Marvel Rivals Season 5 launch: our coverage of the Gambit update, including early impressions now that it's live
Season 5 adds a brand new Strategist
Marvel Rivals Season 5 launched earlier today (November 14), and added a whole new Battle Pass to work through, some significant changes to Ranked play, and of course, a new Hero. Gambit joins the battle as a Strategist, and later on we'll be getting Rogue as part of the 5.5 update.
I've now played hundreds of hours of Marvel Rivals since launch, jumping in at the start of every season to try out the new Hero. I'm very excited to get my hands on Gambit, and absolutely ready to be pulled away from my Vanguard bias. It's not just the arrival of Gambit that'll switch up Season 5, however, as there are changes to Heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America that will surely change the meta going forward.
Here's the Marvel Rivals Season 5 launch info, alongside details on what to expect from the new major update. I'll be covering the launch as it happens, and offering my live reactions once now that it's out.
Marvel Rivals Season 5 start time
Marvel Rivals Season 5 launched on November 14 at the times below:
- East Coast (US): 6AM ET
- West Coast (US): 3AM PT
- United Kingdom: 11AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 10PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 8PM JST
Marvel Rivals Downtime
Marvel Rivals Season 5 downtime began at the following times:
- East Coast (US): 4AM ET
- West Coast (US): 1AM PT
- United Kingdom: 9AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 6PM JST
Marvel Rivals Gambit
Gambit joins Marvel Rivals as the new Hero in Season 5. He's a Strategist, using kinetic energy abilities to launch playing cards at enemies. He's able to heal teammates, apply anti-heal to foes, and he's very agile as he uses quick dashes to move around the map. His Bayou Bash slams the ground, healing teammates and damaging enemies, and can be combined with a dash to heal multiple players at once.
He arrives with a Team Up with Magneto, which harkens back to the Metallic Chaos Team Up, but this time with kinetic energy instead of magic. Gambit is the anchor here, so gains bonus health when there's a Magneto on the same team.
Marvel Rivals Season 5 Hero Balancing
The following Hero balancing updates are now live in Marvel Rivals Season 5:
- Hero balancing (buffs): Angela, Hawkeye, Captain America, Groot, Hulk, Magneto, Peni Parker, The Thing, Mr Fantastic, Spider-Man, The Punisher, Wolverine, Phoenix, Squirrel Girl, Storm, Rocket Raccoon, Loki, Cloak & Dagger, Adam Warlock, Invisible Woman
- Hero Balancing (nerfs): There are no outright nerfs this season
Marvel Rivals Season 5 ranked changes
There's plenty of Ranked Changes added as part of Marvel Rivals Season 5. Here's the headline info:
- Rank rewards: Reach Gold for the Gambit - Sacrificial Pawn costume
- Nameplates: Diamond and Platinum, Crests of Honor for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and Top 500
- Placement: From Season 5 onward, your first 10 ranked matches are Placement Matches. Your performance determines your starting tier
Marvel Rivals Season 5 live coverage as it happened
As Evergreen Editor, 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 the game at this point, having jumped on during Season 0. Since then, I've covered every season personally and professionally, and I've particularly enjoyed Season 2, which gave me the opportunity to try out Emma Frost as a brand-new Vanguard. I tend to stick to the Vanguard role, and I'm currently working on getting Magneto to Lord proficiency. Hopefully, Gambit gives me a new Strategist character to main in Season 5.
Well, hi there!
Thus begins my live coverage of the launch of Marvel Rivals Season 5. The game will get a whole new season tomorrow (November 14), adding a new Battle Pass, a hub map for players to hang out in, and Gambit as a new Hero.
When does Marvel Rivals Season 4.5 end?
Marvel Rivals Season 4.5 ends November 14 at the times listed below:
- East Coast (US): 4AM ET
- West Coast (US): 1AM PT
- United Kingdom: 9AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 6PM JST
So when will Marvel Rivals Season 5 come out?
Marvel Rivals Season 5 will arrive after downtime kicks in. This has been precisely 2 hours of wait time for the last four major updates, so I expect Season 5 to launch at this time:
- East Coast (US): 6AM ET
- West Coast (US): 3AM PT
- United Kingdom: 11AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 10PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 8PM JST
Gambit is the new Hero in Marvel Rivals
We now know that Gambit is the next Hero set to be added in Marvel Rivals. He’s a Strategist that can heal teammates with his kinetic playing cards, and apply anti-heal in certain situations. He has an ability that can actually negate certain effects as well, and we see him in the reveal trailer countering a Doctor Strange Ultimate ability.
Placement matches for Marvel Rivals
There’s now placement matches for the Competitive Mode in Marvel Rivals. If you played 10 or more ranked matches in Season 4, your Season 5 placement matches estimated starting rank is your Season 4 final rank minus 3 divisions. This is then compared with your highest ranking in previous seasons, with some tiers subtracted. You can read the full details here.
When is Rogue coming to Marvel Rivals?
Gambit and Rogue have been revealed for Marvel Rivals. Gambit is arriving first, and we’ll see Rogue following on December 12, 2025. This is when Season 5.5 will launch, and we’ll all be able to play as Rogue.
Season 5 roadmap revealed
NetEase has now revealed the full roadmap for Season 5. There’s set to be new costumes for Doctor Strange, Luna Snow, Magik, and Psylocke, and anniversary celebrations kick off on November 28.
A new Team Up for Magneto
Gambit arrives and brings a new Team Up with Magneto. This is essentially a rework of his Team Up with Scarlet Witch, a move that will no doubt excite a lot of players (including me). Now, Magneto can throw kinetically-charged swords at foes, making him even more formidable.
A new player hub
The Times Square map will launch in Season 5, and it’s essentially a player hub where you can hang out. It’s a non-combat map that can host up to 100 players. Players can hang out, dance, watch videos, read books, and let their imaginations run wild.
That’s all for today
I’m heading off now for the evening. I’ll be back one hour before Marvel Rivals goes into downtime, and continue to provide updates on when the game will be back online. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for the next season, as I’m itching to dive in and play as Gambit.
Marvel Rivals Season 5 launches later today!
We’re now just one hour away from downtime, meaning it’s only a few hours until Marvel Rivals Season 5 launches. I’ll be covering the downtime period, and will update this page the second the game goes live again.
Here’s when Marvel Rivals downtime kicks in
You can expect Marvel Rivals downtime to start at the times below:
- East Coast (US): 4AM ET
- West Coast (US): 1AM PT
- United Kingdom: 9AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 6PM JST
How long is downtime expected to last?
Marvel Rivals Season 4.5 will end soon, and then the game will go offline for a period of downtime. This is expected to be 2-3 hours. For the last few seasons, it’s been a wait of precisely 2 hours. Hopefully Season 5 follows suit.
You’ll still be able to work on your Season 4 battle pass once the new one is live
Marvel Rivals battle passes are yours to keep once you’ve purchased them. You can switch between them in-game, and spend your tokens how you see fit. So don’t worry too much if you’ve not yet earned all of the rewards from last season.
Marvel Rivals is now in downtime
Downtime has triggered for Marvel Rivals, meaning you won’t be able to login until Season 5 is here. I predict that we’ll all be playing in roughly two hours, so stay tuned for updates.
New Twitch Drops for Season 5
Marvel RIvals Season 5 brings new rewards that can be earned via Twitch Drops. Just link your accounts, and watch any Marvel Rivals stream on Twitch. There’s a bunch of in-game items to earn, including an exclusive Phoenix costume.
Just one hour until Season 5 launches
We’re now an hour into downtime, which means that Marvel Rivals Season 5 could be just an hour away. This is how things have worked for the last few major updates. I’ll be diving in once servers are back, and will be taking Gambit for a test spin in the Practice Range.
Check out the Marvel Rivals Season 5 Battle Pass
NetEase has revealed the Battle Pass skins for Marvel Rivals Season 5. You can check them out in the image above. There's new costumes for Namor, Scarlet Witch, Angela, Ultron, Groot, The Thing, Hela, and The Punisher.
Marvel Rivals Season 5 is now live!
Servers are up, and Marvel Rivals Season 5 is here. There's plenty to dig into, so I'll be providing some live reactions as I play my first few games. Firstly, I'll be trying out Gambit in the Practice Range.
Gambit is feeling mighty fine
Gambit is a very interesting Strategist, and his Ultimate could be a real game-changer. After having spent some time in the Practice Range trying him out, it's clear that managing his decks will be where the true depth of the Hero is hidden. His melee has surprising range, and his dashes are great for stringing together combos.
Frankenstein x The Punisher is a brilliant choice
I've taken a look through the new Battle Pass, and the standout is surely the Franken-Castle costume, which gives The Punisher a monster-themed makeover. There's a great skin for Groot too, putting him in a Guardians-appropriate uniform.
The Times Square player hub is very unsteady at the moment
If you're trying to load into the Times Square player hub map on PC, you may encounter some issues. It appears that the frame rate is locked to 60FPS, which is causing some users to report stability bugs. With so many characters on screen in one area, this is to be expected, and we'll likely see some stability fixes over the next few days. At present, the chat log is absolutely dominated by PC players realizing that their machines aren't running quite right in the new map
Hawkeye gets a healing slash
As part of a new Team Up with Cloak & Dagger, Hawkeye gets a new slash ability that sends a wave forward, healing allies and damaging foes. This is a nice variant on his slash move, and it'll be interesting to see how often the new pairing is used this season.
Complete the new event to earn the Iron Spider
Complete tasks as part of the Elders' Chessboard, a brand new event that features an Iron Spider Costume as its final reward. The quests are very straightforward, but be sure to claim any rewards as you earn them while playing Season 5.
Gambit's Ultimate is very powerful indeed
Gambit's Ultimate ability is called Ragin' Royal Flush. Lock onto an ally within sight and unleash multiple Aces that heal and Purify. Both enter the Kinetic Transfer state, granting increased Movement Speed and Jump Boost, while enhancing attacks with additional single-target explosive damage and providing the ally with Ultimate Ability Charge Acceleration.
That's all for now
I'll be heading off now to spend some time digging into Season 5. So far, I'm loving Magneto and Gambit's Team Up, and the placement matches are a great change to Ranked Play. I need to play more of Gambit to see where he ranks in terms of the best Strategists, but he definitely feels viable at launch.