Marvel Rivals lines up a PC performance boost as Nightcrawler joins Season 11
Marvel Rivals is adding Nightcrawler on November 13, and its Season 11 update has a separate change for PC players: an optional experimental client that developers expect to improve CPU performance by approximately 10%.
The performance figure is the developer's expectation, not a guarantee of a 10% frame-rate increase. The team says the feature is experimental and asks players who encounter stability problems to contact support.
Season 11 maintenance begins at 09:00 UTC on November 13 and is estimated to last two hours. That estimate is a guide rather than a guaranteed time for the servers to return.
The Acts of Kurt Wagner is a Season 11 story event. Image: Marvel Games / NetEase Games
The experimental client must be enabled on PC
According to the official patch notes, players can turn the CPU optimisation on through the PC launcher. The launcher will download and apply the optimised client when the option is enabled.
Marvel Rivals gameplay shown on its Steam store page. Image: Marvel Games / NetEase Games
The developers say the work combines an Intel compiler with profile-guided optimisation and is intended to improve frame-rate stability during complex fights. They do not give a breakdown of the test hardware or promise the same improvement on every system.
For anyone already satisfied with how the game runs, the important detail is that the new client is optional. Players interested in testing it can compare how it behaves on their own hardware and watch for the anomalies mentioned in the patch notes.
The game’s Steam page shows a fight involving Groot and Doctor Strange. Image: Marvel Games / NetEase Games
Nightcrawler arrives as a support-focused strategist
Nightcrawler joins at the start of the season. In an announcement from Marvel Games and NetEase, the teams describe him as a Strategist who can teleport to allies and use brimstone bombs to heal teammates or damage opponents.
The season also introduces a story event called The Acts of Kurt Wagner and a battle pass named The Incursion. An 18-versus-18 mode called Chrono-Annihilation is planned for the November 26 update, rather than the first day of the season.
The notes also list character fixes, including a correction for a Doctor Strange portal issue that could send players in the opposite direction. Another addresses occasional stuttering during Blade's Daywalker Dash sprint.
Another optional setting, Aim Assist Target Prediction, is intended to make switching between controller targets smoother. It only takes effect when a player enables it in settings, the patch notes say.
