Marvel Rivals: 6 heroes worth exploring in season 2

Seasonal patches in Marvel Rivals noticeably rebuild the meta, redistributing power between characters. With each patch, characters gain or lose abilities that affect their effectiveness in combat – and if you want to feel confident in matches, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with those who have become particularly powerful in the new season.

Season 2 features not only the glamorous Hellfire Gala, where your favorite characters make an appearance, but also a full-scale Altron attack on Krakoa, a living island that’s become a haven for mutants. Players will go into battle and prove their strength on the battlefield, not the dance floor.

Why it’s important to be flexible in your choice of heroes

Unlike many other PvP games, Marvel Rivals requires not so much the ability to shoot accurately, but the ability to adapt to the situation, support your team and use your character’s abilities wisely. The ability to switch roles and adjust to your team is often more important than individual reactions. So even if you have a favorite hero, it’s worth learning a few additional ones to suit different situations.

If you’re looking to boost your rankings and play to your strengths, the following heroes are worth checking out this season – they’ve received some powerful upgrades and are particularly good in team play.

Peni Parker is now more mobile, more survivable and more dangerous

Peni was previously only effective in defensive scenarios – her large hitbox and slow mobility made her an easy target for heroes like the Punisher or Hela. However, the developers have improved her abilities considerably: she can now fire her main weapon with reduced speed loss (20% vs. 40%) and has received a 100 health boost, bringing her total health to 750 HP.

Most importantly, her main fire can now deal critical hits, making accurate play for her extremely impactful. With increased mobility, damage, and survivability, Peni can finally not only hold ground, but also actively participate in fights.

Scarlet Witch – more powerful, faster, more dangerous

Wanda has received a major upgrade that turns her from a highly specialized duelist into a versatile fighter. Her basic damage has increased from 60 to 80 damage per second, and her alternate attack Chthonian Burst now deals 80 damage on a direct hit.

The key new feature is the synergy with Dr. Strange: the joint ability Sorcery Surge enhances Chthonian Burst to a stream of magical projectiles capable of pulverizing even the most resilient foes. This duo gives Wanda a powerful toolkit to pressure the front and support the rear.

Psylocke – now with an “assassin clone”

Although Psylocke didn’t get a direct upgrade in damage numbers or cooldown, a new command ability in tandem with Emma Frost makes her much more dangerous. She can now create an AI-controlled active copy that replicates her basic attacks and moves – including Psi-blade Dash and Wing Shuriken.

This essentially doubles her damage and allows her to launch synchronized attacks, confusing enemies and quickly incapacitating key characters. It’s especially effective against unprepared teams that can’t react quickly to a double threat.

Hawkeye is faster and deadlier

The legendary archer has finally gotten a speed boost: he now draws the bowstring faster even while using the ultimatum ability Hunter’s Sight, which now requires 600 points less to activate. In addition, the Hypersonic Arrow now deals 55 damage per hit and pierces through enemies, making it easier to take out duelists and strategists.

Experienced players who can aim accurately will have a lot of fun with the revamped Hawkeye, who is once again able to take out enemies before they can respond.

Rocket Raccoon is the new season’s top-performer

In the first season, Rocket was a controversial choice: great team synergy, but weak ult and mediocre healing. Things have changed – now his Healing Orbs immediately restore 55 HP on touch, plus 50 HP per second thereafter.

Healing Orbs now restore 55 HP on touch, plus 50 HP per second thereafter.

Ulta Cosmic Yarn Amplifier now gives not only 25% damage to allies in range, but also 100 extra health per second – a real boon for tight teamwork. The care skill has been weakened, but the ability to heal itself still makes Rocket an incredibly survivable support.

Mantis is a buffer with incredible utility

Mantis has lost 25 base health, but strengthened in another way: her abilities Healing Flower and Allied Inspiration can now overlap and stack. This means you can extend the effects of healing and damage bonuses for up to 16 seconds, keeping damaggers alive even in the toughest of fights.

If you prefer flexible strategists and can work with aggressive teammates, Mantris is the perfect choice.

Who lost ground in Marvel Rivals season 2

Although most of the edits in the new patch strengthened heroes, a few characters received notable weakenings or ambiguous changes. That doesn’t make them useless – on the contrary, in the hands of experienced players they can remain a formidable force. But if you’re used to the same mechanics, you’ll want to be prepared for a change in play style.

Doctor Strange is a mage who’s lost his striking power

Doctor Strange has been regularly nerfed before, but in season 2, his main problem is his damage reduction. Each of his magic arrows now does 2 less damage, which adds up to minus 10 damage per full volley. This is critical, as he used to be able to ensure that he could kill enemies, but now he’ll often leave them with a drop of HP.

In addition, Strange lost his joint ability with the Hulk (Gamma Charge), which meant the loss of the powerful Gamma Maelstrom -the bundle that allowed him to wipe enemies off the map in seconds. He can no longer cancel his own dark magic’s anti-heal.

He’s still useful as a vangard and one of the few tanks in the game, but it’s harder for him to have a decisive impact on the outcome of a fight alone.

Bucky goes from superkiller to just a good duelist

The Winter Soldier has gotten a serious setback: the cooldown on Bionic Hook has been increased to 12 seconds, and the ability Kraken Impact now requires the enemy to be at 15% HP to reach (instead of the more forgiving threshold previously). In addition, he can no longer use Infinite Ammo in conjunction with Rocket Raccoon.

A new team ability with Captain America allows him to jump to him and deal 80 area damage with a deceleration effect, but its usefulness is debatable and rather situational. Overall, Bucky has become far less versatile, but is still dangerous in good hands.

The new team ability allows him to jump to him, but its usefulness is debatable and more situational.

Namor is the king of the sea without the same power

Namor was one of the best anti-dive characters in season 1, and while his basic stats haven’t changed, he’s lost the key team ability: Ice Monstros provided by Moon Snowflake. Instead, he’s now paired with Hulk using Gamma Monstro, but this requires 5 seconds of continuous fire to unleash its full potential – and most mobile heroes easily avoid such an attack.

He’s still a great choice against dive teams, but now requires more skill in positioning and timings.

Adam Warlock is perfect only in theory

Adam Warlock has gotten a very minor buff: he now resurrects allies with 30% health, which helps mitigate aggression from enemy duelists a bit. But that’s probably all of the good stuff.