Marvel Rivals' next patch will finally fix my beautiful boy Captain America

Wam, bam, clonk, clonk, bonk. That's the sound of a Captain America main barging straight past Magneto to smack around the backline supports with two full servings of manifest destiny. I love Marvel Rivals' rendition of Cap as the load-bearing pillar of his team—a mobile, aggressive dive tank who weaves defense into his offense and disrupts the other team's equilibrium. He's an exceptionally fun tank archetype in a game full of fun tanks, but there's one aspect of his kit that's bugged me to no end these last few months: Why can't Cap hold up his shield while he jumps?

I clearly wasn't the only one asking, because in a Marvel Rivals patch dropping on February 21, the ability to shield while leaping is the headliner of a handful of Captain America buffs:

• He will be able to shield himself with Living Legend mid-leap
• Increase Vibranium Energy Saw's projectile speed from 60m/s to 80m/s, with ricochets ramping up from 100m/s to a supercharged 150m/s
• Reduce the energy cost of Freedom Charge (ultimate ability) from 3100 to 2800
• Enhance Captain America's combat experience by separating Sentinel Strike from melee attacks. Captain America will be able to use melee attacks while his shield is thrown or during the Team-Up Ability Charged Aegis state to activate the first two hits of Sentinel Strike. Additionally, while airborne, using melee attacks will no longer trigger the Super-Soldier Slam ability.

A lot to unpack, but the jump change alone will change how I play Cap overnight. Previously, retreating from a dive left Cap players with two not-great options: Slowly back up toward healers with his shield raised, praying its modest 400 durability holds up, or leap away from danger (shield down) and hope he isn't sniped out of the air. I was able to try updated Cap out on an early season 1.5 test server yesterday and can confirm the extra protection is a godsend, but moreover, his kit just makes more sense when his shield can stay up at all times. The shield is his whole thing, after all!

That second tweak to Vibranium Energy Saw, which bounces his shield against enemies at long ranges, might be the bigger deal in the long run. Most Cap players use this as a finisher move to pick off healers or duelists who peel away from a fight, and increasing the shield's projectile speed will make it more reliable in that role. The last change is a bit of a word salad, but the gist is that Cap will still be able to attack using the melee key while his shield is away bonking baddies, eliminating those awkward moments where Cap stands around graciously accepting punches to the face until his frisbee comes home.

Elsewhere in the patch, Doctor Strange's health bar is shrinking to 600 (down from 650), Groot can place walls further away, Thor's cooldowns are cooling down, Venom's ult is cheaper, and Magneto's left-click is getting a little stronger in exchange for a less sturdy barrier.

That makes Cap by far the biggest winner among Vanguards in this patch, which can be explained by his low presence in the first half of season 1. You wouldn't know it by queuing up with me, but Captain America is currently the least-picked Vanguard on all platforms by a lot (with the marginal exception of a bottom-tier Hulk in console Quickplay), appearing in just 5% of matches. Unlike Black Widow, who struggles even when a highly skilled player is at the controls, Cap's winrate isn't the problem—he boasts a respectable ~51% chance to lead his team to victory. He's just unpopular, which is what NetEase aims to address with these quality-of-life adjustments.

Check out the full Marvel Rivals 1.5 patch notes for the lowdown on the other dozen-plus hero changes, including a handful of Storm tweaks, Cloak and Dagger ult nerfs, and more Black Widow buffs that I'm not convinced will make a difference.