Marvel Rivals is about to get a whole lot cooler as it’s set to welcome Blade in Season 3.5. The iconic Daywalker’s introduction has been teased for the past two seasons via references in the lore as well as direct appearances on specific maps. He was even seen in a deep slumber inside the Imperial Institute of Science on the Birnin T’Challa map.
Following an update back in June, the character mysteriously disappeared from the map’s spawn room, indicating that he’s finally ready for action. Now, Netease have officially confirmed the character’s arrival in the upcoming season and also provided a rundown of his kit. With this in mind, we’ve put together a guide on everything you need to know about Blade in Marvel Rivals.
Marvel Rivals Blade: Release Date
Blade will join the Marvel Rivals roster when Season 3.5 kicks off on Friday, August 8 at 2 AM PDT (5 AM EST /10 AM BST).
The character’s arrival was confirmed in the initial Season 3 trailer, but Netease opted to release Phoenix as the launch character instead of the Daywalker. Nevertheless, Blade will finally join the action when the mid-season update rolls around.
Marvel Rivals Blade: Kit and Abilities
With the character’s official trailer out, we have confirmation that Blade is an aggressive duelist capable of dealing burst damage. His arsenal includes two weapons — the Dracula Sword and the Hunting Gun — that players will be able to switch between. His health pool sits at a respectable 350 hitpoints.
Blade’s kit in Marvel Rivals includes sword slashes and explosive fragmentation blasts, allowing him to alternate between melee attacks and ranged projectiles depending on the scenario. He can also tap into his vampiric powers to lifesteal and heighten his senses. His Ultimate is a powerful AoE attack, which sees Blade execute a front-facing melee maneuver that ends with the Dracula Sword slicing away at the enemies standing behind him.
Lastly, Blade has a team-up ability with Cloak & Dagger and Moon Knight, which grants healing over and brief invisibility to the trio. When the team-up is active, Blade can also unleash a Swift Strike towards a chosen enemy.
Based on this overview, Blade looks to be a DPS duelist built for 1v1 duels and suited for aggressive players. We’ll have to wait until the character’s release to see how these abilities translate to gameplay, but until then, here’s an overview of his abilities:
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ancestral Sword | Primary Fire (Sword) | Use Dracula’s Sword to slash in front of you, inflicting damage to the enemy you hit. |
| Hunter’s Shotgun | Primary Fire / Alt Weapon (Gun) | Use a hunting shotgun to fire a long-range explosive fragmentation round that delivers a large amount of shrapnel at the point of detonation. |
| Scarlet Shroud | Alt Fire (Sword) | Use Dracula’s Sword to set up a sword stance that reduces damage from in front of you. |
| Daywalker Dash | Shift (Movement/Utility) | Sprint forward. If wielding a gun, shoot an enemy to reduce healing. If wielding a sword, slash an enemy and apply to reduce movement speed. |
| Bloodline Awakening | E (Self-Buff) | Awaken the Dhampir bloodline, enhancing slash speed during continuous attacks and triggering Whirlwind Slash. While under this state, you suffer Reduced Healing, but attacks gain Lifesteal. |
| Thousand-Fold Slash | Q (Ultimate) | After building up your strength for a short period, you quickly unsheathe your sword and charge forward, releasing a powerful Chop and leaving Dracula’s Sword frantically chopping the area behind you. Enemies hit by the sword suffer from Reduced Healing. |
| New Moon | Team-Up Ability with Cloak & Dagger and Moon Knight | Cloak & Dagger can inject light and dark energy into Moon Knight and Blade to create a Light & Dark Realm where Moon Knight and Blade can become invisible and gain Healing Over Time. Blade can unleash Swift Strike toward a targeted enemy. |
That wraps up everything we know about Blade in Marvel Rivals so far. Once the character joins the roster, we’ll be sure to update this guide with tips on how to get the most out of his abilities as well as the best team comps for the character. Until then, be sure to bookmark this page and let us know what you make of the character’s leaked abilities in the comments below.
