Marvel Rivals Devs Share More About the Game’s Newest Duelist Hero

The mid-season update for Marvel Rivals is right around the corner and NetEase is giving players an early look at one of the newest characters to join the roster: Felicia “Black Cat” Hardy. NetEase appears to have pretty big plans for Marvel Rivals as it attempts to hold on to its popularity even in the face of strong competition from a revived Overwatch. The first step of this process kicks off on APril 17 as the big Season 7.5 update arrives with balance changes, quality of life improvements, as well as the latest Dualist hero.

Nearly a month ago, Marvel Rivals launched Season 7 with a new trailer showcasing Black Cat attempting to steal an artifact while White Fox worked to stop her. Season 7 saw NYC Mayor Wilson Fisk calling for Martial Law against vigilantes, both from the current timeline as well as ones from the 2099 rift that opened up with the Alchemax Corporation that suddenly appeared in Lower Manhattan. Tiger Division Director Ami “White Fox” Han was the first character to join the roster, a Specialist who can buff allies, charm enemies, and even turn into a giant Nine-Tailed Fox with her super. Now, Season 7 is entering its midway point with another new character.

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Marvel Rivals Reveals Black Cat

As expected, Felicia Hardy is joining Marvel Rivals on April 17 alongside the big mid-season update. Unlike Marvel Rival‘s version of White Fox, Black Cat is joining as a damage-dealing Dualist character. In a new post online, NetEase revealed a new trailer for Black Cat, highlighting her backstory in this game, her special moves, and ultimate attack. While she was initially hired by Kingpin to infiltrate the Sanctum Sanctorum to steal the Tablet of Life and Time, Black Cat found a better opportunity to free some captives he has stored away.

Felicia is able to climb walls to gain a height advantage, either to flank unsuspecting enemy players, or use the added height to attack character who can fly like Storm or Iron Man. Her high agility allows her to move quickly and unleash a series of claw swipes or whip strikes, though she also comes with a unique ability where she can trade currency she earns by defeating enemies to copy moves from other characters, like Invisible Woman’s Veiled Step, using portals one would expect to see from Dr. Strange, and more. Her ultimate even evokes Gambit’s playing cards, as she throws out her calling cards, marking nearby enemies as she dashes to their location to provide lethal claw swipes.

In addition to Black Cat, Season 7.5 is also bringing plenty of new content as well. Following on the previous Deadpool-centric update for Marvel Rivals, the season adds a new PvE mode called Blood Hunt. The previous Zombies mode was a big hit for NetEase and Marvel Rivals, so it’s not too surprising to see the studio dip back into this side. On April 23, Blood Hunt will be available, adding new hero progression, a loot system, as well as 4 new bosses to take down.

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Even though Marvel Rivals may be at the halfway point of Season 7, it seems the studio has big plans for the future of the popular hero shooter. While fans continue to speculate as to which hero could appear in Season 8 of Marvel Rivals, NetEase is looking to break away from the traditional 6v6 gameplay. In a recent interview, creative director Guangyun Chen confirmed that the studio is looking to move beyond Marvel Rivals‘ standard 6v6 PvP gameplay with plans to continue introducing new PvE modes and other unique events like the Path to Doomsday content. With Blood Hunt right around the corner, it seems NetEase is already making good on those promises.