Marvel Rivals Season 4 is almost here, and we’ve got an early peek at the upcoming patch, including Angela’s full breakdown, hero balance changes, new game modes, and team-ups.
Marvel Rivals is gearing up for a brand-new chapter with Season 4: The Heart of the Dragon, launching September 12, 2025. The new season takes us to K’un-Lun and the Heavenly Cities, with Angela and Daredevil stepping into the spotlight as the next playable heroes.
Both were previously leaked, but have now been officially confirmed by the developers at NetEase Games. Alongside them, we’ll also see the game launching on PlayStation 4 for the first time. Now, thanks to the new Dev Vision Vol. 09, we’ve got an early look at the Season 4 changes. From hero buffs and nerfs, to a new map, new game modes, and a big update to the Team-Up system, there’s a lot to unpack.
Note
Full patch notes for Marvel Rivals Season 4 update have been released. Check them out here.
In this article, we’ll break down all the confirmed info so far about what’s coming to Marvel Rivals with the Season 4 update.
Marvel Rivals Angela Hero Overview and Abilities
Angela, a powerful frontline warrior, joins the roster as a Vanguard hero in Marvel Rivals Season 4. She’s described as a celestial warrior who controls living Ichor, able to shift her body into weapons for both offense and defense. Her full kit hasn’t been officially revealed yet, but we do know she’ll be playable when Season 4 goes live on September 12.
Here’s a breakdown of Angela’s teased ability set:
- Spear Dive: Angela slams into enemies from above using a massive spear.
- Shield Morph: Can transform her ichor into a large shield to absorb incoming damage.
- Blade Split: Converts the spear into dual swords, allowing high burst damage and support.
- Flight Descent: Appears to enter battle from mid-air, engaging first in the fight.
Marvel Rivals Season 4: Hero Balance Changes
Several characters are being tweaked in the season 4 update. Some underused heroes are getting much-needed buffs, while a few high-performing ones are seeing light nerfs to bring them more in line with the rest of the roster.
Below, you can check out all the buffs and nerfs that the devs teased for the Season 4 update.
Buffs
- Peni Parker: Improved ultimate ability.
- Thor: Ultimate ability improved.
- Doctor Strange: General offensive performance increased.
- Scarlet Witch, Blade, Moon Knight: Getting general buffs to their damage and/or survivability.
- Jeff the Land Shark, Invisbie Woman, Ultron: Ultimate ability improved.
Nerfs
- Emma Frost: Slight tuning down of her utility.
- Captain America: Subtle reduction to shield effectiveness.
- Squirrel Girl: Long-range poke damage toned down.
- Black Panther: Survivability slightly reduced.
- Psylocke: Burst damage brought down slightly.
- Luna Snow: Shorter duration on her ultimate.
- Loki: Minor decrease to sustained damage and healing output.
Marvel Rivals Season 4: New Team-Up System Updates
Season 4 brings several big updates to the Team-Up ability system. One Team-Up is being removed, while others are being updated or added. These abilities let players combine two heroes for powerful effects—similar to combo ultimates.
Below, you can check out all the changes coming to the Team-Up abilities in Marvel Rivals Season 4:
- New Team-Up: “Divine Armory” (Angela + Thor)
- Thor throws a thunder spear to damage and recover energy. He can leap to it, landing a second AoE attack.
- Removed: “Dimensional Shortcut”
- This Team-Up has been fully removed from the game.
- New: Magik joins “Arcane Order”
- Gains Chains of Cyttorak: links two enemies and slows them more the farther they are from each other.
- New: Black Panther joins “Gamma”
- Gets an automatic Gamma Shield at low HP that protects from damage briefly.
Marvel Rivals Season 4: New Map and Modes
A brand-new Convergence map called “Heart of Heaven” will be added to the rotation on September 25 in Marvel Rivals Season 4. It continues the K’un-Lun theme of the season and is expected to offer unique verticality and thematic design tied to the dragon lore teased in the story.
Meanwhile, several limited-time game modes are becoming permanent and grouped into a new Arcade Mode hub. This update improves matchmaking, letting players choose to queue for one or several modes at once.
Confirmed Arcade Modes:
- Conquest
- Doom Match
- Conquest: Annihilation
- Free Fight
- Giant-Size Brain Blast
- Clone Rumble
Marvel Rivals Season 4: Quality of Life Changes
Season 4 is also packing a number of quality-of-life features that improve how players interact with the game on a daily basis:
- Summer Special Vol. 2 lands on September 18 with new summer-themed skins.
- Custom Ultimate Visual Effects are now visible to everyone, with an option to turn others’ off if preferred.
- Gallery Card Downloads let you grab HD assets from a character’s inspect screen.
- Chat Improvements: You can now change your chat text color and use animated emojis.
- New Hero Accessories for Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Cloak & Dagger, and Luna Snow go live September 25.
- Hero Library Favorites Bar allows you to pin your go-to heroes for easier access.
- A new slow-walk animation is now available on PC to help creators and players film scenes or walk with flair.
- The University Program returns: link a valid school email to unlock 10 free trial skins and MVPs (re-verification needed).
Marvel Rivals Season 4: Competitive and Ranked Changes
On the ranked side of things, placement matches are still in development but won’t be ready in time for Season 4. The team says it’s a complex feature that needs further testing. In the meantime, the Ignite Series tournament will continue through September, with regional qualifiers happening around the world. Finalists will be invited to compete in the year-end grand finals.
Also worth noting, and as mentioned above: Marvel Rivals will officially launch on PlayStation 4 alongside the Season 4 update on September 12.
That’s everything we know so far about what’s coming in Marvel Rivals Season 4. Are you excited to play Angela? Think any of the nerfs went too far? Let us know your thoughts!
