Marvel RivalsSeason 3 kicks off August 03, 2025, bringing a number of balance adjustments and Team-Up changes to the roster. While some characters get buffed or nerfed individually, Season 3 will see some Team-Up abilities be removed while others are adjusted, similar to previous seasons. In addition, two new Team-Ups have been revealed to showcase even more synergy between the game’s heroes and villains.
Season 3 launches with Jean Grey, aka the Phoenix, as one of itsnew characters inMarvel Rivals. Like past introductions to the roster, this character will introduce new Team-Up possibilities into the game, just as the next character, Blade, will inevitably do in Season 3.5. Withnearly 70% of all Team-Up abilities having been changed since the game’s launch, expect even more adjustments with each major update.
Which Team-Up Abilities Are Going Away?
Say Goodbye To Some Character Combinations For The Foreseeable Future
Onlytwo different Team-Up abilities will be retired in Season 3, keeping many of the synergies in the game compared to previous updates. The removed Team-Ups include:
These picks for removed Team-Ups surprised me, as the Storm and Human Torch synergized ability only happened when both characters combined their Ultimates. This was rare, but thetwo characters were a staple of the prominent flying character metaestablished with Ultron’s arrival in Season 2.5. So, perhaps this was to reduce the feeling that multiple aerial characters were needed in ateam comp inMarvel Rivalsto win matches.
The Spider-Man Team-Up with Squirrel Girl is not game-shaking, as I have never seen this ability used frequently in matches. Its lack of use probably led to its disappearance, but it now leaves both characters with no Team-Up to use. Thankfully, with Storm still having a Team-Up with Jeff the Land Shark, all three other characters removed from synergies will get new abilities as compensation in Season 3.
Every New Team-Up Ability In Season 3
Multiple Characters Are Encouraged To Start Working Together
There are not nearly as many new Team-Ups as there were in Season 2.5, buttwo new character synergies are being introducedwhen Season 3 drops. One of these involves the new character Phoenix, a ranged Duelist releasing when Season 3 goes live. That being said, Phoenix is just the anchor for this Team-Up, making another ability appear for someone else and gaining a small stat bonus for herself.
Many of the Team-Ups from Season 2 remain within the game in Season 3, but any of them could be removed in Season 3.5. With thenew seasons lasting only two monthsinstead of three starting in Season 3, new Team-Ups are sure to appear far faster.
The following table goes over every new Team-Up coming in Season 3, as well as which characters they impact and what they do:
Phoenix
Wolverine
With Phoenix as the anchor, Wolverine gains new properties to his"Feral Leap"ability. When Wolverine uses Feral Leap, an aura of flame appears around him, damaging any character near him for a short time. During this time, Wolverine’s attacks gain Lifesteal, converting damage into Bonus Health.
The Human Torch
Spider-Man
With the Human Torch as the anchor, Spider-Man gains a new ability. This ability allows Spider-Man to shoot a burning web, which attaches to hit enemies as a Spider-Tracer. While an enemy has this burning Tracer attached to them, they take damage over time. Spider-Man can use this burning Tracer in the same way as his other Tracer web balls.
Both of these Team-Ups work in synergy with another character’s existing abilities, giving them something they can use as part of their natural toolkit. For Spider-Man, this allows him to create deadly fire-based combos, similar to how Venom once gave him a strong AoE through his symbiote. Wolverine gaining Lifesteal is sure to be deadly to enemy Vanguards, but it remains to be seen how strong each of these Team-Ups will be.
Every Existing Team-Up That’s Changed In Season 3
New Characters Added To Form Triple Hero Team-Ups
In the opposite direction from Team-Up changes last season,two characters are being added to existing synergiesto create dynamic triple hero groups. The two affected Team-Ups gaining a new member are:
Symbiote Shenanigans is gaining Hela, the goddess of death whose alliance with thesymbiote god Knull in Season 3is reflected through a new ability. When paired with the anchor of this Team-Up, Venom, Hela has new properties for her Soul Drainer Hel Sphere. If Hela uses the ability during the Team-Up, herHel Sphere launches symbiote tentacles that latch onto nearby enemies and slow them downas long as they remain in the orb’s range.
Meanwhile, theTeam-Up between Iron Man and Ultron gains an unlikely member - Squirrel Girl. When paired with the anchor Iron Man, Squirrel Girl gains a nanotech gauntlet, which acts as its own independent ability for the character. Squirrel Girl can activate the new ability to send a squirrel flying on the nanotech gauntlet toward an enemy, where it will home in on them to deliver an explosion of damage.
This added variety to existing Team-Ups will create unique team comps, with both abilities seeming to act as counters to the strength of flying characters. Although it is hard to tell if these Team-Up changes in Season 3 will create a new meta inMarvel Rivals, they will keep the game fresh by encouraging certain characters to work together more often than they have in the past.
