Groot is one of the most popular characters in Marvel Rivals, but many players are making a key mistake that is frustrating teammates and losing them matches.
The upside to Marvel Rivals having so many characters available to play at launch, all being for free, is that players have access to all manner of abilities or kits to try for a variety of playstyles. The downside, however, is that some can take longer to master – more so when players are testing multiple heroes before settling on a main.
That’s certainly been the case for some players in Marvel Rivals, with quite a few taking issue with how many others have been incorrectly playing one particular Vanguard character.
Growing pains while the wider player base gets used to a new game’s meta is inevitable, but patience appears to be growing thin. Thankfully, a good number of those frustrated are offering more of a friendly FYI rather than an angry “Hulk smash” “-type rant.
Stop hindering your teammates as Groot
As well as Groot being popular in pop culture thanks to the character’s portrayal in the MCU movies, the flora colossus has earned its own respect as a decent Marvel Rivals hero due to its oppressive tank potential, but its wall-based abilities can be detrimental to its own team if used incorrectly.
That’s exactly what’s been happening for players who’ve been having Groot as a teammate, and they are growing increasingly frustrated. Two of Groot’s abilities, Thornlash Wall and Ironwood Wall, each allow you to target a nearby location and have large branching walls grow in the selected spot.
Each of these abilities have their respective bonus effects, but the true benefit lies in being able to block an enemy’s line of sight, trap multiple opponents, and temporarily prevent opposing teams from advancing on objectives.
On the other hand, if activated recklessly, this can all end up happening to your own teammates instead, by having these nature-themed obstacles unnecessarily getting in the way.
“I’ve watched Groot players block line of sight, preventing supports from being able to heal teammates.”, said one player on Reddit.
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“I literally watched a Groot player block off an exit, leaving an Adam Warlock to 1v2 a Spider-Man and a Venom. I’ve watched Groot players throw up walls right in front of teammates messing up ults.”
Each of these walls will eventually break with a few seconds’ worth of inflicting damage or simply fall apart on their own, but within the context of a full Marvel Rivals match, a misplaced wall by Groot will be more than enough time to guarantee your team’s loss.
Plenty of other players followed up with their own negative experiences of having an unknowing Groot on their team.
As many pointed out, having an expert Groot player is fantastic for keeping the opposing side at bay by essentially being able to control the whole immediate area.
Be that as it may, despite Groot’s two-star difficulty ranking, this popular Vanguard is much harder to truly master than one would think, since you need to be aware of the positioning and needs of your team just as much as your enemies, if not more.
To be effective as a Groot player, you should only try to use him competitively once you’ve spent a lot of time first getting used to the character in AI practice matches, along with playing as different characters in Quick Match matches to get used to all of the maps.
In the meantime, if you’re impatient to start climbing up the competitive ranks, try using an alternative Vanguard tank character like Peni Parker or Thor to keep diversifying your playstyles.
