A fan petition askingMarvel Rivalsnot to rework the beloved Jeff the Land Shark has reached over 1,300 signatures just three days after launch. The beloved adorable character is one of the playable characters in the live-service multiplayer game, where fans can assume the roles of their favorite Marvel characters in massive online brawls.
The mighty Jeff isn’t the most popular character to play but he’s amassed a large cult following thanks to his cute design and unique playstyle. A few days ago,NetEase Gamesannounced on its website thatJeff would be undergoing some changes in the upcoming mid-season update 2.5,launching on May 30. Fans areshowing their dissatisfaction with the upcoming changesby adding their names to the petition to #SaveJeff onChange.org.
Marvel Rivals Plans To Change Jeff’s Skillset
Jeff Would Take A Hit On Survivability In Favor Of More Healing Powers
According to NetEast, Jeff the Land Shark will be getting a “fin-tastic rework” in the upcoming update. This update willshift Jeff’s skills to play more of a supportive healer roleby adding a healing effect to the character’s Joyful Splash skill and changing the Healing Bubble’s effect from a one-time heal to a heal over time.
The changes even affect the character’s notorious ultimate ability, “It’s Jeff!”, which has the character disappear from the battlefield for a few seconds, then reappear andswallow enemies and allies. With the new update, the skill will now close 450 energy (instead of 4000) and grant allies Bonus Health for overflow healing, capping out at 150. Several other skills are taking hits, as is Jeff’s overall survivability,leading to many disappointed fans.
As of this writing,NetEase has addressed fan discontent with the changes to Jeff(and Thor, another character receiving an unpopular update) on theMarvel RivalsX account. The update clarifies some of the upcoming changes, noting that “Joyful Splash now pierces both allies and enemies, healing teammates while damaging opponents,” allowing players to charge the shark’s ultimate attack faster. However, many fans are still concerned about the changes, which some are calling “unnecessary.”
Fan Petition Begs Marvel Rivals To Leave Jeff As-Is
The Land Shark Is Perfect In His Current State
The petition to save the adorable shark characterasks NetEase not to make the planned changes to Jeff, which many fans fear would make him just another typical support healer. According to the petition, “Nerfing [Jeff] to the GROUND and making him just another BORING HEALBOT is the WORST THING THAT CAN BE DONE.”
In his current state, Jeff isn’t easy to use (the character has a 42% win rate, according to the petition), buthis unique playstyle offers a fresh experience for fanswanting something a bit different from the rest of the playable characters. The petition begs the developer to reconsider changing Jeff, writing:
“on behalf of every single jeff enjoyer out there, for the love of god…. DONT REWORK HIM!!! #SAVEJEFF #JEFFISLOVE”
The petition is gaining traction quickly, with over 1,300 fans adding their signature to the appeal not to change Jeff inMarvel Rivals. NetEase has previouslyreversed unpopular changes due to fan feedback, so it’s possible that the studio will continue to listen this fan outcry as well and decide not to move forward with it.
