Marvel Rivals: All Season 3 Buffs & Nerfs Explained

With the arrival of Season 3 of Marvel Rivals comes another major balance patch for the game, buffing some characters while nerfing others who have proven too dominant in various team comps. Reducing the strength of some heroes can reshape team identities, creating fresh synergies between iconic Marvel characters. On the other hand, toning down the power of some heroes can make them more balanced in their role.

Alongside the many Team-Ups added in Season 3, some character synergies are being removed altogether when the season drops on July 11, 2025. New characters are being added to existing Team-Ups as well, creating new hero pairings that haven’t been present before. However, balance changes will come to both unchanged Team-Ups and individual characters, reworking what has been known from past seasons.

Every Season 3 Character Buff

New Ability Properties And Better Ultimates For Different Heroes

Several characters will be receiving buffs in Season 3, with many designed to combat the evolving “meta” of flying characters in Season 2.5. Some Strategists will gain better healing output, while multiple Duelists will be granted higher damage to their attacks. However, one of the best changes comes to one character whose normal abilities have been reworked to counter their worst match-ups.

Marvel Rivals lunar new year Moon Knight skin doing MVP animation

With Season 3 Right Around The Corner, I’m Worried Marvel Rivals Might Buff One Character Too Much

The upcoming Season 3 for Marvel Rivals will introduce more balance changes, but a recent patch has me worried about one hero getting too strong.

The table below goes over every character buff in Season 3, including what role they play on a team:

Character	Role	Buffs
Emma Frost	Vanguard	Reduced the energy cost of Psionic Seduction (Ultimate)
The Thing	Vanguard	Gains new ability Battle Blitz Stone Haymaker ability now knocks down hit flying enemies
Venom	Vanguard	Increased Cellular Corrosion enemy slow effect
Namor	Duelist	Increased Trident of Neptune projectile damage and speed Increase Wrath of the Seven Seas projectile speed
Scarlet Witch	Duelist	Reduce max slow rate of Reality Erasure (Ultimate) charge period Increased damage of Reality Erasure (Ultimate)

Character

Role

Buffs

Emma Frost

Vanguard

Reduced the energy cost of Psionic Seduction (Ultimate)

The Thing

Vanguard

Gains new ability Battle Blitz
Stone Haymaker ability now knocks down hit flying enemies

Venom

Vanguard

Increased Cellular Corrosion enemy slow effect

Namor

Duelist

Increased Trident of Neptune projectile damage and speed
Increase Wrath of the Seven Seas projectile speed

Scarlet Witch

Duelist

Reduce max slow rate of Reality Erasure (Ultimate) charge period
Increased damage of Reality Erasure (Ultimate)

Character

Role

Buffs

Spider-Man

Duelist

Increased “Get Over Here!” kick damage when pulled to enemies
Increased Spider-Power ability midair damage
Increased Amazing Combo ability damage

Winter Soldier

Duelist

Adjusted Roterstern ability damage falloff maximum

Invisible Woman

Strategist

Increased Orb Projection ability healing on launch

Mantis

Strategist

Healing Flower ability now has a new AoE healing effect
Increased Bonus Max Health from Soul Resurgence (Ultimate)

Without a doubt, the most impactful buff from these changes is the new ability given to The Thing, Battle Blitz. Battle Blitz is a new ability for The Thing that allows him to jump towards enemies within 20m, gaining 25% Damage Reduction upon landing, similar to his pre-existing ability that only lets him jump to allies. This ability allows The Thing in Marvel Rivals to close the distance against flying enemies before smacking them with a mean right hook.

Every Season 3 Character Nerf

Much-Needed Balancing For Several Prominent Meta Picks

Marvel Rivals Ultron about to take Cerebro at end of Krakoa map win screen

There are far more nerfs than buffs in Season 3, but this is a sign of strong developer feedback regarding the state of game balance in the late stages of Season 2. Some characters who got buffs also gained a nerf or two, emphasizing the Marvel Rivals team’s focus on making sure heroes don’t always feel required for a strong team comp.

Despite many characters getting nerfs in Season 3, they may still end up being very strong in any team due to the innate strengths of their abilities. For example, Emma Frost is getting balanced again this season, but she will still have strong ways to counter dive heroes regardless.

Below, you can find a table showcasing all the character nerfs that will go live once Season 3 drops:

Character

Role

Nerfs

Emma Frost

Vanguard

Reduced Telepathic Pulse ability damage
Reduced Diamond Form damage restriction value

The Human Torch

Duelist

Reduced Fire Cluster ability damage per projectile
Reduced Supernova (Ultimate) activation shockwave damage
Reduced Supernova (Ultimate) Fire Tornado damage over time

Iron Man

Duelist

Reduced the first two Repulsor Blast hits while in Armor Overdrive
Increased energy cost of Invincible Pulse Cannon (Ultimate)

Mister Fantastic

Duelist

Reduced Inflated state Bonus Health amount

Character

Role

Nerfs

The Punisher

Duelist

Reduced Culling Turret projectile damage
Decreased the spell field damage from Culling Turret
Increased energy cost of Final Judgement (Ultimate)

Wolverine

Duelist

Increased Feral Leap Strike duration
Increased Feral Leap cooldown from 12 seconds to 15

Loki

Strategist

Increased the energy cost of God of Mischief (Ultimate)

Mantis

Strategist

Reduced base healing of Healing Flower ability
Increased energy cost of Soul Resurgence (Ultimate)

Ultron

Strategist

Reduced Dynamic Flight acceleration effect time
Reduced Imperative: Firewall Bonus Health to self
Reduced Imperative: Firewall Bonus Health to allies

One of the characters hit the hardest by nerfs in Season 3 is Ultron in Marvel Rivals, who shifted the balance of the game when he was released. Ultron had unique survivability for a Strategist, being hard to hit as a flying character with multiple abilities to grant him Bonus Health to flee bad situations. Now, Ultron has fewer ways to last longer in fights, making him rely on his team more and play more carefully.

Another nerf I’m very excited to see is the increased cooldown on Wolverine’s Feral Leap ability. This ability has allowed Wolverine to kidnap Vanguard players like myself often, leading my character to an enemy backline to be shredded by adamantium claws. With a powerful Team-Up with the new character Phoenix incoming to Wolverine in Season 3, I’m glad this nerf will make that ability less threatening.

Every Season 3 Team-Up Balance Change

Several Character Synergies Have Less Potency

With the inclusion of two new Team-Up abilities in Season 3, two others are gaining additional heroes. To follow this trend, two Team-Up abilities are undergoing balance changes, slightly impacting how character synergies work. Thankfully, these don’t involve removing characters from a Team-Up or retiring it altogether, but rather adjusting cooldowns or other stats to make them more in line with other combination abilities.

Underrated Marvel Villain Is Finally Getting A Big Game Role, But Don’t Celebrate Just Yet

The major villain of Marvel Rivals Season 3 has been revealed, but will they be just a character in the background or someone added to the roster?

The table below shows the Season 3 Team-Up balance adjustments, as well as what characters they affect:

Team-Up	Characters	Buff or Nerf?	Description
Guardian Revival	Adam Warlock/Mantis/Star-Lord	Nerf	Increases Leader’s Soul and Nature’s Soul ability cooldowns from 120 seconds to 135.
Symbiote Shenanigans	Venom/Jeff the Land Shark	Nerf	Increases Guardian of the Deep maximum Bonus Health from 50 to 100, while also increasing the max tendril link period from 3 seconds to 5.

Team-Up

Characters

Buff or Nerf?

Description

Guardian Revival

Adam Warlock/Mantis/Star-Lord

Nerf

Increases Leader’s Soul and Nature’s Soul ability cooldowns from 120 seconds to 135.

Symbiote Shenanigans

Venom/Jeff the Land Shark

Nerf

Increases Guardian of the Deep maximum Bonus Health from 50 to 100, while also increasing the max tendril link period from 3 seconds to 5.

With Hela being added to Symbiote Shenanigans this season, it makes sense that its potency would be slightly reduced. The recovery of Mantis and Star-Lord from elimination using a cacoon from Adam Warlock was one of the strongest Team-Ups in the game, so its nerf is long overdue.

Every balance change is sure to mix up what characters are strongest in particular team comps, especially when Phoenix and Blade are released as new characters. Season 3 is sure to have a fresh meta created in Marvel Rivals as it continues, or old ones resurface depending on how players adapt to the modifications their favorite heroes get.