Team composition is important in any hero shooter, but with its bespoke Team-ups for specific character pairings, Marvel Rivals takes it to an even deeper level. However, it's about to get a bit of a shakeup. Not only will we be welcoming new hero Ultron into the meta in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5, but six brand new Team-ups will give you more to think about when it comes to selecting which characters you take into battle. Plus, there's an unexpected, experimental limited-time mode that turns the game into an autobattler.
The Season 2.5 update for Marvel Rivals tier list a refresh. The six new Team-ups will certainly play a role in that shift, and today NetEase has revealed which heroes they'll involve and how they'll work.
Symbiote Shenanigans features two fan-favorite characters, Venom and Jeff the Land Shark, and sees Venom transfer some of his symbiote to Jeff who can then connect to allies to heal them. Jeff features once again in the Jeff-nado Team-up with Storm, which sees their two ultimates combine into one devastating tornado attack. Operation Microchip sees The Punisher buff Black Widow's rifle by giving it "a piercing pulse beam that cuts right through enemies." Luna Snow and Hawkeye combine for Chilling Assault, which gives Hawkeye an icy arrow that will deal more damage the further away the target is, rewarding your long-range precision. Rocket Network sees Peni Parker and Rocket Raccoon get some advanced gadgets that deploy spider drones onto the battlefield. And finally, good and evil unite in Stark Protocol, which sees Iron Man give new hero Ultron a powerful beam attack that pierces through everything in its bath, damaging opponents and healing allies.
To make way for these new Team-ups, four existing ones are being removed from Marvel Rivals. They are Chilling Charisma (Jeff and Luna Snow), Allied Agents (Black Widow and Hawkeye), Ammo Overload (Rocket and The Punisher), and Symbiote Bond (Venom and Peni Parker or Spider-Man).
The presence of Ultron will also shake up the status quo for Strategists. Able to deliver consistent healing to allies while dishing out decent amounts of damage with his energy beam attacks, this new aerial hero looks very versatile indeed.
An Ultron-inspired map is arriving in Season 2.5 too. Arrako is described as an island that's been "transformed" by Ultron into a "cold, merciless, mechanical world."
The other major addition is a limited-time mode called Ultron's Battle Matrix Protocol. Arriving a week or so after the update drops, this is a solo competitive experience that turns Marvel Rivals into a Teamfight Tactics-esque autobattler. You choose a line up of six heroes and spend points on upgrading their traits and abilities. Then, you place them on a grid in a formation of your choosing. Once that planning phase is over, your team of heroes is matched against another player's team to fight in automated skirmishes. If you eliminate all six of your opponent's heroes before they wipe you out, you win the round.
Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 gets underway on Friday, May 30, but the Ultron's Battle Matrix Protocol mode doesn't go live until Friday, June 6.
If you want to bag yourself some freebies, check out our multiplayer games that we recommend.
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