Here’s an early look at the Marvel Rivals Season 3 update patch notes, with new heroes, big balance updates, and hero customizations.
Season 3 of Marvel Rivals, titled “The Abyss Awakens”, is officially on the way, and it’s a big one. The update kicks off on July 11, 2025, and will bring major changes to how the game works moving forward. From now on, NetEase is switching to a faster pace, with a new season rolling out every two months.
The new story picks up where things left off. The trip to Klyntar didn’t stop the threat; it woke it up. Now, Knull (the god of the symbiotes) has broken free, and he’s not alone. Hela, the Queen in Black, is fighting beside him.
That’s where the new faces come in. Phoenix (Jean Grey) arrives in Season 3 with a powerful ranged kit and flashy ultimate, while Blade is confirmed to join later in Season 3.5. There’s a whole new battle pass, gameplay changes, hero customization options, and a ton of balance updates, too.
In this article, we’re going to walk you through the early patch notes preview from the official Dev Diary video: Dev Vision Vol. 07, released by NetEase after the Season 3 trailer. Let’s break it all down.
All Major Hero Balance Changes in Marvel Rivals Season 3
The devs are focusing hard on balancing the meta for Season 3. Multiple heroes are getting tuned, some are being nerfed, others buffed, and a few are getting new mechanics to shake things up.
These changes are aimed at keeping team compositions more flexible while making sure no single strategy dominates.
Here are the early season 3 balance updates:
The Thing
- Gains a new ability: Battle Blitz, allowing him to leap directly to an enemy and perform Storm Haymaker in mid-air.
- Can knock airborne heroes out of the sky with good timing.
Mantis
- Healing and ultimate utility have been increased
Invisible Woman
- Healing efficiency raised
Namor
- Primary attack and ultimate have been buffed
Scarlet Witch
- Her ultimate ability is getting a slight buff
Venom
- Also receiving buffs to improve viability
Emma Frost
- Getting toned down, especially her Diamond Form
The Punisher
- “Culling Target” ultimate charges too quickly after previous buffs, now getting a minor nerf.
Iron Man
- He is also getting a slight nerf.
Mr. Fantastic
- Survivability in his inflated state being reduced
Loki
- Slower ultimate charge rate
Ultron
- Slight nerf to survivability due to his dominance
Garden Revival Team-Up (Adam Warlock + Mantis)
- Team-up effectiveness slightly reduced to give other comps more breathing room
Marvel Rivals Season 3: New Team-Up Abilities (And Retired Ones)
Team-ups are a huge part of Marvel Rivals, and the developers are continuing to expand on this system. Season 3 brings four new team-ups and removes two older ones.
These new combos are all tied to current and upcoming heroes, and a few add entirely new status effects like burn chasers or new team-based synergies. Here are the new and updated team-ups in season 3:
Phoenix + Wolverine – Primal Flame
- Phoenix powers up Wolverine’s Feral Leap with the Phoenix Force.
- Adds a burn effect to nearby enemies over time.
- Grants life steal to all of Wolverine’s attacks.
Human Torch + Spider-Man – Ever-Burning Bond
- Human Torch gives Spider-Man a gadget that lets him shoot flaming webs.
- These apply a Burn-Tracer (like Spider’s classic Spider–Tracer).
- Spider-Man can still use “Get Over Here” to zip to enemies with a chaser, now triggering an explosion with extra burn damage.
- Both Burn-Tracer and Spider-Tracer can be stacked for combos.
Hela Joining Symbiotes Shenanigans
- Now includes Hela’s Soul Drain effect, linking enemies together and slowing them as they’re pulled to the impact point.
Squirrel Girl Joining Stark Protocol
- Iron Man equips Squirrel Girl with a nanotech gauntlet.
- She can send a squirrel riding the gauntlet, boosted by rockets, that homes in and explodes on enemies.
The following Team-Ups will be removed from the game with the launch of season 3:
- Stormy Ignition
- ESU Alumnus
Season 3: New Cosmetics & Hero Customization Options
Customization is getting a big upgrade this season. There’s a whole new layer being added that lets you tweak how your heroes look, even in more detailed ways.
Here’s everything changing with cosmetics:
Battle Pass
- Still includes 10 costumes
- Now gives out more Chrono Tokens to help unlock rewards faster
Accessories
- Brand new feature
- First wave includes items for:
- Winter Soldier, Psylocke, Groot, Loki, Rocket Raccoon, Jeff The Land Shark, Invisible Woman, Emma Frost, and Spider-Man
- Earn Accessory Points by playing Quick Match and Competitive matches, and exchange them to equip fun visual items
Chroma Color Variants
- More skins now support multiple color palettes
Ultimate VFX (Visual Effects)
- Some skins can now unlock special visual effects visible only to you
- Purchased using Unstable Molecules, which are earnable through events and the battle pass
MVP Animation Customization
- You can now mix and match MVP animations with any costume for the same hero
Team Backgrounds
- Will now change based on your selected costume
Marvel Rivals Season 3: UI Changes, Quality of Life Updates & More
A lot of small things are changing in the background, too, mostly improvements to the interface and quality-of-life systems to make your play sessions smoother.
Here’s what’s new:
- Mission System Rework
- Weekly missions now don’t expire weekly; you can catch up anytime
- Season Missions added, offering big token rewards
- New Event Tab
- Added to the main menu to make it easier to track live events
- Cinematics Page
- Watch cutscenes from all maps whenever you want
- Post-Match Screen Overhaul
- Battle Pass, event, and mission progress now appears right after your match ends
- Replay Notice
- Season 2 replays won’t be supported in the new client
- Make sure to save any important replays before July 11
- Discord Integration
- Full support for Discord SDK
- Chat with friends in-game or in the Discord app even when you’re not playing the game
- Student Program
- Verified university students in the US, UK, and more get access to 10 free costumes + MVPs after email verification
- Support will be expanded to more regions soon
- NVIDIA GPU Crash Fix
- Update your drivers to version 576.80+ to avoid crashes
Season 3 is clearly bringing a lot more than just new heroes. From the meta shakeups and new team-up abilities to all the customization options and UI changes, this looks like one of the biggest updates yet for Marvel Rivals.
What are your thoughts on the changes so far? Are you excited to play as Phoenix? Do you think the nerfs go far enough? Let us know in the comments!
