Overview
- The Hood, Parker Robbins, joins Marvel Rivals as a new Vanguard with a two‑state human/demon kit, dual pistols, cloak utility and a 'Gun Demon' ultimate that fires shield‑piercing rounds and grants nearby allies bonus health.
- NetEase confirmed Season 9.5 launches on August 7, with The Hood available at launch and a multi‑week roadmap of cosmetics, events and costume drops scheduled through early September.
- The update includes a major texture compression and asset repack that will reduce installed size by roughly 40 GB on PC and about 15 GB on PS5 and Xbox after installation, though the initial patch download will be larger while files are repackaged.
- Developers have announced wide balance changes to reshape the meta, with most Vanguards receiving buffs and targeted nerfs to characters such as Venom and Peni Parker, and The Hood offering new Team‑Up synergies with Cloak & Dagger, Jubilee and Magik.
- Season 9.5 also adds new store features and free content options, including a Creed of Akkaba event pass, a return of Krakoan Reels Volume 2, swimsuit and collaboration skins, and a player‑selected bundle option that lets users choose cosmetics they want.