability with Phoenix has been bringing a bit too much heat to Vanguards.
“This duo’s combined power has led to battles for Vanguards feeling less like a hero’s journey and more like a mutiny, potentially sidelining key Vanguard heroes. To restore balance and keep the fight epic, we’re nerfing Wolverine’s Team-Up Ability and dialling down his threat level against the Vanguards in this update.”
Wolverine is every Vanguard’s worst nightmare, and has been since the start of Marvel Rivals, just ask our resident Vanguard main, Rory Norris, who has been banning him in every match since his buff at the beginning of season 3.
This hero is such a pain due to his unique ability to grab an enemy hero and whisk them away from their team. All Wolverine needs to do is drag a Vanguard main away from their team, cutting off their healing, and they’ll be picked off pretty quickly, as they aren’t mobile enough to get away.
But alongside this terrifying skill comes an irritating survivability. Even if a Wolverine gets caught trying to kidnap a Vanguard and is interrupted from doing so, chances are you won’t be able to kill him thanks to his passive ability, Regenerative Healing Factor. This passive will heal Wolverine, giving him a one-off bonus health and removing all debuffs when his health bar is depleted. You can reduce the cooldown of this passive by getting assists and kills. In short, it really sucks to play against a good Wolverine.
To balance things out, as much as is possible, Wolverine’s Berserk Claw Strike percentage damage has been reduced per attack and alongside the maximum range. His healing passive will also have a longer cooldown, going from 90 seconds to 105 seconds, and 10 seconds to 12 seconds after he’s got a kill.
The slightly frightening team-up ability with Wolverine and Phoenix, Primal Flame, has also been weakened. “Our fiery mutant duo’s bond has been a little too hot to handle,” the blog post says. “So we’re cooling down Wolverine’s healing when teaming up with Phoenix.” The lifesteal, which Wolverine gains from Phoenix, is down from 33% to 25%.
I’m sure Wolverine will still carry on being the nuisance that many Vanguards dread to see in games. At the very least, these adjustments will make him slightly easier to play against. Although in the future it would be nice not to see already strong heroes given buffs, which then means they have to be nerfed just five days after the initial patch.
