What's new in the Marvel Rivals May 28 patch?
The May 28, 2026 patch for Marvel Rivals dropped at 09:00 UTC with no server downtime. That means no waiting around for maintenance windows. The headline additions are a brand new Doom Match map set in Nueva York 2099, the return of the Chrono-Rush event, a wave of Blood Hunt balance changes across six heroes, free Daredevil costume customization options, and a new anti-cheat system that actually refunds your ranked points when a cheater gets confirmed. Deadpool also gets a bug fix that was quietly making his dash useless in crowds.
Alchemax HQ in Doom Match
Alchemax Headquarters: what does the new map play like?
The new Alchemax Headquarters map is set in Nueva York, 2099, inside the mega-corporation's classified research facilities. The lore hook is that Devil Dinosaur has smashed in carrying a portable TRD (Timestream Reintegration Device) to expose whatever Alchemax has been hiding. It's Doom Match only, which means this isn't a map you'll see in standard Convoy or Convergence rotations.
Doom Match is the free-for-all elimination mode, so the layout matters in a specific way: cover, sightlines, and flanking routes are the whole game. The futuristic corporate setting suggests plenty of vertical geometry and interior corridors based on the 2099 aesthetic.
Alchemax Headquarters is exclusively a Doom Match map. If you primarily play Convoy or Convergence, you won't encounter it in those queues.
Chrono-Rush event: how do you earn Chrono Tokens?
The Chrono-Rush event runs across four separate weekend windows rather than one continuous stretch. Play matches during those windows, earn Chrono Tokens, and there's no cap on how many you can accumulate. The more you play, the more you get.
Chrono-Rush event schedule (all times UTC):
The Weekend Surge Double XP event runs on the exact same schedule, so every Chrono-Rush weekend also doubles your hero XP. That's the best possible time to grind heroes you haven't leveled yet.
Stack your heaviest play sessions during Chrono-Rush weekends. You'll earn Chrono Tokens, double XP, and make the most progress on multiple currencies simultaneously.
What's new in the store?
Several cosmetics go live starting May 29. The Black Cat Wild Card Bundle is the limited-time flagship, available from May 29 through June 26. Wolverine's X-2099 Bundle also arrives May 29 with no listed end date. Black Cat additionally gets the Purple Prowl and Pink Purr chromas, three style parts (Head, Neck, Waist), and an Emoji Bundle.
The Savage Adventure event (which started May 21 and runs through June 25) is still active, offering Ultron's Cybernetic Drip, Hela's Savage Monarch, and Luna Snow's Sonic Trailblazer costumes through event missions.
Black Cat Wild Card Bundle
Daredevil Shadowed Start: what changed?
Two free customization options have been added to Daredevil's Shadowed Start costume in response to player feedback:
- The default weapon switches from the Black Billy Club to the White Billy Club. The Black Billy Club becomes an optional swap.
- A new toggle lets you disable the Demon's Rage flame VFX on your own screen. Other players still see the flames.
Both options are automatically granted to anyone who already owns the Shadowed Start costume. No purchase required.
The flame VFX toggle only affects your own view. Opponents and teammates will still see Daredevil's Demon's Rage flames regardless of your setting.
For a full look at how the Season 8 patch notes reshaped the broader meta before this update, that breakdown covers all the major balance shifts that set up the current state of the game.
Blood Hunt balance changes: which heroes got buffed?
This patch delivers a large batch of Blood Hunt-specific stat adjustments across six heroes. The Nightmare difficulty cap has also been raised to 200 for players pushing the hardest content.
Blood Hunt hero select
Punisher
The Punisher gets upgrades across both of his Blood Hunt builds.
The Barrager Build sees increased base damage on Adjudication via the Rifle of Retribution gear, a higher damage buff on follow-up shots after Adjudication hits via the Vibranium Barrel gear, more damage on Shrapnel Shot's split bullets, and stronger horizontal trajectory bullets in the Multi-Trajectory trait.
The Sweeper Build gets a damage bump to Deliverance via the Marauder Shotgun gear, stronger follow-up shot damage from the Mithril Slug gear, reduced damage falloff on piercing bullets in Piercing Shot, more damage on Chain Fire's extra bullets, and a bug fix where Chain Reaction's explosive damage bonus from gear expansion stats wasn't applying at all.
Moon Knight
Moon Knight's Fist of the Moon God Build gets buffed Eclipse Explosions via Uru Knuckles, and the Gauntlets of Thoth gear gains a new independent Damage Reduction effect. The trade-off: Hand of Khonshu's base damage in the Fist of Khonshu trait has been reduced. The build gets tankier but loses some burst.
Squirrel Girl
The Rodent Commander Build gets a damage boost to Squirrel Friends via the Great Lakes Avengers Banner gear. The Squirrel Missile trait now scales missile damage with Squirrel Friends' damage, which creates a meaningful power loop between summon strength and missile output.
Blade
Blade gets changes across both builds. The Purging Bladedance Build sees higher Ancestral Sword slash damage via Stakes of Yggdrasill, faster spread in the Blade Shadows trait (reduced interval between slash paths), and a new Damage Reduction effect on the Twilight Whetstone gear.
The Silver Soulbreaker Build gets a Hunter's Shotgun damage buff via the Breathing Gun gear, and the Reap trait gains a new effect that temporarily guarantees a critical hit rate and increases dodge rate immediately after casting.
Jeff the Land Shark
Jeff gets buffs across both builds. The Riding the Rapids Build sees higher Max Health and damage scaling after swallowing enemies via Big Fish Frenzy, plus more ram damage from Hide and Seek via the Deep-Sea Propeller gear.
The Overflowing Waters Build gets stronger Drowning damage via Skuld's Mouthwash, more Aqua Burst damage against Drowning targets via Whirlpool Waterbomb, and increased Splish-Splash Pew Pew base damage via the Kraken Blaster gear.
Thor
Thor's Thunder Formation Build gets better Storm Surge damage scaling per Thorforce stack via Thunder Torrent, more Bonus Health from Aegis of Thunder, and a new Damage Reduction effect during Storm Surge.
The Rune Awakening Build gets tighter projectile spread in Rolling Thunder while in the Awakening Rune state, increased Storm Surge base damage via the Gaea Sigil gear, and stronger extra projectile damage in Rolling Thunder.
Anti-cheat rank compensation: how does it work?
The new Anti-Cheat Rank Compensation System launches in trial this week. The process is straightforward: encounter a cheater, report them, and if the system confirms the cheat, you get a full refund of every Ranked Point lost in that match.
One caveat worth knowing: Placement Matches are excluded because they don't award points directly. The refund only applies to standard ranked matches where points were at stake.
Deadpool bug fix
Deadpool's Hazardous Hijinks and Healing Hijinks dash had a bug where it could be body-blocked by enemies without dealing damage. That's now fixed. The dash was supposed to cut through crowds and deal damage on contact, and now it does.
For everything coming up next in the seasonal roadmap, the Marvel Rivals Season 8 guide covers the full picture of what's ahead. There's also still time to grab free rewards from the Path to Doomsday Avengers event before it closes on May 29, 2026. For more guides, tips, and patch breakdowns, the full Marvel Rivals guides collection has you covered.