MultiVersus’ first open beta update nerfs Taz’s spin and adds LeBron James
The game’s free characters will also be rotated when the patch is released
Today’s upcoming MultiVersus patch will reduce the effectiveness of Taz’s controversial spin move, with more nerfs planned in the future.
The update, which has not yet been released but will likely arrive around 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST today to mark the launch of the open beta, will also add LeBron James as a playable character.
Taz’s spin move – which, as noted in our MultiVersus Taz guide, can be performed on the ground or in the air – sees Taz performing his trademark spin, which the player can control as he moves around the arena.
Update
The MultiVersus open beta is now available in the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
MultiVersus Guides
MultiVersus characters | MultiVersus tier list | MultiVersus Guide | MultiVersus unlockables guide | Finn MultiVersus guide | Garnet MultiVersus guide | Iron Giant MultiVersus guide | LeBron James MultiVersus guide | Reindog MultiVersus guide | Superman MultiVersus guide| MultiVersus Gizmo guide
Anyone hit by the move gets pulled in and takes multiple hits, before potentially being launched into the air if they’ve taken enough damage. The move has no cooldown and only some attacks can stop it, meaning some players have been choosing Taz and spamming the move repeatedly, causing frustration.
However, the patch notes for the upcoming version 0.1 update state that the move will be made less effective, with a future patch weakening it further by adding a cooldown.
“Right now, our plan is to transition the Tornado to a cooldown move in an upcoming patch,” the notes say. “The tornado is Taz’s signature move so we want to keep it as one of his most powerful attacks, with the cooldown forcing more intentional use of it.
“These nerfs will reduce Taz’s strength, especially at higher levels of play, so expect some buffs to the other moves in his kit in the near future. Thank you for your patience and we will continue to evaluate Taz’s gameplay health.”
Further reading
MultiVersus guide: The best character to play in Season 1
The patch will also rotate the game’s free characters. When the beta was released in early access for some players last week, the four free playable characters were Jake, Harley Quinn, Taz and Shaggy (with Wonder Woman unlockable after beating the tutorial).
Once the update is released, these will be replaced with Finn, Garnet, Superman and Reindog. The removal of Taz as a free character may also reduce the number of players using him.
The full patch notes are as follows:
MultiVersus Open Beta version 0.1 patch notes
Open Beta
Lebron James has arrived! He is our first basketball-wielding character!
New Free Character Rotation (7/26 to 8/8)
- Finn
- Garnet
- Superman
- Reindog
New Open Beta Warp Event:
- For a LIMITED TIME Gold earned from matches has increased by 25% from 7/26 to 8/8 as an Open Beta Welcome Event!
Characters
Batman
- Air/Ground Neutral Attack: Cooldown on Batarang increased from 13s to 14s. Pick up of Batarang returns 11.55 second up from 11.05. This means that the minimum time between Batarang throws is 2.45s up from 1.95s.
- Batman’s Batarang pick-up cooldown created very small windows where the Batarang wasn’t in play. This change should make it so opponents of Batman have a larger window between Batarang attacks to gain advantage.
- Bug Fix: Air/Ground Side Special: Fixed a bug where Grapple would sometimes shoot you off the map.
Bugs Bunny
- Air Up Attack: Startup window increased by 2 frames, active window decreased by 2 frames
- The hitbox made it so that Bugs Bunny hit nearly all around himself. This should make the up air a bit more reasonable to deal with.
Iron Giant
- Bug Fix: Air Down Attack: can no longer combo into itself
- Bug Fix: Air/Ground Down Special: can no longer repeatedly hit and lock opponents in place forever
- Bug Fix: Air Up Attack: Can no longer repeatedly hit opponents
Steven Universe
- Air Neutral Attack: Knocks opponents up and away to prevent an infinite attack caused by alternating Air Down Attack and Air Neutral Attack.
Taz
- Bug Fix: Fixed a bug that was preventing Taz from doing any aerial attacks once he reached his air special limit.
- Air/Ground Side Special:
- If you have been following early access, Taz’s Tornado has been dominating his character kit and presenting a non-obvious knowledge check for newer players. By reducing its effectiveness we hope to improve his gameplay health and loop and bring the game to a healthier state for newer players.
- A decrease to the tornado’s duration and the additional duration gained by passing an ally.
- Removing one of the multi-hits of the tornado.
- Decreasing the hit pause of all the hits in the tornado.
- Reduced knockback from the final hit in the tornado from 1375 to 1275.
- Right now, our plan is to transition the Tornado to a cooldown move in an upcoming patch. The tornado is Taz’s signature move so we want to keep it as one of his most powerful attacks, with the cooldown forcing more intentional use of it. These nerfs will reduce Taz’s strength, especially at higher levels of play, so expect some buffs to the other moves in his kit in the near future. Thank you for your patience and we will continue to evaluate Taz’s gameplay health.
- If you have been following early access, Taz’s Tornado has been dominating his character kit and presenting a non-obvious knowledge check for newer players. By reducing its effectiveness we hope to improve his gameplay health and loop and bring the game to a healthier state for newer players.
Velma
- Weight: reduced from 70 to 63
- It was an oversight on our part that Velma is one of the heaviest characters in the game. This change should bring her more in-line with where we originally envisioned her.
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