‘Marvel Rivals’ has Deadpool taking on all 3 roles

Think Marvel Rivals needs a new avant-garde? A new duelist? A new strategist? Deadpool agrees with all of the above.

Today, NetEase announced that Marvel Rivals” new season, which starts at the end of this week, will present Deadpool as the latest hero to join the shooter’s growing roster. But in a first for RivalsDeadpool will be able to switch between the game’s three main archetypes – tanky vanguards, damage-focused duelists, and support strategists – at any time mid-game. Naturally, Wade himself decided to make the announcement, stepping into NetEase’s usual developer vision series of videos to recount his own arrival.

According to Wade, he will be able to switch between the role of a vanguard (dropping unicorn fluff to provide a protective shield bubble to defend his allies or prevent enemies from launching attacks), a duelist using his katanas and pistols to deal damage at multiple ranges, or a strategist using his katanas and pistols to deal damage. And heal allies at several distances, returning to his team’s spawn point, either by retreating or in case of defeat.

Deadpool will also have a unique progression system in the game, in which he seems to forget that he is in a hero shooter rather than an RPG. Again, according to Wade, he will be able to level up during a match and improve his individual abilities, thereby increasing their power, and unlike other heroes, he will gain his ultimate ability charge through a style system that encourages sophisticated combat. In the gameplay video below, it appears Wade’s ultimate can target individual opponents to harass them as he launches in with an aura of damaging attacks as a duelist (which apparently improves with more abilities he uses while the ultimate is active) or auras of healing and protection as a strategist and vanguard, respectively.

It’s a fun way to introduce Deadpool’s meta-leaning style into the game, creating a character that is both incredibly versatile and also very unpredictable at first glance. We’ll see how Wade shakes himself Rivals‘meta when it hits the game on January 16.

Want more io9 news? Find out when to expect the latest news Wonder, Star WarsAnd Star Trek exits, what is the next step for the DC Universe in cinema and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.