And just like that, Season 6 is gone in the blink of an eye. But when one season ends, another one begins, or in this case, a mid-season kicks off. Season 6.5 of Marvel Rivals is right around the corner, and I had the opportunity to try out the new additions, mainly the new monster hunter arriving on the roster. After taking her out for a few spins, I can say that I have found the new Duelist I want to main, and one that doesn’t feel as convoluted as our beloved talkative merc.
Enter Bloodstone
Ever since I saw glimpses of Elsa Bloodstone, I got extremely excited, as she’s one character we don’t often see in Marvel media. Fortunately, Marvel Rivals has done justice to this monster hunter in terms of abilities and looks, making her the real standout of Season 6.5.
While several other heroes received adjustments, ranging from necessary to extremely questionable, I spent most of my preview time playing as Bloodstone, and I must say, she feels extremely engaging to play, yet not too complicated like Deadpool. She strikes a nice balance between easy to learn and hard to master.
As a Duelist, Elsa Bloodstone is all about damage, but she also excels at crowd-control and mobility. Her primary weapon is a double shotgun, and she fires two shots at the same time. Her secondary skill, Living Bullet, feels designed around a Vanguard-hunter gameplay, as it marks enemies, gives Elsa a speed buff, but also does more damage to enemies with shields or extra HP.
However, the real engaging part kicks in with her other abilities. Helix Advance lets Elsa dash and turns her next attack into Monster-Piercer, which is her elephant gun that pierces foes and does a lot of damage. Her “E” skill, called Ruthless Pursuit, lets her close the gap with enemies, launch them in the air, and then propel backwards with a powerful shot. Your next attack also becomes Monster-Piercer.
Last but not least, we have Smoky Snare, a trap that immobilizes enemies and allows Elsa to dash to them. It’s easy to counter, however, as players can quickly destroy the trap.
I found the overall gameplay loop of Elsa Bloodstone pretty engaging and fun, as it favors an aggressive playstyle of closing the distance with foes and burning them down with her shotguns. Of course, her ultimate skill also caters to this playstyle, as it allows Elsa to sweep a whole area by sending a demon in front of her, but she can also call it back to bring all those enemies closer to you for one final shot.
Despite the many amazing things that Elsa will bring to Marvel Rivals Season 6.5, I can see a few issues. For starters, her damage fall-off is almost non-existent. Despite being a shotgun wielder, she doesn’t lose a lot of damage at far distances, which is more than enough to be another easy-to-ban character in ranked matches. Also, her Monster-Piercer, while offering great utility, felt a bit underwhelming, as the piercing damage is extremely low. Still, when it comes to her kit at launch, I’d say it’s pretty good, with only a few minor adjustments needed here and there.
An Exciting Mid-Season
Aside from Elsa Bloodstone, I was also able to see some of the content coming to Marvel Rivals Season 6.5, and they look quite promising, with just a few questionable elements. For starters, I believe there are some good hero adjustments there, such as Rogue having more survivability and shorter cooldowns, and Invisible Woman finally getting that nerf to her CC abilities. However, there are some questionable choices, such as the ultimate costs for Punisher and Star-Lord. Oh yes, and Black Widow received a nerf somehow, which is baffling given her poor performance in any game mode.
In terms of events, all of them look promising, but the fact that the wedding skins for Gambito and Rogue are locked behind another gacha-centric event really makes my eye twitch a bit, especially since the latter is my main Vanguard hero. Still, it does look like an excellent mid-season, and one I can’t wait to officially jump into, as it brings my most anticipated Duelist, some of the cosmetics I’ve been looking forward to since Season 5, and a few other changes that I think will help the meta in some ways.
