Clash of Dancing Lions in Marvel Rivals: How Passing Worked, Rules and Rewards
Event archive: this limited-time mode ran from January 23 to February 14, 2025, and it has not come back since. Below: what it was, how passing worked and what the Fortune & Colors event gave out. For what’s in the game today, see the latest Marvel Rivals balance changes.
Clash of Dancing Lions was a 3v3 ball mode in Marvel Rivals, part of the Spring Festival event “Fortune & Colors” in early 2025. Each side played Iron Fist, Star-Lord or Black Widow in Wakanda’s World Arena, and the first team to 10 points won. The catch: you scored only by carrying the ball into the enemy goal, so passing decided most games.
What was Clash of Dancing Lions?
NetEase announced it in the Version 20250122 patch notes. The patch landed on January 22, 2025 at 09:00 UTC, and the event itself opened a day later at the same time, then closed on February 14, 2025 at 08:59:59 UTC. The same update also added a season dropdown to the Leaderboard and let the Career page show your rank history from earlier seasons.
Players compared it to Lúcioball from Overwatch 2 right away. To be fair, that was close, up to a point. The ball, the goals and the arena looked familiar, but the scoring rule was different, and that one rule changed how the whole mode played.
How did passing work in the mode?
Every hero got the same two ball attacks while holding the ball. Lion’s Launch, on primary fire, threw the ball forward quickly. Ferocious Throw, on secondary fire, was a charged throw that flew faster and farther the longer you held the button.
| Action | Default input | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Lion’s Launch | Primary fire | Quick short throw, good under pressure |
| Ferocious Throw | Secondary fire (hold) | Charged throw, more speed and distance the longer you charge |
| Score | Run into the enemy goal | Only counted while you carried the ball |
So why pass at all, if a throw can’t score? Because the carrier was the only target that mattered. A quick Lion’s Launch to a teammate before a stun landed kept the attack alive, and a full Ferocious Throw could flip the ball from your own half to a runner near the enemy goal. Put simply, the pass kept possession alive. The mode explained very little in game (players complained about that a lot on the Steam forums). Most people learned the two throws by accident in their first match (Automaton’s guide said the same thing).
Which heroes could you play?
Three, and only three. Each had a cut-down kit built for the mode (details for each one below).
- Iron Fist was the busiest pick, with three charges each of Lion Kick and Crane Leap, so he could knock people around almost nonstop. His Lion Kick could even catch a Star-Lord in the air.
- Star-Lord had Rocket Propulsion to fly and Celestial Flip to dodge while invulnerable, which made him the hardest carrier to stop.
- Black Widow could sprint without a time limit using Fleet Foot, though her other tools ran on long cooldowns. That endless sprint made her the best pick for chasing down a loose ball after a long throw went wide.
In practice, a good team kept one player a little behind the fight. Honestly, a full-time goalie bored most players, but someone had to stop a free Star-Lord run at your goal.
What rewards did the Spring Festival event give?
The free headliner was Star-Lord’s Lion’s Mane costume, earned through Fortune & Colors missions. Event missions and challenges also paid out Danqing, a “magical dye” you used to color in an illustration; finishing it gave the Gallery Card “Of Festivals and Friends”. Our Danqing guide covers that side of the event in detail.
Two more costumes from the Clashing Lions series sold in the store between January 23 and February 14, 2025: Black Widow’s Lion’s Heartbeat and Iron Fist’s Lion’s Gaze. A “Dancing Lions” bundle sold both together and added a “Blessing Lion” nameplate.
Will Clash of Dancing Lions come back?
Look, not so far. For the 2026 Spring Festival in Season 6.5, NetEase went a different way: a Lion Dance stage in Times Square from February 13 to March 5, 2026, where Iron Fist led the dance and any hero could join, plus red packets from the Fortune Drum on Spring Festival’s Eve. No ball mode returned.
Iron Fist’s Lion’s Gaze costume did get two new chromas in that update (Savage Spirit and Lively Lion) and a Lucky Lion Dance emote, and everyone could claim the free Awaken the Lion emote until February 27, 2026. Could the mode return one day? Possibly, since NetEase has brought back other festival content, but there’s no official word. If it does, it’ll show up in the patch notes first.
Until then, the closest thing to practice is regular play: the same heroes, the same movement. Our Marvel Rivals tier list shows where Iron Fist, Star-Lord and Black Widow stand now, and the maps guide covers the arenas that are actually in rotation. If Clash of Dancing Lions returns, the passing basics above will still apply.
FAQ
When was the mode available in Marvel Rivals?
It started on January 23, 2025 at 09:00 UTC and ended on February 14, 2025 at 08:59:59 UTC, as part of the Spring Festival event Fortune & Colors.
How did scoring work?
You have to run into the enemy goal while holding the ball. Throwing the ball into the goal does not score. The first team to 10 points wins.
How do you pass the ball?
Primary fire uses Lion’s Launch, a quick forward throw. Secondary fire uses Ferocious Throw, which flies faster and farther the longer you charge it.
Was the Star-Lord Lion’s Mane costume free?
Yes. Lion’s Mane was free through the Fortune & Colors event missions. The Black Widow and Iron Fist costumes from the same series were sold in the store.
Is Clash of Dancing Lions coming back?
There is no official announcement. The 2026 Spring Festival used a Lion Dance stage in Times Square instead of the ball mode.
