Season 8 of Marvel Rivals drops on May 15, 2026 at 9 AM UTC, and it's one of the bigger balance passes the game has seen. Devil Dinosaur joins as the 50th hero, a new Doom Match map called Alchemax Headquarters arrives on May 28, and 16 heroes across all three roles are getting touched. Ten heroes receive buffs, four get nerfed, and two are adjusted in ways that shift how you'll want to play them.
Who is Devil Dinosaur and how does he play?
Devil Dinosaur is the new Vanguard and the 50th hero on the roster. His kit revolves around close-range brawling: biting enemies to apply bleed, grabbing and launching them with his jaws, and projecting a shield against incoming projectiles. He can also fire laser beams from his mouth, which is exactly as chaotic as it sounds. His ultimate has him charging forward with increased movement speed, stomping enemies with shockwave attacks.
As the Team-Up Anchor for the new Primal Punishment ability, Devil Dinosaur grants The Punisher a ride on his back. While mounted, Frank Castle can only use normal attacks, but he gains extra damage reduction and shares received heals with Devil Dinosaur. Devil Dinosaur himself picks up 100 Bonus Health as the anchor. It's a niche setup, but the survivability upside for both heroes in a dive scenario is real.
Marvel Rivals Season 8 Patch Notes: All Hero Changes
What are all the Vanguard changes in Season 8?
Deadpool takes the only meaningful Vanguard nerf. His Ban Hammer ultimate healing drops from 50 per second to 25 per second, and his Dual Desert Eagles single-shot damage falls from 36 to 34 (standard) and 42 to 39 (upgraded). The healing cut is the bigger deal: half the sustain during his ultimate makes him considerably easier to punish.
Emma Frost gets a meaningful survivability pass. Her Telepathic Pulse falloff now begins 4 seconds after not hitting an enemy (up from 3 seconds), her Mind's Aegis reposition cooldown drops from 3 seconds to 1 second, and her Damage Reduction during Diamond Form and her Psionic Seduction ultimate increases from 20% to 25%. The reposition cooldown change alone makes her far more fluid to play on a contested frontline.
The Thing gets the simplest change: base health up from 700 to 750. Fifty extra health on a Vanguard who wants to sit in the middle of a fight is straightforward and appreciated.
Devil Dinosaur joins Season 8
What are all the Duelist changes in Season 8?
This is where the patch does the most work. Seven Duelists are affected, and most of them are getting meaningful upgrades.
Iron Fist gets two changes that tighten his combo loop. Jeet Kune Do hits now reduce the Dragon's Defense cooldown by 1.2 seconds per hit (up from 1 second), and K'un-Lun Kick's first strike damage increases from 35 to 40. More cooldown reduction per hit means he can stay aggressive longer.
Mister Fantastic is the most complex adjustment in the patch. Stretch Punch damage goes up from 65 to 70, which sounds like a buff. But Flexible Elongation loses its Movement Speed reduction effect entirely, trading that control for a faster charge time (down from 8 seconds to 6 seconds). His Brainiac Bounce ultimate also costs less energy: 3,400 down to 3,100. NetEase frames this as trading oppressive crowd control for more direct damage and utility, which is a reasonable design call.
Moon Knight gets a single targeted fix: Moonlight Hook cooldown drops from 15 seconds to 12 seconds. Clean mobility improvement, nothing complicated.
Phoenix is the most nuanced adjustment. Cosmic Flames direct hit damage increases from 50 to 55, but explosion damage when detonating Spark marks drops from 40 to 35. The developer note is worth reading: without external damage buffs, Phoenix can no longer one-shot a 250 Health hero with a single mark plus direct hit from her Endsong Inferno ultimate. The tradeoff makes her baseline combat stronger while removing a frustrating burst-kill scenario.
Wolverine heals faster in Season 8
Spider-Man's ultimate gets more bite. Spectacular Spin damage per spherical Spell Field increases from 13.6 to 15, pushing total damage over the 2.4-second duration from 408 to 450.
Squirrel Girl gets a cooldown reduction on Mammal Bond from 15 seconds to 12 seconds. Minor, but more frequent ability access helps her maintain pressure.
Star-Lord gets a simple ammo buff: Element Guns capacity increases from 40 to 50. More shots before reloading means more sustained damage in extended fights.
Wolverine's passive Regenerative Healing Factor trigger cooldown drops from 105 seconds to 90 seconds. Logan getting back into fights 15 seconds faster is a real quality-of-life improvement for a hero built around staying in melee range.
What are all the Strategist changes in Season 8?
Invisible Woman loses some of her edge in the control department. Force Physics push distance drops from 12m to 10m and damage falls from 55 to 50. She was contributing too much displacement to Strategist compositions, and this brings her more in line.
Loki shifts further toward support. His illusions' Mystical Missile healing ratio increases from 90% to 100%, while the damage ratio drops from 90% to 80%. His God of Mischief ultimate also costs more energy: up from 4,300 to 4,500. The illusion healing boost is a genuine buff to his support output, but the higher ultimate cost is a real tax on how often he can deploy it.
Mantis gets the most interesting rework in the patch. Allied Inspiration's damage boost to allies drops from 12% to 8%, but she gains a new flat 100 Movement Speed Boost for allies. This change is a direct response to Ultron now having access to conventional damage buff capabilities. Mantis gets a more distinct identity rather than competing on the same axis as another hero.
Rocket Raccoon gets buffed across the board. Bombard Mode hit damage per projectile goes from 16 to 17, Repair Mode charges increase from 8 to 10, and his C.Y.A. ultimate energy cost drops from 4,300 to 4,000. More heals, more damage, and faster ultimate access makes him a stronger pick across the board.
White Fox gets a healing redistribution rather than a flat buff or nerf. During Fox Form Awakening, the surrounding aura healing increases from 25 per second to 35 per second, but burst healing per successful attack drops from 35 to 25. The developer note explains the intent: her healing was too high when constantly attacking (100 per second) but too low when she couldn't maintain a target. The new numbers bring her to 90 per second when attacking and 35 per second when disengaged, which is more consistent across varying combat situations. Her Kumiho Unleashed ultimate healing to allies also jumps from 40 per second to 60 per second.
The Mantis movement speed buff stacks with existing mobility abilities on your team. If you're running aggressive dive compositions, the 100 flat Movement Speed Boost has more practical value than the old 12% damage boost did.
White Fox healing redistributed
What Team-Up changes are coming in Season 8?
Two Team-Up updates are confirmed. The existing Chilling Assault (Luna Snow with Iron Fist or Emma Frost) gets an expanded range: the Iced Out Diamond Spell Field grows from 9m to 12m, with barrier placement distance updated to match. The new Primal Punishment Team-Up between Devil Dinosaur and The Punisher is detailed above.
What else is new in Season 8?
Beyond hero changes, Season 8 adds the Alchemax Headquarters Doom Match map on May 28, 2026. A new Battle Pass and hero skins arrive with the season launch. New accessories are confirmed for Devil Dinosaur, The Thing, Black Widow, Angela, Hela, Namo, and The Punisher.
The patch also includes a PC storage optimization that separates the high-resolution texture pack. Uninstalling the HD texture pack saves around 35GB with no meaningful visual impact at 1080p or 1440p resolutions.
If you want context on how the meta got here, the Season 7 patch notes and hero changes cover the previous major balance pass. And if you're already thinking ahead, details on what's coming after Season 8 are worth checking before the reset. For everything else, the full Marvel Rivals guide collection has you covered.