Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 launch: our coverage of the Rogue update
Season 5.5 adds a brand new Vanguard
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 launched on December 12, bringing Rogue as a brand new Vanguard. The iconic mutant has been heavily requested ever since Marvel Rivals launched, and now players will be able to dive in and push the front line forward using shields and heavy attacks.
I've now played 300 hours of Marvel Rivals since launch, and I've been jumping in at the start of every season to try out the new Hero. I'm very excited to get my hands on Rogue, and absolutely ready to be pulled back into a Vanguard role. It's not just the arrival of Rogue that'll switch up Season 5.5, however, as there are changes to Heroes like Wolverine and Luna Snow that will surely change the meta going forward.
Here's the Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 launch info, alongside details on what to expect from the new major update.
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 start time
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 launched December 12 at the times below:
- East Coast (US): 6AM ET
- West Coast (US): 3AM PT
- United Kingdom: 11AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 10PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 8PM JST
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 Downtime
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 downtime began at the following times, and lasted 2 hours.
- East Coast (US): 4AM ET
- West Coast (US): 1AM PT
- United Kingdom: 9AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 6PM JST
Marvel Rivals Rogue
Rogue joins Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 as a Vanguard. She has an exclusive ability that steals powers from enemies she eliminates. We've already seen her steal Dr Strange's shield, and Loki's regenerative healing move. Her Ultimate drains Ultimate energy from nearby foes, which could be absolutely devastating when targeting support characters like Luna Snow.
Explosive Entanglement is a team up between Gambit and Magneto introduced in Season 5. Rogue joins this Team Up, and powers up her attacks with healing energy, and AoE damage. Overall, Rogue could be the most versatile Vanguard ever introduced, thanks to her ability to steal powers from enemies.
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 Hero Balancing
The following Hero balancing updates are now live in Marvel Rivals Season 5.5:
- Hero balancing (buffs): Thor, Emma Frost, The Thing, Blade, Phoenix, The Punisher, Human Torch, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, Loki, Luna Snow, Ultron
- Hero Balancing (nerfs): Peni Parker, Psylocke, Daredevil, Gambit, Invisible Woman, Rocket Raccoon
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 ranked changes
There's plenty of Ranked Changes added as part of Marvel Rivals Season 5.5. Here's the headline info:
- Rank rewards: Reach Gold for a bonus Rogue costume
- Nameplates: Diamond and Platinum, Crests of Honor for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and Top 500
- Placement: From Season 5 onward, your first 10 ranked matches are Placement Matches. Your performance determines your starting tier
As Evergreen Editor, it's my job to stay up to date with the latest games, especially live service titles like Marvel Rivals. I've put hundreds of hours into the game at this point, having jumped on during Season 0. Since then, I've covered every season personally and professionally, and I've particularly enjoyed Season 2, which gave me the opportunity to try out Emma Frost as a brand-new Vanguard. I tend to stick to the Vanguard role, and I'm currently working on getting Magneto to Lord proficiency. Hopefully, Rogue gives me a new character to main in Season 5.5.
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 live coverage as it happened
Welcome on in, as I countdown the hours until the launch of Marvel Rivals Season 5.5
There’s a new season of Marvel Rivals dropping tomorrow (December 12), and it adds one of the most sought-after Heroes yet. Rogue joins the battle as a new Vanguard, and she looks mighty powerful.
When does Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 start?
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 kicks off on December 12 at the times listed below:
- East Coast (US): 6AM ET
- West Coast (US): 3AM PT
- United Kingdom: 11AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 10PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 8PM JST
This is an estimation based on the confirmed downtime start time, and the fact that the game is expected to be offline for precisely two hours. This has been the case all year between seasonal switchovers.
Season 5.5 roadmap revealed!
NetEase has revealed the full roadmap for Marvel Rivals Season 5.5. There's a New Years Eve Time Square event where players can gather and countdown to 2026. There’s also new game modes and skins to enjoy.
Downtime will kick in at this time
Downtime for Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 will kick in on December 12 at the times below:
- East Coast (US): 4AM ET
- West Coast (US): 1AM PT
- United Kingdom: 9AM GMT
- Australia (Sydney): 8PM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): 6PM JST
Rogue joins the battle
The new Hero for Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 is Rogue. She’s a Vanguard that uses power-stealing abilities to make use of a versatile kit. Her Ultimate steals Ultimate Energy from foes, making it a very unique skill indeed. She teams up with Magneto and Gambit, adding an AoE effect to attacks, and a healing aura to teammates.
Luna Snow gets a new skill
Luna Snow is easily the best Strategist in Marvel Rivals, and now she’s getting even stronger. Idol Aura can be activated on Luna herself, healing her while she’s healing others. She also gets a 10% boost to damage and healing while the ability is active.
Marvel Rivals will feature at The Game Awards
🍿 We are getting the snacks ready to watch #TheGameAwards tomorrow. Jeff snagged a front-row seat… something epic is about to ignite! pic.twitter.com/t8DhL4MZnJDecember 10, 2025
The official Marvel Rivals Twitter account shared an image showing Jeff the Land Shark in the audience for The Game Awards 2025. It looks like there will be some kind of Marvel Rivals announcement tonight, so stay tuned for updates to this page.
New event features a fantastic Iron Man reward
The Seeds of the Gardener event drops alongside Marvel Rivals Season 5.5. It’s a kind of mini Battle Pass with rewards like Iron Man Mark 1, a Captain America werewolf skin, and more.
Rogue teams up with Gambit
Rogue joins Magneto and Gambit's Team Up. She'll get an area of effect damage buff to her regular attacks, and they'll also heal nearby allies. Well worth pairing her with the new Strategist, then.
That’s all for today
I’m heading off now, but I’ll be back an hour before downtime kicks in to cover the live release of Season 5.5. Until then!
Deadpool is coming to Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals got an amazing trailer at The Game Awards last night, revealing Season 6, and a brand new Hero. That's right, Deadpool is coming to Marvel Rivals alongside Season 6 on January 16.
How long is Marvel Rivals downtime expected to last?
Downtime has been estimated at 2-3 hours by NetEase. Over the last year, the switchovers have taken pretty much exactly 2 hours each time. I predict the same here, unless there's any unexpected delays.
Rogue is a Vanguard
I love what Marvel Rivals has done with Gambit and Rogue this season. Many had expected Rogue to be Strategist, and Gambit a Duelist, but NetEase has subverted expectations. Rogue joins as a new Vanguard, following Gambit as a new Strategist.
Just ten minutes to go until servers are offline
It's time to wrap up your games in Marvel Rivals, as downtime will start in 10 minutes. Keep an eye out for a new update, as you'll need to download and install it before you can play the new season.
I'll be trying Rogue out once Season 5.5 goes live
Once Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 releases, I'll be jumping into the Practice Range to try out Rogue. Specifically, I'd like to see how her power stealing works, as it has the potential to be extremely useful against certain team compositions.
Marvel Season 5.5 should launch in just one hour
We're now just one hour away from the launch of Marvel Rivals Season 5.5. Hopefully, the update goes smoothly, and the game will be back online at the estimated time.
Holiday events and Costumes coming December 19
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 will ring in the Holidays on December 19. There will be a new event to work through, as Costumes for Psylocke, Squirrel Girl, Daredevil, and more.
10 minutes 'til launch!
10 minutes to go before Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 launches worldwide. If you try to sign in before then, you'll be greeted with the "Login Error" message. This is just while servers are offline for maintenance.
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 is now live
You can now jump into Marvel Rivals Season 5.5, as downtime has ended. Take a look at the new Character lore, earn some free XP by taking on events, and try out Rogue in the Practice Range to get a feel for the new Vanguard.
Deadpool is a Duelist
You can find Deadpool in the Heroes menu of Marvel Rivals already! He's listed as a Duelist, so that's a great early reveal.
Explosive Entanglement
Rogue joins Magneto and Gambit for a Team Up called Explosive Entanglement. It adds a ranged blade attack for Magneto, similar to his Season 1 Team Up with Scarlet Witch. Rogue gets an area of effect for her melee damage, and healing for teammates. As anchor, Gambit gets bonus health.
Rogue's full moveset
Here's a screenshot of Rogue's full moveset in-game. Of course, her power stealing ability can end up taking a bunch of different forms, I even managed to take a Luna Snow's freeze attack during a game and then freeze her with it.
Elsa Bloodstone joins Marvel Rivals next year
Thanks to a recent trailer at The Game Awards, we know that Deadpool and Elsa Bloodstone are the next Marvel Rivals Heroes. It's likely that Elsa will drop for Season 6.5, though we don't really know anything about her yet.
Keep working through the Battle Pass
Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 doesn't switch up the Battle Pass, so you can continue working your way to the final Scarlet Witch Costume reward. There's loads of free Units in there as well, allowing you to pick up new skins in the Store.
That's all for today
I'm heading off now. With Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 here, it's time for me to jump in and play a bunch of games as Rogue. So far, I've played three matches as her, and she's extremely interesting. It's going to take a while to work out her combos, but she's feeling very promising indeed. Until next season!