Quick answer: Path to Doomsday – Avengers: Infinity War is the limited-time 2v2 mode added in Marvel Rivals Season 10.5 (Patch 1.76, live October 9, 2026), running until December 11, 2026. Twelve players split into six two-player duos on the Jungle of Wakanda map; each round, two duos fight head-to-head, and the first duo to hold all six Infinity Stones wins. The strongest pairing right now is a sustain duelist + a healer who can buff from the back line — most lobbies are settling on Rocket Raccoon + Mantis. Protect your shared 100-point Squad Health pool, prioritise card upgrades that fix your hero's weakness, and only pop Stones from Phase 4 onward. Below: the full ruleset, a hero tier ranking for the mode, the best duos, and the card/Stone priorities that actually win rounds.
Season 10.5 did not add a new hero — the headline is the mode itself. If you also want to climb ranked while the event runs, the balance patch that shipped alongside it (Iron Man, Hulk, Cyclops, Jubilee, and Gorr changes) reshaped the standard competitive meta too; we cover that in our Season 10.5 patch notes breakdown and the current Season 10.5 tier list.
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What is Path to Doomsday – Infinity War mode?
Path to Doomsday is a limited-time PvP mode themed on Avengers: Infinity War, playable on a single map: the Jungle of Wakanda. According to the Season 10.5 patch notes, the mode window is October 9, 2026, 09:00 UTC to December 11, 2026, 09:00 UTC — a two-month event, not a weekend trial.
The structure is a 12-player bracket of six duos (two players each). Every round is a short 2v2 between two squads, broken into phases with a Prepare Phase up front. You pick from a pool of 13 film-roster heroes: Doctor Strange, Captain America, Groot, Thor, Black Panther, Black Widow, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, Winter Soldier, Star-Lord, Mantis, and Rocket Raccoon. Everyone else is benched for this mode, which is why the usual ranked tier list does not map cleanly onto it.
Two numbers drive every decision:
- Squad Health pool: 100 points. You and your partner share it; there is no passive regen between rounds.
- Loss penalty: 15 points early, rising to 35 points per round as the match goes on. Reach zero and your duo is eliminated and removed from the match.
That ramp is the whole game. A sloppy early round costs 15; the same mistake at Phase 9 can cost 35 and end you outright.
How do you get the Infinity Stones?
Each duo is randomly assigned one Infinity Stone at match start — you can't choose which. From there, Stones change hands in two ways, per the patch-note mechanics:
- Win a round against another duo and you take their Stone.
- Eliminate a team entirely (reduce their shared health pool to zero and knock them out) and you claim every Stone they were carrying.
Stones are not usable from the opening bell. They activate at Phase 4 with a base effect, and at Phase 7 all Stones awaken into enhanced forms automatically. The controls are simple: press Z to cycle your Stones and G to use the selected one.
What is the win condition?
The first duo to hold all six Infinity Stones wins the match. Because Stones transfer on round wins and full eliminations, the end game is about chaining wins once you already hold three or four Stones — the snowball is real, which is why protecting your health pool early matters more than flashy early aggression.
How do the six Infinity Stones work?
Each Stone has a base effect (Phase 4+) and an enhanced effect (Phase 7+). This is the single biggest skill gap in the mode: players who know what each Stone does, and time G correctly, win lopsided rounds.
| Stone | Base effect (Phase 4+) | Enhanced effect (Phase 7+) |
|---|---|---|
| Power | Continuous energy beam dealing damage equal to a percentage of the target's max health | Same beam, plus sustained hits Control the target |
| Space | Teleport in a chosen direction with a Damage Boost and Bonus Health; can cast multiple times | Can target an enemy and teleport behind them |
| Reality | Designate an area where, after a short delay, enemy attacks inside become bubbles | Enemies inside the area are Transformed instead |
| Soul | Sacrifice half your max health to fully restore your teammate (you keep at least 1 HP) | Fully heals your ally, grants bonus health, transfers your bonus attributes, and enters Soul State (limit 1 per team) |
| Time | Rewind yourself to your position and state 5 seconds ago; used Stone abilities are not reset | Rewinds the entire battlefield 5 seconds and can revive characters |
| Mind | Fire a psychic beam; sustained hits mind-control an enemy and let you use their Stone's base effect | Same, but you use the enemy's enhanced effect |
A practical read: Power is the most reliable damage Stone because percent-max-health scaling ignores tanky picks, Soul is the clutch pick for sustain duos, and Time is a comeback button — rewinding the whole battlefield at Phase 7 can flip a lost round. Mind is the highest-skill Stone: stealing an enemy's awakened effect is a swing, but you have to survive the channel.
Marvel Rivals Infinity War mode tier list (best heroes)
The mode's 13-hero pool and 2v2 format reward self-sufficient damage and off-angle healing over classic 6v6 frontline anchoring. This ranking is based on the Season 10.5 build and early community consensus in r/marvelrivals; expect it to shift as card interactions get solved.
S-tier
- Rocket Raccoon — the mode's standout. With the right cards he outputs absurd sustained damage and self-peels; players report that the Bombardment Pull card makes his orbs track straight to the crosshair instead of bouncing randomly, which is what pushes him over the top.
- Mantis — the best partner in the mode. Her heals and damage-boost keep a duelist alive through the shrinking health pool, and her burst is enough to finish rounds herself.
A-tier
- Scarlet Witch — reliable chip damage that scales with the percent-health Stones; strong solo-carry potential if your partner can peel.
- Thor — durable, strong in melee brawls where a duo can't kite, and his Iron Man team-up got buffed in 10.5.
- Doctor Strange — portals and shield value translate well to small-arena 2v2s; a safe anchor pick.
B-tier
- Iron Man — his 10.5 Micro-Missile rework (auto-track, faster projectiles) is strong on paper, but players have flagged the missile lock-on behaving oddly in this specific mode, so he's a gamble until it's patched.
- Black Panther / Spider-Man — high mobility and burst, but they thrive on confirmed dives; whiff one and the shared pool punishes you hard.
- Captain America / Groot / Winter Soldier / Star-Lord / Black Widow — all playable, but they lack either the self-sustain or the percent-health scaling that the top picks bring to a format with no between-round regen.
What are the best duos in Path to Doomsday?
Because you share one 100-point pool and there's no passive healing, a pure double-damage duo is fragile. The template that's winning:
One sustain healer + one self-sufficient damage dealer.
- Rocket Raccoon + Mantis — the consensus "unbeatable" pairing early in the event. Rocket provides tracking damage and self-peel; Mantis tops up the pool and boosts his output. Players in the mode's tournament scene are specifically coaching this duo.
- Mantis + Scarlet Witch — double threat with enough healing to survive the Phase-9+ penalty ramp.
- Doctor Strange + Rocket Raccoon — Strange shields and portals while Rocket farms Stone eliminations.
If you insist on a double-duelist comp (e.g. Black Panther + Spider-Man), you must prioritise defensive cards and never over-commit before Phase 4, when Stones come online and a single mistake can cascade into a 35-point loss.
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Card and Stone priority: how to actually win rounds
Cards are the hidden layer. At Phase 1 you choose from randomly generated cards with four selections and two refreshes; you grab a Shiny Card (one of three) at Phase 3, with more Shiny Card picks at Phases 7, 9, and 11. Cards change how skills work or buff stats, and the right one defines your run — community players note that key cards (Rocket's Bombardment Pull, EMP beacon synergies) are RNG and sometimes don't appear until round 10+.
Priority order that holds up:
- Fix your hero's core weakness first (tracking for Rocket, healing uptime for a duelist-heavy duo).
- Bank health-pool safety before Phase 4 so you survive long enough to use Stones.
- Hold your clutch Stone — don't burn Soul or Time on a round you're already winning; save it for the Phase-7 awakening when it flips coin-flip rounds.
- Hunt eliminations once you hold 3+ Stones — full-eliminating a loaded duo can jump you straight to the six-Stone win.
Want to climb ranked while the event runs?
Path to Doomsday is a limited-time PvP mode, so it doesn't award competitive rank. But the Season 10.5 balance patch reshaped the standard ranked meta at the same time, and the two-month event window is a long stretch to also push your climb. If you'd rather spend your time mastering the Infinity War mode and let pros handle the ranked grind:
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For the full ranked picture this patch, see our Season 10.5 tier list and the Season 10.5 patch notes breakdown.
FAQ
When does Marvel Rivals Path to Doomsday end? The Infinity War mode runs from October 9, 2026, 09:00 UTC until December 11, 2026, 09:00 UTC, as stated in the Season 10.5 patch notes. The linked Infinity Finale event (free quests and costumes) runs on a near-identical window ending December 10.
Is Path to Doomsday 2v2 or 6v6? Both framings are technically right. The lobby holds 12 players in six two-player duos, but each round is a 2v2 head-to-head between two of those duos. You only ever fight one other duo at a time.
How do you win the Infinity War mode? Be the first duo to hold all six Infinity Stones. You take an opponent's Stone by winning a round against them, and you claim all of a team's Stones by fully eliminating them (dropping their shared 100-point health pool to zero).
Who are the best heroes in Path to Doomsday? Rocket Raccoon and Mantis are the strongest picks and the best duo early in the event — a sustain healer plus a self-sufficient damage dealer beats double-duelist comps because there's no passive healing between rounds. Scarlet Witch, Thor, and Doctor Strange round out the top tier.
How do the Infinity Stones work in the mode? Each duo starts with one random Stone. Stones activate at Phase 4 (base effect) and awaken at Phase 7 (enhanced effect). Press Z to cycle and G to use. Power scales off percent max health, Soul is a clutch heal, Time rewinds the battlefield, and Mind steals an enemy's Stone effect.
Did Season 10.5 add a new hero? No. Season 10.5 (Patch 1.76) added the Path to Doomsday mode and the Infinity Finale event, plus balance changes to Iron Man, Hulk, Cyclops, Jubilee, and Gorr — but no new playable hero.
