A new month can only mean a new Marvel Rivals season that heralds a whole host of fresh changes and a flashy new hero for players to sink their teeth into. Season 8.5 welcomes Cyclops, leader of the X-Men and zapper of enemies, courtesy of his obnoxious laser eyes.
What Are Cyclops’ Abilities?
As most players guessed, Cyclops is indeed a duellist. He has two types of primary fire, the first is a good ol’ fashioned projectile laser that deals a small amount of single-target damage, and his secondary fire is … a hellish upgraded version. I’ve always wanted to fight against a massive laser that chains to the entire team to deal devastating damage.
But, it is likely to be countered very easily – simply spread out to break the chain and focus healing on the targeted allies. As his secondary fire operates on a rechargeable resource, Cyclops must choose wisely when to spend it. Proactive players should track his resource usage and punish him accordingly as this ability is likely going to emerge as the most impactful on his release.
But if you haven’t succumbed to an early death already, Cyclops can finish you off with his E ability that holds two charges and auto-targets you around walls, how exciting! But wait, Cyclops generates 25 bonus health from each cast and just like the previous ability, it also chains to any enemies who have the misfortune of being nearby. While it creates some flashy and oddly satisfying chaos, it only serves purpose as a minor poking tool due to its weak damage value.
Scott Summers is amplifying his inner Moon Knight to the max with the amount of AoE auto-aim chaining damage he inflicts which can be rained down from the skies as he takes flight. Cyclops can also force you to take a swift leap of faith off the map with his movement ability, it also deals high burst damage and sends him whizzing backwards away from any danger. However, it has a pretty high cooldown which allows for an easy way to punish him. Despite how it all sounds, Cyclops’ damage doesn’t seem too egregious, he’s likely to slot perfectly into the Rivals battleground as a strong but balanced hero.
Now on to the star of the show, his ultimate ability. Essentially cloning Vendetta’s ultimate from Overwatch, Cyclops shreds his foes with a huge laser that leaves behind an explosive aftershock effect, resulting in two instances of damage that are sure to demolish healthbars. Regardless of the damage potential, most players are repositioning constantly which will undoubtedly render the secondary explosion effect difficult to land unless unleashed in conjunction with crowd control, like ‘I AM GROOOOT’.
Is Cyclops Overpowered?
Cyclops will definitely make a huge impact in Rivals as lots of die-hard fans fight to lock him in first. His auto-aim mechanics make him extremely beginner friendly and a great champion for new players to pick up, especially after Moon Knight was heavily nerfed in the most recent balance changes. Although his kit appears pretty strong from first impressions, I feel confident in saying that his damage values will indefinitely hold him back from S Tier status.
Historically, teamups are hugely influential in the emergence of new metas, team comps and character preferences. Cyclop’s teamup with Wolverine definitely won’t be the most broken ability to grace Rivals as Wolverine largely relies on his ‘kidnapping’ playstyle which doesn’t require him to deal too much damage. Infusing Wolverine’s claws with kinetic energy will likely feel redundant or will simply seal his fate as a permanent ban now that Black Cat and Daredevil have been kicked to the curb.
I don’t think Cyclops will be overpowered, you’re likely going to need to worry about other players locking him in before you rather than Scott being hit with the ban hammer every match.
