As Marvel Rivals prepares for the launch of Season 2.5, players are raising concerns about the upcoming playable Strategist, Ultron, and whether he may be underpowered at launch. Alongside this, there’s also significant community backlash regarding recent balance changes to Jeff the Land Shark and Thor. Let’s break down what players are saying.
Ultron May Need Buffs
With the release of Season 2.5 just around the corner, Ultron is set to make his debut as a new playable hero in Marvel Rivals. However, early impressions from an early access stream have some players worried that Ultron might be too weak upon release—prompting calls for potential buffs.
Reddit user mrdunklestein shared observations made during the stream where several content creators tested Ultron. While the Strategist boasts long-range attacks with high damage and minimal falloff, along with decent mobility and healing through his ultimate, some of his abilities appear underwhelming in practice.
One major concern is that Ultron's drones offer very minimal healing output—barely enough to outperform incoming damage even from basic practice bots. His shielding capabilities were also noted as being weak, and his Ultimate appears to do less damage than a single fully charged Hawkeye arrow, which typically ranges between 8–80 damage.
It's important to remember that these observations are based on pre-release gameplay and may not reflect final stats once Season 2.5 officially launches. Some fans believe this could be part of a recurring trend where flying heroes like Storm and Human Torch initially launch weaker and receive buffs later.
For example, Storm was once considered one of the weakest duelists in the game. After multiple rounds of improvements focusing on her Wind Blade ability, she became a staple pick in competitive play and currently holds the second-highest win rate among PC players according to official Marvel Rivals data.
Whether Ultron follows a similar trajectory remains to be seen. Players will have the chance to test him firsthand shortly after Season 2.5 drops.
Fans Not Happy About Jeff and Thor Changes – NetEase Responds
In addition to Ultron-related concerns, many Marvel Rivals players have expressed frustration over the announced balance changes affecting Jeff the Land Shark and Thor in Season 2.5. These updates sparked a wave of criticism across forums like Reddit, prompting a response from NetEase.
Reddit user DynamoDen_ posted on May 23 questioning the necessity of these nerfs, a sentiment echoed by many others who felt neither character needed adjustments. Fans argued that both Jeff and Thor were not problematic picks and didn’t warrant balance interventions.
Thor’s Hammer Throw has been removed from the shared cooldown system and had its damage significantly reduced. Additionally, his survivability was weakened due to lower shield values when using Thorforce.
Jeff, on the other hand, underwent a near-complete rework, with all of his abilities receiving functional changes. Many players believe this makes him far less viable than before—especially since he already had the lowest win rate in the game.
Following the widespread discontent, NetEase took to Twitter (X) on May 23 to clarify their design intentions behind the changes. They released a video showcasing how the updated versions of Thor and Jeff perform in-game and provided detailed explanations for each adjustment.
For Thor, the goal was to allow him to stay in his Awakened Rune state longer, enabling higher sustained damage output. As for Jeff, his Joyful Splash now deals damage to enemies while still providing healing to allies—an attempt to give him more utility in team fights.
Despite the developer explanation, the community remains divided on whether these tweaks are sufficient or if they fundamentally harm the characters' appeal.
Petition to Revert Jeff Changes Gains Traction
The dissatisfaction surrounding Jeff’s rework has grown so intense that fans launched a petition on Change.org urging NetEase to roll back the changes. The description reads:
"Jeff is currently the character with the LOWEST WINRATE in the game (42%). Nerfing him to the GROUND and making him just another BORING HEALBOT is the WORST THING THAT CAN BE DONE. Jeff's current state, although a bit tough, is still REALLY REALLY FUN."
At the time of writing, the petition had collected 3,296 signatures and continues to grow rapidly. Many Jeff mains are simply asking that if no immediate buffs are planned, developers should leave the character as he is rather than alter his core identity.
With Season 2.5 launching soon, the gaming community eagerly awaits the update to see how these changes play out in live gameplay. Whether the adjustments to Jeff and Thor prove beneficial or detrimental will become clearer once players get hands-on access on May 30.
Marvel Rivals is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC platforms. Stay tuned for more updates and in-depth coverage of Season 2.5 right here at [ttpp].
