Marvel Rivals is expanding its roster again, with Blade set to join the free-to-play hero shooter as part of the Season 3 update. The vampire hunter’s arrival continues NetEase Games’ steady cadence of new characters and balance shifts as it fights for attention in a crowded live-service space.

### Blade Joins the Roster
Blade’s inclusion brings a fan-favorite Marvel mainstay into the mix, and his kit is expected to lean into close-range pressure and survivability—fitting for a character defined by relentless pursuit and brutal, efficient combat. NetEase hasn’t framed him as a simple reskin of existing melee archetypes either, signaling a push to make new heroes meaningfully reshape team compositions rather than just pad the lineup.

### Season 3 Balance Changes
Season 3 isn’t only about a new hero. The update also introduces a fresh set of buffs and nerfs aimed at tightening match flow and reducing frustrating power spikes. As with previous balance passes, the goal appears to be smoothing out extremes—bringing overperforming picks back to the pack while giving underused heroes clearer roles.

### Team-Up and System Tweaks
NetEase is also revisiting team-up interactions, a core hook that differentiates Marvel Rivals from other shooters by encouraging synergy-driven playmaking. Small changes here can have outsized impact, since team-up abilities can swing fights quickly; tweaking cooldowns, triggers, or combinations is one of the fastest ways to refresh the meta without reworking entire characters.

Blade’s timing matters: hero shooters live and die on momentum, and frequent, readable updates keep players invested while giving competitive communities something new to solve. If Season 3’s tuning lands well, it could help Marvel Rivals carve out a more stable identity—and keep its matchmaking healthy—while rival live-service titles continue to battle for the same audience.

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