Marvel Rivals Season 1 won’t fix the game’s biggest issue

Several upcoming heroes have been leaked for Marvel Rivals, with a grand total of 4 heroes set to be joining the roster in Season 1. However, these new additions won’t solve what is likely the game’s biggest problem.

Marvel Rivals is fantastic, and it’s been a clear hit with players. But it also has some very real issues. And, while there’s obvious stuff like a bug that ties framerate to how fast some heroes deal damage or move, there’s a much more fundamental flaw that could have been ironed out in Season 1.

Rivals launched with more than half its cast being placed into a DPS role, something that has caused a ton of frustration amongst players. And, now that we’ve seen all 4 Season 1 heroes, that isn’t going to change any time soon. But the issue is especially felt in the tank role.

Tank role gets neglected in Marvel Rivals Season 1

Marvel Rivals released with 18 of its 33 heroes being in the DPS role. It’s got a clear bias toward flashy damage heroes that can carry matches. And, while this is great and all, keeping a hero shooter alive and thriving is all about making every role fun.

And, though support needs some work, there are a number of fun heroes in the role currently who allow for diverse playstyles. People who want to deal damage and have a hybrid role on the team can play stuff like Mantis and Adam Warlock, enabling them to support their team while still dealing some good damage. It doesn’t hurt that we’re getting Invisible Woman in support as one of four Fantastic Four members, either.

Then we’ve got Human Torch and Mr Fantastic, both of which are confirmed to be DPS heroes via leaks. In a game already loaded with DPS heroes, we’re getting two more. The Thing is the only hero that’s a tank out of the bunch.

What’s more, The Thing fills the archetype almost every other tank hero does: Big and bulky. We don’t know what his kit is just yet, so perhaps there’s a chance that what he does completely changes the role. However, as it is, there isn’t much diversity in the role outside of either putting up a big shield or diving into the backline.

Peni is pretty much the only hero who does something different, and she’s incredibly popular despite being pretty easy to counter and being not that great in high level play. People clearly want something different to do in the tank role, both in terms of actual gameplay and not being forced to play as a bulky, muscular hero that’s built like a refrigerator.

There are reasons to be optimistic, though.

Let’s use Emma Frost, one of the leaked heroes that’s in development, as an example. She canonically has bulletproof skin, what if most of her health bar was made of up shield that regenerates when she lands abilities or blocks damage while having a small base health pool, say 800 max shield and 200 base health?

If you miss, you die. If you land everything, you can carry games. Maybe she could even have the ability to purposely convert her built up bonus health into damage, turning her into a glass cannon that toes the line between tank and DPS at the press of a button.

Marvel Comics

Emma Frost is confirmed to be a Vanguard. I hope she’ll be coming with some unique gameplay mechanics that make her stand out from other tanky heroes

Would that be balanced? Probably not, but at least it’s an idea. If Marvel Rivals wants to make the tank role enticing, they’re going to have to come up with unique concepts that reward skill expression while having actual counterplay and synergy. Especially if things get to the point where they have to implement role queue.

For instance, if Emma Frost couldn’t heal through damage and get pocketed by a traditional support, that’d make her pair well with shield heroes like Magneto, Hulk, and the upcoming Invisible Woman. There are paths forward to creating new and interesting hero designs that aren’t just big bulky meat shields if NetEase is brave enough to try new things.

Marvel’s universe has so many different archetypes and different heroes, many of which feel extremely well-realized in DPS and supportive roles. Which makes it all the more obvious that tank, for the most part, lacks creativity and diversity in playstyle.

It’s no wonder that no one wants to play the role in most solo queue matches. For the sake of this game’s long-term health, I hope we see more variety in the tank role once Season 1 is behind us.