With two new characters, a map, a battle pass, and a boatload of fresh skins, Season 2: Hellfire Gala has been a treat. But things are only just heating up from here, as Marvel Rivals Season 3: The Abyss Awakens is right around the corner, and the pace of new content is picking up dramatically from here onwards.
Below, I'll go over everything there is to know about Marvel Rivals Season 3 now that it's officially been revealed by NetEase, including the release date and the latest news on new heroes and other content arriving in the next major update.
Marvel Rivals Season 3 release date and time
Marvel Rivals Season 3: The Abyss Awakens launches on Friday, July 11, 2025, after server downtime beginning at 2 am PDT / 5 am EST / 10 am BST, which is expected to last two to three hours. This coincides with the end of Season 2, but keep in mind that the battle pass will still be available if you've purchased it.
The mid-season update, Season 3.5, launches on or around Friday, August 8, 2025, one month after the first half of the update. If this sounds sooner than usual, then you're right: starting with Season 3, the update schedule will be much more rapid. Each season will now last two months instead of three, with at least one new hero (and potentially maps) launching every single month–one with the debut of a season, and one in the mid-season update.
If you've been keeping up with the game's lore and story (which isn't easy), then you'll know that Knull is being hyped up, and Blade–originally teased in a gallery card back in Season 1–has woken up. With the new trailer now out, we're officially picking up these plot points as Season 3's story focuses on Knull corrupting our heroes.
Marvel Rivals Season 3 new heroes
The Marvel Rivals Season 3 characters are Phoenix and Blade. While the former is already confirmed to be a Duelist, everyone's favourite vampire hunter, Blade, is also expected to be a Duelist—a controversial choice if correct, due to an already bloated DPS roster compared to the other two classes.
Marvel Rivals Phoenix release date and abilities
Phoenix releases alongside the launch of Season 3 on Friday, July 11, as the first hero of the update.
Phoenix, also known as Jean Grey, has been teased throughout Season 2 and was dug up in various leaks before the game's release back in December 2024. Finally, this anticipated hero is officially joining the roster.
Phoenix is a ranged DPS hero who specialises in disrupting team formations through chain reaction mechanics, similar to Moon Knight, but her full ability kit is yet to be revealed.
Here are Phoenix's abilities:
Name/Type |
Input |
Description |
|---|---|---|
Cosmic Flames |
Left click |
A ranged attack that deals moderate damage. Each hit adds a stack of Spark to the target, which causes them to explode once at three stacks, dealing AoE damage that applies a Spark stack to other enemies in the blast radius and gives Phoenix healing over time. Critical hits apply two Sparks. |
Telepathic Illusion |
Shift |
Instantly teleport in any direction and leave behind an illusion that explodes to apply one Spark stack to any enemy in the blast. |
Dark Ascent |
E |
Jean Grey merges with Phoenix, gaining free flight for a short duration with bonus movement speed and ammo regeneration. This ability has a resource, meaning it can be used so long as the meter has enough charge. |
Telekenesis Burst |
Right click |
Unleashes a volley of fiery blasts. The first attack stuns enemies, while the second two inflict slows on the target. Enemies hit by this attack gain one Spark stack. |
Endsong Inferno |
Q |
Phoenix leaps into the air before crashing down onto a target area, dealing moderate damage to enemies in the blast and applying one Spark stack to each target. This attack also creates a shockwave that destroys enemy summons, shields, and removes bonus health. |
Mind's Grace team-up ability |
N/A (Wolverine gains the benefits) |
Wolverine gains the Phoenix Force. When he activates Feral Leap (renamed to Phoenix Warrior), it will burn nearby enemies over time for a percentage of their health, and add lifesteal to all of his attacks. |
Marvel Rivals Blade release date and abilities
Blade has been teased in every season so far, and now that he's finally woken up in Wakanda at the end of Season 2, the vampiric vampire hunter is making his long-awaited grand debut in Season 3. Blade is the second hero of the update, coming with Season 3.5, estimated to land on Friday, August 8, 2025.
Since Blade has been the biggest bait and switch imaginable, I was half expecting NetEase to delay his arrival once again just for shits and giggles, especially as Captain Marvel has also been dig up in recent leaks of potential new Marvel Rivals characters.
Here are some of Blade's leaked abilities:
- Blade Chopper (primary attack): Use Dracula's Sword to slash in front of you, inflicting damage to the enemy you hit.
- Hunting Gun (primary attack): Use a hunting shotgun to fire a long-range explosive fragmentation round that delivers a large amount of shrapnel at the point of detonation.
- Damage Block (alternate attack): Use Dracula's Sword to set up a sword stance that reduces damage from in front of you.
- Ultimate: After building up your strength for a short period of time, you quickly unsheathe your sword and charge forward, while releasing a powerful chop and leaving Dracula's sword frantically chopping the area behind you.
- Step and Chop (ability): Sprint forward. If wielding a gun, shoot an enemy and apply reduced healing; if wielding a sword, slash an enemy and apply reduced movement speed.
- Blood Liberation (ability): Activate vampiric bloodline. All blood becomes Dracula's blood, gaining stronger senses. You can't be healed at this time, but you can restore Dracula's blood by inflicting damage.
Marvel Rivals Season 3 battle pass and skins
Of course, a new Marvel Rivals Season wouldn't be complete without heaps and heaps of new costumes, and Season 3 is no exception. The following characters will have new skins with the launch of Season 3, with ten new costumes coming in the Power of the Phoenix battle pass:
- Squirrel Girl: Symbiote Squirrel (battle pass)
- Black Panther: Golden Panther (battle pass)
- Wolverine: Weapon Phoenix (battle pass)
- Groot: Symbiote Flora (battle pass)
- Namor: Phoenix King (battle pass)
- Adam Warlock: King in White (battle pass)
- Spider-Man: Black Suit (battle pass)
- Emma Frost: Phoenix Diamond (battle pass)
- Rocket Raccoon: Symbiote Raccoon (battle pass)
- Jeff the Land Shark: Devouring Duo (battle pass)
- Phoenix: Chaos Phoenix (store)
- Storm: Symbiote Storm (Milano Repair Logs event)
Ten costumes are available in the Season 3 battle pass, Power of the Phoenix, and you might be worried about finishing it in time now that seasons are only two months long. Don't worry though, to accommodate shorter seasons, we'll be earning more Chrono Tokens from now on, so it should wind up feeling about the same as it is right now.
Marvel Rivals Season 3 patch notes
The Marvel Rivals Season 3 patch notes are quite extensive, and I've covered them separately, but I'll give a quick rundown of the winners and losers of the update. And there's some pretty interesting additions planned. For example, The Thing is gaining a new ability that can counter flying characters, while Scarlet Witch's ult is being buffed for what feels like the millionth time.
Marvel Rivals Season 3 team-up abilities
Team-up |
Heroes |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
Primal Flame (New) |
Phoenix + Wolverine |
Wolverine gains the Phoenix Force. When he activates Feral Leap, it will burn nearby enemies over time, and adds lifesteal to all of his attacks. |
Ever-Burning Bond (New) |
Human Torch + Spider-Man |
Spider-Man unlocks a new ability to shoot a flaming web, which deals area damage and applies a burning tracer. Activating this tracer deals bonus fire damage. |
Stark Protocol (Tweaked) |
Iron Man + Ultron/Squirrel Girl |
Squirrel Girl joins this team-up. Squirrel Girl can throw a homing bomb that explodes on impact. |
Symbiote Shenanigans (Tweaked) |
Venom + Jeff the Landshark/Hela |
Hela joins this team-up. Symbiotes increase the range of Hela's sphere ability, pulling enemies in, dealing damage, and slowing them down. |
ESU Alumnus (Retired) |
Spider-Man + Squirrel Girl |
Let's Squirrel Girl throw a web bomb to ensnare enemies. |
Storming Ignition (Retired) |
Storm + Human Torch |
Both heroes' ultimates can be combined to create a flaming tornado. |
Those who like some consistency in their lives can take a big sigh of relief, as Season 3's team-up changes are way less drastic than Season 2 and 2.5. Only two team-ups are being retired.
