Marvel Rivals Season 3 update: our coverage of the new season's launch as it happened

Marvel Rivals Season 3 launched earlier today (July 11), adding Phoenix as a brand new Duelist. It's time to look at the new Hero's moveset, provide a deep dive into the changes to Team Ups and Daily Missions, and give an extended analysis of Klyntar: Celestial Husk, the game's new Domination map.

Now that downtime Is over for Marvel Rivals' new season, I'll be providing you with up-to-date information on what's changed, what you'll want to be focusing on first, and some impressions from my time playing the new season.

NetEase has now unveiled the next season of Marvel Rivals, revealing Phoenix's kit and a deep dive into the latest patch notes and balance changes. There's a new Domination map to look at, too: the dark and mysterious lair of the villainous Knull. If my early impressions are correct, Season 3 seriously shakes up the meta, especially with its new Team Ups for Heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine.

Having covered Season 2.5's launch and the subsequent balancing changes to the Hero roster, I'm excited to see what this new era of Marvel Rivals has in store. I'm especially interested to see how the new release schedule - NetEase is planning a new Season, and two new Heroes every two months - will change the pace of the meta.

I've now spent hundreds of hours playing Marvel Rivals Competitive Mode since launch, mostly focusing on Vanguard Heroes like Venom and Magneto, but I'm really liking how Phoenix is shaping up pre-release. Here's the launch of Marvel Rivals Season 3 as it happened. I'll be covering today's launch live, focusing on the early hours of Season 3, now that downtime is finished.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 - cut to the chase

Looking for a quick overview? Here are the most important parts of Season 3 to know about:

• Start time: OUT NOW; July 11 at 7AM EDT / 4AM PDT / 12PM BST (after estimated downtime)
• New Hero: Phoenix
• New map: Klyntar - Celestial Husk (Domination)
• Season event: Milano Repair Logs
• Hero balancing
• New Rank Rewards: Phoenix - Emerald Flames

Marvel Rivals Season 3 release date and release time

Marvel Rivals Season 3 launched on July 11, 2025 at the times below:

• 4am PDT
• 7am EDT
• 12pm BST
• 1pm CEST
• 8pm JST
• 9pm AEST

Marvel Rivals Season 3 server status and downtime

Marvel Rivals Season 3 is now back online, as downtime is finished. It went offline at the times below, and lasted two hours in total.

• 2am PDT
• 5am EDT
• 10am BST
• 11am CEST
• 6pm JST
• 7pm AEST

Marvel Rivals Phoenix

Phoenix is the new Hero being added to Marvel Rivals Season 3. I've spent some time trying her out, and she's primarily a ranged Duelist who works best at off-angles. She plays very similarly to Hela, though she has a passive that stacks damage on enemies with each hit. Every third hit triggers an explosion, dealing extra damage, hitting any nearby enemies, and tagging them with a Phoenix mark. As such, Phoenix is extremely powerful when teams are grouped together.

As a Duelist, Phoenix is mostly about dealing huge amounts of damage, though she's also great at removing enemy support passives, like Loki clones and Peni Parker mines. Her Ultimate is a dive bomb attack that deals massive area of effect damage, before returning Phoenix back to where she triggered the ability. She has a new Team Up called Primal Flame, which buffs Wolverine with flame damage with his Primal Leap. She also applies life steal to Wolverine's attacks once the Team Up is triggered.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 patch notes

NetEase has now released the full patch notes for Marvel Rivals Season 3. It outlines loads of bug fixes for Heroes like The Thing, as well as some adjustments to in-game audio. There's a new Accessory system too, allowing players to add small trinkets onto Heroes for an extra bit of visual flair. You can read the full patch notes here.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 new map

Klyntar: Celestial Husk is a brand new Domination map set to be added in Marvel Rivals Season 3. It's the setting for Knull's seasonal debut, and it's appropriately menacing. Having spent some time with the new map, I can say it's one of the best released so far. There are tight corridors, perfect for the new Hero Phoenix to unleash AoE attacks in. There are a lot of possibilities for flanking and off-angle play, too. You can check out a deep dive on the new map in the video below:

Marvel Rivals Season 3 Ranked changes

In addition to the new map, there's going to be a rank reset for Competitive Mode players. If you've reached the higher tiers in Marvel Rivals, expect to be demoted by seven tiers upon the launch of Season 3. This means that if you hit Diamond I in Season 2.5, you'll go down to Gold II. There's a Phoenix skin to earn by reaching Gold by the end of this season, and several nameplates and banners corresponding to Grandmaster, Celestial, and Eternity ranks.

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 maining Venom, who I now have at 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, though I'm definitely excited to get my hands on Phoenix. Rather fittingly, in this new symbiote-themed season, Venom is getting a buff, which I can't wait to try out. There are buffs to Mantis, too, who was my main Strategist in Season One.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 live coverage as it happened

2025-07-11T08:32:49.659Z

Welcome to my live coverage of Marvel Rivals Season 3

Welcome to my live coverage of Marvel Rivals Season 3, which is set to launch after some downtime. There's just fifteen minutes until the game goes offline, so let's get started.

2025-07-11T08:48:20.874Z

Downtime triggers in ten minutes

Marvel Rivals will go offline in just 10 minutes, as downtime kicks in. This should last for around two hours, but I’ll keep you updated on exactly when the game is back online.

2025-07-11T08:49:04.292Z

Costume Coins can be exchanged for skins

You can earn a Costume Coin from the Venom’s Bubble Pop event, which ends once Season 3 downtime kicks in (you can make it a permanent event by purchasing the Premium version). This can be exchanged for a number of skins in the Store. I went with the Master of Magnetism skin for Magneto.

2025-07-11T08:52:06.061Z

Spider-Man gets his flame on

Ever-Flaming Bond is a brand new Team Up between Human Torch and Spider-Man. It adds a Burn-Tracer to Spidey’s kit, tagging enemies and sending Spider-Man flipping backwards. This opens up new combo abilities, and in my testing, it’s really powerful.

2025-07-11T08:53:22.539Z

Season 3.5 will launch August 8

Thanks to the Season 3 roadmap provided by NetEase yesterday (July 10), we know that Season 3.5 will launch on August 8. This should be when we get Blade as a new Hero, and he's rumored to be a Duelist.

2025-07-11T08:57:24.068Z

Marvel Rivals will go offline any minute

Marvel Rivals downtime is scheduled to end in a few minutes. You should still be able to finish off your match, but expect to be kicked from servers too.

2025-07-11T09:02:25.159Z

Downtime has started

Marvel Rivals is now offline. I’ll still be covering the launch of the new season live, so let’s continue with some of the key changes coming once things go back online.

2025-07-11T09:03:22.598Z

Marvel Rivals Server connection failed error message

When trying to load up Marvel Rivals, you'll now be greeted with the 'Server connection failed' error message. Don't worry, this us ask normal for downtime.

2025-07-11T09:25:48.173Z

Phoenix could be a real contender

Phoenix will be added as a new Hero in Season 3, and she’s already feeling very powerful indeed. Her primary damage output is especially high, and thanks to a dash ability, she can escape dive characters quite easily.

2025-07-11T09:36:51.757Z

Namor upgrades his arsenal

Namor is getting buffed in Season 3. He’ll have smoother aim, and increased primary fire damage. You can check out the exact changes in the list below:

• Increase Trident of Neptune Projectile Damage from 70 to 75 and Projectile Speed from 120m/s to 150m/s.
• Increase Wrath of the Seven Seas Projectile Speed from 120m/s to 150m/s.

2025-07-11T09:38:17.659Z

Estimated downtime is two hours according to NetEase

There's a new login error message when you try to sign into Marvel Rivals. It displays an estimate for when downtime should end, meaning it will have lasted two hours in total. We'll have to wait and see if this all holds true.

2025-07-11T10:00:35.341Z

Season 3 Twitch Drops revealed

Fresh Twitch Drops arrive with Marvel Rivals Season 3, and there’s a pink and blue Hawkeye skin to earn. Just watch your chosen Marvel Rivals streamer for certain amounts of time to earn the rewards in the image above.

2025-07-11T10:20:27.800Z

A new update file has dropped

You'll want to check for a new Marvel Rivals update on your chosen platform, as mine just triggered on PS5. It's around 20GB, and will be required if you want to head into Season 3.

2025-07-11T10:40:03.410Z

Wolverine is definitely getting banned in Competitive Mode

Wolverine’s new Team Up with Phoenix makes him even more deadly this season. His Primal Leap engulfs him in fire that deals extra damage. He also gets lifesteal on follow up attacks. One of the most consistently banned Heroes is absolutely going to be top of the ban list.

2025-07-11T10:53:45.909Z

Marvel Rivals downtime should end soon

We’re now one hour and 50 minutes into downtime. I’d expect another 10 minutes until the game goes back online. You'll need to have downloaded the new update, and I'd recommend closing the game and re-opening things.

2025-07-11T11:01:33.372Z

Marvel Rivals Season 3 is now live

Marvel Rivals Season 3 is now live. You can check out the new Battle Pass, and jump into a Quick Match to try out Phoenix. Make sure to check out the new missions and events, as you can earn Chrono Tokens and unlock Battle Pass rewards faster.

2025-07-11T11:03:41.159Z

Venom gets a buff in Season 3

Venom gets a buff for Season 3, and as a Lord rank Venom, I’m very excited to see how he performs. It’s his Cellular Corrosion attack that’s getting upgraded, and now deals 10 percent more slowing after a dive. This could really improve his initial attack, and will ensure enemies stay close to him and receive the extra damage once the ability wears off.

2025-07-11T11:05:46.560Z

Accessories arrive

Accessories are brand new for Season 3. They can be unlocked using Accessory Points, which are earned via Quick Match or Competitive Mode. There’s a Deadpool one to grab, and a Jeff Handbag, which I’m personally very excited about.

2025-07-11T11:08:58.080Z

The Thing can now take down flying enemies

The Thing now has a brand new ability in Season 3 called Battle Blitz. He leaps toward enemies, gaining 25% Damage Reduction, while grounding targets. Leap targeting distance to enemies is 20 meters. This should bring the Hero back into the fight, as he was somewhat outmatched in Season 2.5’s flying-dominited meta.

2025-07-11T11:20:13.570Z

Season 2.5 ranked rewards are in

I've just received my ranked rewards for Season 2.5. This includes Golden Ultron, which I will absolutely be equipping. Make sure to reach Gold in Season 3 to unlock the Phoenix - Emerald Flames reward in August.

2025-07-11T11:40:05.910Z

A new event is live

The Milano Logs event is now live, giving you a chance to earn the Symbiote Storm skin. The first section should be easy to complete just by playing games, but make sure to go pick up a health pack while you play.

2025-07-11T12:00:01.052Z

First match as Phoenix

I've now played a couple of matches with Phoenix, and she's very similar to Hela. Great aim is vital to be able to make the most of her, and you need to be ready to use the dash to escape diving enemies. Her Ultimate is going to take some getting used to, but it's great to be able to aim it in the air while you're attacking.

2025-07-11T12:19:41.602Z

New Team Ups for Spider-Man, Wolverine, Squirrel Girl, and Hela

There are new Team Ups for Season 3, including Primal Flame, which sees Phoenix and Wolverine working together. Squirrel Girl has been added to Stark Protocol, unlocking a homing shot attack, and Spider-Man now has a flame web courtesy of the Human Torch. Hela also gets symbiotic slowing effects to her Orb ability, joining Jeff and Venom for Symbiote Shenanigans.

2025-07-11T12:40:10.869Z

Marvel Rivals College Perks for Season 3

Unlock exclusive perks by verifying your student status to get 10 trial costumes and MVPs throughout Season 3 and 3.5 for FREE! You can find more details here.

2025-07-11T13:00:54.723Z

When is Blade being added to Marvel Rivals?

Blade is set to be added to Marvel Rivals as part of Season 3.5, which launches August 8. He's rumored to be a Duelist, and I can't wait to see what abilities he has. In the Season 3 cinematic trailer, we see Blade wielding a flaming sword, making me suspect he's going to be a melee-focused character, with a firearm for mid-range as well.

2025-07-11T13:21:34.862Z

Earn a free Storm skin in Season 3

There’s a symbiote Storm skin that can be earned for free in Marvel Rivals Season 3. It’s the main reward for the new limited-time event, and it looks absolutely awesome.

2025-07-11T13:40:14.766Z

Klyntar: Celestial Husk joins the map rotation

There’s a new Domination map in Season 3. Klyntar: Celestial Husk is where Knull has been hiding all of this time, and it’s appropriately covered in all kinds of weird symbiote structures. It’s a fun addition, one that really encourages Duelists to flank and find off-angles.

2025-07-11T14:00:18.754Z

That's all from me!

Now that Season 3 is launched, and I've spent some time with it, it's time to wrap up my live coverage for today. I'll be back on August 7 to cover the launch of Season 3.5, and until then I'm focusing on working out how to shoot straight while playing Phoenix.