Blood-Night New York: Marvel Rivals Blood Hunt Map

The setup you need to know

In Blood Hunt, you choose from one of six event heroes and jump into battle alongside three other players. There are four main difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, Extreme, and Nightmare. Nightmare works differently with multiple stages adding up to 17 unique Nightmare difficulties.

On Normal to Extreme difficulties, players navigate through a linear, stage-based map. In Extreme, there are 3 Hidden Objectives. If all 3 Hidden Objectives are completed, it unlocks the Hidden Boss at Phase 14.

One to four players join and choose a hero. Players spend their starting Arcana and prepare for the first phase. Each wave brings a specific number and types of monsters that pursue and attack all players. Enemies increase in strength with each wave. Defeat all the enemies in a wave and complete special wave missions to earn Arcana to buy Arcana Cards. Once a wave is completed, a rally point appears on the map, and once all players enter the area, the next wave will begin early.

Playing the mode properly (general survival)

Don't waste your Lifeline Serum early. Save revives for final bosses or close clears. If the boss still has high HP, reviving repeatedly is usually not worth it.

Stay grouped on harder difficulties. Solo runs are possible but riskier. With a 4-player squad, you have multiple revive opportunities and shared damage output that makes boss phases more manageable.

Focus elite vampires and bosses first. Regular vampire thralls are chip damage, but elite "Mayor's Enforcers" have CC abilities and high HP that can wipe you fast.

Use environmental hazards. The Blood-Night New York map has ledges, water hazards, and falling spots. Use them for free kills on elites and bosses where applicable.

Playing the mode properly (between waves)

Spend Arcana wisely. Buy Arcana Cards that complement your hero's build. Damage cards for DPS heroes, sustain cards for tanks, utility cards for hybrid roles.

Manage gear before queueing. The Marvel Rivals Blood Hunt mode features a surprising amount of character and gear progression. You'll have to prepare for every match by fine-tuning your kit and assigned abilities, just as you would tweak your build in a looter-shooter RPG.

Coordinate the rally points. The rally system starts the next wave early when all players gather. Use this to control pacing. Rally early if you're prepared, or use the timer to grab health packs and reposition if you're not.

Playing the mode properly (boss fights)

Dracula is the main boss. Dracula has four phases. The first phase requires dodging sword AoE attacks and shockwaves while clearing the horde of zombies amidst the battle. The second phase repeats with Dracula disappearing and catching teammates off guard for massive damage. Moon Knight is the best hero pick for this fight because you can spam his ankh and deal tons of damage in a short time.

Kingpin is the hidden boss on Extreme. To unlock Kingpin, you must complete three hidden objectives during the same run in order. Miss any one and he skips the encounter entirely. Complete all three and Kingpin shows up as the final boss. He's tanky and requires sustained damage. Watch for his Cane strike (briefly immobilizes on hit) and his AoE explosion leap (high damage, wide area, keep distance when he jumps).

For all bosses, communicate constantly during mechanics. Always protect downed allies and revive strategically.

Playing the mode properly (progression)

You can upgrade all six playable characters from the Hero page under the Blood Moon event tab. There are lots of different ways to enhance their abilities, including Gear, Traits, and Arcana.

Gear includes equippable items earned for each hero by playing them, divided into Weapon, Armor, Accessory, and Exclusive slots. Traits are a personalized skill tree that's different for each hero, enhancing stats and unlocking abilities. Arcana provides general hero enhancements.

Unwanted Gear can be Scrapped to obtain Uru Shards, a currency used for Forging new Gear. To Forge Gear, players select which type of Gear and which Hero, then select what level Gear. The price and the probability of higher rarity Gear increase by level.

If your character has reached certain level thresholds, the quality of crafted items can be higher. For example, if your Jeff the Land Shark is sitting at level 32, you'll have a better chance of acquiring Epic or Legendary gear.

Focus on one hero first. The grind for Nightmare-level gear is substantial, so dumping resources into one hero gets you to high difficulties faster than spreading thin across multiple.

General things that matter

Start pushing Nightmare after Extreme feels comfortable. Extreme is the first major checkpoint because it introduces the full boss route, including Dracula and the hidden Kingpin boss if you complete the objectives.

Higher difficulties give better rewards. The Kingpin Dethroned Trophy Pieces can be earned through Achievements as well as having a chance to drop 1 when completing Nightmare 20 or above. Once 100 pieces have been acquired, players can craft the Kingpin Dethroned Trophy Accessory.

This is a limited-time event. Blood Hunt runs from April 23, 2026 to July 30, 2026. The Marvel Zombies predecessor got extended beyond its original end date, so there's precedent for NetEase pushing the window out, but counting on that is risky.

Creative Director Guangguang explicitly framed Blood Hunt as the "next chapter" of Marvel Rivals PvE, implying a roadmap that extends beyond a single event. So even if the current event ends, expect more PvE content building on this foundation.

PS4 may not support this mode. Marvel Zombies wasn't playable on PS4 due to performance limitations, so check the requirements before assuming you can play it.

Last thing: this is the most progression-heavy mode in the game. Unlike Domination or Convoy where each match is self-contained, Blood Hunt rewards consistent grinding through the gear, trait, and Arcana systems. If you queue once expecting Marvel Zombies-style simplicity, you'll feel overwhelmed. If you commit to a main hero and grind through the difficulty tiers methodically, the rewards justify the effort. Treat it as a looter-shooter RPG layered on top of Marvel Rivals rather than a casual side mode.