Marvel Rivals: Season 9 Buffs & Nerfs Explained

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Published Jul 10, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT

Matthew Danielson is a Senior Gaming Staff Writer for Screen Rant, using their expertise in fighting games, RPGs, and action titles to provide insight into your favorite experiences.

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Marvel Rivals has had some monumental balance changes in the past, but Season 9 is set up to be the largest shift in hero strength the game has seen since launch. From initial notes, around 80% of the roster are receiving various buffs and nerfs to their abilities or core traits. As a result, players can expect big shifts to how characters work, no matter what role they occupy.

The reveal of Apocalypse in Season 9 of Marvel Rivals tied into the upcoming release of Jubilee as Season 9's first new character. Along with The Hood in Season 9.5, multiple rounds of balance changes are expected to occur more frequently this Season. This is largely due to how almost every aspect of team synergy works in the game now, meaning the character specialties are more diverse than ever.

Every Season 9 Character Buff

Long-Time Character Weaknesses Have Finally Been Addressed

Marvel Rivals Hulk MVP animation with World War Hulk skin

There are a number of hero adjustments in Season 9, including a complete overhaul of certain character design choices. For example, Black Widow is getting her character redesigned from the ground up, replacing how her primary attack, abilities, and even Ultimate works during a match. That being said, many of the Season 9 changes are major buffs to various characters, aiming to raise the power level of the whole cast.

One of the biggest changes in Season 9 was to Team-Ups, which no longer require certain characters to be in a team together. Now, every character in the game has two passive bonuses they can choose for a custom "loadout," based on certain characters who could enhance effects if selected.

One of the goals of this seasonal balance patch in Marvel Rivals was to "target heroes who were heavily overperforming or severely underperforming," at least according to developers. This means that certain characters that have been notoriously weaker in prior Seasons are more likely to be gaining a significant buff. While every hero was considered for a buff this Season, not all of them were addressed in the same way as others.

The tables below list every character buff for the historic Season 9 balance patch, including what roles those heroes normally occupy:

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Angela	Vanguard	Add 200 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Captain America	Vanguard	Add 300 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Groot	Vanguard	Increased base health from 700 to 850
Devil Dinosaur	Vanguard	Increased base health from 700 to 850 Increased critical hit damage reduction provided by Prehistoric Plating passive Increased reduced Ultimate Energy gain for enemies damaging Devil Dinosaur
Doctor Strange	Vanguard	Increased base health from 575 to 650 Increased value of Shield of the Seraphim from 700 to 850 Increased value of Shield of the Seraphim with Invisible Woman Team-Up

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Thor	Vanguard	Slightly increased travel distance of an uncharged Storm Surge cast Increased damage of Hammer Throw on throw and return Increased Bonus Health provided upon hit Add 300 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Hulk	Vanguard	Increased Heavy Blow damage from 40 to 45 Add 300 Regenerative Shield to base health value
The Thing	Vanguard	Increased Bonus Health cap provided by Stone Haymaker Reduced backswing animation of Clobberin' Time (Ultimate) start-up Increased vertical detection height of anti-movement zone from Yancy Street Charge
Deadpool	Vanguard	Increased Dual Desert Eagles (Vanguard) single shot damage Increased damage reduction provided by Deadpool in Your Area — Upgraded Increased base health from 450 to 500
Rogue	Vanguard	Add 225 Regenerative Shield to base health value

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Venom	Vanguard	Add 250 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Black Panther	Duelist	Add 125 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Elsa Bloodstone	Duelist	Increased Double-Barrel Blaster ammo capacity from 8 to 12 shells Increase Double-Barrel Blaster pellet damage with Devil Dinosaur Team-Up
Hawkeye	Duelist	Increase the damage scaling of Piercing Arrow while charging Increased Piercing Arrow base and max projectile speed
Hela	Duelist	Increased Nightsword Thorn base damage Reduced damage falloff from Nightsword Thorn attacks at various distances Can now fly freely in any direction during Astral Flock ability

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Magik	Duelist	Add 125 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Daredevil	Duelist	Add 150 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Black Cat	Duelist	Add 125 Regenerative Shield to base health value Increased maximum Fortune cap from 1,000 to 1,200 Increased the odds of a high Fortune payout when using Tablet of Destinies
Moon Knight	Duelist	Increased Crescent Dart damage per hit
The Punisher	Duelist	Increase Adjudication and Deliverance single-hit damage with Daredevil Team-Up

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Phoenix	Duelist	Increased Endsong Inferno (Ultimate) explosion damage
Scarlet Witch	Duelist	Dark Seal can be activated while Mystic Projection is active Activating Dark Seal will cancel Mystic Projection prematurely
Star-Lord	Duelist	Add 100 Regenerative Shield to base health value
Storm	Duelist	Increased Wind Blade base damage from 55 to 60
Psylocke	Duelist	Increased Psionic Crossbow single-hit base damage from 12 to 13 Add 100 Regenerative Shield to base health value Increased Bonus Health benefit from Wing Shurikens with Emma Frost Team-Up Increased Psionic Crossbow single-hit damage with Cloak & Dagger Team-Up

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Ultron	Strategist	Increased area healing output of Imperative: Firewall drones
Adam Warlock	Strategist	Increased base health from 250 to 275 Increased Quantum Magic ammo capacity with Ultron Team-Up
Invisible Woman	Strategist	Increased the healing provided by an outgoing Orb Projection Increased the healing provided by a returning Orb Projection
White Fox	Strategist	Increased total health during Kumiho Unleashed (Ultimate) from 900 to 1,200
Gambit	Strategist	Increased Kinetic Cards single-hit healing output from 28 to 30

Character

Role

Buff(s)

Mantis	Strategist	Enhanced healing output of Healing Flower with Star-Lord Team-Up Enhanced Nature's Flavor passive effect with Adam Warlock Team-Up Increased self-healing after Natural Anger cast with Adam Warlock Team-Up
Rocket Raccoon	Strategist	Increased healing amount when Repair Orb passes through an ally
Luna Snow	Strategist	Increased Healing Boost from Number One Idol ability Increased the Healing Boost provided to an attached ally via Idol Aura
Cloak & Dagger	Strategist	Increased Lightforce Dagger direct-hit healing from 12 to 15 Increased Lightforce Dagger lingering spell field healing from 20 to 25 Increased the one-time healing amount of Veil of Lightforce ability Increased Dagger Storm healing output

This incredibly long list of buffs comes with the universal changes to Marvel Rivals, mainly in how health is determined for every character. In Season 9, characters have their base health and a new, green health bar or blue shield value. Called Regenerative Health on Vanguards and Regenerative Shields for Duelists, these are health values that recover naturally as long as a hero isn't taking damage.

This makes some buffs even better than you may think, especially if a character got an increase to their normal health stats. The Team-Up changes impacted buffs too, with some characters' abilities changing depending on the passive synergy they choose before entering a battle. Overall, increases to health, damage, and healing made these buffs fairly basic, but still incredibly impactful.

Every Season 9 Character Nerf

Sweeping Reductions Of Strength Make Up For New Team-Up Changes

Marvel Rivals Iron Man suit MVP animation screen

The Enhanced Team-Ups every character gets access to in Season 9 grant nearly every hero extremely powerful options, leading to a mess when it comes to balance. To counteract the strongest new Team-Ups, Marvel Rivals have nerfed a great number of heroes, mainly by taking away Team-Up anchor passive bonuses. In Season 9, characters can't gain damage, healing, or health benefits by simply being on the same team as a character that gains a new ability from them.

Every Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist in Marvel Rivals gains less Ultimate energy from damage or healing, causing a character's strongest ability to take far longer to obtain within a match.

There are plenty of other nerfs in Season 9, primarily to the core traits of various heroes. While players can expect plenty of reductions in base health, healing output, and damage, the following tables go into detail about every nerf Marvel Rivals is implementing for this balance patch:

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

Angela	Vanguard	Reduced base health from 450 to 350 Removed the Team-Up Anchor 100 Bonus Health
Captain America	Vanguard	Reduced base health from 600 to 300 Removed the Team-Up Anchor 100 Bonus Health
Peni Parker	Vanguard	Removed the Team-Up Anchor 50 Bonus Health
Groot	Vanguard	Removed the Team-Up Anchor 150 Bonus Health
Devil Dinosaur	Vanguard	Removed the Team-Up Anchor 100 Bonus Health Reduced Ultimate Energy gain for allies healing Devil Dinosaur

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

Doctor Strange	Vanguard	Removed the Team-Up Anchor 100 Bonus Health
Thor	Vanguard	Reduced base health from 600 to 300
Hulk	Vanguard	Increased the energy cost of Hulk Smash! (Ultimate) from 3400 to 3700 Reduced base health from 650 to 400 Removed the Team-Up Anchor 100 Bonus Health
Deadpool	Vanguard	Removed the Team-Up Anchor 50 Bonus Health
Rogue	Vanguard	Redued the damage reduction provided during Defensive Stance Reduced base health from 650 to 350 Reduced the maximum bonus damage added to Southern Brawl at full energy

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

Venom	Vanguard	Reduced base health from 675 to 500 Removed the Team-Up Anchor 150 Bonus Health
Black Panther	Duelist	Reduced base health from 275 to 150
Deadpool	Duelist	Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus
Cyclops	Duelist	Increased the cooldown of Propulsion Burst and Optic Ascent to 15 seconds Reduced Optic Blast single-hit damage from 25 to 21 Reduced Ricochet Force damage from 80 to 70 Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus
Elsa Bloodstone	Duelist	Increased Helix Advance ability cooldown from 10 seconds to 11

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

Hela	Duelist	Removed Team-Up anchor 15% Damage Boost bonus
Human Torch	Duelist	Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus
Magik	Duelist	Reduced base health from 250 to 150
Daredevil	Duelist	Reduced base health from 300 to 150 Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus
Black Cat	Duelist	Reduced base health from 275 to 150 Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

Moon Knight	Duelist	Increased the energy cost of Hand of Khonshu (Ultimate) Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus
The Punisher	Duelist	Reduced Adjudication damage per hit from 20 to 19 Reduced Deliverance damage per hit from 10 to 9.5
Phoenix	Duelist	Removed Team-Up anchor 10% Damage Boost bonus
Star-Lord	Duelist	Removed the 25 Bonus Health gained upon using Stellar Shift ability Reduced base health from 250 to 150
Storm	Duelist	Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

Psylocke	Duelist	Reduced base health from 250 to 150
Iron Man	Duelist	Reduced the spell field damage of a single-handed Repulsor Blast Reduced the spell field damage of a dual-handed Repulsor Blast Reduced Repulsor Blast spell field damage while in Armor Overdrive Reduced Unibeam (Armor Overdrive) damage per second Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Damage Boost bonus
Deadpool	Strategist	Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Healing Boost bonus
Adam Warlock	Strategist	Reduced Cosmic Cluster projectile damage from 38 to 35
Invisible Woman	Strategist	Removed Team-Up anchor 15% Healing Boost bonus

Character

Role

Nerf(s)

White Fox	Strategist	Increased Spirit Sanctuary cooldown from 12 seconds to 15 Removed Team-Up anchor 10% Healing Boost bonus
Gambit	Strategist	Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Healing Boost bonus
Mantis	Strategist	Removed Team-Up anchor 10% Healing Boost bonus
Rocket Raccoon	Strategist	Increased energy cost of C.Y.A (Ultimate) Added distance-based fall off logic to C.Y.A.'s Damage Boost effect Removed Team-Up anchor 5% Healing Boost bonus
Luna Snow	Strategist	Removed the 10% Damage Boost from Number One Idol ability Removed Team-Up anchor 15% Healing Boost bonus
Cloak & Dagger	Strategist	Removed Team-Up anchor 15% Healing Boost bonus

Some characters, such as Iron Man and Cyclops in Marvel Rivals, were specifically targeted by nerfs due to their respective strengths. Cyclops' status as the most recent character added to the game showed how the Duelist was less tuned than other heroes, leading to some adjustments to their abilities. On the other hand, Iron Man's wealth of new and returning abilities through the Team-Up changes make him incredibly strong again, meaning his base skills needed to be toned down.

Other characters were nerfed in smaller ways, with Restorative Shields and Regenerative Health reducing the base value of character health across the board. These numbers will likely get tweaked in the near future, with developers already promising faster patches throughout the Season to account for these sweeping changes. With Marvel Rivals introducing so much new content, these buffs and nerfs create almost a new game for players to discover.