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Hello and welcome
Marvel Rivals Season 4 is now less than a day away from launching. I can’t wait to try out the new Hero, a Vanguard that flies through the air with a golden spear and shield. I’ve now gotten early access to the new season, and I’ll be covering the build up to launch with everything you need to know about the next major update.
Here’s when Season 3.5 goes into downtime
Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 will go into downtime for a couple of hours before Season 4 arrives. This kicks in on September 12 at the following times:
- East Coast (US): 5AM ET (September 12)
- West Coast (US): 2AM PT (September 12)
- United Kingdom: 10AM BST (September 12)
- Europe (Central): 11AM CEST (September 12)
- Japan (Tokyo): 7PM JST (September 12)
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST (September 12)
I estimate Marvel Rivals Season 4 to start at the this time
Given that downtime has been pretty much exactly 2 hours for the last three Marvel Rivals seasonal updates, I estimate Season 4 to launch around the following times:
- East Coast (US): 7AM ET (September 12)
- West Coast (US): 4AM PT (September 12)
- United Kingdom: 12AM BST (September 12)
- Europe (Central): 1PM CEST (September 12)
- Japan (Tokyo): 8PM JST (September 12)
Marvel Rivals is coming to PS4!
Great news for PlayStation fans, Marvel Rivals Season 4 launches on PS4. This is the first time the game has been ported to last-gen consoles, so it’ll surely allow many more players to join in on the fun. I’ll be testing the PS4 version at some point to see how it measures up. Hopefully, it still manages a consistent 60fps, which is vital for competitive games like Marvel Rivals.
Angela joins as a brand new Vanguard
The new Hero for Marvel Rivals Season 4 is Angela. She’s a new Vanguard, but quite unlike the others in that she can fly. She’s able to pull enemies away from their teammates, and deal massive damage with close-quarters combat. Her Ultimate creates a zone that slows enemies and deals extra damage to them. Thor gets a new Team Up with Angela as well.
A new Battle Pass brings new skins
There’s a new Battle Pass to work through in Marvel Rivals Season 4. It adds skins for Luna Snow, Loki, Phoenix and Angela. So far, we’ve seen an awesome purple caped costume for Magneto, Ultron-inspired skins for Star Lord and Moon Knight, and even a blue Doctor Strange variant.
Season 4 Roadmap revealed
NetEase has unveiled a full roadmap for Season 4. The Marvel Swimsuit event returns September 19, adding Summer skins for Mantis, Johnny Storm and Invisible Woman. There’s also a new map arriving September 26, set in K’un-Lun.
Season 4.5 launches October 10
We now know that Marvel Rivals Season 4.5 will arrive on October 10. It’ll add Daredevil to the game, and hopefully bring new events, maps and modes. We don’t know much about Daredevil yet, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he’s a Vanguard, Duelist or Strategist.
More Arcade Modes
Season 4 adds new Arcade Modes that players can mix and match. Here’s what’s going to be available:
- Free Fight (NEW)
- Conquest Annihilation (NEW)
- Clone Rumble
- Giant-Size Brain Blast
- Conquest
- Doom Match
Here are the Hero balancing buffs and nerfs for Season 4
You can read a full breakdown of the upcoming buffs and nerfs in this Marvel Rivals blog post. Here’s an overview of who’s being buffed and who’s receiving a nerf:
- Hero balancing (buffs): Peni Parker, Thor, Blade, Magick, Moon Knight, Scarlet Witch, Winter Soldier, Invisible Woman, Jeff the Land Shark, Mantis, Ultron
- Hero Balancing (nerfs): Captain America, Doctor Strange, Emma Frost, Black Panther, Psylocke, Squirrel Girl, Loki, Luna Snow
Rank reset incoming!
All players will be re-ranked at the start of Season 4. Based on your final Season 3.5 rank, ranks will be demoted by 7 divisions. For example, if you ended the season at Diamond I, your Season 4 journey begins at Gold II.
That’s all for now
I’m heading off for today. Join me tomorrow in the hours leading up to downtime, where I’ll be providing updates on when the game goes back online. From there, I’ll be offering my early gameplay impressions once things are live again.
We’re now just one hour away from downtime
Marvel Rivals will go into downtime at the times below. I’d expect it to last 2 hours, which has been the case for the last few seasonal updates.
- East Coast (US): 5AM ET (September 12)
- West Coast (US): 2AM PT (September 12)
- United Kingdom: 10AM BST (September 12)
- Europe (Central): 11AM CEST (September 12)
- Japan (Tokyo): 7PM JST (September 12)
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST (September 12)
The plan for today
Marvel Rivals Season 4 launches later today, adding in Angela as a brand new Hero. Once the game is back online, I’ll be diving into the game to test out all of the new changes. You can follow along live as I cover the launch of Season 4.
Thor is getting an upgrade
Thor is one of the lucky Heroes receiving a buff for Season 4. He’ll have a new Team Up with Angela, as well as an increase in movement speed during his Ultimate. In addition, there’s now a stun effect following the Ultimate, which lasts for one second.
Daredevil is the Season 4.5 Hero
NetEase has already announced the new Hero for Season 4.5, and it’s a much-requested character. Daredevil will be added on October 10, though we don’t know much about him so far. You can check out his new design in the video above.
Make sure to finish off any remaining Season 3.5 challenges
There’s still time to clear some leftover challenges, so that you can purchase Battle Pass rewards for Season 3.5. Luckily Marvel Rivals lets you claim old rewards if you’ve purchased a Battle Pass, but the challenges will be getting a refresh. Head into the game and clear up anything you’re close to finishing.
Marvel Rivals is now in downtime
Downtime has kicked in, meaning you won’t be able to log into Marvel RIvals for a couple of hours. Fear not, as I’ll be sure to update this page the second the game goes back online.
Marvel Rivals Login Error
If you attempt to log into Marvel Rivals currently, you’ll get presented with a “Login Error” message. This also details that the game is under maintenance, and gives an estimated time for completion (12:00 UTC+1).
Luna Snow finally gets a nerf
As a Luna Snow player, I’m devastated to announce that NetEase has finally nerfed the Hero. Luckily, it’s just a two second decrease in the length of her Ultimate, so I reckon she’ll still be the best Strategist in the game.
New Season 4 Twitch Drops
There’s new Twitch Drop rewards in Marvel Rivals Season 4. The headline item is a Will of Galacta skin for Blade, but there’s also a Blade emote, Nameplate, and a Spray to earn as well.
One hour of downtime left
Marvel Rivals should be back online in just one hour. Hopefully, things go live smoothly, but there’s always a chance that the update takes longer than expected.
Huge Scarlet Witch buff incoming
Scarlet Witch is getting some major upgrades for Marvel Rivals Season 4. She can now be healed by teammates during her Ultimate, which now does more than 11 times the damage. It also pulls in enemies during cast. She’s basically a bomb now.
A brand new event lands in Marvel Rivals Season 4. The Scroll of the Immortal Beasts event will task you with completing challenges to unlock an awesome Ultron Wasteland Robot skin.
Marvel Rivals Season 4 is live!
You can now dive into Marvel Rivals Season 4. There’s a new Vanguard to try out, a whole heap of new Store skins, as well as a Battle Pass to work through. I’ll be playing for the next few hours, offering my live impressions.
Black Panther added to Gamma Charge
Black Panther has been added to Gamma Charge, and will now automatically receive health when taking high damage. This will massively improve his dive capabilities, and add a good reason to bring Hulk into the fight.
New Achievements to complete
There’s a new set of Achievements to work through. They mostly involve playing as Angela, and unlocking the new Gallery Cards. These are well worth completing, as some reward you with Units.
Angela 2099 Costume
There’s a brand new Angela skin available for purchase in the store. It’s bundled in with an Angela emoji pack too.
Event first missions
You can now check out the first missions for the Scroll of Immortal Beasts event. Clear these to unlock a very cool looking skin for Ultron.
Divine Armory
There’s a brand new Team Up to check out in Marvel Rivals Season 4. It’s called Divine Armory, and adds a new ability to Thor’s kit. Angela is the Team Anchor, gaining bonus health.
Fruit of Immortality Battle Pass
The new Battle Pass is now available. It features an awesome Luna Snow skin that’s unlocked immediately, as well as a bunch of emotes, Chrono Tokens, and Gallery Cards. As always, you can spend a little extra to unlock tiers immediately.
Early impressions of Angela
Having a flying Vanguard is very interesting indeed. Her ability to move enemies out of place is extremely useful, and her shield is surprisingly decent. I’ll be using her in Quick Match for now, and I’d love to match up with a Thor player to test out the new Team Up.
