NetEase Games has revealed the details regarding Marvel Rivals Season 8, featuring Devil Dinosaur, a new Doom Match map, and a wide range of balance adjustments.
After multiple teasers and rumors, the red beast is breaking into Marvel Rivals, as Devil Dinosaur is the next Vanguard coming to the game with Season 8 on May 15. In a Dev Vision Vol. 17 on May 12, NetEase revealed the first gameplay details that make the dino seem like a menace for both front and back lines.
Devil Dinosaur’s bite attacks and charging Ultimate, paired with the shield, allow him to brawl and inflict bleed on targets. For more out-of-reach targets, he uses a laser beam alternative fire to knock them down. However, Devil’s signature move is to clamp bleeding enemies and freely move them out of the fight.
Devil’s Team-Up ability is with The Punisher. The Punisher can request to mount the Dinosaur and ride him, gaining damage reduction. During the ride, The Punisher can only use his primary fire and Scourge Grenade, while a portion of the incoming damage and healing is shared with the Devil Dinosaur.
Apart from the new Vanguard, a new map for the free-for-all Doom Match mode, Alchemax Headquarters, is coming to the game a little later in the season, on May 28. There are also new accessories for The Thing, Black Widow, Angela, Hela, Namor, and The Punisher.
For PC, Season 8 introduces long-requested storage optimizations. After the update, you can opt to delete HD textures, freeing up around 35GB of storage. According to the developer, if you play in 1080p or 2K resolutions, or have Texture Quality set to Low, you won’t notice much difference without the HD pack.
The balance changes in the upcoming update affect all three roles. For Vanguards, Emma’s Telepathic Pulse now decays more slowly after reaching full energy, the cooldown for re-producing Mind’s Aegis has been reduced, and Diamond Form now offers more damage reduction. The Thing gets a health increase, and Tankpool gets a damage nerf.
For Duelists, Iron Fist’s Jeet Kune Do hits now reduce Dragon’s Defense cooldown even more. Mister Fantastic’s soft crowd control gets a slight nerf in favor of increased damage and defensive capabilities. NetEase also teased buffs to Star-Lord, Wolverine, Squirrel Girl, Moon Knight, and Spider-Man (no Black Widow buffs mentioned so far).
Lastly, for Strategists, Invisible Woman’s crowd control and Mantis’s damage boost both get a slight nerf. On the other hand, Mantis now provides a new baseline movement speed buff. Rocket Raccoon’s and White Fox’s Ultimates are getting a buff to keep up with the rest of the lineup.
These and more balancing changes are coming to Marvel Rivals alongside Devil Dinosaur with Season 8, launching on May 15.
