NetEase Games officially announced their full details of Marvel Rivals Season 5.5, where it confirmed that the long-awaited update will be launching on December 12. Headlining this content drop in an important way is the introduction of Rogue, who joins the ranks not as a Duelist, a class some in the community expected, but as a speedball Vanguard. This addresses by far the most consistent player feedback about wanting more balance across classes of characters in the game, as it is the first time a new season has launched without any incoming Duelist. The developer’s attention to community desires also reaches regarding game modes. The highly appreciated Marvel Zombies PvE mode will, after two more extensions, vanish again on January 16, 2026.
However, completely transforming battlefield dynamics will be Rogue, with her standard power stealing mechanism. Thus, the special ability grants her the capacity to temporarily draw and, literally, use the signature powers of an opponent upon contact-for instance, stealing Doctor Strange’s Shield of the Seraphim in the midst of the skirmish. In addition, she instantly enters one of the new powerful formations along with Magneto and Gambit in an Explosive Entanglement team-up. Most importantly, combined with Gambit, Rogue will be able to channel his kinetic energy into an area-of-effect ability that heals allies and does damage to enemies, linking one of the best Strategists this title has with two very strong Vanguards.
The mid-season update will reshape synergies already in the game between heroes. The Mental Projection team-up (Emma Frost and Psylocke) is being retired, and the heroes are being integrated into new configurations. Emma Frost goes into the Chilling Assault team with Luna Snow and Iron Fist, taking with her a new freeze and wall ability. Meanwhile, Psylocke joins the Sword of Duality alongside Hawkeye and Cloak & Dagger, giving her the ability to wield light energy through a shuriken that heals allies and damages foes. These team-up revisions show a clear strategy towards changing the meta and pushing new hero pairings.
To wrap up the content flow for December, NetEase will be bringing back Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival on December 18. The mode will include several different builds on Jeff the Land Shark, as well as a new location, the Jeffland map. As expected with any seasonal event, a new batch of holiday-themed cosmetic items will also arrive for several heroes, including Daredevil, Star-Lord, Winter Soldier, Squirrel Girl, Peni Parker, and Cloak & Dagger. With the introduction of a high-impact character and a renewed focus on PvE content and competitive balance, Season 5.5 signals a robust end to the year for Marvel Rivals.
