Marvel Rivals Season 1, titled Eternal Night Falls, launched on January 10, 2025, with two new heroes, a new Convoy map, Doom Match, ranked changes, PC options and a large balance pass. Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman were available in the first half, while Human Torch and The Thing were announced for the second half. The Version 20250110 patch notes cover content, systems and fixes; a separate January 9 balance post lists the precise hero and Team-Up adjustments. These values document the January 2025 launch state, not live balance in 2026.
What did the January 2025 Season 1 update add?
The Version 20250110 update, published January 8, introduced the first-half content for Eternal Night Falls alongside interface, ranked, social, graphics and bug-fix work. The season announcement described a phased rollout rather than putting every Season 1 item into the January 10 client.
Two heroes and two costumes
- Mister Fantastic joined the roster with The Maker costume.
- Invisible Woman joined with the Malice costume.
- NetEase announced Human Torch and The Thing for the second half of the season, so they were not launch-day additions.
Midtown and Doom Match
Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown was added as a Convoy map. The update also added Doom Match as an arcade mode on Sanctum Sanctorum. Its rules support eight to 12 players, with the top half of the lobby counted as winners.
The season announcement listed three maps over the season: Sanctum Sanctorum, Midtown in the first half and Central Park in the second half. That schedule does not mean all three were playable on January 10.
Changes to match flow
In Convoy and Convergence, once the attacking team completed the current target, both teams could move to the next spawn room. Quick Match loading screens began displaying both sides’ Nameplates, giving players more information before the round began.
Battle Pass, events and store timing
- The Battle Pass launched with 10 costume sets.
- The first half of the Midnight Features event began.
- A Twitch Drops event was added.
- The daily-mission unlock, new store-item availability and most event start times moved from 07:00 to 09:00 UTC.
- Some of the more difficult mission types were removed.
Ranked mode and the new Celestial tier
Celestial, divided into three divisions, was inserted between Grandmaster and Eternity. Season 0 ranks were reset downward by seven divisions. The notes give Platinum I through Silver II as an example range affected by that reset; the seven-division shift is the rule to apply when comparing a Season 0 rank with its Season 1 starting position.
Tournament, streaming and social controls
- Tournament follow and faction-reporting features were added.
- Streaming Mode could hide your name locally. It did not hide that name from other players in the same match.
- Spectator chat became available.
- A setting could block active invitations and faction-join requests.
New PC graphics and input options
Anti-Aliasing, Global Illumination and Reflection Quality each gained an Off option. Model Detail gained a Performance setting. Mouse smoothing and mouse acceleration controls were added. The patch also listed Intel XeSS 2 support, including Xe Super Sampling frame generation (XeFG) and Xe Low Latency (XeLL).
Fixes and recovery tools
The launch notes cover fixes for maps, collision, audio, hero abilities, notifications, text, matchmaking displays and controller settings. They also added a get unstuck function: if a character remains trapped in terrain for the specified duration, the feature returns that character to spawn instead of requiring a match restart.
How did Vanguard heroes change?
The January 9 balance post adjusted all three roles. Vanguard changes combine extra health, cheaper or faster abilities and ultimate tuning with targeted reductions to shields, healing or range.
| Hero | January 2025 changes | What the numbers mean |
|---|---|---|
| Captain America | Living Legend shield-restoration delay: 3 to 2 seconds. Liberty Rush cooldown: 12 to 10 seconds. Base health: 650 to 675. Freedom Charge energy cost: 3400 to 3100; its additional self-health per second: 110 to 100. | More frequent shield recovery, movement and ultimate access, with a smaller Freedom Charge self-heal rate. |
| Doctor Strange | Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma Maelstrom now use damage falloff beginning at 5 meters and reaching 70% at 8 meters. Shield of the Seraphim recovery: 80/s to 70/s. | Close-range damage is favored, while shield recovery is slower. |
| Thor | Base health: 500 to 525. God of Thunder grants immunity to control effects. | More durability and protection from crowd control during the ultimate. |
| Hulk | Hero Hulk’s Indestructible Guard gamma shield: 250 to 200. | A direct reduction to his temporary shield. |
| Venom | Symbiotic Resilience bonus-health ratio per lost health point: 1 to 1.2. Feast of the Abyss base damage: 40 to 50. | Taking damage produces more bonus health, and the ultimate starts with higher base damage. |
Which Duelists were buffed or nerfed?
Duelist adjustments mix projectile consistency, mobility, health, ultimate behavior and damage. Several apparent buffs are paired with a limitation, so labeling the whole list as only buffs or only nerfs would be misleading.
| Hero | January 2025 changes |
|---|---|
| Black Panther | Spirit Rend’s extra self-health after refreshing Vibranium Marks: 40 to 30; maximum reduced from 120 to 75. |
| Black Widow | Edge Dancer’s first-effect radius: 3 to 5 meters. Fleet Foot recovery from empty to full: 12 to 4 seconds. Electro-Plasma Explosion reaches maximum power in 0.6 rather than 1 second. |
| Hawkeye | Blast Arrow spread angle slightly reduced. Archer’s Focus trigger distance: 60 to 40 meters; maximum additional damage: 80 to 70. |
| Hela | Base health: 275 to 250. |
| Magik | Umbral Incursion damage in Darkchild form: 115 to 135. |
| Moon Knight | Hand of Khonshu generates 14 rather than 10 talons, and each talon’s explosion radius increases from 4 to 5 meters. |
| Namor | Monstro Spawn and Frozen Spawn throwing were adjusted for more accurate placement. |
| Psylocke | Dance of the Butterfly now checks for barriers, including Magneto’s Metal Bulwark and Hulk’s Indestructible Guard. |
| The Punisher | Deliverance and Adjudication spread was slightly reduced. |
| Scarlet Witch | Chaos Control fixed damage: 50/s to 60/s; percentage damage: 5%/s to 3%/s. Chthonian Burst projectile damage: 30 to 35. |
| Storm | Wind Blade speed: 100 to 150 m/s; left-click damage: 50 to 55. Bolt Rush damage: 70 to 80. Omega Hurricane bonus health: 350 to 450, then decays at 100 per second after the ultimate instead of disappearing immediately. |
| Squirrel Girl | Unbeatable Squirrel Tsunami squirrels rush the nearest enemy after bouncing instead of bouncing randomly. Ultimate health: 600 to 300. |
| Winter Soldier | Bionic Hook and Tainted Voltage bonus health: 30 to 40. Roterstern projectile damage: 70 to 75; area damage: 70 to 65; damage decay at 40 meters: 65% to 60%. Base health: 250 to 275. |
| Wolverine | Base health: 300 to 350. Undying Animal damage reduction: 50% to 40%. |
How did Strategists change?
Strategist tuning focused on cooldowns, healing output, ultimate geometry and movement. The changes affect both a hero’s personal reliability and the amount of support available to a team.
| Hero | January 2025 changes |
|---|---|
| Cloak & Dagger | Dagger Storm cooldown: 15 to 12 seconds. Eternal Bond gains a fourth dash instead of three. |
| Jeff the Land Shark | It’s Jeff! changes from a 10-meter sphere to a cylindrical spell field with a 10-meter radius and 5-meter height. Joyful Splash healing: 140/s to 150/s. |
| Luna Snow | Fate of Both Worlds’ healing/damage switching interval: 0.1 to 0.5 seconds. |
| Mantis | Nature’s Favor movement boost: 2.5 to 1.5 m/s. |
| Rocket Raccoon | Repair Mode healing: 60/s to 70/s. |
What changed for Team-Ups?
The first-half Team-Up work was a set of value adjustments, not a wholesale redesign. The balance post said broader redesigns were planned for Season 2.
| Team-Up | Change |
|---|---|
| Hawkeye – Black Widow | Hawkeye’s season bonus: 20% to 15%. |
| Hela – Thor – Loki | Hela’s season bonus: 20% to 15%. |
| Luna Snow – Namor | Frozen Spawn damage: 25 to 27; slow: 25% to 30%; berserk-state Frozen Spawn damage: 16 to 18. |
| Rocket Raccoon – The Punisher – Winter Soldier | Ammo Invention cooldown: 45 to 40 seconds. |
| Scarlet Witch – Magneto | Metallic Fusion projectile damage: 55 to 60; spell-field damage: 30 to 35. |
| Thor – Storm – Captain America | Charged Gale cooldown: 20 to 15 seconds; damage: 50 to 55. |
How should players interpret these buffs and nerfs?
The patch is best read by effect type rather than by a single buff/nerf label. Captain America, Thor, Venom, Storm and Wolverine gained survivability or output, but Hulk, Hela, Mantis and several other abilities were reduced. Some changes alter targeting or geometry instead of raw damage: Psylocke now checks barriers, Namor’s summons place more accurately, Jeff’s ultimate is cylindrical, and Squirrel Girl’s projectiles seek the nearest enemy after bouncing.
- Damage and range: Scarlet Witch, Storm, Magik, Venom and Moon Knight received higher damage or larger effective areas, while Doctor Strange, Hawkeye and The Punisher received falloff or spread constraints.
- Health and survivability: Captain America, Thor, Venom, Winter Soldier and Wolverine gained durability; Hulk, Hela and Squirrel Girl lost shield, health or ultimate health.
- Cooldowns and resources: Captain America, Cloak & Dagger, Rocket Raccoon and Team-Ups gained faster access, while Luna Snow’s stance switching became less frequent and Mantis moved more slowly.
- Behavior and consistency: Several changes make abilities easier to place or more predictable without changing their headline damage value.
No official pick-rate, win-rate or match-outcome statistic accompanied this balance post. The numbers therefore document intended mechanical changes, not a measured claim that any hero became stronger in actual competition.
Are these still the live Marvel Rivals values?
No. These are the launch-era figures from January 2025. Later patches can change the same abilities, and the Season 1 announcement itself scheduled content in two halves. Use newer official patch notes when you need current 2026 damage, health, cooldown or Team-Up values; use this list to understand what changed at the Eternal Night Falls launch.
What should you check when revisiting the Season 1 notes?
- Separate the January 8 Version 20250110 patch notes from the January 9 balance post. The former explains content, settings and fixes; the latter is the authoritative source for hero and Team-Up values.
- Confirm whether a feature was a launch addition or a later first-half/second-half release. Midtown and the two new heroes were first-half items; Central Park, Human Torch and The Thing were announced for later in the season.
- Read every number with its unit and condition: meters, meters per second, health per second, damage per second, cooldown seconds, energy cost, radius, height or percentage.
- Do not use the January values as a substitute for current balance notes, especially when comparing ranked performance or building a present-day team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the January 2025 balance post include pick-rate or win-rate results?
No. It listed mechanical values and explanatory notes but did not publish named pick-rate, win-rate or match-outcome statistics. Any claim about competitive impact requires later data rather than the launch numbers alone.
Why are the patch notes dated January 8 while the balance post is dated January 9?
They are separate documents with different purposes. The January 8 Version 20250110 notes cover the client update, modes, settings, events and fixes; the January 9 post records the detailed hero and Team-Up tuning for the same launch window.
Did the update contain a quoted statement from a named developer?
No named-person quotation was attached to the launch materials. The explanatory language is institutional publisher copy, so the reliable record is the dated feature list and the explicit ability values.
Can these notes tell me which hero is best for ranked play today?
No. They describe a historical starting point and provide no performance ranking. Current competitive choices should be based on the newest official balance information and the ruleset active in the season you are playing.