You log in, heart thudding, as party lights from the Times Square map flicker across the spawn point. A quick-match turns into a stunned silence — someone just landed a grab that felt unfair. I watched players swap messages and clips, then read the patch notes: the meta was about to change.
I’ve been tracking balance sweeps across live-service titles for years, and I’ll tell you what matters here: timing, target, and follow-through. You’ll get the facts, the why, and the parts that actually move pick rates — no fluff.
Servers spiked at 09:00 UTC on February 19, 2026, and the update pushed live with zero downtime
NetEase rolled out the February 19 hotfix for Marvel Rivals at 9 AM UTC on February 19, 2026. You didn’t need to wait in a maintenance queue — just relaunch and play. The headline: nerfs aimed squarely at several high-impact damage dealers, including the freshly released Elsa Bloodstone.
Times Square and Wedding Wishes were still drawing crowds when balance complaints surfaced
The Season 6.5 celebration — the Times Square map and the Wedding Wishes event — kept players glued to matches by offering legendary costumes for non-premium currency. That festival energy made the perceived power gaps feel louder: when everyone’s playing, an overpowered kit feels like a magnifying glass. NetEase listened and moved.
The patch notes hit inboxes and forums within minutes; what changed for Elsa, Hawkeye, Hela, and Gambit
Below I break the hotfix into what you need to know now, and what you should expect in the coming week as players adapt. Think of these adjustments like a scalpel — targeted, not sweeping.
Why was Elsa Bloodstone nerfed?
Her Ultimate, Glartrox, let her isolate targets and close fights reliably. That ability skewed duel outcomes and amplified her value beyond design intent. NetEase trimmed that power to force choices instead of guaranteed kills.
- Glartrox health reduced from 500 to 400.
- Dash Duration cut from 6s to 3.5s.
- Enemy grab hitbox tightened from 6m × 6m × 3.5m to 5m × 5m × 3.5m.
Result: Glartrox still isolates, but you’ll need better timing and positioning instead of relying on raw zone control.
How will these nerfs change the meta?
Hawkeye and Hela lose raw damage and ranged certainty, Gambit gets made squishier, and Elsa’s ultimate becomes a risk-reward tool instead of a safety blanket. Expect Duelists to be more about aim and setup, and less about one-button truncation of fights.
On Hawkeye: an observation from ranked lobbies — headshots were turning fights into single-clip resolutions
Hawkeye’s strength came from piercing damage and hitscan precision. NetEase shaved both.
- Piercing Arrow base damage reduced from 34 to 28.
- Fully charged arrow base damage reduced from 85 to 70; with Archer’s Focus the boosted damage drops from 175 to 160.
Impact: you can still score clutch plays, but mistakes now punish harder. Expect his pick rate to cool where reaction windows are narrow.
From pro stream clips to public complaints: Hela’s long-range comfort drew heat
Nightsword Thorn had too much reach and too little falloff. The hotfix forces distance decisions.
- Damage falloff still starts at 18m; at 30m maximum falloff now drops to 70% of base (was 80%).
- Beyond 25m, two critical hits will not KO a 250 HP target.
Effect: Hela remains lethal up close, but long-range bullying is less certain — you’ll see more repositioning and flanking play instead of passive line pokes.
Gambit’s card tricks drew crowd-sourced frustration in early season games
The card-dealer’s changes focus on survivability and burst tuning.
- Base health reduced from 275 to 250.
- Breaking Spades now grants 10% Damage Boost (was 15%).
Gambit will still threaten duels, but he can no longer absorb as much punishment while dealing outsized damage.
What this means for you, the player
If you main any of these heroes, adjust your opener and your fallback. If you’re on the receiving end, practice punishing overextensions: the window just widened.
Big-picture: NetEase targeted high-leverage tools rather than broad reductions. The change is precise — like pruning a bonsai — and will reward players who read the fight rather than lean on raw numbers.
Those are the changes. Which nerf will shift your playstyle first, and who do you think deserved a bigger cut?