For the first time in a very long time, Marvel Rivals is switching from its 2-character formula to just one in Season 10, which can be a bit strange. After all, we’ve been used to seeing new heroes and villains arriving just a couple of weeks apart from one another, so our good old God Butcher has some pretty big shoes to fill. Thankfully, after playing a few rounds with this long-awaited Duelist, I’m confident the one-character approach for Season 10 could work and hopefully set a trend of quality over quantity.
High-Risk, High-Reward
This season’s protagonist, and the only one for a while, is none other than Gorr the God Butcher, who finally debuts in Marvel Rivals Season 10. While many would’ve loved to see this iconic character as a Vanguard, I must say that the Duelist role fits him perfectly, with one of the best Duelist kits I’ve seen in a while, albeit with a few tracks behind that dark cloak.
Gorr’s gameplay is extremely high-risk, high-reward, which isn’t as daunting as you may think. At a glance, he looks like the perfect brawler, and his kit is made for this sub-role of sorts. He can dive in with his blade, summon a few shadows to poke enemies, and absorb said shadows to get extra HP and remain in the fight. Yet, the brawling illusion doesn’t last long because Gorr is one of those characters who punishes you for being greedy.
At first, it is extremely fun to place your shadows all around the area, fuse with them, turn your sword into an AoE-like scythe, and just delete the enemy backline with ease, because, yes, Gorr is more than capable of doing so. However, he’s also a pretty squishy Duelist if you’re not careful with some of his cooldowns.
For escape maneuvers, he has his Living Abyss skill, which lets him become invisible for a while, leave a shadow behind, turn all existing shadows into more powerful versions of themselves, and even generate a field that damages foes and gives you extra HP. Still, it isn’t a free get-out-of-jail card, as its long cooldowns will often have you weighing whether you use this skill to get some quick kills or fall back to regroup and try another dive.
Frankly, I liked this approach to Gorr. Before, when I previewed all other characters, I always had this lingering “they are getting nerfed soon” feeling. It happened with Black Cat, Cyclops, and even Deadpool. In Gorr’s case, though, I see his kit as promising for Marvel Rivals, especially since he’s the only one carrying Season 10 and the next one. He is an accessible character with a lot of brawling potential, but not as broken as many heroes and villains we’ve seen during launch day. Gorr could even be one of the most balanced new heroes we’ve seen lately. Heck, I even think he could use some buffs in a few areas.
For instance, his team-ups weren’t my cup of tea. Hella’s one, which lets him ground enemies and slow them down, will probably be the go-to option due to the crowd-controlling potential. Venom’s, however, seems quite lackluster, as all it can do is pull enemies toward Gorr and slow them. This is a great skill if you’re with a solid team capable of leaving those in the enemy backline vulnerable, but I see this skill as a bit more niche compared to the one with the Goddess of Death.
Those few issues aside, Gorr is a strong addition to Marvel Rivals, and one that I won’t mind having as the only character for two seasons. Even if I enjoy seeing some comic book characters come to Rivals‘ roster, we have to admit something: the bloat is there at times. Many heroes who launched a couple of months ago are already on the bench, so I think it is better to start rationing these heroes and villains, at least for the next seasons.
As for the patch notes, it’s sort of a mixed bag, leaning more toward the positive side. On the one hand, I love the adjustments to healing and damage-to-energy conversions. On the other hand, I have no clue why some of the most controversial Duelists keep getting buffs (looking at you, Spider-Man). But overall, it isn’t too bad. In truth, I feel balance has been great lately, especially after the big team-up revamp, and these buffs and nerfs have made me enjoy characters that I had benched in the past.
A Long Season
Initially, I was a bit skeptical about Gorr being the lone arrival for Season 10, but the truth is that this is a break many of us Marvel Rivals players need. Even if the 2-character trend returns for Season 11, I’m glad to have just one solid villain for the whole season, who really looks like one of the most balanced characters the studio has released lately. My only hope is that the team keeps looking at Gorr when designing new roster additions, because he’s an extremely engaging Duelist who doesn’t feel too overpowered for his long-awaited debut.
