Marvel Rivals Season 6 is now live. The update dropped January 16, 2026, at 9 AM UTC, bringing Deadpool as the headline addition alongside major balance changes, new Team Up abilities, and a batch of bug fixes. Server maintenance lasted roughly two hours, and PC players on Steam faced a 33.2 GB download.
Deadpool: First Three-in-One Hero
Deadpool marks a first for Marvel Rivals. He's the only character capable of playing all three roles: Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist. Players can switch between roles freely, and his kit changes based on which one is active. In Strategist mode, for instance, his weapons can either damage enemies or heal allies.
Alejandro Saab voices the character, known for his work as Rafa in Borderlands 4 and Cyno in Genshin Impact. New story content accompanies the release: a serial called "Night at the Museum" and lore titled "Hero In His Own Mind."
Hero Balance Changes
Season 6 delivers a long list of balance adjustments across all three roles, hitting both individual abilities and Team Up synergies.
Vanguard Adjustments
Angela takes a hit to survivability. Shielded Stance's shield value drops from 350 to 300.
Captain America gets more offensive uptime. Vibranium Energy Saw cooldown goes from 8 seconds down to 6.
Doctor Strange gains both damage and mobility. Maelstrom of Madness conversion ratio of Dark Magic to damage increases from 1.2 to 1.3. Cloak of Levitation also works differently now: recasting while airborne interrupts the ability, preserves current speed, and lets players redirect their trajectory.
Emma Frost generates energy faster across the board. Hero hits now grant 12/s (up from 10), Sentience hits give 18/s (up from 15), and shield hits provide 6/s (up from 5).
Hulk gets buffs to both forms. Hero Hulk's Incredible Leap charges faster, with minimum charge time dropping from 0.5s to 0.4s and max charge from 2s to 1.7s. Gamma Burst cooldown falls from 8s to 6s while projectile damage climbs from 70 to 75. Monster Hulk now shrugs off launch and knockback effects entirely.
Duelist Adjustments
Black Panther gains offense and defense. Spear Toss damage rises from 45 to 50, and he now takes 50% less damage during the startup animation of his Ultimate, Bast's Descent.
Blade undergoes major changes to his weapon gameplay. With Hunter's Shotgun equipped, Daywalker Dash now slows enemies by 40% for 1.5 seconds, and second hit damage jumps from 20 to 50. With Ancestral Sword, Daywalker Dash removes slow effects from enemies and applies 8% healing reduction per strike (32% total if all connect) for 3 seconds, but damage per hit falls from 15 to 8. The shotgun also fires fewer pellets (11, down from 12), damage falloff kicks in at 15m instead of 20m, and damage at 30m drops to 50% of base instead of 40%.
Daredevil gets nerfed across multiple abilities. Devil's Chain high damage range falls from 80 to 75. Devil's Throw single projectile damage drops from 32.5 to 30, bringing total damage on a single target from 65 to 60. Fury from Devil's Latch surface grapples is halved, going from 2 to 1.
Iron Fist hits harder and faster. Jeet Kune Do's first four strikes deal 35 damage (up from 30), and Dragon's Defense max duration extends from 1s to 1.2s.
Namor trades Team Up power for base strength. Aquatic Dominion charges faster at 10s per charge instead of 12s. Default Monstro Spawn health rises from 100 to 125 with damage up from 17 to 18. Enhanced Monstro Spawn damage also increases from 11 to 12.
Strategist Adjustments
Cloak & Dagger undergo a healing rework. Dagger Storm healing drops from 55/s to 45/s, but creating a Spell Field now gives allies in range an instant 60 HP heal. Veil of Lightforce and Terror Cape now share a charge pool capped at 2, with each taking 10 seconds to recharge. Using either ability puts both on a 2 second cooldown.
Gambit takes heavy healing cuts. Big Easy Impact healing falls from 25 to 15 per explosion (75 to 45 total). Ragin' Royal Flush healing drops from 75/s to 55/s. Bridge Boost can only bounce twice on a single target now.
Invisible Woman loses protective power. Guardian Shield value falls from 250 to 200. Shield restoration rate after reclaiming drops from 42/s to 34/s, though total time stays the same. Her self healing from Guardian Shield gets cut in half, from 50/s to 25/s.
Rocket Raccoon moves slower. Wild Crawl speed drops from 10m/s to 8m/s.
Team Up Ability Changes
Team Ups get some of the biggest changes this season, with nerfs, full removals, and two brand new synergies.
Nerfed Team Ups
Deep Wrath (Hela/Namor) takes a heavy hit. Tidal Dirge cooldown jumps from 20s to 30s. Undead Monstro damage falls from 12 to 10, and Berserk state damage drops from 7 to 6.
Vibrant Vitality (Mantis/Groot/Loki) weakens Loki's contribution. Deific Blessing ally damage boost falls from 25% to 15%.
Removed or Adjusted Team Ups
Ever Burning Bond (Human Torch/Spider Man) is gone. NetEase removed the Team Up entirely.
Rocket Network (Rocket Raccoon/Peni Parker/Star Lord) loses functionality. Peni Parker no longer gains Armored Spider Nest through her Rocket Raccoon Team Up.
New Team Ups
Mr. Pool's Interdimensional Toy Box (Deadpool/Jeff the Land Shark) pairs the new hero with everyone's favorite shark. Jeff gains Jeff's Cuddle Buddy through this Team Up. Deadpool gets bonuses based on his active role as the anchor: +50 Health as Vanguard, +5% Damage as Duelist, or +5% Healing as Strategist.
Parker Power Up (Peni Parker/Spider Man) gives Spidey a new tool. Spider Man unlocks Sticky Spider Bomb through this Team Up, while anchor Peni Parker gains 50 extra health.
Bug Fixes and Technical Improvements
All Platforms
Players could get stuck on the results screen after spectating in a Custom Game Tournament Room. That's fixed now.
PC Improvements
A new experimental setting supports 8K polling rate mice, found under Settings > Keyboard. Turning it on can resolve lag issues for high end peripherals.
PC installation size shrinks by 15%, freeing up storage space.
Hero Fixes
Thor: Network delays could make Thorforce appear charged only to vanish unexpectedly. Using that phantom charge to activate Awakening Rune caused the ability to fizzle early. Most cases are resolved, though NetEase notes some remain under investigation.
Magneto: Winter Soldier's Tainted Voltage could launch Magneto if it landed the exact moment he popped his Ultimate. He now stays grounded.
Punisher: Vantage Connection could teleport Punisher to unintended locations under poor network conditions. Fixed.
Piercing Projectiles: A rare bug caused some piercing projectiles to deal extra damage randomly. Fixed.
Doctor Strange: Flying heroes couldn't use portals cast directly on the ground. They can now.
Jeff the Land Shark: Jeff's Team Up Ability keybind now defaults to empty. Players using Jeff with Groot need to set this manually.
Battle Pass and Rewards
The Season 6 Battle Pass is called "Museum Ticket" and includes 10 new costumes. Confirmed skins are Invisible Woman's Prism Parade, Venom's Space Corsair, and Mantis' Galactic Gladiator, with more in the pass.
Hero Proficiency System Upgrade
The Hero Proficiency system expands with more levels and rewards. Players who stockpiled Proficiency beyond the previous cap will have it automatically converted to new levels, unlocking any corresponding rewards instantly.
New Systems
Times Square Epic Photo Mode lets players capture moments with various filters and share them.
Controller Settings Sharing allows players to save, share, and swap controller configs.
Store Content
These items went live January 16, 2026, at 9 AM UTC:
- Deadpool: Captain Pool Bundle
- Venom: Marvel Cosmic Invasion Bundle
- Spider Man: Marvel Cosmic Invasion
- Deadpool: Emoji Bundle
- Invisible Woman Prism Parade Costume Chroma (includes Vivid Vibe, Radiant Ray, and Ultimate Ability VFX)
The following bundles stick around until January 23, 2026, at 2 AM UTC:
- Peni Parker: Snow SP//dr Bundle
- Star Lord: Starcracker Bundle
- Daredevil: Not Daredevil Bundle
Seasonal Events
Whack A Jeff is a new event where capturing Jeff unlocks the free Jeff the Land Shark: 8 Bit Bash costume.
Gone Nutty For Gifts runs until January 29, 2026, at 9 AM UTC.
Jeff's Winter Splash Festival also extends to January 29, 2026, at 9 AM UTC.
Competitive Mode Updates
Season 6 adds new Nameplate Frames, Badges, and other ranked rewards. Players hitting Gold tier or higher earn the Deadpool: Workwear Woes costume.
Resource Rumble and its map have been pulled from Quick Match rotation.
Marvel Rivals Championship Updates
MRC Season 6 keeps the Platinum 3 entry requirement. Rewards now go to all participants rather than just top finishers. Competitors earn Nameplates, Sprays, Emblems, and Units regardless of placement.
IGNITE 2026
PC events in each region during MRC Season 6 are the last public chance to grab a starting slot in IGNITE 2026. Each region reserves at least 25% of preset slots for MRC Season 6 factions.
Champion Points System
Starting with MRC Season 7, competitors earn Champion Points just by participating. These points affect promotion and relegation during mid season finals and end of season shuffles.
Seasons 7 through 11 let players earn up to "Champion Points 26." After Season 8 ends, top factions from that season and the cumulative Champion Points 26 leaderboard can qualify for the Ignite Mid Season Qualifiers, fighting for spots in IGNITE's second stage for 2026.
Twitch Drops
A new Twitch Drops campaign runs January 16, 2026, at 12 PM UTC through February 13, 2026, at 9 AM UTC. Watching participating streams for four hours unlocks the Invisible Woman: Will of Galacta costume plus additional bundle items.
College Perks Rotation
The new College Perks lineup includes:
- Thor: Majestic Raiment
- Scarlet Witch: Immortal Sovereign
- Jeff the Land Shark: Sunshine Land Shark
- Wolverine: Weapon X
- Mister Fantastic: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Invisible Woman: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Human Torch: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- The Thing: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Spider Man: Future Foundation
- Squirrel Girl: Sunshine Squirrel
New Accessories
New accessories are available for Rogue, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Squirrel Girl, Iron Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Black Panther, Storm, and Blade.
Meta Impact
With Elsa Bloodstone still on the horizon, expect more changes before Season 6 wraps.
