"This Is Actually Huge": Marvel Rivals' New Update Has Players Ready To Return

Marvel Rivals Season 2 brought several character and system changes, but the game has consistently gotten updates in between major seasonal content. While this new update only has a couple of balance changes, it does contain several features that fans have been asking for since the hero shooter's launch back in December 2024, but the lack of major balance changes also brings some concern from hardcore players.

According to the official patch notes for Marvel Rivals, Version 20250522 will go live tomorrow, and the update will not require any server downtime. The update will include new skins for Adam Warlock and Scarlet Witch, an extension to the Hellfire Gala: Moments event, a huge new character voice audio setting, and some major quality-of-life improvements, like being able to use up to five sprays at once, leading Reddit Duke825 to exclaim: "This is actually huge." Previously, players could only leave one spray at any location at a time.

Over on Reddit in a post by BoltexGaming, fans are expressing their gratitude for the new features, but are also questioning the nerfs and bug fixes to a specific character, and why developer NetEase Games seems to be focusing on universal system updates instead of balancing the competitive aspect of the game. There will also be a return of some "fan favorite" cosmetic bundles, according to the patch notes.

Everything In The New Update

New Voice Option, New Sprays, And Bug Fixes

This new update for the game is not a gameplay overhaul, but more of a features overhaul. The two biggest additions in this update are a new character audio setting to allow players to use their preferred skin for characters without changing their entire voice, and the update to sprays. A "Use Default Costume Voices" option will be added under the audio settings. This option will allow s to equip a skin that changes the character's voice, like Loki's All-Butcher skin from Marvel Rivals Season 1, and use the character's standard voice instead.

Marvel Rivals Namor X-Men skin MVP animation with Peach Momoko Peni Parker skin

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Players have always been able to equip several different sprays, but now that people can leave multiple sprays, fans seem to be excited about what kind of creations could be coming. Batusiman on Reddit is grateful to finally be able to put their favorite heroes together solo, saying: "Oh that spray update is cool, can poorly attempt to make the Emma, Wolvie, Panther and Namor X myself now."

There are some other tweaks, as well, including a bug fix that might upset some Mantis players. All the changes coming to the game in this new update are as follows:

New In Store
- Adam Warlock - Immortal Avatar Bundle
- Scarlet Witch - Immortal Sovereign Bundle
Hellfire Gala: Moments
- The event has been extended by one week! The new end time is 5/30/2025 at 09:00:00 (UTC)
New Features
- Streamlined the store layout: the first two pages are now dedicated to New Arrivals and Recommended
- "Use Default Costume Voices" option has been added under Settings - Audio
- Players can now have up to 5 sprays at once on the battlefield
Fixes
- All Platforms
  - Systems and Features
    - Fixed an issue where, after g up for a tournament, selecting Details would redirect to the wrong page.
    - Fixed an issue where One Above All players could sometimes be reset to Eternity rank upon .
    - Fixed a bug causing the mouse icon to disappear after switching heroes in settings with raw mouse input enabled.
    - Fixed an issue where the coach's spectator view could sometimes freeze after pausing and resuming in custom tournament rooms.
  - Maps And Modes
    - Addressed structural issues in the Klyntar and Spider-Islands maps.
  - Heroes
    - Doctor Strange's Astral Shenanigans: Fixed a peculiar problem where souls from the Sorcerer Supreme's Ultimate Ability could sometimes meddle with Human Torch's Primary Attack. Now, Johnny Storm can flame on without any mystical interference.
    - Emma Frost's Diamond Dilemma: Sometimes, when Emma switched to her diamond form, textures from her own perspective would glitch out. She's now flawless, both inside and out!
    - Mantis' Sedate Slipup: Fix a rare error where, when Mantis worked her Spore Slumber, some heroes wouldn't wake up after taking a hit. Now, after a quick snooze (and a smack), everyone's back in the action, just like Star-Lord after his morning coffee.
    - Mister Fantastic's Portal Puzzler: When Reed tried to stretch his way after a target through a Doctor Strange portal with Flexible Elongation, he'd sometimes veer off in the wrong direction and would go through at all! Now, Mister Fantastic can twist, turn, and traverse the multiverse with the precision of a true Illuminati member.
- Console
  - Fixed overlapping UI icons between Chrono Shields/Chrono Shield Cards and Controller icons in the console mode selection screen.

Our Take: Marvel Rivals Is Prioritizing Fun Over Balance

And That's A Good Thing

Marvel Rivals Venom using Brain Blast Emote after getting it as a reward in Giant-Size Brain Blast game mode

This update is not going to turn the game's balance on its head, but it will make a lot of more casual players happy. Being able to use several different sprays at once and being able to use your favorite skin without voice changes is a big win. NetEase Games seems to be prioritizing fun over a balanced game, but even then, almost every character in the game is strong. The design philosophy seems to have been "if everyone is broken, then no one is broken."

Marvel Rivals remains one of the most popular multiplayer games, despite seeing a slight decrease in player count recently. That will likely go back up when the mid-season update happens, presumably on May 30, and the menacing Ultron is added to the game. Even with one character getting more skin attention than others, it seems like there is a long life ahead for Marvel Rivals.

Source: Marvel Rivals, BoltexGaming/Reddit, Duke825/Reddit, Batusiman/Reddit