Competitive rank reset, 2 new heroes coming to Marvel Rivals in next big update

The Thing and Human Torch will finally make their debut in Marvel Rivals next week, NetEase Games confirmed in a new dev update today.

The final members of the Fantastic Four will go live as part of the update, with Human Torch (Duelist) and The Thing (Vanguard) increasing the game’s hero total to 37 midway through its first full content season. But that’s not all that’s changing in Marvel Rivals.

“After careful observations and consideration, we have concluded that players’ ranks during the first half of season one are the best indicator of their competitive skills within the season,” NetEase said.

NetEase will be introducing a rank reset at the midseason point, Feb. 21, and all midseason points moving forward. For season one, players will be dropping four divisions as part of the update, meaning those who finished Diamond 1 will drop to Platinum 2, Gold 3 will drop to Silver 2, and so on. Players who have reached Gold will earn the Invisible Woman skin for doing so, and players at Grandmaster and higher will receive a Crest of Honor reward.

Since season one is longer than normal, the rank drop-off will be different than usual, too. In future seasons, players will drop six divisions at the start of the season, and four at every midseason, so players will have to continue playing to keep their ranks up.

The second half of season one will also introduce a new reward for players who reach Gold, and new Crests of Honor to recognize players at Grandmaster and above. And starting with season one, players will need to complete at least 10 matches in competitive mode to meet the required conditions to earn any rewards.

Hero-wise, Human Torch and The Thing making their debuts will be big for the game. Human Torch’s leaked ability set tease a flyer who can cause AoE damage with his flames, while The Thing’s abilities allude to a disruptive tank that can give teammates damage reduction.

With less than two weeks until the update, we should be seeing official information and footage of the two new heroes within the following days as the duo join their friends to complete the Fantastic Four, and introduce new story beats, challenges, and events.

The midseason update for Marvel Rivals kicks off on Friday, Feb. 21.