Man, so Phoenix, right? She just popped up in Marvel Rivals, and I’ve gotta say, Overwatch 2 might be gathering some dust on my shelf for a bit. Not that I’m some Phoenix superfan or anything. What do I even know about her? Basically zilch. But hey, I did stumble on her Wiki page after hearing she’s in Rivals season 3. And there’s this one thing that hooked me from her trailer: she actually moves…like, normally? You know, like a human. Yep, a mutant. Whatever. Big deal for Rivals, trust me.
Oh, but here’s the thing. From the day Rivals dropped back in December 2024, Reddit’s been buzzing with folks grumbling about character speeds. Now it’s like they’re stuck walking through molasses or something, while games like Overwatch feel fast as lightning. Maybe it’s because Overwatch is first-person; I dunno. But I’m team slow-motion complain club for sure. Played less and less as it started grinding my gears more and more. Yeah, that happened.
Anyway—wait, no—yeah, so Overwatch 2’s got this third-person Stadium mode now. And Phoenix, she just moves…differently. Like, I had this nerdy theory and needed to see if Rivals really was in slo-mo. Quick spoiler: kinda nailed it.
Checked out both practice arenas ’cause they’ve got these distance markers, right? Perfect for speed tests. After messing around—seriously, I played with so many characters—I figured out Rivals folks need an extra half-stride for five meters compared to Overwatch 2 peeps. Weird, but then there’s Rivals’ wacky distance scaling. Five meters there is like 11.5 inches; in Overwatch, it’s 10. Yeah, scratch your head on that one.
“Why bother?” you ask. Well, technically Rivals characters sorta match Overwatch speeds, maybe even beat them. Strange but true; they’re just covering more ground per step or something. It’s not about speed though. It’s all about style—or lack thereof.
Cloak and Dagger, Namor, Spider-Man—heck, they look like they’re slow-mo starring in a daytime TV drama or walking through syrup. Attack combos drag like they’re drowning. Even Iron Fist couldn’t jolt some energy in there. Muted sounds, weak animations—Winter Soldier’s gun could use a little oomph, right? Scarlet Witch’s magic? Meh. It’s more like a serene ballet than superhero punch-ups. Lovely but snooze-worthy.
Enter Phoenix. She brings the pow—seriously, her attacks come with this fiery whoosh, and BAM, explosions after a combo. It’s like fireworks, really. And when she’s zooming around in her firebird form, she’s got another mobility move ready to go—no eternal cooldowns either, thankfully. She’s quick on her feet, and there’s this snappiness to how she dodges. Feels urgent and exciting, even if, technically, speed hasn’t changed. (Spoiler: It hasn’t. Cloak and Dagger match her step for step.)
So yeah, what NetEase did here, blending style with functionality so it doesn’t feel like wading through glue, well, finally! Phoenix dances across the screen like a real-deal fighter. Sure, other characters aren’t like, fundamentally slower…but man, when she fights, it’s thrilling. And that’s everything to me.
