Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals Season 10.5 new hero: there isn't one, here's who's next

-VersaciBoosts

Saturday, October 10, 2026

Key takeaways

Logged in on Friday expecting a new hero and found a 2v2 mode instead? You didn't miss anything. Season 10.5 shipped with no new hero at all, and NetEase told us a month ago it would go that way. Here's what the Marvel Rivals Season 10.5 update actually added, who got buffed and nerfed, and what we know (and what's only leaked) about the two heroes coming in Season 11.

Is there a new hero in Marvel Rivals Season 10.5?

No. The Season 10.5 patch notes list modes, an event, a map, costumes and fixes, and no hero. The update went live on October 9 at 09:00 UTC with about two hours of maintenance, and the official heroes page still shows 54 heroes, with Gorr on the end.

Was it a surprise? It shouldn't have been. Guangyun "Guangguang" Chen said it on camera in Dev Vision Vol. 21 on September 9, at the start of Season 10:

In the first half of the season, we'll be rolling out one new hero and one new map. In the second half, our focus will shift to phase three and phase four of the Path to Doomsday events. This will feature two brand-new game modes... Of course, we want to reassure the community that a single-hero season isn't the new normal. We can't wait to unveil the two heroes coming in S11, so stay tuned.

A lot of sites now say that line came from the Season 10.5 video. It didn't. Dev Vision Vol. 22, posted October 7, only covers the new modes and Halloween and doesn't talk about Season 11 at all. The promise is from Vol. 21.

So the one new hero for all of Season 10 is Gorr, released September 11. If you haven't played him yet, he's still the newest kit in the game, and he just got nerfed (more on that below).

Why skip a hero? NetEase hasn't given a reason beyond that quote. The work went into the Path to Doomsday modes, which tie into Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday, out December 18. Some outlets say the team did it to ease balance strain. That's their read, not something NetEase said, so we'll leave it there.

Season 10.5 breaks a 19-update streak

How unusual is this? Very. Since Season 1, every update, full season or half season, has added at least one hero. Here's the full run:

That's 21 heroes over 19 updates, on top of the 33 at launch, which is how we get to 54. Seasons 2 to 9 each added two heroes, one at the start and one at the half. Season 10 is the first season with only one.

Does it matter for ranked? A bit. A new hero usually shakes up the meta for two or three weeks while people figure out counters. With no newcomer, the 10.5 meta is just the Season 10 meta plus the balance patch. If you climbed with Gorr in September, you already know the hero everybody's playing, he just hits a bit softer now.

Picking up Gorr or one of the buffed heroes this half? Our Marvel Rivals Lord calculator estimates the XP and matches it takes to reach Lord, Champion or level 70.

What Season 10.5 added instead of a hero

So where did the half-season go? Mostly into Path to Doomsday, the event NetEase has been building towards the Avengers: Doomsday movie since April. Chapters one and two (The Avengers and Age of Ultron) came out earlier this year. Season 10.5 has chapters three and four.

Path to Doomsday: Avengers: Infinity War (out now, until December 11). It's a 2v2 PvP mode. The patch notes put it like this: "12 players will form 6 duo squads and battle for control over the Infinity Stones! Each round, two squads will face off head-to-head. The first squad to collect all 6 Infinity Stones claims the ultimate victory!" From Dev Vision Vol. 22, the details:

• You pick from a pool of 13 heroes who appeared in the film.
• Rounds are short 2v2 deathmatches on the fields of Wakanda, round robin style.
• Losing a round costs your team health. At zero, you're out.
• Between rounds you draft cards that upgrade abilities and stats, so you can counter-build the next duo.
• Every team starts with one random Infinity Stone. Knock another team out and you take theirs.

The Infinity Gauntlet accessory confused people. The patch notes listed it under "New In Store", then NetEase corrected that on its Discord: it isn't sold, you earn it for free by finishing the event's missions.

Path to Doomsday: Avengers: Endgame (October 22). A 50-player PvE mode in the ruins of the Avengers Compound against Thanos and his army. Guangguang gives October 22 in the video, while the roadmap image files it under its October 23 column. Thanos is the boss here, not a playable hero.

Infinity Finale event (until December 10). A free event track with 24 rewards. Complete quests and you get Thor - The Avengers for free, plus Infinity War themed costumes and bundles for Black Panther and Doctor Strange.

Other bits from the patch notes:

• Alchemax Headquarters joins the 18 vs 18 Annihilation mode.
• Times Square: Relive Avengers: Infinity War (October 9 to 22): watch the screening for 2 minutes for a gallery card, take a group photo for a spray and 100 Units.
• Lore: new comic stories for Thor ("Spirit of Thunder") and Spider-Man ("The Worthy Spider-Man").
• Twitch Drops: Angela - Will of Galacta, October 9 to November 6.
• Fixes: Gorr gets a Custom Targeting Sensitivity setting for Shadow Harvest, and Winter Soldier's Trooper's Fist and Bionic Hook respond better on high ping.

Marvel Rivals Season 10.5 Halloween events and costumes

Halloween is the other half of the update. Two events and a costume drop every Friday, per the official Season 10.5 roadmap:

The video dates run a day earlier than the roadmap columns: Guangguang says All Hallows' Glow starts "after the update on October 15th" and Night of Illusions lands on October 29, which he calls an interactive puzzle experience. The Skele-Saurus and Vampire King bundles leave the store on November 6.

Not every costume on that list is spooky, by the way. Phoenix Cyclops, the Worthy Spider-Man and the Cosmic Cook Thing aren't Halloween themed, they just share the half-season.

Season 10.5 balance changes: buffs and nerfs

No hero, but 13 heroes changed in the Season 10.5 balance post. The short version:

Gorr gets the hardest hit, which nobody playing into him all September will mind. Shadow Scythe drops from 55 to 50 (still plus 2% of the target's max health), Shockwave from 60 to 55, and Twilight of the Gods lasts 10 seconds instead of 12. Living Abyss comes back faster (15s to 12s cooldown) but moves slower while it's up (13 to 10 m/s). He's still strong, just less oppressive.

Iron Man is the big rework. Micro-Missile Barrage now locks onto nearby enemies on its own, with damage per missile cut from 20 to 10, at most 5 missiles on one target, and projectile speed up from 15 to 60 m/s. In Armor Overdrive the missiles track enemies in front of him. Fewer whiffs, less burst.

Jubilee might be the sleeper of the patch. She now heals herself during Sparking Sprint, her Firework Finale heals 180/s instead of 150/s, and her new Blade Team-Up heals nearby allies for 15/s over 6 seconds. Her Blind got shorter (1.5s to 0.8s) to pay for it.

Phoenix loses the self-heal on Detonating Sparks and gets 5 Bonus Health per detonation for 4 seconds instead, stacking to 25. Her damage goes up: Cosmic Flames 60 to 65, Sparks 40 to 45 direct and 15 to 20 explosion, and Endsong Inferno now applies 2 Sparks per hit.

Grinding a buffed hero's proficiency while it's strong? That's a fair plan. If you'd rather skip the hours, Marvel Rivals hero proficiency boosting takes any hero to Lord, Champion or level 70, Gorr and Jubilee included.

Season 11 new heroes: what NetEase has confirmed

What do we actually know about Season 11? Less than you'd hope:

• Two new heroes. Confirmed by Guangguang in Dev Vision Vol. 21: "We can't wait to unveil the two heroes coming in S11."
• Season 11.0 starts November 13. That's the last column on the official 10.5 roadmap, "Coming soon, Season 11.0", with no start time. Season updates have recently started at 09:00 UTC, so that's the likely slot.
• No names, roles or theme. Nothing official yet.

Will both heroes land on November 13? Probably not. Since Season 2, NetEase has released one hero at the start of a season and one at the half. That would put the second Season 11 hero on the 11.5 update, about four weeks later, close to the Avengers: Doomsday release on December 18. That's the usual pattern, not an announcement.

NetEase has said little about how Doomsday fits in. Guangguang told FRVR on October 8 that Gorr "is relevant to our lore, ahead of Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday, which we have big plans for also", and that the team is "doing everything we can to prevent any leaks for this important event." No official link between the Season 11 heroes and the film yet.

When should you expect names? NetEase hasn't said. New heroes normally get a reveal trailer before their season starts, so the names should come out some time before November 13. Keep an eye on the official X account.

Season 11 hero leaks: Nightcrawler and Doctor Doom

The two names going around come from one leaker, X0XLEAK, who posted on October 7:

SEASON 11 HERO TEASE: NIGHTCRAWLER + DOOM. We finally got our hero teasing gallery card! Moon Girl is holding a very familiar weapon that is used by our man Kurt! Also a Incursion is happening! Is it doom or someone else?

How much weight should you give that? Some, not a lot. Here's why:

• It's a reading of art, not a datamine. NetEase has teased upcoming heroes on gallery cards before (Jubilee and The Hood on the 8.5 card, Gorr before Season 10). But "Moon Girl holds Kurt's sword" and "an Incursion is happening" are interpretations, and the leaker even hedges on Doom.
• The same leaker got Season 10 half wrong. In June, X0XLEAK listed Jubilee and The Hood for Season 9 and Gorr plus Nightcrawler for Season 10, with Doctor Doom in Season 11. Jubilee, The Hood and Gorr all shipped. Nightcrawler didn't. That's 3 out of 4 on timing.
• Roles are a guess. Nightcrawler has been called a Duelist (from an old January 2025 datamine) and a Strategist (fan speculation). Nobody has leaked a role for Doom.

Is Doom showing up in December a sure thing, given the movie? It's a popular theory, not a leak. Treat both names as "likely-ish" until NetEase posts a trailer.

How to get ready for Season 11

With no hero to learn this half, the next five weeks are a good window to get your ranked stuff sorted before November 13.

Lock the Season 10.5 Gold costume. The patch notes confirm it: "Season 10.5 Gold-tier costume reward is Jeff the Land Shark - Razor-Tooth." Under NetEase's half-season rules, you need 10 ranked matches in this half and Gold or higher when the half ends. Your rank didn't reset on October 9; our Season 10.5 rank reset explainer has the details and the old NetEase rulings behind it.

Know where Season 11 placements start. The real reset hits at Season 11: 10 placement matches, starting 3 divisions below your final Season 10 rank under NetEase's latest written rules. The Marvel Rivals ranks calculator shows your exact starting point.

Watch the top-500 line. If you're chasing One Above All, our One Above All cutoff tracker logs the daily cutoff on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. The new half's board reads low for the first few days while it refills, so don't panic at the numbers this weekend.

Bank proficiency on heroes you'll keep. Two new heroes won't replace your main. Jubilee and Phoenix came out of this patch stronger, and Gorr, even nerfed, still has the newest kit in the game.

Short on time before the half ends? A Marvel Rivals rank boost gets you to Gold or higher on PC, PlayStation or Xbox, played on your account or with you in duo queue. Everything else we run for the game is on the Marvel Rivals boosting page.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the new hero in Marvel Rivals Season 10.5?

There isn't one. Season 10.5 launched on October 9, 2026 without a new hero, the first half-season to do so. Gorr the God Butcher, released September 11, is still the newest hero.

How many heroes are in Marvel Rivals now?

There are 54. The game launched with 33, and 21 were added between Season 1 and Season 10.

When is the next Marvel Rivals hero coming?

In Season 11. NetEase promised two new heroes, and the official roadmap puts Season 11.0 on November 13, 2026. If NetEase keeps its usual split, the second hero would follow at Season 11.5.

Are Nightcrawler and Doctor Doom coming to Marvel Rivals?

Not confirmed. Both names come from one leaker's reading of an official teaser card. That leaker also predicted Nightcrawler for Season 10, which didn't happen.

Is Thanos playable in Season 10.5?

No. Thanos is the boss of the 50-player Avengers: Endgame PvE mode starting October 22. He isn't a playable hero.

What is the Season 10.5 Gold costume?

Jeff the Land Shark - Razor-Tooth. You need 10 ranked matches in the second half of Season 10 and Gold rank or higher when the half ends.