Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 update: our coverage of the new season's launch as it happened
A new Strategist has joined the game
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is now live, adding in Ultron as a brand new Strategist. So far, two new events are available, giving players an extra mini-battle pass to work through, granting rewards like new skins for Storm, Mr Fantastic and Magneto.
Here you'll find my first impressions of Ultron and updated Heroes like Thor and Jeff the Land Shark. Now that downtime is over, Season 2.5 is in full swing and there's a new Convoy map to try out.
NetEase has now unveiled the next season of Marvel Rivals, revealing Ultron's kit, and a deep dive into the latest patch notes and balance changes. There's a new map to look at, too: the dark and mysterious lair of the villainous X-Tron. If my early impressions are correct, Season 2.5 seriously shakes up the meta in Competitive Mode, and will likely shift some Heroes around on my Marvel Rivals tier list.
Having covered last season's launch live, I'm looking forward to seeing how things pan out post-launch. Since Season 0, I've been playing hundreds of hours of Marvel Rivals, predominantly in Competitive Mode. Lately, I've been focusing on Luna Snow and Magneto as my mains, but will be busy putting more hours into Ultron to see whether or not he measures up in the emerging meta.
Here's the launch of Season 2.5 as it happened, with a look at the nerfs and buffs to each Hero, and some of my first impressions of the new season now that it's live. For now, let's take a look at what's been announced and what's changed in Marvel Rivals.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 - cut to the chase
Looking for a quick overview? Here are the most important parts of Season 2.5 to know about:
- Start time: May 30 at 5AM EDT / 2AM PDT / 10AM BST
- New Hero: Ultron
- New map: Hellfire Gala - Arakko
- Season event: Cerebro Database II
- Hero balancing
- New Rank Rewards: Golden Ultron
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 release time - OUT NOW
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 launched May 30 at 7AM EDT / 4AM PDT / 12AM BST.
Marvel Rivals Ultron
The main update in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is Ultron, who joins the game as a new Strategist. He's a flying character with a laser beam attack that has unlimited range. His abilities allow him to shield teammates, add drones to them to give further shield, and his Ultimate fires a series of blasts that heal teammates and damage enemies at the same time.
It looks like Ultron will have great synergy with other flying characters, and has a new Team Up with Iron-Man. We'll have to wait and see whether he'll be a viable pick alongside the likes of Luna Snow and Invisible Woman, but early signs are looking promising.
Marvel Rivals season 2.5 patch notes
NetEase has now released the full patch notes for Marvel Rivals Season 2.5. It outlines loads of bug fixes for Heroes like Black Panther and Emma Frost, while also giving some information on the new features coming to UI and customization. You can read the full patch notes here.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 new map
Hellfire Gala: Arakko is being added as a new map in Season 2.5. It's the lair of the villainous X-Tron, and features plenty of wicked machinery and robotic contraptions embedded in harsh, cold stone.
As you'd expect, it's a dark, cavernous place, with glowing red lights and a harsh, rock-led soundtrack. It'll be interesting to see how Arakko performs as a map in Competitive Mode, joining Krakoa as this season's new additions.
NetEase has released a new trailer for Arakko, which you can view above.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 ranked changes
There aren't too many changes to ranked play in Season 2.5, though there will be a new set of ranked rewards to earn, and a new Convoy map in Arakko.
The reward for reaching Gold Tier 3 by the end of the season is the Ultron - Golden Ultron skin, which we've yet to see. There's all-new Crests of Honor for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and Top 500 to earn as well. At present, there has been no announcement of a rank reset, though this is subject to change as we get closer to launch day.
As a freelance games writer, it's my job to stay up to date with the latest games, especially live service titles like Marvel Rivals. I've put hundreds of hours into Rivals since launch, primarily gaining Venom, who I now have a Lord rank. Generally, I play Competitive Mode with a regular squad, hovering around the top of the Platinum tier. So far, I've mostly stuck to the Vanguard and Strategist Roles, so I'm definitely excited to get my hands on Ultron. There's going to be buffs to Magneto and Doctor Strange as well, two characters I absolutely love to play as.
Marvel Rivals live coverage as it happened
And we’re off!
Welcome to TechRadar Gaming’s live coverage of Marvel Rivals Season 2.5. The major update is set to go live May 30, with downtime beginning at 5AM EDT / 2AM PDT / 10AM BST. I’ll be detailing all of the biggest changes coming to the game, including the addition of Ultron as a new Strategist. Let’s get started.
Ultron joins the roster
Ultron is the new Hero for Season 2.5, filling the role of Strategist. He’s the first new Strategist since Invisible Woman, and looks set to be a very different kind of character. He can fly, for one, meaning he’s going to be difficult for certain dive characters, like Captain America, to attack. He can boost up into the air when cornered, and even attack at distance with a laser beam.
Downtime will last “2-3 hours”
🛠️ Patch 20250530 is on the way, Rivals! Check out all the details and tweaks we’re implementing as we head into Season 2.5 >> https://t.co/BuoVLCEI81 🕑 The patch will be implemented on May 30 at 2 AM PDT, and maintenance is expected to take approximately 2–3 hours. - Please… pic.twitter.com/YPbkqdcRY6May 23, 2025
As you can see in the Tweet above, downtime will last “2-3 hours” before Season 2.5 goes live. During downtime, you won’t be able to access the game, but worry not, I’ll be keeping this blog going, digging deep into upcoming Hero changes.
Looking back at Season 2
Like many, I’ve struggled a bit this season, ending up unable to climb out of Platinum rank. Dive characters have gotten extremely difficult to counter, especially Iron Fist and Spider-Man. It’s no wonder that the latter is banned in basically every ranked game you play these days. Hopefully, buffs to Vanguards, and a rework of DPS viability will balance things out. From the looks of the upcoming changes, the developers are making all the right calls.
Big changes to Team Ups incoming
There’s a whole host of Team Ups being removed from Marvel Rivals as part of Season 2.5. Chilling Charisma (Luna Snow, Jeff the Land Shark), Symbiote Bond (Venom, Spider-Man, Peni Parker), Ammo Overload (The Punisher, Rocket Raccoon), and Allied Agents (Hawkeye, Black Widow) are all being taken out, to make room for new Team Ups. More on those later.
A new event will launch alongside the new season
Cerebro Database II is the new event that’ll go live with Season 2.5. It’ll allow you to earn an awesome Hawkeye skin, though you’ll likely need to complete a set of challenges to get it.
Cap is getting a nerf
Captain America leads Season 2.5’s nerfs, with hits to his survivability. His base health is going from 600 to 575, while an increase to the energy cost of Freedom Charge (Ultimate Ability) from 2800 to 3100 will apply. Finally, there will be an increase for the delay of shield recovery from 2s to 4s after unleashing Living Legend.
Character reveal trailer for Ultron
There’s a full character reveal trailer available for Ultron, showing off his abilities and playstyle. Interestingly, it looks like he puts out some serious damage at range.
A brief break for me
I’m heading off now for a break. I’ll be back at 12PM ET / 9AM PT / 5PM BST to continue my coverage of Season 2.5’s launch. By that time, I'll have gotten some early access time with Ultron in the Practice Range. Stay tuned for my first impressions!
And I’m back
Now that I’m back from my break, let’s take a closer look at Ultron. He’s part of a new Team Up called Stark Protocol with, you guessed it, Iron Man. Ultron is able to fire powerful uni-beam attacks that pierce through enemies and teammates. Enemies will take serious damage, while allies will be healed. I just tested this out in the Practice Range and it's a serious upgrade to Ultron's standard kit. Probably worth having an Iron Man with you, then.
New skins for Magneto, Mr Fantastic, and more
An event called Combat Chest will go live with Season 2.5. It has a free track that’ll grant rewards like Sprays, and a Premium track that features new skins for characters like Magneto and Mr Fantastic. As a main of both, I’m very excited indeed.
When does Marvel Rivals Season 2 end?
Marvel Rivals Season 2 ends on May 30 UTC. This is listed on NetEase socials as 5AM ET / 2AM PT / 10AM BST. At this point, servers will go down and you won’t be able to play the game. The good news is that the main Battle Pass carries over, so you’ll still have plenty of time to earn its rewards.
Psylocke takes a hit
Psylocke is getting a nerf to her Shuriken attacks, which will now do 12 damage per hit (down from 14) upon retrieval. Her Invisibility ability now only lasts 2 seconds instead of 3. This will have an impact on how careful players will need to be when going in for the kill, as there's less time for a cloaked escape.
That’s all for today
And that concludes my Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 live blog for the day. Expect me back online at 3AM ET / 12AM PT / 8AM BST to continue things. I’ll be discussing the new update in the hours before downtime kicks in, and giving my advice on how to make the best use of Ultron.
Launch day is here
Happy launch day! Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 should be here in just four hours, allowing players to finally get their hands on Ultron. In the lead up to downtime, I’ll be detailing some more of the key changes that are set to arrive later today. Let’s get started.
I’ve played the new season
Thanks to NetEase having provided TechRadar early access to Season 2.5, I’ve played a couple of hours of the new season. I’ve primarily spent my time with Thor and Jeff, who have been changed significantly. Thor’s hammer is a more viable attack, and Jeff’s primary attack now damages opponents. I’ve also jumped into some matches with Ultron, who is extremely effective as a third Strategist in a three Strategist composition.
Hawkeye is getting another buff, and a new Team Up
Hawkeye has been feeling really great this season, making it somewhat unexpected that he’s getting yet another buff. Regardless, the base damage of his arrows is going from 32 to 34, there’s an increase to the projectile damage of Blast Arrow from 15 to 16, and his focus is being increased. There’s a new Team Up with Luna Snow too, granting Clint an Ice Arrow that can slow or stun enemies.
A new convoy map
There’s a brand new Convoy map set to arrive later today. It’s called Arakko, and is a sort of robot prison/lair for the all-powerful X-Tron. It looks appropriately menacing, with glowing red beams of light and giant mechanical creatures chained up against the walls.
Full patch notes have dropped
NetEase has now revealed the full patch notes for today’s update. It adds bubble emotes, Lord icons in the character select screen, as well as Moods, which add a new visual element to your nameplate. Read the full patch notes here.
Bad news for Groot mains
Groot is getting a nerf in Season 2.5, with Vine Strike damage reducing overall. The cooldown for Ironwood Wall is going from 8 seconds up to 12 seconds. Ouch. To be fair, Groot is often banned in Competitive Mode matches at present, so maybe he needed some balancing.
When does downtime start?
Downtime for Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 will kick off at 5AM ET / 2AM PT / 10AM BST. At this time, the servers will go down, and the game will be unplayable. Season 2 will officially be over, and some events, like Hellfire Gala: Moments will end as well.
How long will Marvel Rivals be offline?
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 downtime is expected to last “2-3 hours” according to NetEase. Hopefully it’ll be on the shorter end of things, meaning the game should come back online at 7AM ET / 4AM PT / 12PM BST.
Half an hour to go
Downtime will trigger in just 30 minutes. There’s time for just one more match, so make it count! Make sure to redeem any event awards you have outstanding as well.
How to make the most of Season 2
Thankfully, the current Battle Pass will continue forward into Season 2.5, but there are some things that’ll end once downtime starts. The Hellfire Gala: Moments event is scheduled to end later today, so you’ll want to work through that in the last few hours if you can. You get the Patch costume for Wolverine as a final reward, and there’s plenty of Chrono Tokens to earn as well.
Just 10 minutes until downtime
Last call for Season 2 players. If you jump into a game now you should be allowed to finish up before being kicked from the servers. At least that's how things worked last time.
Downtime has started
Marvel Rivals is now offline. It should be back up in around 2 hours. I’ll be sure to keep you updated.
No more Gamma upgrade for Iron Man
Iron Man is being removed from the Hulk Gamma Overload Team Up, as he’s now in a Team Up with Ultron. Namor will still have superpowered gamma squid turrets however. Sorry Spider-Man mains.
Marvel Rivals Login Error
We expect Marvel Rivals to be offline for just over an hour. Once it’s back, I’ll be giving my early impressions of the season, jumping into a few Quick Matches as Ultron, Thor and Jeff the Land Shark. At present, logging in shows the error message shown above. Don't worry, this just means that the servers are undergoing maintenance.
Peni Parker could be a contender in Season 2.5
I’ve been busy testing out Peni Parker’s new Team Up with Rocket in the Practice Range. She’s able to have two nests placed at once, covering a huge area with mines. This could make Domination objectives a lot easier to defend, especially given that Rocket’s revive beacon also gets spider mines as part of the Team Up.
What to do first once Season 2.5 launches
I recommend taking a look at the Combat Chest, and Cerebro Database II events as soon as Season 2.5 launches. You can then pick the right Heroes to clear challenges and earn Chrono Tokens. There’s some free skins up for grabs here too, so make the most of your first few hours.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 update file has gone live on PS5
I just received a notification on PS5 that Marvel Rivals has a new update to download. It was just over 7GB, so make sure to check on your platform of choice whether or not it's available for you yet.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 could launch any minute
According to estimates given by NetEase, we can expect Marvel Rivals to come back online any minute. At most, it’ll be another hour of downtime. I’ll update as soon as I’m able to get back into the game.
Still down for me
It's now 7AM ET / 4AM PT and 12PM BST, and Marvel Rivals is still down. Given that it's now been two hours of downtime, I expect the game to go back online at some point in the next hour. I'll keep trying to get in, and will update once I do.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is live!
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is now live, and I've just received my Gold rank reward. It's the Golden Diamond skin for Emma Frost.
Premium Combat Chest costs 690 Lattice
You can now work away at the Combat Chest, though be aware that the rewards marked "Premium" can only be unlocked by purchasing the Premium Combat Chest for 690 Lattice. It's essentially a mini Battle Pass, and contains new skins for Magneto, Storm and Mr Fantastic.
Check out the Cerebro Database II event for some easy early unlocks
The Cerebro Database II event is now live, and focuses on Iron Man and Ultron. You'll unlock two tiles easily, one for reading some new Iron Man lore, and one for just opening the challenge menu. Easy!
You'll get some Mood icons by completing Combat Chest objectives
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 adds the new Mood system. They're essentially emoticons that hang out on your Nameplate. Currently, there's a set of Jeff-themed Moods that can be purchased in the Store, and a Galacta set that's unlocked in the Combat Chest.
Thor is feeling very different
Thor has been reworked as part of Season 2.5, and he's feeling very different. His Hammer Throw no longer costs Thorforce to activate, meaning it's a much more viable skill. It restores Thorforce on hit, and when chained with Mjolnir Bash, you can stay in Awakening Rune for much longer.
Early thoughts on Ultron
After playing a few matches as Ultron, it's clear that he functions best as a third Strategist in teams of three healers. His drones are great, though you'll want to be cycling them to different teammates based on the situation you're in. You can animation cancel his reload by moving the drone, or by hitting melee when the reload wheel is at about half charge. His Ultimate should used primarily to heal teammates, as it doesn't deal all that much damage.
Jeff the Land Shark's new changes
Jeff the Land Shark has been reworked this season, with the biggest change being that his primary fire now heals allies and damages enemies. You can shoot through an ally to heal them, while at the same time hitting an enemy in the line if fire. His secondary fire now has a cooldown, and only three can be fired off at a time. Generally, Jeff's DPS prowess has been nerfed a little, but he should be a great healer, and his new Team Up with Storm is very fun to pull off.
Storm's Ultimate should hit harder
Storm has received a buff this season. Her Ultimate now does more damage per second, meaning it should hit harder. There's also the new Jeff-nado Team Up. By triggering Storm and Jeff's Ultimate near each other, they'll combine, drawing in enemies and dealing sustained damage. Jeff then swallows enemies, and can spit them out or hold onto them as usual.
New Achievements for playing as Ultron
If you check the Achievements tab in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5, you'll find new challenges to take on. These are primarily focused around new Team Ups, and Ultron. One of them tasks you with taking down members of the Avengers 10 times while playing as Ultron.
Rocket now does less healing per Repair Mode shot
Rocket Raccoon has taken a slight hit to his healing ability, with Repair Mode now giving 50 health per hit, down from 55. The Ammo Overload Team Up with The Punisher is gone now as well, with a new Team Up with Peni Parker taking its place.
Venom and Jeff join forces
Venom and Jeff have a new Team Up called Symbiote Shenanigans. It links Venom's tendrils to Jeff, and then onto nearby allies. Healing is dealt out to teammates, and a final burst of healing is delivered once the ability ends.
Galacta's Gift is still live, with a Costume Coin reward
Galacta's Gift has carried over between the last season and the new one. The final reward grants a Costume Coin which lets you pick a free skin from a small selection.
Black Widow gets a new Team Up
Black Widow now teams up with The Punisher, getting an ammo type that pierces through enemies. Line up your shots and you can damage multiple enemies at once.
Hela is a great Ultron counter
Given that Ultron is currently being picked by players in most matches, and Iron Man being brought in with him, Hela is a great counter pick. She can dispatch fliers easily, especially Ultron, Storm and Human Torch, who all move relatively slowly.
Hawkeye Binary Arrow skin preview
If you head into the Cerebro Database II event page, you're able to preview a new skin for Hawkeye. The Binary Arrow skin is the main reward for completing all four sections. The next section unlocks in just over three days, and looks to focus on Black Widow.
That's a wrap!
And so ends my live coverage of Marvel Rivals Season 2.5's launch. I've now gotten some time in as Ultron, even securing an MVP in my last game. I've also started chipping away at the Combat Chest, unlocking new emotes for Emma Frost and Storm. I'll be back for Season 3, but until then, good luck in your first few games of the new season!