A new season is deploying in Marvel Rivals with the launch of Season 5, which naturally comes alongside a fresh balance patch with buffs and nerfs, and we’ve got all the details.
Season 5 in Marvel Rivals features all the tweaks we’ve come to expect with the seasonal transition of the title, including a shake-up to Team-Up Abilities, and tweaks are made to specific heroes to ensure they all remain viable.
For a breakdown of all the buffs and nerfs present in Marvel Rivals for the Season 5 launch, we’ve got all the information you need.
All Marvel Rivals Season 5 Buffs & Nerfs
Season 5 sees potentially the biggest balance changes of all, and remarkably, there’s not a single nerf at launch. Instead, a host of characters are receiving buffs.
For Vanguards, stand-out changes include Peni Parker’s Cuber-Webs now providing the same Healing Over Time and Movement Boost to ally players as she receives, while Magneto’s Metal Bulwark and Iron Bulwark have had their cooldowns seperated, although the shield value is reduced from 250 to 200.
In the DPS scene, Mister Fantastic’s Bonus Health has been tweaked to provide an addition of 350 Maximum Health and a one-time heal of 350, which is removed upon exiting his inflated state, while Squirrel Girl’s Burst Acorn damage has been increased to 110 from 100.
Finally, two Strategists have seen their base health increased, with Cloak & Dagger and Loki receiving the boost, while Invisible Woman can now deploy a shield in front of her.
Here’s a full list of all the characters affected with buffs and nerfs in Season 5.
Buffs
- Angela
- Peni Parker
- Magneto
- Captain America
- Groot
- Hulk
- The Thing
- Hawkeye
- Phoenix
- Mister Fantastic
- Storm
- Spider-Man
- The Punisher
- Wolverine
- Adam Warlock
- Cloak & Dagger
- Invisible Woman
- Loki
- Rocket Raccoon
Nerfs
- None
Full Marvel Rivals Version 20251114 Season 5 Balance Post Patch Notes
Take a look at the full details of the latest balance patch below, as shared on the official Marvel Rivals website.
Angela
The Hand of Heven sharpens her edge, bringing even (slightly) greater threat to the battlefield.
– Increase Movement Speed of Assassin’s Charge accelerated dash state from 16m/s to 18m/s.
– Increase Heven’s Retribution (Ultimate Ability) spear Health from 600 to 800.
Captain America
Steve Rogers steps up as the ultimate team player!
– Freedom Charge (Ultimate Ability) New Effect: Allies within its path gain a 30% boost to Ultimate Energy charge efficiency.
Groot
The gentle giant gets tougher!
– Ironwood Wall New Effect: Gain Unstoppable status when within 15m of Awakened Ironwood Walls.
Hulk
The Green Goliath’s protection game goes gamma!
– Gamma Burst New Effect: Each direct hit reduces Indestructible Guard cooldown by 1s.
Magneto
Max amplifies his shielding frequency for both self and allies.
– Separate the cooldowns of Metal Bulwark and Iron Bulwark. Now, activating one won’t send the other on cooldown.
– Reduce Metal Bulwark and Iron Bulwark shield value from 250 to 200.
Peni Parker
SP//dr’s pilot takes teamwork to the next level!
– Allies in Peni’s Cyber-Webs now receive the same Healing Over Time and a Movement Boost effects as her. Movement Boost for allies is 25%, Healing is 15/s. Ally excess healing converts into Bonus Health, up to 25.
The Thing
Ben Grimm doubles down on defense and offense.
– Embattled Leap: Remove Damage Reduction from single leap target, now grants 20% Damage Reduction to all allies within 5m of his landing point. Reduce Damage Reduction to self from 25% to 20%.
– Battle Blitz: Remove Damage Reduction from self. Now applies 20% Vulnerability to all enemies within 5m of his landing point.
– Reduce Stone Haymaker base Damage from 90 to 55 and remove 50 Bonus Health gained during ability activation. New Effects: Deal bonus Damage equal to 8% of enemies’ max Health per hit. Gain Bonus Health equal to damage dealt (up to 100).
DUELIST
Hawkeye
Clint’s precision packs a slightly bigger punch!
– Increase Archer’s Focus maximum Bonus Damage from 75 to 90.
Mister Fantastic
Reed Richards gets even stretchier and tougher.
– Reflexive Rubber can now be used during Inflated state after reaching 100 Elasticity.
– Remove the 350 Bonus Health on entering Inflated state; now gain 350 Maximum Health and a one-time heal of 350, which is removed upon exiting the Inflated state.
Phoenix
Jean Grey’s cosmic fire burns brighter:
– Adjust Cosmic Flames maximum falloff at 30m from 60% to 75%.
Spider-Man
Peter Parker’s web-slinging offense gets a slight lift.
– Reduce Web-Cluster energize time from 2.5s to 2s.
– Increase Amazing Combo Damage from 60 to 70.
Squirrel Girl
Doreen’s nutty offense gets a boost.
– Increase Burst Acorn Damage from 100 to 110.
Storm
Ororo empowers her allies with even greater force.
– Increase Weather Control – Thunder’s Damage Boost to allies from 10% to 12%.
– Increase Goddess Boost – Thunder’s Damage Boost to allies from 12% to 15%.
The Punisher
Frank Castle loses his Team-Up Anchor bonus, but gains raw power.
– Increase base health from 275 to 300.
– Adjust Adjudication maximum falloff at 40m from 70% to 85%.
– Increase pellets fired per Deliverance round from 14 to 16.
Wolverine
Logan’s claws get deadlier, especially against Vanguards.
– Increase Savage Claw’s Percentage Damage for each point of Rage from 0.045% to 0.057%.
– Increase Vicious Rampage’s Percentage Damage for each point of Rage from 0.045% to 0.057%.
– Reduce Feral Leap cooldown from 15s to 12s.
STRATEGIST
Adam Warlock
Adam’s cosmic control and ultimate impact are enhanced.
– Increase soul flight speed from 6m/s to 12m/s.
– Reduce Karmic Revival (Ultimate Ability) Energy cost from 4700 to 4500 and increase ally detection radius from 30m to 35m.
Cloak & Dagger
The dynamic duo’s durability increases.
– Increase base health from 250 to 275.
Invisible Woman
Susan Storm’s power and survivability are up.
– Increase Orb Projection hit damage from 25 to 30; projectile maximum range from 30m to 35m, and projectile speed from 120m/s to 150m/s.
– Increase Force Physics length from 30m to 35m.
– Guardian Shield New Effect: If no Guardian Shield is present, pressing the recall key now deploys a shield in front of Invisible Woman.
Loki
The Trickster God gets trickier and tougher.
– Increase base health from 250 to 275.
– Adjust Mystical Missile’s damage falloff at 3m from 50% to 80%. New Effect: Now heals directly hit allies for an extra 10 Health.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket’s support and firepower are slightly tuned up.
– Reduce B.R.B. cooldown from 45s to 40s.
– Increase Repair Mode maximum count from 5 to 7 and projectile speed from 60m/s to 80m/s.
– Increase Bombard Mode Projectile Speed from 150m/s to 180m/s.
Are there any characters that should have been nerfed for the start of Season 5 in Marvel Rivals? Let us know your thoughts in the Insider Gaming Discord.
For more Marvel Rivals, take a look at all the Twitch Drops available to earn in Season 5, and find out when Rogue is releasing in the game.
