Marvel Rivals Dev Plans to Enhance Strategist Experience After Support Player Strike

NetEase Games, the developer behind Marvel Rivals, has recently announced plans to alleviate the pressure on Strategist players following a community-wide Support strike initiated just days ago. While Season 2 of Marvel Rivals has been largely successful, introducing new characters, maps, and modes, the balance changes have shifted the dynamics in favor of Vanguards and Duelists, leaving Strategists struggling to keep up.

The diminished effectiveness of the Support class has sparked extensive discussions within the Marvel Rivals community since the launch of Season 2. As other roles gain more battlefield power, many Strategist players report facing not only challenging but also toxic matches, where teammates often blame them in text and voice chats. The situation escalated this week when hundreds of players took to social media to declare their boycott of the healer role until NetEase addressed the issue and proposed solutions to enhance their gameplay experience.

"We just want basic respect," voiced one Reddit user, encapsulating the sentiment of many. "We’re not asking to be glorified or seen as the ‘hardest’ role - because I don’t think we are. We just want basic respect. It’s tiring to be called brain dead or worthless when your stats are solid and you’re playing your role the way it’s meant to be played."

I Need Healing

In response to the strike and the ongoing challenges faced by Strategist players, NetEase has outlined a strategy to ease the burden. In a Dev Talk post on their website, they detailed a dual approach: enhancing the Support role while also making adjustments to the Competitive mode to make it more rewarding for all players.

The team plans to increase the "threat levels" of Strategists in an upcoming patch, which may include buffs for characters like Invisible Woman or Jeff the Land Shark. Conversely, they intend to nerf the survivability of Vanguards such as Captain America and Groot, and reduce the damage range of Spider-Man's Amazing Combo ability. NetEase is keeping the specifics under wraps for now but assures that the changes will be cautious and minimal to fine-tune the experience without overhauling the game's meta.

“Since this is a mid-season balance adjustment, we aim to be cautious, keeping changes minimal to enhance the experience of certain heroes without drastically altering the overall meta,” NetEase explained. “As we move into S2.5, with Ultron's arrival and new Team-Up Ability adjustments, we'll consider broader, more comprehensive balance changes.”

Meanwhile, the Competitive mode in Marvel Rivals has seen some shifts in performance ratings since Season 2 began. Duelists have enjoyed a slight advantage, while Vanguards and Strategists have faced a disadvantage. To address this, NetEase will adjust the performance rating calculations to ensure fairness across all hero classes.

“Balancing the game and rank adjustments is a challenging endeavor, and we can't guarantee perfection 100% of the time,” the Dev Talk adds. “However, we remain humble and attentive, striving to address issues promptly and enhance your experience. Stay tuned for official patch announcements for more updates. Thank you for your support and patience!”

Season 2 of Marvel Rivals introduced Emma Frost as its latest Vanguard hero, with Season 2.5 set to bring Ultron into the fray. As the community awaits the impact of these upcoming balance changes on the Support strike, there's also buzz about a potential new addition of swimsuit skins to the game, teased recently by Marvel.