Overview
- Season 9.5: The Mystery of Thebes goes live on Friday, Aug. 7 and brings Parker Robbins, aka The Hood, as a new Vanguard to Marvel Rivals.
- NetEase’s Dev Vision describes The Hood as a two‑form gunner who switches between human and demon modes, uses twin pistols and a mystical cloak for shields and barriers, and gains a Gun Demon ultimate that fires rounds that pierce shields and grants bonus health to nearby allies.
- WWE performer Damian Priest (Luis Berrios) provides The Hood’s voice, and NetEase lists specific team‑up synergies with Cloak & Dagger, Jubilee, and Magik that could change common squad builds.
- The update deploys a texture compression overhaul that NetEase says will shrink PC installs by roughly 40 GB and console installs by about 15 GB while requiring a larger initial download to run the re‑compression.
- New seasonal content arrives after the patch with Summer Skins Wave 2 and the Summer Festival Vol. 2 (Krakoan Reels) scheduled to begin on Aug. 13, and full patch notes and detailed balance adjustments will be published with the live update.