Marvel Rivals Season 2 Patch is due to drop next Friday – and its going to be a big one, with changes to almost the entire roster of NetEase’s new Hero Shooter. It’s also the first time the developers outright removed some of the Team Up abilities from the game. But they also gave the players some new combos to try out. This will be the Patch that adds a new Vanguard to the game: Emma Frost, The White Queen, who can turn from a ranged tank to a melee one and mind control her foes. There is a lot of changes, so let’s dive right into it all!
Contents
Marvel Rivals Season 2 Patch – All the Changes
Vanguard
Captain America
- Base Health decreased from 675 to 650
- Living Legend (Shield) decreased from 400 to 350
Doctor Strange
- Daggers of Denak (Damage per projectile) decreased from 18 to 16
- Maelstrom of Madness (Dark Magic conversion) decreased from 1.3 to 1.2
Hulk
- Base Movement Speed increased from 600 to 650
- Indestructible Guard Cooldown decreased from 12s to 10s
- Incredible Leap Minimum Charge decreased from 0.7s to 0.5s
Magneto
- Meteor M (Ultimate Energy Cost) increased from 3100 to 3400
Peni Parker
- Cyber-Web Cluster:
- Now has a chance to crit
- Movement Speed Penalty while firing decreased from 40% to 20%
- Base Health increased from 650 to 750
The Thing
- Embattled Leap Damage Reduction (self & allies) decreased from 30% to 25%
Thor
- Base Health increased from 525 to 600
- Base Movement Speed increased from 600 to 650
Almost all tanks have been changed, bringing some back from the brink of the meta while weakening others to bring them more in line.
Nerfs to Captain America and The Thing slightly reduce their effectiveness as anchor tanks, as well as decrease the protection they provide their allies. Doctor Strange’s slight nerfs to projectile damage and damage conversion may reduce his Vanguard/DPS hybrid utility, pushing him back toward a more support-oriented style. Magneto’s Ultimate cost increase shows that he’s still one of the best anchors in the game, and his one-shot potential need to be turned down.
Buffs to Hulk and Thor try to make the more DPS-oriented tanks a bit more viable. Hulk’s increased movement speed and shorter cooldowns make him a much more active presence on the front line. Peni Parker’s buffs enables off-tank plays in more aggressive comps, and while Peni has been a staple counterpick to many heroes and compositions, the developers would like to make her a bit more universal.
With these changes, we can expect to see Hulk, Peni Parker, and Thor rise in viability, while Captain America and The Thing may lose favor in higher-skill lobbies unless paired with strong backline support and the proper DPS characters that they can enable.
Duelist
Black Widow
- Can now shoot immediately after:
- Second kick of Edge Dancer
- Electro-Plasma Explosion (Ultimate)
Hawkeye
- Bow Charge Slow decreased from 30% to 20%
- Hypersonic Arrow Damage (both instances) increased from 50 to 55
- Hunter’s Sight (Ultimate):
- Energy Cost decreased from 3700 to 3100
- Bow Draw Speed Boost increased from 1.35x to 1.5x
Hela
- Astral Flock Cooldown increased from 12s to 15s
- Piercing Night Spell Field Damage increased from 30 to 35
- Soul Drainer Cooldown decreased from 12s to 10s
Human Torch
- Fire Cluster Attack Interval decreased from 0.6s to 0.5s
- Flaming Meteor:
- Cooldown increased from 12s to 15s
- New: Gain 75 Bonus Health, decays after 3s at 30 per second
Iron Man
- Slightly reduced hitbox
- Armor Overdrive/Gamma Overdrive:
- New: Gain 100 Bonus Health, decays after 5s at 30 per second
Iron Fist
- Harmony Recovery:
- Bonus Max Health decreased from 150 to 100
- Decay Rate decreased from 25 per second to 15 per second
- Yat Jee Chung Kuen:
- Fixed Damage decreased from 10 to 9
- % Max Health per strike increased from 1.7% to 2.1%
- K’un-Lun Kick Cooldown decreased from 12s to 10s
Mister Fantastic
- Base Health increased from 350 to 375
- Stretch Punch Damage:
- Normal increased from 60 to 65
- Inflated increased from 75 to 80
- Flexible Elongation:
- Cooldown decreased from 10s to 8s
- New: Slows enemies by 35%
- Elastic Strength (Passive):
- Elasticity decreased from 30 to 20
- From Stretch Punch increased from 5 to 8
- Bonus Health (Inflated) decreased from 450 to 400
- Ultimate: Gains Bonus Health same as inflated state
Moon Knight
- Crescent Dart Speed increased from 120 m/s to 150 m/s
- Moon Blade:
- New: Gain 25 Bonus Health per enemy hit (Max 100), decays after 3s at 20/s
- Moonlight Hook:
- Pull startup time decreased from 0.4s to 0.15s
- Hand of Khonshu (Ultimate):
- Duration increased from 3.5s to 4.5s
- Talons increased from 14 to 18
- New: Damage falloff begins at 1.5m, max 70% at 5m
Scarlet Witch
- Chaos Control:
- Removed % damage
- Fixed Damage increased from 60 per second to 80 per second
- Chthonian Burst:
- Projectile Damage increased from 35 to 40
- Spell Field Damage increased from 35 to 40
- Mystic Projection Cooldown increased from 8s to 10s
- Phased State Duration decreased from 2s to 1.5s
- Reality Erasure Slow: Now begins at 1.5s, ramps to 35% over 3.5s
Star-Lord
Winter Soldier
- Bionic Hook Cooldown increased from 8s to 12s
- Kraken Impact (Ultimate):
- Damage decreased from 100 to 80
- Culling Threshold decreased from 20% to 15% of max HP
Wolverine
- Rage Adjustments:
- Savage Claw Hit increased from 7 to 10
- Berserk Claw Strike decreased from 7 to 5
- Feral Leap decreased from 20 to 10
- Vicious Rampage decreased from 20 to 15
- From taking damage increased from 3 to 5
- Last Stand (Ultimate):
- Knockdown Duration decreased from 1s to 0.75s
Duelists received of the most adjustments in this patch, creating space for underplayed heroes to rise and reining in those who dominated in raw DPS or burst utility. Moon Knight’s new sustain and more forgiving hook timing could make him a consistent threat in 1v1s and backline dives.
Outside of Marc (or Steven?) Wolverine got some changes to his rage mechanic, while Winter Soldier finally got the nerfs the players have been asking for over and over again. Scarlet Witch also had her power shifted from her tank-killing power to become more of a generalist DPS, and her Ultimate is also less clunky to use.
The snipers of Marvel Rivals also get some love with buffs to Hawkeye, who fell off after the game really got popular, and Black Widow, who never really took off in the first place.
The theme of this patch’s Duelist changes seem to be extra Health as Mister Fantastic, Iron Mand and Iron Fist also get some temporary HP so they cannot be dived as easily. With the buffs to diver Vanguards, this was a needed change, however it could result in the meta not changing as much as it could with the new tools Vanguards received.
Strategist
Adam Warlock
- Soul Bond Cooldown increased from 30s to 40s
- Karmic Revival (Ultimate):
- Healing changed from 100 fixed HP to 30% of fallen ally’s max HP
Cloak and Dagger
- Eternal Bond (Ultimate):
- New Mechanic: The first three healing zones will now persist until the final zone ends; all zones expire together rather than individually.
Invisible Woman
- Guardian Shield (Shield Value) decreased from 300 to 250
Loki
- Regeneration Domain Cooldown increased from 25s to 30s
Mantis
- Base Health decreased from 275 to 250
- Healing Flower & Allied Inspiration:
- Stack duration now capped at 16 seconds
Rocket Raccoon
- Repair Mode:
- Healing Area decreased from 70 HP/s to 50 HP/s
- New: Adds a one-time 55 HP heal to allies hit
- Projectile Speed increased from 4.5 m/s to 7 m/s
- Jetpack Dash:
- Cooldown increased from 6s to 10s
- Distance decreased from 10m to 8m
- C.Y.A. (Ultimate):
- Damage Boost decreased from 40% to 25%
- New Effect: Grants linked allies 100 Bonus Health/s, capping at 150
- Bonus begins decaying 1s after link break at 75/s
- Energy Cost increased from 3700 to 4000
Strategists now lean more clearly into high-impact cooldowns and utility scaling, with many changes emphasizing strategic pacing over reactive spam.
Adam Warlock and Loki receive longer cooldowns, slowing their tempo slightly and encouraging smarter ability windows. Mantis becomes more fragile but gains sustained team utility through duration stacking. Cloak and Dagger now offer more reliable healing uptime, particularly in coordinated settings. Invisible Woman and Luna Snow take minor nerfs to raw shield and healing values, limiting their stalling potential in disengage-heavy comps.
However, the biggest change in the Strategist class was for Rocket Racoon, who received buffs and nerfs almost as big as a rework. His healing is more upfront and can be spammed now, as well as healing teammates instantly instead of only over time. His ultimate is more of a supportive ability as well, giving a huge healing boost for allies in the area – however, the damage boost is down. This is a bit of a disappointment, as Rocket was one of the more unique Strategists in the game, providing utility outside of healing – now, his ult is also a “you can’t hurt my teammates in this area” ability.
Team-Up Abilities
New Team-Up Enhancements
Doctor Strange + Scarlet Witch – Arcane Order
- Doctor Strange (Anchor): Gains +100 Max Health
- Scarlet Witch: Unlocks Mystic Burst ability
Captain America + Winter Soldier – Stars Aligned
- Captain America (Anchor): Gains +100 Max Health and +5% Damage Output
- Winter Soldier: Unlocks Stellar Impact ability
Emma Frost + Magneto/Psylocke – Mental Projection
- Emma Frost (Anchor): Gains +100 Max Health
- Magneto: Unlocks Magnetic Resonance ability
- Psylocke: Unlocks Soul Resurgence ability
Adjusted or Removed
Rocket Raccoon + Winter Soldier – Ammo Overload
- Winter Soldier: Loses the Infinite Grit ability
Luna Snow + Namor – Chilling Charisma
- Namor: Loses the Frozen Spawn ability
Magik + Psylocke – Dimensional Shortcut
- Psylocke: Loses the Psionic Disc ability
Hulk + Doctor Strange/Namor – Gamma Charge
- Doctor Strange: Loses Gamma Maelstrom
- Namor: Gains Gamma Monstro
Scarlet Witch + Magneto – Metallic Chaos
- Scarlet Witch (Anchor Effect): Removed
- Magneto: Loses Metallic Fusion ability
Thor + Captain America/Storm – Voltaic Union
- Thor (Anchor Effect): Removed
- Captain America: Loses Charged Aegis
- Storm: Loses Charged Gale
While the changes to certain heroes are already excessive, and Emma Frost should shake up the Vanguard meta quite a bit, the Team-Up changes are also something to look at. Many classic and meta Team-Ups have been outright removed or revamped, like Hulk’s Gamma boost taken from Doctor Strange and given to Namor. Some classic combos have finally been introduced, like Captain America and Winter Soldier getting some extra oomph when picked together. The devs are also trying to give Emma Frost a headstart by including her in a triple Team-Up – if her mind control powers wouldn’t have been enough.
As this patch drops, mobility and hybrid roles are getting stronger. Duelists like Moon Knight and Vanguards like Peni Parker or Hulk now excel in fluid, skirmish-heavy team fights. Sustain and bonus health mechanics are being used to replace raw healing or shielding, which is a clever way to maintain time-to-kill balance while increasing clutch potential. Strategist viability is going up, especially in competitive play, where coordinated cooldown windows and team buffs can be exploited.
Hard nerfs to Duelists such as Star-Lord and Winter Soldier and removal of broken Team-Ups will reduce snowball potential in casual games and provide more room for skill expression. However, with the new Team-Ups added, players will have a great opportunity to find new combos – right before Marvel Rivals really takes off as an esport.
