MultiVersus is still in its early days, but a few characters stand out as being overpowered – most notably Bugs Bunny and Adventure Time’s Finn.
MultiVersus' meta game is beginning to take shape after launching this July, and it's already clear which characters are in need of a nerf. The Super Smash Bros.-inspired fighter published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment pits people's favorite cartoons, comic book heroes, and more against each other in 1v1 and 2v2 style matches. Though all the fighters belong to iconic franchises, some are so much more dominant than the others that they need to be nerfed.
MultiVersus has already received its first update – the 0.1 patch – which addressed some of the more broken characters. The Tasmanian Devil's Tornado, Batman's Batarang, and Bugs Bunny's up-air were all nerfed in the update because of their kill power, projectile speed, and combo potential, respectively. These particular selections for nerfs highlight how MultiVersus' meta functions: the game emphasizes zoning and projectiles in the neutral state and deadly punishes once the advantage state is won. A fighter who can oppress with zoning tools like the Batarang and attack with strong combo moves like Tornado thus makes for a potentially broken character.
With this definition of a good character in mind, Bugs Bunny and Finn the Human are at the top of the list for MultiVersus characters who need to be nerfed. Despite having his up-air attack worsened in the 0.1 update, Bugs is still the best juggler in the game; on top of this, the other tools in his kit allow him to excel in all aspects of MultiVersus. Additionally, Finn the Human from Adventure Time has humongous hit boxes because of his sword, which makes him a nightmare in singles battles. This can make them highly problematic to deal with in matches, even when compared to other strong characters like the Iron Giant.
Bugs Bunny and Finn share similar strengths in MultiVersus. Their huge disjoints enable them to easily open up combos, and these combos can quickly turn into zero-to-deaths if their opponents aren't cautious. MultiVersus' 0.1 update addressed Bugs Bunny's overpowered kit by targeting his up-air, which was the correct move: Bugs is easily the best juggler in the game and still is after the nerf. Since the increase in up-air's start-up time and the decrease in its active frames did not effectively stop Bugs from dominating the meta, a better option is to now nerf other moves in his kit to limit the amount of opportunities he gets to use up-air. Perhaps the best target for a nerf would be Bugs' neutral air (nair). This extremely quick move combos into itself at early percents and eventually into up-air at middle percents. Increasing the knockback scaling and making the knockback more horizontal would fix this problem, as it would limit his broken combo potential while also sending his opponents too far from him to up-air.
Nerfing Cartoon Network character Finn the Human in MultiVersus is a much simpler task than Bugs Bunny. Where Bugs' moves are broken in every way possible, the issue with Finn is more specific: he has huge disjoints that are too quick to whiff punish. This is especially true for all of his aerials, which flow into one another and even into his up special Backpack Attack. To address this problem, the hitboxes on Finn's sword should be made smaller. The blade is not very big after all, so the hitboxes should reflect this.
Despite a few broken characters, Player First Games have done a fantastic job at creating a mostly balanced cast of fighters in MultiVersus. Bugs Bunny is of course overpowered, and Finn and Batman are also very strong. Still, the developer has already shown a dedication to addressing the broken fighters on MultiVersus' roster, so hopefully these changes to Bugs and Finn will come soon.
Fletcher Varnson is a writer for Screen Rant, where he covers video games. He also writes for the Georgia Voice, where he covers LGBTQ+ literature, cinema, and news, has contributed poetry to the film journal Day For Night, and has written the podcast for the Five Points Literary Journal. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia with 5 brothers and sisters, Fletcher developed a passion for books, movies, and games and their ability to connect people with disparate dispositions from disparate backgrounds. He has a special affinity for the Super Smash Brothers series; despite this, his Yoshi is still quite terrible.
