Quick answer (TL;DR): Marvel Rivals is in Season 10.5, live since October 9, 2026 (Version 20261009). That patch changed 13 heroes, and the newest update, Version 20261022 (October 22), added the Avengers: Endgame mode but moved zero hero numbers, so the October 9 balance is still what you're climbing on. As of October 25, 2026, the five best heroes to climb with are Peni Parker (Vanguard, 58.0% win rate), Ultron (Strategist, 57.3%), Storm (Duelist, 56.4%), Mantis (Strategist, 55.6%) and Magik / Gorr the God Butcher (Duelists, 54.9% each). These are Counterwatch all-ranks numbers. Gorr was nerfed and is still S-tier. Phoenix got the biggest buff, but she's still F-tier across all ranks; only early Gold+ data looks good for her. Season 10.5 did not reset your rank. Season 11 on November 13 will, so you have about 18 days to bank RP. Full role-by-role list below.
Updated October 26, 2026. This page replaces our October 1 pre-patch list. That version was built on Season 10.0 balance and wrongly expected a rank reset at 10.5. Both points are fixed below.
Since this list first went up, two things have happened. First, the Season 10.5 balance patch landed on October 9 with a real list of changes: Iron Man's missiles now lock on, Phoenix and Jubilee got buffs, and Gorr, Scarlet Witch and Devil Dinosaur were nerfed. Second, the tracker data has had 16 days to settle on the new balance, so these tiers reflect how the patch actually played out on the ladder, not guesses from launch week. Below are the current tiers, what the patch changed for each role, and the fastest route to a higher rank before the November 13 Season 11 reset.
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What did the Season 10.5 patch change, and is this tier list current?
Yes, it's current. The live balance is the Version 20261009 pass, which NetEase published as a balance post on marvelrivals.com on October 6 and shipped on October 9 at 09:00 UTC. The two patches since then (Version 20261015 and Version 20261022) only added content: the All Hallows' Glow rewards, the 50-player Path to Doomsday – Avengers: Endgame Thanos mode, new store bundles and bug fixes. Neither one changed a hero.
The 13 heroes the patch changed, in short:
- Nerfed: Gorr the God Butcher. Shadow Scythe went from 55 to 50 + 2% of the target's max health, Shockwave from 60 to 55, and his Twilight of the Gods Ultimate from 12s to 10s. Living Abyss got a faster cooldown (15s → 12s) but slower movement. Scarlet Witch: Chthonian Burst spell field 40 → 35. Devil Dinosaur: base health 850 → 825.
- Buffed: Phoenix. Cosmic Flames 60 → 65, Spark detonation 40 → 45, and her Ultimate now applies 2 Sparks. Jubilee: 25/s self-heal during Sparking Sprint, and her Ultimate heal went 150/s → 180/s. Cyclops: Optic Blast 22 → 23, and his Ruby Rage Ultimate is cheaper (3700 → 3400). Hulk (faster Banner projectiles) and Hawkeye (faster arrows) also got buffs.
- Reworked: Iron Man. Micro-Missile Barrage now auto-tracks enemies, with up to 5 missiles locking onto one target, at 10 damage per missile and 4× the projectile speed.
- Team-Up-only tweaks: Magneto (with Emma Frost), The Thing (with Invisible Woman), Adam Warlock (with Ultron). Gambit got a mixed change: faster suit charging, but a shorter-range Ultimate.
NetEase described the Gorr nerf as small. Here is the official balance post, word for word: "The Butcher is reeling in the reach of his absolute annihilation just a hair to give others a fighting chance." The data supports "just a hair." He's still a top-6 hero overall, as the table below shows. For every number in the patch, see our Season 10.5 patch notes breakdown.
Marvel Rivals Season 10.5 tier list (every hero, by win rate)
This board comes from Counterwatch, updated October 25, 2026. It uses the all-ranks Standard win rate, "shrunk" toward 50% so that heroes with few matches can't float to the top on luck. Win rate is a tracker signal, not an official NetEase stat, so read it as a direction rather than a promise. Roles: V = Vanguard, D = Duelist, S = Strategist. The tiers are Counterwatch's own buckets; the observed win-rate ranges are S 53.0–58.0%, A 51.6–52.5%, B 50.4–51.3%, C 48.6–49.8%, D 47.1–47.9%, F 45.2–46.6%.
| Tier | Heroes (role · win rate) |
|---|---|
| S | Peni Parker (V · 58.0%), Ultron (S · 57.3%), Storm (D · 56.4%), Mantis (S · 55.6%), Gorr the God Butcher (D · 54.9%), Magik (D · 54.9%), Rocket Raccoon (S · 54.0%), Mister Fantastic (D · 53.7%), Devil Dinosaur (V · 53.0%) |
| A | Hulk (V · 52.5%), Thor (V · 52.2%), Scarlet Witch (D · 52.0%), Blade (D · 51.8%), Captain America (V · 51.8%), Hela (D · 51.7%), Angela (V · 51.7%), Iron Man (D · 51.6%) |
| B | Daredevil (D · 51.3%), Loki (S · 51.1%), Rogue (V · 51.0%), Iron Fist (D · 51.0%), The Hood (V · 50.9%), Psylocke (D · 50.7%), Adam Warlock (S · 50.7%), Human Torch (D · 50.6%), Doctor Strange (V · 50.6%), Jubilee (S · 50.4%), Black Panther (D · 50.4%) |
| C | Venom, Spider-Man, Black Cat, Groot, White Fox, The Thing, Magneto, Winter Soldier, Emma Frost, Gambit, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Star-Lord (48.6–49.8%) |
| D | Deadpool (Strategist), Hawkeye, Cloak & Dagger, Elsa Bloodstone, Luna Snow, Namor, Deadpool (Duelist), Moon Knight, Black Widow, Jeff the Land Shark (47.1–47.9%) |
| F | Deadpool (Vanguard) 46.6%, Phoenix 46.5%, Cyclops 45.9%, The Punisher 45.5%, Squirrel Girl 45.2% |
What moved since our pre-patch list (September 30 → October 25): Peni Parker went up again (57.0% → 58.0%) without being touched by the patch. Ultron climbed from fourth to second. Devil Dinosaur got nerfed but moved into S-tier (51.7% → 53.0%). Captain America rose from B to A (51.0% → 51.8%). The Hood (51.8% → 50.9%) and Magneto (50.1% → 49.1%) fell a tier. Two of the most-buffed heroes, Cyclops and Phoenix, are still F-tier across all ranks. That is the most misleading detail of this patch, and it's explained in the Duelist section.
It's still a support-and-frontline meta: three of the nine S-tier heroes are Strategists, and both of the top two picks in the game are not DPS.
Which Vanguard is best to climb with in Season 10.5?
Peni Parker is the #1 hero in the game at 58.0%, and the October 9 patch didn't touch her. Her web-nest zoning shuts down the dive comps that most ranked lobbies run. In RivalsMeta's first post-patch Gold+ data she sat at 63.4%, the highest of any hero, according to SenseOS's before/after breakdown. Counterwatch's Competitive ban table (the last eight weeks, 108,536 matches with a ban phase) shows her banned in 28% of games, so you need a backup.
That backup is Devil Dinosaur (53.0%). His 25-health nerf made no visible difference: he climbed into S-tier and is the most-banned hero in Competitive over the last eight weeks at 33%, ahead of Black Cat (32%) and Black Panther (30%). Below them, Hulk (52.5%, with the faster Banner gun from the buff) and Thor (52.2%) are the steadiest A-tier tanks. Captain America (51.8%) is the surprise of the half-season. One r/marvelrivals thread this week roasted people who "still pick Cap in Season 10.5," and the replies noted that a good Cap is a "team demolisher," while most Caps get hard-countered. The win rate agrees with the first half of that.
Be careful with Magneto (49.1%) and The Thing (49.2%). Their Season 10.5 buffs only apply with a specific Team-Up, and neither one is out of C-tier.
Which Duelist is best for ranked in Season 10.5?
Storm (56.4%) is still the best DPS to climb with. Her mobility and area pressure punish grounded comps, and the patch didn't change her. Right behind her, Magik and Gorr are tied at 54.9%.
Magik is this week's debate on Reddit. A thread asking why her 55% win rate and S-tier spot "isn't talked about more" got a split answer. Long-time Magik mains said she rewards skill: good players make her good, but she has one escape and gets "cooked" if the enemy runs a hero that targets her. Others said she falls off around Celestial. Both can be true: an all-ranks win rate is mostly made of lower and mid-ladder games, so she reads as a strong solo-queue pick, while top-ladder players report she's easier to shut down.
Gorr the God Butcher is still S-tier after his nerf. The patch cut his scythe damage and his Ultimate length, and so far that has mostly shown up as fewer bans: SenseOS's post-patch data shows his ban rate falling in every rank while his win rate stayed within the noise. So he's available in more Competitive games than before, and his win rate hasn't dropped out of S-tier. Mister Fantastic (53.7%) rounds out the S-tier Duelists.
Scarlet Witch (52.0%) took the clearest early hit. RivalsMeta's first Gold+ sample after the patch had her at 48.9%. Across all ranks she has recovered to the low A-tier. Iron Man's missile rework puts him at 51.6%, the edge of A-tier. The homing missiles are easier to land, but you need the full 5-missile lock to get real damage out of them.
The Phoenix trap: Phoenix got the biggest buff in the patch, and she's still F-tier (46.5%) across all ranks. Higher up, the picture is different. In RivalsMeta's Gold+ data, her win rate jumped from 42.0% to 51.8% within two days of the patch, and her Gold+ ban rate went from 0.7% to 35.0%. These are two different samples (an early Gold+ snapshot vs a 16-day all-ranks average), so they don't prove an exact rank cutoff. The practical read: she looks viable from Gold up for players who can land Cosmic Flames and set up Spark detonations, and the all-ranks number says most Phoenix players are still losing with her. Cyclops (45.9%) got buffed too and is still in the bottom three, so don't follow the low-elo insta-locks.
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Which Strategist should you climb with in Season 10.5?
Ultron (57.3%), Mantis (55.6%) and Rocket Raccoon (54.0%) are your S-tier supports, and the patch didn't change any of them. Ultron's flying uptime makes him hard to dive, and he moved up to #2 overall. Mantis's damage-boost-plus-heal kit is the strongest solo-queue support. Rocket's revive beacon gives him the easiest learning curve of the three on a fresh account.
Jubilee's buffs (self-heal while sprinting, a 180/s Ultimate heal) lifted her to 50.4%, mid-B. They made her playable, not a meta pick. Loki (51.1%) and Adam Warlock (50.7%) are fine flex choices. Cloak & Dagger (47.9%) is D-tier. Commenters this week called the hero easy to "pad numbers" on and weak at actually winning games. Luna Snow (47.6%) and Jeff (47.1%) are casual-night picks only.
How do you climb fastest before the Season 11 reset on November 13?
Season 10.5 did not reset ranks. Season 11 on Friday, November 13, 2026 will. It was the last card on NetEase's official Season 10.5 roadmap, and the expected start is 09:00 UTC. Under the placement system in use since Season 5, returning players play 10 placement matches, starting from an initial predicted rank of about their final Season 10 rank minus 3 divisions. That estimate is capped at both ends: Celestial II and above all start from Grandmaster II, and Bronze III through Silver III all start from Bronze III. Between those caps, climbing now raises your Season 11 starting estimate; your final placed rank then depends on how the 10 placements go. Our Season 11 release date guide has the full details.
Here's a queue plan built on the October 25 data:
- Vanguard: play Peni Parker; switch to Devil Dinosaur or Hulk when Peni is banned.
- Duelist: play Storm; switch to Magik on brawl maps, or Gorr on open maps now that he's banned less.
- Strategist: play Ultron or Mantis; switch to Rocket when both are taken.
Then use the ranked rules to your advantage. Hero bans start at Gold III, with three bans per team, so from Gold up assume Peni, Devil Dinosaur or Black Cat will be banned, and keep a backup in every role. Remember that most of the ladder sits below where you might expect. On RivalsTracker's PC sample of 1,034,781 profiles (October 8, as reported by LFCarry), only 23.81% of players were Diamond or higher and 8.14% were Grandmaster or higher. In our experience, a focused session on two S-tier heroes you know well beats a long session on whatever's open, though there's no hard data on that.
Rewards are the other deadline. To earn the Season 10.5 Gold costume, you need 10 Competitive matches in this half-season and must finish 10.5 at Gold or higher. Season-end rewards are based on your rank when the season ends, not your peak. A late slide costs you the reward.
Out of time to grind before November 13? Our pro players climb your account on the exact S-tier heroes above, so you finish Season 10.5 at your target rank and start Season 11 from a higher placement.
- Marvel Rivals Rank Boost: reach your target rank before the Season 11 reset, played by pros on the current meta.
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If you're building a full team, pair this list with our best Team-Up abilities for Season 10.5. Several of this patch's buffs (Magneto, The Thing, Adam Warlock, Hulk with Wolverine) only apply when the right Team-Up is selected.
FAQ
What is the best hero in Marvel Rivals Season 10.5? Peni Parker. She has the highest all-ranks win rate in the game at 58.0% (Counterwatch, October 25, 2026), and the October 9 balance patch didn't change her. Ultron (57.3%) and Storm (56.4%) are the next two.
Is this tier list updated for the latest patch? Yes. The live balance is Version 20261009 (Season 10.5, October 9). The latest patch, Version 20261022 (October 22), added the Avengers: Endgame mode, store bundles and bug fixes, with no hero balance changes. The win rates above were pulled on October 25, 2026, more than two weeks after the balance patch.
Is Gorr still good after the Season 10.5 nerf? Yes. His Shadow Scythe, Shockwave and Ultimate duration were all cut, but he's still S-tier at 54.9% across all ranks, tied with Magik. The main effect of the nerf was fewer bans, so he's easier to actually play in Competitive.
Is Phoenix good now after her buff? Only conditionally. Across all ranks she's still F-tier at 46.5% (Counterwatch, October 25). In the first Gold+ sample after the patch (October 11), her win rate rose from 42.0% to 51.8% and her ban rate to 35%. If you're Gold or higher and can land her combos, she's worth testing; otherwise there are safer Duelists.
Does Season 10.5 reset your rank? No. Season 10.5 did not reset ranks. The next reset is Season 11 on November 13, 2026: 10 placement matches, starting from an initial estimate of roughly your final Season 10 rank minus 3 divisions (Celestial II and above start from Grandmaster II; Bronze III to Silver III start from Bronze III).
Which heroes get banned the most in Season 10.5? Over the last eight weeks of Competitive matches with a ban phase, Devil Dinosaur is banned the most (33%), followed by Black Cat (32%), Black Panther (30%), Spider-Man (28%) and Peni Parker (28%), per Counterwatch. Bans start at Gold III, with three per team.
