Season 9 of Marvel Rivals is the biggest balance shake-up the game has seen since launch. NetEase hasn't just tweaked a handful of outliers — they've touched nearly every character on the roster, overhauled how Team-Up Anchors work, and introduced a new Regenerative Shield mechanic that fundamentally changes how tankiness is calculated across Vanguards and Duelists alike. If your go-to picks felt different the moment you loaded in, here's exactly why.
What changed with Team-Up Anchors in Season 9?
The single biggest systemic shift in Season 9 is the removal of flat stat bonuses tied to Team-Up Anchor roles. Previously, anchoring a Team-Up gave characters passive boosts — bonus health, damage percentage increases, or healing boosts — regardless of who they were paired with. Season 9 strips almost all of those out and replaces them with conditional bonuses that only activate when specific partners are selected.
This means raw stat floors dropped for a lot of characters, but the upside is that deliberate team compositions now reward you with bigger numbers than the old blanket bonuses ever provided. The days of picking any Team-Up just for the anchor stat padding are over.
Team-Up partner selection
What is the new Regenerative Shield mechanic?
Several characters have had a portion of their base health converted into Regenerative Shield — a health buffer that regenerates over time rather than sitting as flat HP. This makes characters like Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and Rogue feel more dynamic in extended fights but slightly squishier in burst scenarios where the shield hasn't had time to recover.
The conversion isn't always 1:1 with total health. Some characters end up with slightly lower total health after the change, while others stay roughly even.
Season 9 Vanguard changes
Who got buffed in the Vanguard role?
Doctor Strange is one of the clearest winners. His base health jumps from 575 to 650, and his Shield of the Seraphim value increases from 700 to 850. Pair him with Invisible Woman and that shield climbs to 1,000 — a meaningful upgrade for players who coordinate team compositions.
Groot gets a straightforward health bump from 700 to 850, keeping his total the same after the anchor bonus removal. Devil Dinosaur jumps from 750 to 850 base health, his critical hit damage reduction improves from 50% to 60%, and enemies generate 40% less Ultimate Energy when damaging him (up from 35%). He's harder to kill and harder to ult into.
Deadpool (Vanguard) gets a small damage increase on his Dual Desert Eagles (34 to 36 standard, 39 to 40 upgraded), base health rises from 450 to 500, and his Deadpool In Your Area ability now provides 25% damage reduction to allies (up from 20%) and 35% to himself (up from 30%).
Thor gains extra travel distance on uncharged Storm Surge, his Hammer Throw damage increases from 45 to 50 on throw and 20 to 25 on return, and the Bonus Health on hit goes from 50 to 75. His base health drops from 600 to 300 with 300 Regenerative Shield added.
The Thing gets a Bonus Health cap increase on Stone Haymaker from 100 to 150, plus hitbox adjustments to properly catch launched enemies with Yancy Street Charge.
Angela trades 100 base health for 200 Regenerative Shield, dropping from 450 to 350 base HP. Total health potential increases but her raw floor is lower.
Hulk hits harder with Heavy Blow damage going from 40 to 45, but his base health drops from 650 to 400 with 300 Regenerative Shield added. His Hulk Smash Ultimate also costs more energy (3,400 to 3,700), so expect fewer smashes per match.
Captain America drops from 600 to 300 base health with 300 Regenerative Shield, bringing total health from 700 to 600 after anchor removal.
Who got nerfed in the Vanguard role?
Venom loses significant raw health, dropping from 675 to 500 base with 250 Regenerative Shield. Combined with anchor bonus removal, total health goes from 825 to 750. He's still a threat, but the days of Venom being nearly impossible to burst are fading.
Rogue takes a meaningful hit. Damage reduction during Defensive Stance drops from 60% to 55%, her maximum bonus damage on Southern Brawl at full energy falls from 90 to 75, and her base health converts to 350 with 225 Regenerative Shield (total health down to 575 from 650).
Peni Parker only loses her 50 Bonus Health anchor benefit — no other stat changes.
Season 9 Duelist changes
Which Duelists got stronger?
Hela is the standout buff. Nightsword Thorn base damage goes from 70 to 80, damage falloff now starts reducing later (35m instead of 30m) and falls less steeply (to 75% instead of 70%). Her Astral Flock form also gains full directional flight freedom, removing the movement restrictions that made Crow form feel clunky.
Hawkeye gets faster arrows and better partial-charge damage scaling. Piercing Arrow projectile speed increases from 120m/s to 130m/s base and from 180m/s to 195m/s at max, meaning opponents have even less time to react.
Moon Knight hits harder with Crescent Dart damage per hit rising from 23 to 25, though his Hand of Khonshu Ultimate now costs 3,100 energy instead of 2,800.
Psylocke gets a base damage increase on Psionic Crossbow (12 to 13 per hit), gains Regenerative Shield (100, with base health dropping from 250 to 150), and gets conditional bonuses with both Emma Frost and Cloak & Dagger as partners.
Magik drops from 250 to 150 base health but gains 125 Regenerative Shield, pushing her total slightly above the old value at 275.
Black Cat and Black Panther both convert to the Regenerative Shield model (150 base health, 125 shield each). Black Cat also gets a Fortune cap increase from 1,000 to 1,200 and better payout odds on the Tablet of Destinies.
Storm gets a clean Wind Blade damage increase from 55 to 60.
Scarlet Witch gains a quality-of-life improvement: Dark Seal can now be cast during Mystic Projection, cancelling the projection early but letting you land the seal when timing matters.
Elsa Bloodstone gets more ammo (8 to 12 shells on Double-Barrel Blaster) and a small cooldown increase on Helix Advance (10s to 11s). With Devil Dinosaur as a partner, her pellet damage increases from 4.5 to 5.
Which Duelists got nerfed?
Cyclops takes the hardest Duelist hit. Optic Blast single-hit damage drops from 25 to 21, Ricochet Force damage falls from 80 to 70, and both Propulsion Burst and Optic Ascent cooldowns increase from 12s to 15s. That's a significant mobility and damage reduction in one patch.
Iron Man loses damage across the board. Single-handed Repulsor Blast spell field drops from 50 to 45, dual-handed from 55 to 50, Armor Overdrive Repulsor from 65 to 60, and Unibeam during Armor Overdrive from 190/s to 180/s.
Human Torch and Deadpool (Duelist) only lose their 5% anchor damage boost — no other changes.
Star-Lord loses the 25 Bonus Health from Stellar Shift and converts to the Regenerative Shield model (150 base health, 100 shield).
The Punisher sees small reductions: Adjudication drops from 20 to 19 per hit, Deliverance from 10 to 9.5. Pairing with Daredevil restores both numbers exactly to the old values.
Phoenix loses her 10% anchor damage boost but gains a stronger Ultimate, with Endsong Inferno explosion damage increasing from 140 to 150.
Cyclops nerfed hard in Season 9
Season 9 Strategist changes
Which Strategists got buffed?
Cloak & Dagger receive across-the-board healing increases. Lightforce Dagger direct-hit healing goes from 12 to 15, lingering field healing from 20 to 25, Veil of Lightforce one-time healing from 45 to 50, and Dagger Storm output from 45/s to 50/s. Every tool in their kit heals more.
Luna Snow trades her 10% damage boost from Number One Idol for a 20% healing boost, and her Idol Aura healing boost increases from 35% to 40%. She's now a dedicated healer rather than a hybrid support.
Invisible Woman loses her flat anchor healing boost but gains direct healing improvements: Orb Projection outgoing heal rises from 45 to 50, return heal from 35 to 40.
Gambit gets a small Kinetic Cards healing increase from 28 to 30 per hit.
Adam Warlock gains 25 base health (250 to 275) and a conditional ammo boost with Ultron as a partner (Quantum Magic capacity goes from 15 to 25). His Cosmic Cluster projectile damage drops slightly from 38 to 35.
Mantis gets conditional healing buffs: with Star-Lord as a partner, Healing Flower output improves significantly, and with Adam Warlock, her self-healing during Natural Anger increases from 12.5/s to 17.5/s.
Ultron gets a drone healing increase, with Imperative: Firewall area healing going from 30/s to 35/s.
Which Strategists got nerfed?
Rocket Raccoon takes the most significant Strategist nerf. His C.Y.A. Ultimate now costs 4,300 energy (up from 4,000) and gains distance-based falloff — Damage Boost and Bonus Health generation begin decaying at 8m, reaching a 60% reduction at 20m. His Repair Mode orb healing increases from 50 to 55 to partially compensate.
White Fox loses her anchor healing boost and gains a longer Spirit Sanctuary cooldown (12s to 15s). The upside: activating Kumiho Unleashed now grants 1,200 total health instead of 900 during the Ultimate window.
Deadpool (Strategist) only loses the 5% anchor healing boost.
Rocket CYA cost increase
How do the Season 9 changes affect the meta?
The Regenerative Shield conversion across Vanguards creates a new dynamic: characters are less durable against sustained burst but recover better in extended skirmishes. Tanks who previously soaked raw damage now require smarter positioning to let shields regenerate between engagements.
The conditional Team-Up bonuses push toward deliberate composition building. Doctor Strange with Invisible Woman, Psylocke with Emma Frost or Cloak & Dagger, Mantis with Star-Lord or Adam Warlock, and Punisher with Daredevil are all pairings worth building around.
Hela and Hawkeye emerge as strong Duelist options given their direct buffs, while Cyclops drops significantly in viability with slower mobility and reduced damage. Cloak & Dagger and Luna Snow are the clear Strategist winners, both receiving meaningful healing increases.
For context on how Season 9 fits into the broader balance trajectory, the Season 8 buffs and nerfs and the Season 9 release date and new heroes guide cover the surrounding context in full.
For a complete look at every mechanical change beyond balance numbers, the Season 9 patch notes break down the full update. And if you want to track the full history of how the roster has evolved, the Marvel Rivals guides hub has every season covered.