One way in which Marvel Rivals never ceases to impress me is when it comes to creative abilities. Sure, a few are copy-pasted from other hero shooters and a couple even take inspiration from other Marvel Rivals heroes, aka: Black Cat’s dash is very similar to Black Panther’s. But there’s still so many unique ideas in this shooter, the latest example being Black Cat micro-economy.
Set to join Marvel Rivals in Season 7.5 which goes live in a couple of days, Black Cat is the newest Duelist to join the ranks. Most of her abilities are pretty cut and dry, like her swift melee Claw Strike or her double jump and wall climb. But things start to get interesting when it comes to her Fortune system.
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Throughout the course of a match, Black Cat can earn Fortune by dealing damage to enemies or swiping it from others using her grappling ability. She can then use Fortune to activate certain abilities like Claw Whip or Phantom Pursuit, the latter of which lets her lock onto a target and dash in. Or Black Cat can use her Fortune to purchase a number of ‘rare artifacts’ from a deity called The Gilded Saint. We haven’t had the full rundown of these right now but here’s some information based off the hero trailer:
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- Ring of Zona: Allows Black Cat to create a portal through walls.
- Mento-Fish: This creates a field in which enemies are damaged and stunned.
- Helm of Hades: Black Cat can go invisible for a short period of time.
- The Tablet of Destinies: This gives Fortune back to Black Cat. In the hero trailer she gets 1,000 but this could also be a random amount.
- Faltine Flame Orb: Black Cat can launch a projectile which damages enemies and gives her wall sights.
There’s also a sixth ability I didn’t get a great look at it during the trailer, but it looks like it could negate crowd control abilities.
Regardless of the specifics, one thing is clear: Black Cat’s kit is busted. Marvel Rivals has a long tradition of releasing completely overtuned heroes and then somewhat nerfing them in the following seasons, but Black Cat demonstrates a huge power creep.
“Black Cat has wall hacks, invisibility, Strange portals, CC immunity, and an area of effect trap,” streamer ACozyGamer says in a social media post. “Close enough. Welcome back Thanos.” Yeah, she’s certainly got what seems to be a god-like kit.
Another example of these creative yet powerful kits includes the recent addition of Deadpool. Not constrained to one role, players can pick any to play as Deadpool in any class. Tankpool is a solid pick with a defensive bubble and lots of aggressive abilities which can disrupt play, Stratpool is also pretty strong thanks to the exploit which basically allows for an ult for every team engagement, and DPSpool, unlike the rest, is quite lacklustre.
Then there’s Gambit, who’s ruled casual and competitive play ever since his launch, being one of the strongest Strategists on the block. Which is really saying something because the Strategists, like always, are still pretty strong.
It’s taken a season and a half to get any substantial balance changes for Deadpool, and even longer for Gambit, which means we could be waiting an equally long time for Black Cat nerfs. Although that’s only unnerving if she ends up being as powerful as she first appears to be.
