Alright, so here’s my take—bare with me, it’s a bit all over the place:
So, there’s this thing with Phoenix in Marvel Rivals, right? Like, I might finally give Overwatch 2 a break. Yeah, shocking, I know. Not like I’m, you know, Phoenix’s biggest fan or anything. Honestly, I had to Wiki-dive about her after she popped up in season 3. But here’s the deal: she moves like an actual person! Or mutant. Whatever. And, wow, that’s refreshing ’cause Rivals has been anything but that so far.
Since Rivals dropped in December 2024, folks on Reddit have been griping. You know how it goes—complaints about character speeds. Is it slow-mo? Maybe. Could be just how we see things on screen? Big debates. Personally, I leaned toward the slow-motion camp and found myself playing less and less. The slowness! It’s like… ugh.
Now, Overwatch 2 tossed in a third-person Stadium mode, and Phoenix seems zippier. Weirdly, I felt vindicated. Sort of.
So there I was, in the practice arenas of both games, measuring stuff. Calculating distances for damage thingies or whatever. Turns out, Rivals characters lag by half a stride for five meters, compared to Overwatch 2. Sounds problematic, right? But wait—Rivals’ measurements are wonky. Five Rivals’ meters is like 11.5 inches, against Overwatch’s 10. Go figure.
“Why should anyone care?” you ask. Here’s the scoop: Rivals characters kinda move as fast as—or even faster than—Overwatch ones, technically covering more ground. It’s not speed. It’s… oh, I dunno, style?
Cloak and Dagger, Namor, Spider-Man—the whole gang—they move like they’re extras in some Baywatch reboot, loping around battlefield-style. Attacks? Pauses galore unless you’re Iron Fist. Battles become… dances? And hey—those attack sounds? Muted, like a stressed-out librarian shushing your fun. Winter Soldier? That pistol’s a whisper. Scarlet Witch? I mean, absorbing life should feel livelier.
Enter Phoenix! Her attacks come with a whoosh and boom after three hits. She flies around in a flaming bird way—quick relocations with no endless cooldowns. Moving and dodging like she means it! It’s like… watching someone who actually cares? Even if Cloak and Dagger technically move just as efficiently.
Anyway, NetEase finally nailed that style-function combo. Phoenix brings the wow and doesn’t feel like you’re wading through molasses. I don’t know about you, but that feels like a win to me.
