NetEaseMarvel Rivals has been keeping the hype train rolling with each content update. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Season 3.5.
Season 3 has been in full swing for a while now, bringing Phoenix as an all-new Duelist to the ever-expanding roster.
With the midseason update approaching, devs have just unveiled a plethora of different things that players will soon be able to enjoy, including new in-game features, Team Up abilities, competitive improvements, as well as many others.
As we look ahead to the Season 3.5 launch, we’ve teamed up with Credit One Bank to help you plan for what’s next—whether you’re facing Doctor Doom or trying to be the MVP of your credit score, Credit One Bank is your ultimate support player for what’s ahead.
To keep you in the loop, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about the next Marvel Rivals season, including its release date, lore, characters, and more.
Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 release date
NetEaseSeason 3.5 will launch on August 8, 2025.
Unlike the previous season, the current season is shorter in duration, hence why the midseason update gets to drop earlier than usual. This is due to the team speeding up development to release more heroes, leading to the duration of a season being reduced to two months instead of three.
Season 3 map
Season 3 brought players to one of the darkest corners of the Marvel universe: Klyntar: Celestial Husk.
This brand-new map is set atop the rotting corpse of a fallen Celestial, deep in the symbiote homeworld of Klyntar. It’s really just as creepy and cosmic as it sounds.
The map is built for Domination mode, so instead of escorting payloads or scrambling for kills, you’ll be holding capture zones in a battlefield littered with alien bones, corrupted architecture, and symbiote goo pulsing through the ground.
Aside from its hauntingly cool visuals, Klyntar also demands tight team coordination. There are narrow corridors for ambushes, vertical paths perfect for mobility-based heroes, and wide-open areas where you’ll want to stay close to your tank.
This map ties directly into the season’s lore, with the rising threat of Knull looming over every match.
Season 3.5 lore
NetEaseThe story in Season 3: The Abyss Awakens will continue the conflict between Knull and Phoenix. The might Duelist was ambushed, which forced the Phoenix Force to seek refuge within a cosmic, waiting for its fiery rebirth.
As heroes clashed, however, the Phoenix Egg ended up cracking prematurely. While the scattered Phoenix Force found new hosts among heroes, it also awakened Knull, an ancient evil who has risen to full power, with his Queen in Black.
In a surprising turn of events, Blade will be the “first to light a fire upon the abyss” amid all the chaos.
Season 3.5 heroes
Season 3 brings two powerful new faces to the arena: Jean Grey (Phoenix) and Blade.
Phoenix
NetEasePhoenix is available at launch as a Duelist. She can shift between Human and Phoenix forms.
She’s all about area-of-effect burst damage, self-sustain through Spark stacks, and midair dominance.
Her kit includes crowd control, zoning tools, and a massive ult called Phoenix Punishment that melts grouped-up enemies. If you like high-risk, high-reward casters with style, she’s your girl.
Blade
NetEase GamesDropping in the midseason update, Blade is a hybrid Flanker who shifts between sword and shotgun attacks.
His playstyle rewards aggression, letting players cut through backlines while healing off the damage with Blood Liberation. He’s built for flanking, dueling, and punishing overextending supports. With his long-awaited wakeup from Wakanda, he’s finally ready to hunt.
Resource Rumble game mode
A new Resource Rumble game mode, which will take place in the Throne of Knull map, has been announced to be arriving in the game on August 22, following the midseason update.
Devs have yet to share the exact details of how this game mode can be played at the time of writing. However, they mentioned that this will be rolled out in Quick Match to gain players’ feedback before implementing it in Competitive matches.
Anti Toxicity features
As a way to reduce toxic behavior, devs will be adding two big changes to the in-game communication feature.
- Voice chat will be automatically recorded by the system to “shield the community” from other players’ toxic behavior.
- Custom chat filters will let players mute specific words in the text chat.
Devs said the in-game voice chat will also be human-reviewed and that those who use inappropriate language will be penalized. As for the text chat filter, they’ve made it clear that they’ll monitor popular words, which could be added to a list.
Increased penalties in competitive play
Starting from Season 3.5, those who leave in the middle of ranked matches will be given increased penalties. These range from getting longer bans from playing competitive to larger point deductions.
On the other hand, players who stay during the match will receive point compensation if there’s a leaver in the team.
Starting from Season 3.5, those who leave in the middle of ranked matches will be given increased penalties. These range from getting longer bans from playing competitive to larger point deductions.
On the other hand, players who stay during the match will receive point compensation if there’s a leaver in the team.
Following these additions, the penalties will be handled accordingly, depending on the case.
New Team-Up abilities
As with most major updates, there’ll be new Team-Up abilities for several characters that replace the old ones. This also means that some of the existing Team Ups will be adjusted or removed as well. We’ve compiled the list below.
New Team-Ups
| Team-Up Ability | Heroes | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Duality Dance | Adam Warlock, Luna Snow | Luna Snow can now borrow Adam Warlock’s cosmic power to attach herself to nearby enemies, turning damage against them into healing for her. |
| Vibrant Vitality | Groot, Loki, Mantis | Mantis now grants Life Energy to Loki and Groot, allowing Loki’s lamps to boost nearby allies’ stats, and Groot’s walls to heal nearby allies. |
Changes to existing Team-Ups
- Chill Assault will include Iron Fist, Hawkeye, and Luna Snow
- Rocket Network will include Peni Parker, Rocket Raccoon, and Star-Lord
- Lunar Force will include Blade, Cloak and Dagger, and Moon Knight
- Ragnarok Rebirth will no longer include Loki, just Hela and Thor
Removed Team-Ups
| Team-Up Ability | Heroes | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Guardian Revival | Adam Warlock, Mantis | Adam Warlock enhances the rebirth power of Star-Lord and Mantis, granting them the power of cocooned revival. |
| Atlas Bond | Iron Fist, Luna Snow | Iron Fist channels his Chi of Iron Fist channels the Chi of Shou-Lao into Luna Snow, transforming her ice power into a Chi-infused frosty ring that radiates from her, launching up enemies with chilling damage and applies a slowing effect, while simultaneously healing her allies. |
Marvel Rivals roadmap
Given the difference in the duration of future seasons, assuming devs stick to their schedule without any delays, this will be the 2025 roadmap:
Season 1 – January 2025Season 2 – April 2025- Season 3 – July 2025
- Season 4 – September 2025
- Season 5 – November 2025
In the meantime, you can check out the best characters in the game as well as the best controller and PC settings to help you lock in.
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