Marvel Rivals Boosts PC Performance, Reworks Captain America, and Balances Heroes

Marvel Rivals has rolled out significant updates, including new PC performance optimizations and a substantial rework to Captain America's combat mechanics, alongside balance adjustments for several other heroes.

PC Performance Optimization

To enhance the gaming experience, Marvel Rivals has implemented CPU rendering performance optimizations aimed at addressing in-battle performance issues, particularly for devices with more powerful CPUs. This optimization is currently in a preliminary testing phase on PC, with players invited to participate to help refine the feature.

To enable the optimization, players must activate a tool that adds an entry point within the game's Settings -> Other. After clicking the link, accepting the User Privacy Agreement, and downloading the necessary data, the optimization will automatically take effect upon restarting the game. The collected data will be used exclusively for further performance improvements.

Captain America Combat Rework

Captain America's Sentinel Strike normal attack chain, consisting of a 6-hit combo, has received significant changes to its ranged shield tosses (hits 3-6). Previously, players could animation-cancel shield throws by sprinting immediately after the projectile spawned, but this carried a high risk of recalling the shield too early and losing damage if the hit hadn't registered.

The new mechanics allow hits 3, 4, 5, and 6 to no longer cancel each other with sprinting. Players can now throw the shield while sprinting, ensuring consistent damage output and mobility. While the new system introduces a slight timing difference, making the full 4 sprint-throws take a fraction of a second longer, it eliminates the risk of lost damage due to premature shield recall, especially against moving targets. This change aims to provide more reliable offensive pressure and maximize battlefield mobility for all players.

Additional Balance Adjustments

Based on combat data from the Season Preview server, several heroes have received balance tweaks:

VANGUARD

• Captain America
  • Increased Damage dealt by the first two hits of Sentinel Strike and melee attacks from 40 to 45.
  • Dev Note: This change ensures Cap's close-quarters melee attacks deal consistent damage with his shield throw combo, promoting fluid combo execution with Leading Dash and more reliable mid-range damage.
• Emma Frost
  • Reduced Diamond Form cooldown from 18s to 15s.
  • Increased Mind's Aegis recovery rate from 70/s to 80/s.

DUELIST

• Black Panther
  • Spinning Kick New Effect: The dash movement is now omnidirectional, removing previous planar movement restrictions.
  • Increased Spinning Kick Damage from 70 to 75.
  • Reduced Spear Toss recovery time per charge from 6s to 5s.

STRATEGIST

• Gambit
  • Reduced Ragin' Royal Flush (Ultimate Ability) effect duration from 10s to 8s.

These adjustments are live with the 20260320 update, aiming to ignite the battle with a more balanced and optimized experience.