Marvel Snap to implement massive change to how frequently cards are balanced

A massive change to Marvel Snap’s card balance update schedule could mean no more stale metas for weeks and months at a time, starting as soon as April 18.

Second Dinner announced details today on its upcoming balance patch for April, revealing that balance updates will now happen every single week. This is a massive change from previous updates, which happened once a month.

“Starting with our upcoming April patch—currently scheduled for April 18—we’ll be making weekly changes to cards in the game,” Second Dinner announced on the game’s official Discord server. “Our patch every four weeks will continue to release on Tuesdays and include card updates as well, but the intervening weeks will each feature changes going live on Thursdays via OTA (over the air).”

Snap players are quite vocal about certain cards dominating the meta, such as Shuri and Red Skull, and previously cards like Thanos and Leader. The wait between balance passes felt quite long at times, but this change to how often the updates are implemented could have a hugely positive change on the game.

A surprise balance update went live today with nerfs for Red Skull and Sunspot, and buffs for Shadow King and Sentry. And this is just the beginning.

“We know this is just the sort of balance attention and prioritization that many of you have clamored for, so thanks for your passionate feedback!” Second Dinner said. “It’s been a multi-team effort to get this process buttoned up over the last month, and we all hope you’re as excited as we are.”

Second Dinner warned that “OTA” updates (which don’t need to be downloaded by players on their side) can sometimes be limited, however, such as an upcoming change to Shuri, which will have to wait for another, larger update.

“Our OTA tool gives us the ability to make changes within about a week or two, but it is limited in what we can change,” Second Dinner said. “We’re continuing to develop the tool and expand its limitations, but for now you can expect weekly Thursday changes to be numbers-only like the above, with our larger patches still addressing most major changes to card functionality and VFX.”

The new balance schedule will enter a trial period in May, “and depending on how it goes we may continue onward,” said Second Dinner. Still, the studio said it’s “optimistic about that at the moment.”

With a target of “two to four” cards being balanced each week, the future of Marvel Snap’s balance looks to be way more fluid than it has been in the past.