Marvel Rivals season one is about to drop, and naturally the hero modders have turned into Thomas The Tank Engine has steamed to the highest pick rate among casuals so far
Because some things are just destined to be.
Marvel Rivals season one is nearly upon us, being set to drop tomorrow, January 10. Ahead of that though, in addition to sharing the fresh additions and tweaks to established characters that it'll bring, NetEase has put out listings of the heroes currently being picked most often in both quickplay and competitive matches.
For the more casually-minded quickplay folks, it's the one a modder has turned into Thomas the Tank Engine. Ok, it probably also helped that said hero's vanilla form is pretty cute. And that he's a shark called Jeff.
Yep, if you've not guessed already, Jeff The Land Shark - who you can turn into Thomas via modder VinnyHaw's 'Jeff the Tank' - currently tops the quickplay bits of the Hero Hot List NetEase has put out. He's done so for both PC and console players, narrowly edging out Venom with a pick rate of 21.18%.
Meanwhile, Luna Snow and Cloak & Dagger lead the competitive lists, proving that's where all the edgelords are. Unlike Jeff, though, you can't mod them into being Sir Topham Hat's favourite engine, because only other Thomas mod I can find for Marvel Rivals turns four vehicles you can run across into him.
Alongside revealing this data for the period up until now that's been handily dubbed "season zero", NetEase has shared the notes for the balancing patch that'll take effect when season one arrives tomorrow. "As the skill level escalates, compositions centered around double shields and ranged have displayed considerable prowess," it wrote, "Despite this, players have continuously honed and experimented with new compositions and strategies, further enriching the battlefield.
"Hence, in the first half of Season 1, we are set to make balance adjustments to certain heroes, enabling a broader roster to partake in more intricate gameplay, ensuring a richer, more engaging, and diverse gaming experience for all." That said, the studio is holding off on making any tweaks to team-up abilities until season two.
The nerfs and buffs look to have been distributed pretty evenly, with heroes like the Hulk - who modders have swapped for Shrek, because green - having been tuned down, while Jeff's among those who've benfitted, with the healing of his Joyful Splash having been boosted from 140 points a second to 150.
Make sure to read through the full list if you're keen to be on the ball when season one kicks off on January 10, regardless of whether you'll be praying your train mods still work once the game's updated.