Marvel Rivals tweaks Captain America's shield throws but Gambit nerf feels small

Marvel Rivals brings a ton of new systems and heroes, but the most noticeable changes this season are the individual hero balance adjustments and tweaks to the competitive placement match system. Captain America has undergone some huge changes to his combat mechanics.

"Captain America's normal attack (Sentinel Strike) chain consists of a six-hit combo," the patch notes explain. Hits one and two remain completely unchanged, while the community had been focused on the remaining four hits: his ranged shield tosses. Previously, players could animation-cancel the throw by sprinting immediately after the shield spawned during the third hit, which could either trigger the fourth hit instantly or, if mistimed, negate all the damage.

NetEase has removed the ability to cancel the shield throw by allowing Cap to throw his shield while sprinting, though all four sprint throws now take slightly longer to execute — the difference is less than 0.3 seconds.

marvel rivals, captain america, shield toss, sentinel strike, animation cancel, netease, gambit nerf, patch notes, hero balance, placement matches