Rick Flair
What can be better than a spooky event for your favorite video game timed with Halloween? That’s right. A spooky event that is thematically fitting and explained within the universe. Marvel Rivals Zombie mode is a welcome addition to the roster of previously released events. This one is tied to a horrifying holiday, as well as the release of the Marvel Zombies TV show.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the details of this event, as well as talk about its bosses and characters you can play for. This first-ever Marvel Rivals PvE mode seems to bring back old fans and attract some new ones, so let’s find out what’s so special about it!
And if you want to reap the rewards of this event but either not interested in playing it or don’t have enough time for it, get our Marvel Rivals Season Event Missions Boost.
Read our other Marvel Rivals guides:
Marvel Rivals Zombie Mode Release Date
The Marvel Rivals Halloween event promises to be a big thing. Lots of players turn their heads to see what's new in this mode. In the past, the developer team always made their timed events superb. This makes us believe that this one will be no exception. The Marvel Rivals Zombie mode release date is scheduled for October 24th, 2025. For now, it is unclear if the event will have a time limit. This mode not only introduces a new gameplay mode but also adds new event skins to the game.
How to Play Zombie Mode in Marvel Rivals
This Marvel Rivals PvE mode is going to be familiar to people who have played or at least heard of CoD Zombies or Junkenstein’s Revenge from Overwatch fame. A round-based mode, in which you’ll try to survive as many waves as possible. However, it’s not that simple, as this mode gives way to new gameplay mechanics not present in the base game. Let’s learn how to play Zombie mode in Marvel Rivals:
- Perk system: Before each run, you will pick one of three available options for each of your skills and pick weapon traits, which are called Blessings. They are split into general and hero-specific types.
- Roguelike progression: After finishing a run, you get permanent unlocks and abilities for your characters.
- Leveling: Each of the characters will have a separate level-up system. It influences how many upgrade points you can spend before the match starts. It is unclear so far what the level cap is, but you can assign a maximum of 80 points to your upgrades.
- Bossfights: So far, the developers confirmed two bosses: Namor and Scarlet Witch. We’ll talk about them later in this guide.
- Difficulty levels: There will be seven, at least at the beginning of the event.
With all of these mechanics, it is clear that the developers are aiming to create more than just another thematic romp. Moving on, we’re going to talk about things that make this mode even deeper and dig into some of the aforementioned mechanics. BLOG20
Playable Characters in Zombie Mode
This mode gives access to five fan-favorite characters. They’re Blade, Thor, The Punisher, Jeff, and Magik. Before the match, you’ll need to pick heroes from this roster. What’s interesting is that you’re not limited to picking just one copy of a hero. That means you can pick four Jeffs and wreak havoc! Let’s look at this handy table, explaining the roles and some of the new abilities the Marvel Rivals playable characters will have:
| Name | Role | Gameplay Style | Abilities |
| Blade | Duelist | Close-quarter encounters, fast movement, and the ability to block enemies’ projectiles | Moon Blades. This Blade is tied with Khonshu. |
| Magik | Duelist | Close-quarter encounters, significantly slower than Blade. You will cull the enemy lines, not waggle between them. | Prolonged Darkchylde form |
| The Punisher | Duelist | Guns, guns, and guns. Good up close and personal, good at a distance. Limited escape options. | Stationary turret, bullet ricochets, shotgun shoots twice in a row. |
| Thor | Vanguard | In-your-face tank that excels at zoning enemies. The question is, how useful is it going to be against a giant horde? | Awakened state lasts for a whopping 150 seconds |
| Jeff | Strategist | Really good movement and high damage from your bubble shots. Exceptional healing and a good escape tool. Potentially the most self-sustainable hero from the roster. | While underground, he damages enemies as he passes through them. |
Difficulty Levels in Zombie Mode
There will be seven difficulty levels available at launch. They will change the damage dealt by enemies, as well as lower the damage you do. We can guess that they will also increase the number of zombies for each wave. Typically, for any game, the higher the difficulty, the more XP you will get. Of course, that means that regular enemies and bosses will become harder, too. The Marvel Rivals difficulty levels in Zombie Mode are:
- Normal
- Hard
- Extreme
- Nightmare I
- Nightmare II
- Nightmare III
- Nightmare IV
Seeing that there are four Nightmare difficulties available, we can assume that this is going to be similar to Diablo 3’s Torment difficulties. Each difficulty will grow beyond 100% damage increase by enemies and decrease by the player. Perhaps we will even see new enemies appear, as well as new boss fight movesets and abilities.
Bosses in Zombie Mode
An innovation in Marvel Rivals is the boss system. We don’t know much of it, except for what was shown in the mode’s trailer. This is enough, though, to say that they will have unique mechanics. The two Marvel Rivals bosses we will face in this Zombie mode are Zombie Namor and Scarlet Witch, called the Queen of the Dead.. Here’s a brief description of the mechanics we can see in the trailer:
Namor Zombie Boss
Summons Monstro Spawns with different effects. The first is icy Monstro Spawns that will slow down your hero. The second are his normal Monstro Spawns, which release a ray that continuously damages your character. Apart from that, he uses his ultimate, Horn of Proteus, which summons the Giganto whale in a big radius. After Giganto disappears, he leaves behind two Monstro Spawns, which can’t be damaged and shoot projectiles.
Scarlet Witch Boss
Here, it’s hard to say much about her bossfight mechanics, compared to Namor’s. She spawns crystals, which probably should be destroyed to prevent her from using her ultimate ability, Reality Erasure. Upon activation, there’s a short delay, after which she will wipe out all the heroes. She also uses Chaos Control to drain HP from you and your teammates.
It’s obvious that the devs have been putting a lot of effort into this mode. Let’s hope that they’ll leave it as a permanent addition to the list of other game modes. Let’s move on and discuss some useful tips to make your experience in this game even better.
Tips and Tricks for Marvel Rivals Zombie Mode
Being familiar with other horde survival games, our team has come up with this list of ideas and strategies for you to prevail. This list provides you with some universal tips that can be applied to any game with such mechanics. We will also give you recommendations on which tactics to use with each of the heroes. Here are the tips to follow:
- Always move: In games like these, movement is key. Move around as much as possible. It is highly unlikely that you’ll be able to hold one position for long, as zombies will just overwhelm you with their numbers.
- Training zombies: If you’re playing in a party, always leave one player to draw attention. This will help the rest of the players to take a breather between waves.
- Pile them up: It is easier to kill zombies if they are gathered in a big group. The player who trains zombies can also be the one who gathers them in one spot.
- Play as a team: On higher difficulties, teamwork is dreamwork. Listen to callouts, protect the wounded ally, and heal them if possible. Assign one leader to lead the squad and follow his command.
- Prioritize big enemies: In the trailer, we’ve seen some bigger zombies. There’s a big chance that they’re stronger than your average brain-eater. The rule of thumb in horde games is to kill them as fast as possible, as they may have some abilities that buff other zombies.
Remember these tips well, and you'll have no problem dealing with the undead.
Character-Specific Tips
It is unknown to what degree the skills will remain the same between the main Marvel Rivals competitive mode and this PvE one. We can still offer advice for all Marvel Rivals playable characters available in this mode. It is unlikely that they will drastically alter their core mechanics.
- Blade: His Bloodline Awakening skill allows you to survive much longer than your average Duelist. Considering how many enemies you’ll have on screen at all times, Blade has a high chance to be a really strong character in Zombie mode. With your Dash, you can train the enemies much better than any other character, and your ultimate allows you to create great setups for other characters’ ults.
- Magik: In the main game, she’s a diver/brawler hybrid. Most likely, here your role will be that of a half-tank. Her skills give her overheal and allow for quick bursts of damage. Her ultimate gives her big slashes that will cut the zombies in two in no time.
- The Punisher: Your best bet is to stay behind the frontline, constantly barraging the enemy with your impressive amount of weaponry. Use your turret to deal with bigger crowds, your shotgun if they show up within your vicinity, and your rifle for middle distances. Save your ultimate for bosses or tougher zombies.
- Thor: You want to stay close to the enemies as much as possible. Your kit complements this style of gameplay. Pop your Lightning Realm frequently and follow it up with the Awakening Rune.
- Jeff: This good boy deals enough damage to stay out of harm's way, but his main goal is to heal your allies. Try to spawn your bubbles when your teammates are close to you, and use your Joyful Splash to heal them from further away. Don’t forget that you can heal yourself using bubbles, too.
The tips and tactical advice given here are enough for you to start playing the Zombie mode on a high note. After reading this guide, you’ll have the upper hand over other players who’ll go into this mode blindly.
Conclusion
With the release of PvE Zombie mode, Marvel Rivals might see another spike in popularity. For a good reason, too. Developers always try to keep the game fresh for their fans, introducing new and fun gameplay. We hope you enjoyed this guide and that it will help you to achieve victories in this new game mode. Stay tuned for more guides to come!
F.A.Q.
When does Zombie Mode release in Marvel Rivals?
Zombie Mode is to be released on October 24, 2025.
Which heroes are playable in Marvel Rivals Zombie Mode?
For now, available heroes are Blade, Magik, The Punisher, Thor, and Jeff.
Who are the bosses in Marvel Rivals Zombie Mode?
There are two bosses currently, Zombie Namor and Scarlet Witch.
How many difficulty levels are in Marvel Rivals Zombie Mode?
Total of seven difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, Extreme, and Nightmare I-IV.
Is Zombie Mode a permanent addition to Marvel Rivals?
It is currently unknown if the developers plan to keep it in the game permanently or if it’s just a time-limited event.
What rewards can you earn in Marvel Rivals Zombie Mode?
Most likely, as with all previous events in Marvel Rivals, you can earn in-game currencies, new skins, and personalization rewards.
How to play Zombie Mode in Marvel Rivals?
Always move, gather enemies in large groups, and destroy them. Target the biggest enemies first.
