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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.