Marvel Rivals Season 6 Early Patch Notes: Deadpool Abilities, Buffs, Nerfs, New Map, and Team-Up Updates

Early patch notes for Marvel Rivals Season 6 are here ahead of release. Here’s what NetEase has shared so far.

Marvel Rivals Season 6, titled “Night at the Museum,” was officially revealed first revealed at The Game Awards 2025. Alongside the announcement, NetEase confirmed that Deadpool will be joining the roster as part of the new season, instantly becoming one of the most talked-about additions so far.

Season 6 is set to launch later this week on January 16, 2026. Just like previous seasons in Marvel Rivals, NetEase has released a brand-new Dev Vision entry ahead of the update. These Dev Vision videos usually give players an early look at balance changes, gameplay tweaks, and system updates planned for the upcoming season.

In this article, we’ll cover all the new updates revealed by the developers in the latest Dev Vision entry, including the early patch notes style rundown of what’s changing.

Marvel Rivals Season 6 Early Patch Notes Detailed

Here’s the quick version before we get into the details:

• Season 6 launches: Friday, January 16
• New hero: Deadpool (triple-role: Duelist, Vanguard, Strategist)
• Balance preview: buffs, nerfs, and a Namor adjustment (full patch notes still coming)
• New Team-Ups: Peni Parker + Spider-Man, Deadpool + Jeff
• Retired Team-Ups: Ever-Burning Bond (Human Torch + Spider-Man), Rocket Network (Peni’s connection)
• New map: Museum of Contemplation on Thursday, January 29
• Times Square updates: Photo Mode (Jan 16), Clobberin’ Club (Jan 29)
• Resource Rumble: temporarily removed from Quick Match (returns later reworked for 18v18)

Marvel Rivals Deadpool Abilities: Triple-Role Hero Explained

Deadpool’s gimmick is simple on paper and kind of wild in practice: he’s officially a Duelist, a Vanguard, and a Strategist. You pick the role you want, and you can even swap roles mid-match at your team’s spawn.

NetEase also describes Deadpool as a hero who “levels up” during the match, improving his abilities as you play. On top of that, his Ultimate charges faster depending on how stylish you are in fights, which fits the character perfectly.

Here’s what we know about how his kit works so far:

Duelist Deadpool

• Focuses on damage using his classic dual pistols and swords.
• Built to reward aggressive play and momentum.

Vanguard Deadpool

• Leans into survivability and team help, including a mention of a toy/unicorn-style shield tool used to protect teammates.
• More of a front-line option compared to his Duelist playstyle.

Strategist Deadpool

• This is the weirdest and most interesting part: his pistols and katanas can be used in ways that either damage enemies or help allies, including healing.

One more important rule: in Quick Match and Competitive, it’s one Deadpool per side, so you won’t be dealing with six Wades at once.

Season 6 Buffs and Nerfs: Early Balance Preview

NetEase hasn’t posted full Season 6 patch notes yet, but the Dev Vision did confirm a list of heroes that are getting tuned.

Buffs

• Hulk
• Captain America
• Doctor Strange
• Iron Fist
• Blade
• Cloak & Dagger

Nerfs

• Angela
• Daredevil
• Gambit
• Invisible Woman

Adjusted

• Namor (less Team-Up reliance, more power pushed into his base kit)

And a bit of context from the devs: they specifically called out how strong certain Strategists have been lately, so part of the Season 6 goal is to reduce some of that solo power while giving certain mobile heroes more room to fight backlines again.

Team-Up Updates: New Combos and Retired Abilities

Season 6 is also moving pieces around on Team-Ups. Two new ones are coming in, and two older ones are getting retired.

New Team-Up: Peni Parker + Spider-Man

Spider-Man gets a Web-Bomb from Peni that starts a timer when activated.

• If Spider-Man throws it before the timer ends, it deals damage and applies Spider-Tracers in the area.
• If he doesn’t throw it, he instead gets a Web-Cluster charge plus bonus health.

New Team-Up: Deadpool + Jeff

Jeff can spit out one of Deadpool’s toys, creating an AOE that:

• Heals nearby allies over time
• Messes with enemies using visual clutter and sound cues

Retired Team-Up: Ever-Burning Bond

• The Human Torch + Spider-Man Team-Up is retired.
• NetEase points to Spider-Man’s new Peni Team-Up as the replacement direction here.

Retired Team-Up: Peni Parker leaves Rocket Network

• Peni is disconnecting from Rocket Network, which previously let her do things like place a second Bionic Spider-Nest.

Doctor Strange Team-Up returning (Season 6.5)

NetEase also teased that a previously retired Doctor Strange Team-Up is coming back in a new form with Season 6.5, with a fuller reveal planned for February.

New Map: Museum of Contemplation (January 29)

The first new map tied to Season 6’s rollout is Museum of Contemplation, a convoy objective map coming on Thursday, January 29.

If you like modes where teams fight over moving objectives and constant pressure points, this one sounds like it’s built for that. We’ll have more details once NetEase shares layout previews and mode specifics.

Times Square Updates: Photo Mode and Clobberin’ Club

Times Square is getting two big additions across the Season 6 window.

Photo Mode (January 16)

Photo Mode arrives with the Season 6 update and lets you:

• Adjust camera angles, use filters, and capture moments in the Times Square non-combat map. NetEase also says it gives a first look at Deadpool’s default emote.

Clobberin’ Club (January 29)

The Clobberin’ Club opens in Times Square with the January 29 update, featuring:

• 1v1 duels, an option to pay a couple Units to have the match shown on the big screen

Progression and Rewards Updates

Season 6 isn’t just heroes and balance. There are a few reward and progression updates worth knowing.

Hero Proficiency expansion (January 16)

Hero Proficiency gets a major upgrade:

• Higher caps for each hero
• Multiple reward pages per hero
• Includes animated Dynamic Avatars and other cosmetics

Marvel Rivals Championship rewards update

NetEase says the reward pool is being improved so that even teams that finish their run in qualifiers can still earn:

• In-game currency
• Exclusive cosmetic rewards

College Student Perks rotation

The free costume trial selection rotates on January 16, and students will need to verify again using an education email to qualify.

Resource Rumble Removed From Quick Match (For Now)

One more change that will hit immediately with Season 6: Resource Rumble and its map are temporarily removed from Quick Match on January 16.

NetEase says the mode will return later, rebuilt with 18v18 in mind.

That’s everything we know so far from the early Dev Vision preview for Marvel Rivals Season 6. Once the full patch notes drop, we’ll update this article with all the missing details.

What do you think about what’s coming in Season 6 so far? Are you happy with the direction NetEase is taking, or is there something you’re hoping to see change? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.