With Overwatch falling off a cliff in terms of quality, the hero shooter genre needed something – a hero to save the day and provide that team-based competition and thrill that Blizzard’s shooter used to give us so years ago.
In December 2024, that hero arrived, and it brought a whole stable of heroes along with it. Superheroes. Combining the tried and tested gameplay formula of Overwatch with the iconic characters of the Marvel Universe – Marvel Rivals has made a massive impact on the competitive gaming scene in the few short weeks it has been around.
One of the most impressive strategic options in the game is the inclusion of “Team-Ups”, which are character synergies that unlock both active and passive benefits for players and their teams. We’re going to take a look at all of the team-ups in this article, but many players are wondering if they’ll be able to team up with their friends across systems and platforms. We’re going to cover all of that for you… right now!
Is Marvel Rivals Crossplay?
It’s not usually ideal to mix controller players from the PlayStation and Xbox communities with the keyboard and mouse monsters of the PC gaming community, but some games have found a way to balance their experiences to level the playing field. Thankfully, Marvel Rivals is one of those games.
Marvel Rivals absolutely has crossplay support – allowing PC, PS5, and Xbox players to don the powers of their favorite Marvel heroes and wreck shop together. However, this feature does come with a few caveats.
Namely, PC and console players can’t actually choose to compete against each other. In the name of keeping things fair and even, the different communities will only be randomly matched together in Quick Match and a few select other modes. There is no ranked play between PC and console players.
If for some reason you want to turn off crossplay in Marvel Rivals, you can do that on PS5 and Xbox by opening the settings menu, navigating to the “Social” sub-menu, and finding the “Cross-Platform” section of that menu. Here, you will be able to select or deselect crossplay, meaning you will only be able to play with other players on your current platform. If you aren’t concerned about teaming up with players from rival platforms, this could possibly improve your experience.
But now, let’s talk about strategic in-game team-ups.
All Marvel Rivals Team-Ups
When teams are blessed with certain combinations of hero characters, a Team-Up will activate. These synergistic combos can activate passive boosts or unlock powerful new moves depending on the characters in question. If you see that your team is forming with certain characters, it could pay off to complete the team-up even if you aren’t completely familiar with the character you’d have to play. Check out the details of each Team-Up currently in the game:
Ragnarok Rebirth – Hela and Thor (or Loki)
Every time Hela kills an enemy, she can automatically resurrect Thor and Loki to get them back into the fight. On the other hand, if the brothers at odds are alive, they’ll get 100 bonus health upon each Hela kill. Thanks, Sis!
Metallic Chaos – Scarlet Witch + Magneto
When Magneto and Scarlet Witch are on the same team, Magneto will automatically gain a Chaos Magic boost to his greatsword that will allow him to slash through enemies and deal even more damage. It’s like a father/daughter dance with way more violence.
Planet X Pals – Groot + Rocket Racoon (or Jeff the Shark)
Sometimes, little guys need a boost from their big friends, and that’s exactly what this Team-Up accomplishes. Whenever Rocket or precious little Jeff is near Groot, a button prompt will allow them to hop up on his shoulder. Aside from the advantage of an elevated position, they will also get extra damage resistance. However, while Groot does have two shoulders, only one character can activate this Team-Up at a time. Having Jess and Rocket on each shoulder would probably be too cute anyway.
Symbiote Bond – Venom + Spider-Man/Peni Parker
With Venom around, both Spider-Man and Peni Parker can get a taste of the dark side. The tongue-swishing villain will lend those characters the power of the symbiote, giving them the ability to turn into a black ball of spikes made from symbiote goo to damage enemies and steamroll them. We are all Venom now.
Gamma Charge – Hulk + Doctor Strange (or Iron Man)
Hulk can passively buff the Doctor’s Maelstrom of Madness or Iron Man’s Armor Overdrive for a damage boost with his Gamma Radiation. It was finally useful for something besides making him big and green.
Ammo Overload – Rocket Raccoon + Punisher (or Winter Soldier)
When Punisher or Winter Soldier are around, Rocket gets a new ability called Ammo Overload Device. When it is used, the device will provide infinite ammo and an increased fire rate to applicable heroes within its range.
Dimensional Shortcut – Magik + Black Panther (or Psylocke)
With Magik’s help, Black Panther or Psylocke gain access to an ability that lets them rewind time briefly by using the power of Limbo. They will regain any health they lost before the rewind.
Guardian Revival – Adam Warlock + Star-Lord (or Mantis)
Both Mantis and Star-Lord can use Adam Warlock’s Regenerative Cocoon to move around the battlefield as a spirit to regenerate and find a safe location. Has a very long cooldown.
Chilling Charisma – Luna Snow + Namor (or Jeff the Land Shark)
Namor and tiny Jeff get a boost to their water-based abilities thanks to the frosty presence of Luna Snow. Both of them gain attacks that use ice.
Voltaic Union – Thor + Storm (or Captain America)
Storm and Cap can get electrical bonus abilities by accessing the Thorforce. Geez, is that really what it’s called? That’s terrible.
Atlas Bond – Iron Fist + Luna Snow
Luna Snow gains Iron Fist’s Chi, giving her a new ability that allows her to push back enemies with a powerful, damaging blast. The attack damages and slows enemies while healing allies.
ESU Alumnus – Spider-Man + Squirrel Girl
When Spider-Man is around, Squirrel Girl gets a Web Bomb that webs up anyone caught in the blast radius. Not her squirrels though, they’re fine.
Lunar Force – Cloak & Dagger + Moon Knight
With Cloak & Dagger around, Moon Knight gains a dome ability that makes him invisible for 6 seconds.
Allied Agents – Hawkeye + Black Widow
Hawkeye and Black Widow are best buds, and when they’re on the same team, she gets an aiming boost called Hunter’s Sight that allows her to shoot still after images of enemies. This makes it almost impossible to miss, but does not allow critical headshots.
Fastball Special – Hulk + Wolverine
Batter up! When Hulk and Wolverine are together, Hulk can launch his partner like a baseball into enemies for some slice-and-dice action. Both players must agree to the move, so Wolverine can’t just get thrown around as a troll.
Fantasti-Force – Invisible Woman + Mister Fantastic
When this half of the Fantastic Four are on the same team, Mister Fantastic can trigger a temporary defense boost as well as a health bonus. Hey, they’re married after all!
Marvel Rivals
