Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is now just hours away, and is set to add Ultron as a brand new Strategist. It’s looking like this new season – or half-season – could be one for the books, given the planned changes to a number of Heroes, the addition of new Team Ups, and even a new map to play on.
I’ll be covering the build-up to Season 2.5’s launch over the next 24 hours, leading up to downtime and then sharing my thoughts once it’s all live.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 key info
NetEase has been busy teasing the next season of Marvel Rivals over the last week or so, having now revealed Ultron’s kit, as well as a deep dive into the upcoming patch notes and balance changes. There’s a new map to look at, too, which looks to be the dark and mysterious lair of the villainous X-Tron. If my early impressions are correct, Season 2.5 will seriously shake up the meta in Competitive Mode, and could even 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 this time. Since launch, 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 absolutely be giving Ultron a try on launch day to see whether or not he measures up.
Join me as I keep you updated on the launch of Season 2.5 as it happens, with info on how long downtime is expected to last, a look at the nerfs and buffs coming to each Hero, and some of my impressions of the new season once it all goes live. For now, let’s take a look at what’s been announced and what’s changing in Marvel Rivals in the coming hours.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 – cut to the chase
Looking for a quick overview? Here are the most important changes to know about coming to Marvel Rivals as part of Season 2.5.
- 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 start date and time
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 launches May 30 at 5AM EDT / 2AM PDT / 10AM BST.
Servers will then go down for “2-3 hours” before the new season is available to all players. As such, I estimate Season 2.5 to be playable at the following times:
- May 30 at 5AM PT: West Coast US
- May 30 at 8AM ET: East Coast US
- May 30 at 1PM BST: United Kingdom
- May 30 at 2PM CET: Central Europe
- May 30 at 9PM JST: Japan
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 patch notes for Season 2.5
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.
Jake Green
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.
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