Marvel Rivals Season 3 update live build-up: our predictions and preview thoughts as we roll toward the new season's launch

Marvel Rivals Season 3 launches tomorrow (July 11), adding Phoenix as a brand new Duelist. So far, we've gotten an in-depth look at the new Heroe's moveset, a deep dive into the changes to Team Ups and Daily Missions, and an extended peek at Klyntar: Celestial Husk, the game's new Domination map.

Now that we're in the build-up of Marvel Rivals' next season, I'll be providing you with up-to-date information on what's set to change, what you'll want to be focusing on before the end of Season 2.5, and some impressions from my time playing the new season as part of my early access preview opportunity, provided by NetEase.

NetEase has now unveiled the next season of Marvel Rivals, revealing Phoenix's kit and a deep dive into the latest patch notes and balance changes. There's a new Domination map to look at, too: the dark and mysterious lair of the villainous Knull. If my early impressions are correct, Season 3 seriously shakes up the meta, especially with its new Team Ups for Heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine.

Having covered Season 2.5's launch and the subsequent balancing changes to the Hero roster, I'm excited to see what this new era of Marvel Rivals has in store. I'm especially interested to see how the new release schedule - NetEase is planning a new Season, and two new Heroes every two months - will change the pace of the meta.

I've now spent hundreds of hours playing Marvel Rivals Competitive Mode since launch, mostly focusing on Vanguard Heroes like Venom and Magneto, but I'm really liking how Phoenix is shaping up pre-release. Here's the launch of Marvel Rivals Season 3 as it happens. I'll be covering tomorrow's launch live, with today focusing on the tail-end of the current season.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 - cut to the chase

Looking for a quick overview? Here are the most important parts of Season 3 to know about:

• Start time: July 11 at 6am EDT / 3am PDT / 11am BST (after estimated downtime)
• New Hero: Phoenix
• New map: Klyntar - Celestial Husk (Domination)
• Season event: Milano Repair Logs
• Hero balancing
• New Rank Rewards: Phoenix - Emerald Flames

Marvel Rivals Season 3 release date and estimated release time

Marvel Rivals Season 3 will launch on July 11, 2025. Downtime is set for 4am EDT / 1am PDT / 9am BST, and based on previous season launches, I expect it to last for two hours. Given this estimate, here's when I'd expect Season 3 to launch in your timezone:

• 3am PDT
• 6am EDT
• 11am BST
• 12pm CEST
• 7pm JST
• 8pm AEST

Marvel Rivals Season 3 downtime is estimated to be 1-2 hours, though this is subject to change. I'll be keeping this part of our live coverage updated during downtime, and will bring you the news when servers go back online. You can also look out for intel over on the Marvel Rivals Twitter account.

Marvel Rivals Phoenix

Phoenix is the new Hero being added to Marvel Rivals Season 3. I've spent some time trying her out, and she's primarily a ranged Duelist who works best at off-angles. She plays very similarly to Hela, though she has a passive that stacks damage on enemies with each hit. Every third hit triggers an explosion, dealing extra damage, hitting any nearby enemies, and tagging them with a Phoenix mark. As such, Phoenix is extremely powerful when teams are grouped together.

As a Duelist, Phoenix is mostly about dealing huge amounts of damage, though she's also great at removing enemy support passives, like Loki clones and Peni Parker mines. Her Ultimate is a dive bomb attack that deals massive area of effect damage, before returning Phoenix back to where she triggered the ability. She has a new Team Up called Primal Flame, which buffs Wolverine with flame damage with his Primal Leap. She also applies life steal to Wolverine's attacks once the Team Up is triggered.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 patch notes

NetEase has now released the full patch notes for Marvel Rivals Season 3. It outlines loads of bug fixes for Heroes like The Thing, as well as some adjustments to in-game audio. There's a new Accessory system too, allowing players to add small trinkets onto Heroes for an extra bit of visual flair. You can read the full patch notes here.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 new map

Klyntar: Celestial Husk is a brand new Domination map set to be added in Marvel Rivals Season 3. It's the setting for Knull's seasonal debut, and it's appropriately menacing. Having spent some time with the new map, I can say it's one of the best released so far. There are tight corridors, perfect for the new Hero Phoenix to unleash AoE attacks in. There are a lot of possibilities for flanking and off-angle play, too. You can check out a deep dive on the new map in the video below:

Marvel Rivals Ranked changes

In addition to the new map, there's going to be a rank reset for Competitive Mode players. If you've reached the higher tiers in Marvel Rivals, expect to be demoted by seven tiers upon the launch of Season 3. This means that if you hit Diamond I in Season 2.5, you'll go down to Gold II. There's a Phoenix skin to earn by reaching Gold by the end of this season, and several nameplates and banners corresponding to Grandmaster, Celestial, and Eternity ranks.

As a freelance games writer, it's my job to stay up to date with the latest games, especially live service titles like Marvel Rivals. I've put hundreds of hours into Rivals since launch, primarily maining Venom, who I now have at Lord rank. Generally, I play Competitive Mode with a regular squad, hovering around the top of the Platinum tier. So far, I've mostly stuck to the Vanguard and Strategist Roles, though I'm definitely excited to get my hands on Phoenix. Rather fittingly, in this new symbiote-themed season, Venom is getting a buff, which I can't wait to try out. There are buffs to Mantis, too, who was my main Strategist in Season One.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 live coverage