Season 8 Overview: Sins of Alchemax in Retrospect
What Season 8 brought and what is left of it
Season 8, Sins of Alchemax, started on May 15, 2026 at 09:00 UTC with about two hours of maintenance and ended around July 10. Today, October 16, 2026, Season 10 is live and update 10.5 landed on October 9. This is a look back at a finished season, with data current as of 10/16/2026.
The headline items were the new hero Devil Dinosaur, the Primal Punishment Team-Up, the Alchemax Headquarters map and a broad balance pass. The numbers below are launch values, and later patches changed some of them.
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Devil Dinosaur and Primal Punishment
Devil Dinosaur became the 50th hero and arrived on day one of the season. He is a Vanguard with a bleeding bite, a jaw grab and throw, a projectile-blocking shield and mouth lasers.
He brought the Primal Punishment Team-Up with The Punisher. Devil Dinosaur gains 100 bonus health as the anchor, and The Punisher unlocks Ancient Judgement. According to player reports, Punisher rides on the dinosaur's back, is limited to basic attacks and Scourge Grenade, takes reduced damage, and shares part of his damage and healing with his partner.
To learn the new Vanguard, watch how strong players use him or take Coaching from an experienced partner.
The map and Cyclops, which came later
Alchemax Headquarters went live on May 28, 2026 in patch 1.53 with no server downtime. It is a Doom Match only map, a free-for-all for up to 20 players, set in New York in 2099.
Cyclops joined on June 12 with Season 8.5 as a Duelist. His Blast Slash Team-Up pairs him with Wolverine. The same update nerfed Black Cat: Fortune costs more, the dash charge is gone and her ultimate is weaker.
Vanguard and Duelist balance
Launch balance touched Vanguards and Duelists. The main changes are in the table.
Hero | Role | What changed |
|---|---|---|
Deadpool | Vanguard | Ban Hammer ultimate healing 50 -> 25 per second, Dual Desert Eagles single shot 36 -> 34 |
Emma Frost | Vanguard | Damage reduction in Diamond Form and Psionic Seduction 20% -> 25%, Mind's Aegis reposition 3 -> 1 s |
The Thing | Vanguard | Base health 700 -> 750 |
Iron Fist | Duelist | K'un-Lun Kick first strike 35 -> 40, Jeet Kune Do cuts Dragon's Defense cooldown by 1.2 s |
Mister Fantastic | Duelist | Stretch Punch 65 -> 70, Flexible Elongation charges in 6 s instead of 8, Brainiac Bounce costs 3100 instead of 3400 |
Moon Knight | Duelist | Moonlight Hook 15 -> 12 s |
Phoenix | Duelist | Cosmic Flames 50 -> 55, Spark explosion 40 -> 35 |
Spider-Man | Duelist | Spectacular Spin 13.6 -> 15 per field, 450 over 2.4 s |
Squirrel Girl | Duelist | Mammal Bond 15 -> 12 s |
Star-Lord | Duelist | Element Guns ammo 40 -> 50 |
Wolverine | Duelist | Regenerative Healing Factor cooldown 105 -> 90 s |
Mister Fantastic ended up mixed. He hits harder and readies his stretch faster, but lost the slow on Flexible Elongation.
Strategists and Chilling Assault
Strategists got both buffs and trims.
Invisible Woman: Force Physics pushes 10 m instead of 12, damage 50 instead of 55.
Loki: illusion healing 100% instead of 90%, their damage 80% instead of 90%, God of Mischief costs 4500 instead of 4300.
Mantis: ally damage boost 8% instead of 12%, but allies gain a flat +100 movement speed.
Rocket Raccoon: projectile 17 instead of 16, 10 Repair charges instead of 8, C.Y.A. costs 4000 instead of 4300.
White Fox: Fox Form aura 35 per second instead of 25, Blessed by the Nine in her ultimate 60 per second instead of 40.
The Chilling Assault Team-Up (Luna Snow with Iron Fist or Emma Frost) was buffed too. The Iced Out Diamond field grew from 9 m to 12 m, and barrier placement range was raised to match.
Battle Pass and cosmetics
According to player reports, the season pass was called Project: Hero Age. It carried 10 premium costumes, including Hulk Maestro, Deadpool Monster King and President Loki, and cost $9.99. The season ended around July 10, so that pass can no longer be bought.
The season also added new accessories for several heroes. If you want to fill gaps in your costume collection, Skins Unlock can help.
Student perks and install size
The College Perks program has run since Season 3 and continued in Season 8. Verified students got a rotation of 10 trial costumes and MVP animations. You activate it in Settings - Community - College Perks with a student email and code, and the costumes stop working once the study period ends.
On PC, the high-resolution texture pack became a separate Steam DLC in May 2026. Turn it off in Properties - DLC and the game switches to low-resolution textures with a noticeably smaller install.
What still matters today
Season 8 is over, but Devil Dinosaur and Cyclops stayed in the game, and the launch numbers were changed later. When you play ranked, follow current patches.
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