Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 Brings Rogue, New Team-Ups, Holiday Events, and Major Balance Updates

Marvel Rivals is gearing up for a packed mid-season update on December 12, and Season 5.5 is looking like another content-heavy refresh for the game.

The highlight this time is Rogue, who finally joins the roster as a Vanguard hero. But she’s not arriving alone—players can expect revamped Team-Up abilities, the Jeffland holiday festival, new Winter Celebration skins, and a huge slate of hero balance changes.

Below is a full breakdown of everything coming in Marvel Rivals Season 5.5.

Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 Rogue | Image: Netease via Gaming Amigos

Rogue Joins Marvel Rivals (New Vanguard Hero)

Rogue steps into the game as a high-pressure melee Vanguard who thrives in the center of chaotic team fights. Her playstyle leans heavily into brawling, disruption, and power theft, making her one of the most versatile entries in the roster so far.

Key features of Rogue:

• Fully melee-focused Vanguard with strong close-range burst.

• Can leap onto enemies, take them down, and gain buffs depending on their role.

• Can copy signature abilities from specific heroes, including:

  • Doctor Strange’s Shield of the Seraphim

  • Loki’s Regeneration Domain

• Her Ultimate ability:

  • Continuously drains Ultimate energy from nearby enemies

  • Grants additional buffs based on enemy roles

• Built to shut down stacked enemy formations and prevent huge ult combos before they ever start.

New Team-Up Abilities in Season 5.5

NetEase is shaking up long-standing team-ups and introducing fresh combinations that promote new synergies.

Emma Frost & Luna Snow – Chilling Assault

• Replaces Emma’s old Mental Projection link.

• Creates a diamond ice wall that blocks projectiles and movement.

• Sends frost air that damages and slows enemies.

Psylocke & Cloak & Dagger – Sword of Duality

• Light Mode:

  • Throws a light shuriken

  • Damages enemies and heals Psylocke and allies

• Dark Mode:

  • Fires a flurry of dark darts

  • Deals chip damage and sends Psylocke into a Phased state

Rogue & Gambit – Explosive Entanglement

• Rogue absorbs Gambit’s kinetic energy for a short burst period.

• All attacks gain area damage.

• Rogue receives built-in sustain through bonus healing while brawling.

Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival Returns (Jeffland Event)

The holiday festivities are back on December 18 with a brand-new map called Jeffland.

Players can:

• Choose one of three unique Jeff builds in the three-way brawl mode.

• Decorate Jeffland with props and themed items.

• Unlock chromas for the Cuddly Fuzzlefin Jeff costume.

• Enjoy a much more expanded event space compared to last year.

Winter Celebration Skins

A fresh wave of holiday cosmetics is coming under the Winter Celebration banner. Shown in Dev Vision:

• Daredevil: Classic Christmas sweater look inspired by Daredevil (2011) #7

• Cloak & Dagger: Ice Dancer outfits with figure-skating aesthetics

• Peni Parker: Ice Golem themed original winter skin

• Squirrel Girl: Holiday-themed festive attire

• Star-Lord: Nutcracker toy-soldier inspired costume

• Winter Soldier: New original festive skin (details coming soon)

Times Square Surprise: Mystery Burger

Starting December 18:

• Players can buy a “mystery burger” at Pym’s Test Kitchen in Times Square.

• The developers tease that eating it will lead to an "unexpected" in-game effect.

All Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 Hero Balance Changes

Season 5.5 also includes a sweeping patch affecting multiple heroes across all roles.

Vanguard Changes

Emma Frost

• Base Health increased: 550 → 600

• Removed Team-Up Anchor 100 Bonus Health

Peni Parker

• Base Health reduced: 750 → 700

The Thing

• Stone Haymaker bonus damage vs max health increased: 8% → 10%

• Yancy Street Charge anti-mobility field duration increased: 3s → 5s

Thor

• During Storm Surge, Thor can now freely adjust movement direction.

Duelist Changes

Blade

• Ancestral Sword damage: 24 → 26

• Whirlwind Slash damage: 15 → 16

• Bloodline Awakening reduced healing lowered: 35% → 25%

Daredevil

• Removed Team-Up Anchor 25 Bonus Health

Human Torch

• Fire Cluster:

  • Tighter spread

  • Damage per projectile: 5 → 5.5

  • Falloff adjusted to start at 20m instead of 30m

• Blazing Blast:

  • Charge time reduced: 3s → 2.5s

  • Damage increased: 40 → 45

Phoenix

• Endsong Inferno Phoenix summon health: 400 → 500

Psylocke

• Dance of the Butterfly Ultimate cost: 2800 → 3400

Scarlet Witch

• Chthonian Burst charge gain increased

• Dark Seal projectile speed boosted: 40m/s → 60m/s

• Reality Erasure pull speed: 2.4m/s → 3m/s

The Punisher

• Adjudication damage: 19 → 20

Wolverine

• Last Stand Ultimate can now target walls for landing.

Strategist Changes

Gambit

• Ragin’ Royal Flush Ultimate cost: 4300 → 4500

Invisible Woman

• Invisible Boundary Ultimate cost: 4300 → 4500

Loki

• Doppelgänger damage/healing ratio: 80% → 90%

Luna Snow

• Absolute Zero startup reduced

• Projectile speed: 60m/s → 80m/s

• New Ability: Idol Aura

  • Converts 10% of healing to self-heal

  • Grants 10% healing boost

  • Grants 10% damage boost

Rocket Raccoon

• C.Y.A. Ultimate cost: 4000 → 4300

Ultron

• Imperative: Patch can now deploy two drones

• Imperative: Firewall requires a patched target

  • Ultron gains 65 Bonus Health

  • Allies gain 50 Bonus Health

  • Selected ally gains 20% movement and 10% damage boost

• Rage of Ultron Ultimate cost: 3700 → 4000

Team-Up Adjustments and Removals

• Mental Projection (Emma Frost–Psylocke) fully removed

• Chilling Assault and Sword of Duality added as new replacements

• Explosive Entanglement expanded for Rogue/Gambit

• Daredevil loses Team-Up Anchor 25 Health Bonus

Season 5 Recap (Narrative Context)

• Gambit stole a contract from the Collector for the Grandmaster.

• The Collector had hidden the real contract elsewhere.

• Rogue woke to find Gambit missing during their honeymoon.

• She struggled with new powers gained from accidental Chronovium D exposure.

That's all for now.