The highly anticipated Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is set to go live on May 30, 2025. Players can expect server downtime starting at 2 AM PDT / 5 AM EDT / 10 AM BST / 11 AM CEST, lasting approximately two to three hours before the update becomes available.
This mid-season refresh will bridge the gap until Season 3 arrives in roughly six weeks. Interestingly, starting with Season 3, the development team plans to accelerate the update cycle, shortening seasons to just two months each. This means fresh content, including new heroes, maps, and cosmetics, will roll out monthly to keep the experience dynamic.
Ultron’s Deadly Abilities Revealed
The notorious AI villain, Ultron, makes his grand entrance as part of the Season 2.5 update. Despite his destructive reputation, he takes on the Strategist role, focusing on team support through healing and buffs. While NetEase hasn’t officially detailed his full kit, leaks have uncovered his powerful abilities:
- Encephalo-Ray (Primary Attack): Fires a searing energy beam at enemies.
- Rage of Ultron (Ultimate): Summons drones that either damage foes or heal allies with Encephalo-Rays.
- Imperative: Patch (Ability): Deploys a large drone to follow an ally, providing continuous healing to nearby teammates with enhanced effects on the marked target.
- Imperative: Firewall (Ability): Calls in drones to boost allies’ health within a set radius, centered on Ultron and his Patch-marked ally.
- Algorithm Correction (Passive): Holding the jump button allows for a slow descent.
- Dynamic Flight (Movement Ability): Grants a quick directional dash followed by free-flight mode.
Alongside Ultron, players can explore Arakko, a brand-new convoy map, plus additional events and cosmetic items to unlock.
Balance Changes and Competitive Adjustments
With the meta stabilizing after Emma Frost’s introduction, the mid-season patch brings targeted tweaks to several heroes:
- Groot and Captain America will see slight reductions in survivability.
- Spider-Man’s Amazing Combo damage range will be toned down.
- Doctor Strange’s ultimate cost is being reduced for better accessibility.
- Winter Soldier receives minor buffs to Tainted Voltage and his team-up ability.
- Adjustments are also planned for Black Widow, Mister Fantastic, Scarlet Witch, Peni Parker, Jeff the Land Shark, and Rocket Raccoon.
Since Ultron’s arrival will shake up team compositions, these changes are relatively restrained. Further balancing is expected once players adapt to the new Strategist’s playstyle.
Beyond hero adjustments, NetEase is refining the competitive point system after feedback from Season 2. The previous changes placed heavier emphasis on individual performance rather than match outcomes, unintentionally benefiting certain roles like Duelists over Vanguards and Strategists. The upcoming update aims to create a fairer distribution of points across all playstyles.