Crispy Jackie 
Ricey has built much of his Marvel Rivals content around Iron Fist, from full ranked matches to short demonstrations of combos and movement techniques. Playing the same hero across seasons gives him plenty of time to work through the details: how to approach a dive, which team-up to choose, and where an extra jump or follow-up attack can create an opening.
We sent these questions late in Season 9, when the major balance updates were passing Iron Fist by. Ricey answered after Season 10 brought higher basic attack damage, a cheaper ultimate, and changes to The Thing team-up. That timing gave us a chance to ask how the buffs felt, what still needed attention, and why he would keep playing Iron Fist even if a future patch weakened him.
Sticking With Iron Fist
Ricey puts Season 10 Iron Fist between high B and A tier, crediting his ability to brawl, dive, and protect teammates. His attachment to the hero also comes from enjoying the kit itself, although Gorr has been getting some attention off stream.
Q: How good is Iron Fist in Season 10? Where would you put him on a tier list?
Ricey: I think Iron Fist is very good in Season 10 of Marvel Rivals at the moment. He can play well into any comp: since he can brawl, dive and peel, he's the perfect all around balance for a character, especially with the buffs they just recently gave him in Season 10. I would say he's around a high B to A tier currently.
Q: You specialize in Iron Fist. If a patch gutted him tomorrow, would you switch heroes? Has anyone else caught your attention?
Ricey: If they were to nerf Iron Fist in this upcoming season I think I would continue to play him, because I enjoy the character and think his playstyle suits me very well. Another character that I've taken interest in is the new Season 10's Gorr. I've been playing him a lot in my free time and off stream and have been enjoying his dive kit as of recently.
Q: Short clips and full stream VODs reach different audiences. Does that gap change what you do on stream?
Ricey: It doesn't really change what I do on stream, because there are other people that do exactly what I do, and stream views fluctuate. Not everyone can sit there and watch for 4-5 hours on end, but literally everyone can take 20-30 seconds out of their day to watch a TikTok / Shorts clip.
Patches, Hotfixes and What Is Still Missing
Iron Fist received no individual adjustments in Season 9’s main balance updates, although the developers did fix bugs. The August 13 patch, for example, addressed abnormal movement when using Yat Jee Chung Kuen during his ultimate. Season 10 then changed his damage, ultimate cost, and team-up options.
Q: When a hero goes a season without individual balance adjustments, does that suggest a finished design, or a hero nobody is thinking about?
Ricey: I think a hero nobody needs to touch is just a hero nobody is thinking about. Usually heroes like this have no place in the game or in team comps, so it's hard to play them, so it surely can't be a finished design. If the hero was good, people would be loving them and playing them as much as possible.
Iron Fist’s Season 10 Changes
The September 11 balance update increased Iron Fist’s basic attack damage and lowered the energy needed for Living Chi. Selecting The Thing team-up also gave him access to a follow-up attack without requiring The Thing on the team, alongside a longer cooldown.
|
Adjustment |
Before |
After |
|
Damage per hit for the first four Jeet Kune Do strikes |
35 |
38 |
|
Damage from the fifth Jeet Kune Do strike |
55 |
60 |
|
Living Chi ultimate energy cost |
3,400 |
3,100 |
|
The Thing team-up ability cooldown |
8 seconds |
12 seconds |
|
Damage from the enhanced second team-up hit |
45 |
50 |
Source: Official Season 10 balance notes
Earlier that summer, Jubilee received adjustments much sooner. She launched with Season 9 on July 10 and received buffs in an emergency hotfix on July 11. Ricey would like to see that kind of response more often.
Q: Jubilee launched on the first day of Season 9 and received buffs the following day. Is needing a day-two fix a failure of testing, or part of how a live game should work?
Ricey: I don't think it's a failure, just because you never really know what the community can do with the character. There are millions of players on this game compared to maybe a couple hundred devs, so it's good that they can find something bad in a character and fix it day 1 or 2 into the season. I honestly think this should happen more often.
“There's millions of players on this game compared to maybe a couple hundred devs.”
Q: Now that Season 10 has addressed your earlier complaints, what would you still like to see changed?
Ricey: Personally all of my complaints coming into Season 10 have been solved. I would like to see some updates to his block, since for some reason his block has a windup and can be canceled (it wasn't like that before). I would also like to see some changes to the White Fox team-up, like making it so instead of giving it more range on enhanced, it makes the enhanced version the normal base version, and makes the enhanced version give more heals overall. Third and final thing, I think we should lower The Thing team-up's cooldown from 12 seconds to 10 seconds, just so it feels better on dive and we can have more uptime.
The Thing, White Fox, and the Rice Hop
The official team-up descriptions give Iron Fist two different tools. Iron & Stone provides an uppercut that launches enemies. Kumiho Palm heals nearby allies when Yat Jee Chung Kuen hits an enemy, with White Fox extending the attack’s lock-on distance when she is on the team. Ricey prefers what The Thing offers for his dives and combos.
Q: Between The Thing and White Fox team-ups, which do you prefer, and why?
Ricey: So personally I enjoy The Thing team-up way more than the White Fox team-up. I feel like the White Fox team-up doesn't really have a place in the game or a certain factor that makes it better than The Thing team-up. The Thing team-up provides amazing burst protection that gives one-shot capabilities, while the White Fox team-up provides pretty minuscule heals. There are other factors with the White Fox team-up, like more range on the right click, but it only works with White Fox, and she's barely in the game, so using The Thing team-up is just overall better for damage, since nothing really changes with the enhanced Thing other than 5 extra damage.
Ricey demonstrates how he combines Iron Fist’s attacks in his September guide, using the practice range to explain the sequence and timing.
Ricey demonstrates Iron Fist combos in his Season 10 guide. The practice-range sequence begins at 03:50, with further explanation at 04:25.
Q: You kept finding new Iron Fist tech even while his balance changes were limited. Where does that come from, and what’s your favorite discovery?
Ricey: So honestly, Iron Fist had very little tech before the season started. I think now with The Thing team-up and White Fox team-up it introduced a lot more techs that help the character shine. I think my favorite tech has to be the one shot combos I show in my videos, or the rice hop which I created myself, which is literally just a double jump into The Thing team-up.
In this clip published during Season 9, Ricey demonstrates the rice hop by double-jumping and pressing C at the same time. The explanation runs from 00:19 to 00:25.
For more on the game, see our Marvel Rivals Competitive Mode Guide and Settings Guide.
Ricey’s remaining requests give him three things to look for in future updates: changes to block, more useful healing from White Fox, and a shorter cooldown for The Thing. Season 11 will offer another chance to revisit that list. Whatever happens to Iron Fist’s place in the meta, Ricey says he intends to keep playing the hero whose style suits him.
More interviews in this series:
