Just a few days after the Marvel Rivals Season 1 update removed the ability to mod the game entirely, modders have found a new, albeit longer and more involved, process of altering the game.
Marvel Rivals proved relatively easy to mod at release. It really was as easy as a single-player game in most cases, just grab the files from a site like Nexus Mods, use a mod manager to put all your files into, and then load them into the game – quick and painless.
A new method of file scanning was introduced in Season 1, presumably to keep modders from changing up the game files.
While customs skins were fun and the FPS boost mods were useful, players could also change aspects of the game to make it much easier to play by introducing changes like brighter outlines on character models.
However, a workaround has already been found that requires a lot more steps. And it may also get you banned now.
Mods return to Marvel Rivals but use them at your own risk
The process is a bit hard to explain if you aren’t familiar with modding, but the main difference is that now you’ll have to gain direct access to the game’s .pak files rather than just loading them in through a mod manager. It’s less complicated than it sounds, but hard enough to need a tutorial to pull it off for most folks.
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So, while you can now use that Luffy mod for Mister Fantastic, you may also get banned for it.
Modding Marvel Rivals lives on but it needs extra steps to pull off pic.twitter.com/VEeiiHyxiA
— Marvel Rivals – Leaks & Info (@RivalsLeaks) January 12, 2025
The way the file hashing works in Season 1 is that it now only allows the game to load pak files. The hash checks that the files have unloaded from the proper place and been unpacked before being loaded. This is why installing mods that function externally from these pak files no longer works.
There is another solution that just lets files read as pre-unpacked essentially, but that can also fry your SSD. It’s not recommended to use this for anything other than audio files due to the heaviness of character models. Plus, while using this workaround won’t risk a ban, it may brick your PC before you see what you were trying to mod into the game.
So, mods are back on the table… sort of. Loading your own files into zipped folders for Marvel Rivals is more likely to get you flagged and banned, do so at your own risk.
