Marvel Rivals Best Team-Up Abilities in Season 9: Top Loadouts to Climb (July 2026)

Season 9 didn't just add a hero — it rebuilt the single mechanic that decides team fights. The July 10, 2026 update ("The Mystery of Thebes," Version 20260710) tore down the old anchor-buff Team-Up system and replaced it with two selectable loadouts on every one of the 52 heroes. If you're queuing ranked and still running whatever loadout the game defaulted you into, you're leaving free winrate on the table.

This guide ranks the best Team-Up ability loadouts to climb in Season 9 — the ones whose power is on by default, don't need a specific duo partner babysitting you in solo queue, and actually swing games at Diamond and above.

Quick answer: best Team-Up loadouts to climb in Season 9

TL;DR — pick the loadout with the strongest Base Effect, because it's active whether or not your team-up partner is in the match:

• Best DPS carry loadout: Storm → Gods of Thunder — turns her Wind Blade into a hitscan beam, the single biggest consistency upgrade any Duelist got this season.
• Best self-sufficient duelist: The Punisher → Ammo Overload — drop your own Faster Firing device; no teammate required to melt tanks.
• Best "carry + heal your team" pick: Hawkeye → Moonlit Slash — a hitscan sniper who also heals allies and applies Vulnerability on hit.
• Best anti-dive support: Cloak & Dagger healing loadouts — players are already calling their sustain "over-tuned" for shutting down dive comps.
• Best tank playmaker: Magik → Chain of Cyttorak — tether and drag multiple enemies into your team.

Everything below explains how the new system works, then breaks the best loadouts down by role.

How do Season 9 Team-Up abilities work?

This is the most important change since launch, so get the mechanics right before you pick.

Under the old system, Team-Ups were anchor buffs: a specific hero (say, Rocket Raccoon) had to be on your team for their partner to get a bonus. In Season 9, that's gone. In the developers' own words (designer Zhiyong, via Game Informer): "every single hero will possess two completely independent Team-Up Ability loadouts."

Here's how each loadout is built (IGN Season 9 Details & Patch Notes):

• You pre-select one of two loadouts outside the match, based on your playstyle — and you can swap freely in the Spawn Room mid-game.
• Each loadout has a Base Effect and an Enhanced Effect.
• The Base Effect is active by default, regardless of your team composition. This is the key line for climbing.
• The Enhanced Effect only activates when the named Team-Up member is actively playing in the match.

Per IGN, verbatim: "The Enhanced Effect requires the Team-Up member to be actively playing in the match, while the Base Effect will be active by default regardless." Some of these abilities are brand new; others replace a hero's existing base ability entirely.

Why this matters for solo queue: you can't control who your four random teammates pick. So the loadouts that carry ladder are the ones with a powerful Base Effect you get for free. Chasing an Enhanced Effect that needs a specific partner is a coordinated-5-stack luxury, not a solo-climb plan.

Best Duelist Team-Up loadouts to climb

Duelists decide most solo-queue games, and Season 9 handed several of them absurd consistency upgrades. These are ranked by how hard the Base Effect carries.

1. Storm → Gods of Thunder (S-tier). Storm's Wind Blade becomes an upgraded hitscan beam that detonates on hit (per the Season 9 Team-Up ability list). Hitscan is the holy grail for a floaty projectile hero — you stop leading shots and start deleting flyers on click. The Enhanced Effect (with Thor) turns Bolt Rush into bouncing Chain Lightning, but the Base beam alone is the reason to run it. It's a big part of why Storm is rated one of the strongest climb Duelists this patch.

2. The Punisher → Ammo Overload (S-tier). Throw an Ammo Overload Device that grants Faster Firing to anyone standing in it — including you. Punisher's whole identity is uptime and DPS, and this is a self-castable damage steroid that needs zero coordination. If Rocket Raccoon happens to be on your team, the Enhanced Effect grants Infinite Ammo, but you don't need him to benefit.

3. Hawkeye → Moonlit Slash (S-tier for carry-supports). Hawkeye upgrades Crescent Slash into Moonlit Slash — a radiant sweep that heals and boosts healing for allies while damaging enemies and applying Vulnerability. A sniper who also tops up his team and softens targets is a solo-carry dream; the Enhanced (with Cloak & Dagger) chains it into three sweeps.

4. Hela → Hel Tendrils / Deep Wrath (A-tier). Hela's kit branches hard in Season 9. Hel Tendrils replaces Soul Drainer and pulls nearby enemies together and slows escapees — brutal for combo setups. Deep Wrath spawns an Undead Monstro on every KO for extra chip. Both are strong; Hel Tendrils is the more solo-friendly pick for creating picks.

5. Squirrel Girl → Squirrel Missile (B-tier, fun but niche). A homing squirrel missile with an explosive payoff — great value, but its ceiling depends more on the Enhanced (Iron Man) pairing.

Want the full DPS pecking order beyond Team-Ups? See our best Duelists to climb in Season 9 breakdown.

Best Strategist (support) Team-Up loadouts to climb

Support is where Season 9 Team-Ups quietly broke the game. As one Reddit player put it in a thread about the update, the healing Team-Ups are "over-tuned" for how easily they shut down dive.

1. Cloak & Dagger (S-tier anti-dive). Their healing loadouts are the ones players are complaining about — the sustain bubble makes it extremely hard for a diving Duelist to burst a support before help arrives. If you want to hard-anchor a backline and stabilize chaotic solo-queue fights, this is the pick. (They're also the Enhanced partner for both Hawkeye's Moonlit Slash and Moon Knight's Luminous Moon, so a C&D on your team lifts multiple carries.)

2. Storm → Jaws of Fate (A-tier off-healer). Storm's other loadout unleashes a torrential downpour that continuously heals herself and teammates — a rare Duelist-into-sustain flex that can cover a support down.

3. Jubilee (situational). The Season 9 hero (52nd on the roster, a Strategist) heals with plasma fireworks while blinding enemies. Community read: underrated right now, and a strong candidate to become busted once The Hood lands on August 7 (Season 9.5). Learn her before the meta catches up.

For the complete support ranking, see our best Strategists to climb in Season 9 guide.

Best Vanguard (tank) Team-Up loadouts to climb

Season 9 reportedly added 26 new Team-Up abilities across the 13 Vanguards — most of which didn't exist before. Tanks now have real playmaking buttons, not just shields.

1. Magik → Chain of Cyttorak (S-tier engage). Chain of Cyttorak tethers two enemies at once and drags both to the same spot. In coordinated hands (or even a decent solo-queue team that follows up), that's a fight-ending pick-setup. The Enhanced (with Doctor Strange) tethers an entire group.

2. Black Panther → Dimensional Shortcut (A-tier bruiser). A Limbo rewind that snaps you back to your position a few seconds ago, grants Bonus Health, and detonates on arrival for AoE damage plus Vibranium Marks. It's a get-out-of-jail button and a trade — perfect for the dive-tank playstyle that carries lower ranks.

3. Magik → Void Pentagram (B-tier, scales with The Hood). Summons buffed Limbo Demons; its ceiling rises once The Hood arrives in Season 9.5.

New to tanking the S9 meta? Pair this with our best Vanguards to climb in Season 9 tier list.

How should I pick a Team-Up loadout in ranked?

A simple decision tree for solo queue:

• Default to the strongest Base Effect. It's always on. An Enhanced Effect you'll rarely trigger is worse than a mediocre Base you always have.
• Read the Spawn Room. You can swap loadouts mid-match — if a teammate locks your Enhanced partner (e.g., Rocket for Punisher, C&D for Hawkeye), switch to the loadout that upgrades.
• Match the loadout to the map/mode. Hitscan upgrades (Storm's Gods of Thunder) shine on open Convoy maps with flyers; pull tools (Magik's Chain of Cyttorak) shine on tight Domination points.
• Don't over-flex. Learn two or three loadouts deeply rather than swapping every game.

Season 9 Team-Up loadout tier list (climb value)

Tier	Loadout	Role	Why it climbs
S	Storm — Gods of Thunder	Duelist	Hitscan beam = consistency spike
S	The Punisher — Ammo Overload	Duelist	Self-cast Faster Firing, no partner needed
S	Hawkeye — Moonlit Slash	Duelist	Sniper that heals + applies Vulnerability
S	Cloak & Dagger — healing loadouts	Strategist	Over-tuned anti-dive sustain
S	Magik — Chain of Cyttorak	Vanguard	Multi-target tether engage
A	Hela — Hel Tendrils	Duelist	Pull + slow for guaranteed picks
A	Black Panther — Dimensional Shortcut	Duelist/bruiser	Rewind escape + AoE trade
A	Storm — Jaws of Fate	Duelist	Emergency team sustain flex
B	Jubilee — plasma heals	Strategist	Underrated; scales with S9.5
B	Magik — Void Pentagram	Vanguard	Scales once The Hood arrives

Loadout effects sourced from the Season 9 Team-Up ability list (Insider Gaming) and cross-checked against IGN's official Season 9 patch breakdown. Meta reads reflect early-Season 9 competitive consensus and will shift with balance patches.

The fastest way to climb after the Team-Up reset

New loadouts are only half the battle. Season 9's ranked reset knocked most players down six divisions (a mid-season 9.5 update will drop you four), which means the ladder is a fresh grind and every game counts double while the reset settles (see our Season 9 rank reset guide). Reaching Gold or higher by season end still earns a free ranked costume — this season, Jubilee's "Crimson Crown."

If you'd rather skip the placement grind and land at the rank your skill actually deserves, our pro players can do the heavy lifting:

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many Team-Up loadouts does each hero have in Marvel Rivals Season 9? Every hero has two independent Team-Up ability loadouts. You pre-select one outside the match and can swap between them freely in the Spawn Room mid-game (per IGN's official Season 9 breakdown).

What's the difference between a Base Effect and an Enhanced Effect? The Base Effect is active by default no matter who's on your team. The Enhanced Effect only activates when the named Team-Up partner is actively playing in the match. For solo queue, prioritize loadouts with strong Base Effects.

What is the best Team-Up loadout to climb in Season 9? For raw solo-queue value, Storm's Gods of Thunder (hitscan Wind Blade), The Punisher's Ammo Overload (self-cast Faster Firing), and Hawkeye's Moonlit Slash (heal + Vulnerability sniper) top the list — all have powerful Base Effects that don't need a specific teammate.

Do I still need a specific partner for Team-Ups to work? No. That was the old anchor-buff system, which Season 9 replaced. Base Effects work regardless of team composition; only the Enhanced upgrade needs the partner present.

Is Jubilee good in Season 9? She's a capable plasma-healing Strategist and the community view is that she's currently underrated — with a strong chance of becoming a top pick once The Hood arrives in Season 9.5 on August 7, 2026. Learning her early is a smart bet.

Can I change my Team-Up loadout mid-match? Yes — you can swap loadouts freely in the Spawn Room, so read your team's picks each round and switch to the loadout that gets its Enhanced Effect online.