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Marvel Rivals is set to be the next big team-based game going toe-to-toe with competition like Overwatch 2 and Valorant. From the first trailer, it definitely seems like the game has a lot of promise, not just with its obviously popular IP, but in the level of polish the gameplay mechanics already seem to have on top of its attention to detail with character designs and abilities. Still, trying to beat Blizzard’s premier shooter is no simple task, and there are some things that Marvel Rivals needs in order to reach the top of the totem pole.
1. Good Custom/Private Game Tools
Public matches are obviously the main draw of games like this the majority of the time, but private and custom games should never be discounted in their importance. Dota 2 was birthed from a custom game mode, and there are various other cases of custom game modes catching on with other multiplayer titles and becoming as popular as anything else players do. Games like Garry’s Mod, Halo, and even Overwatch have proven with tools like these that players can and will spend many hours in the game experimenting and making wildly creative things. Marvel Rivals could certainly benefit from a similar feature.
2. New Character For Free
Blizzard made a power play in the recent announcement that all post-launch Overwatch 2 characters, both upcoming and already released, will become freely available for all players starting in Season 10. The move feels almost prescient considering the news of Marvel Rivals coming so shortly later, and it sets a precedent that NetEase’s game really should follow suit with to avoid drawing the ire of potential new fans. A major marketing move Marvel Rivals could utilize to boost its own profile is capitalizing off many of the complaints of Overwatch 2 and Valorant fans. If Marvel Rivals comes out of the gate looking like Overwatch 2 before its popular update, then it may be relegated to playing catch-up.
3. A Solid eSports Scene
Games of this nature naturally open themselves up to a lot of competitive meta play. This can be a tough thing for developers to handle since the line must then be walked between the wants of both casual and competitive play, and it’s rare that any game can fully satisfy both, but the eSports scenes for both Overwatch 2 and Valorant should definitely make NetEase take its own potential for competitive play into heavy consideration. With eSports, it is typically important that devs let things happen naturally while simultaneously encouraging how the scene chooses to grow. Trying to force an eSports scene rarely lends itself to long-term longevity, and that’s something Blizzard can attest to.
4. Incentives to Play Objective
“Team Deathmatch” mentality unfortunately continues to plague all shooter communities. This is the mentality where players are solely interested in racking up kills regardless of whether or not that actually meaningfully contributes to the player’s team getting the victory. Different games have attempted any number of solutions throughout the years to try and incentivize players to play whatever objective there may be, and some do it much better than others. Most likely, the best thing Marvel Rivals can do to incentivize objective play is simply rewarding it more than getting kills (Unless that actually IS the objective, in which case, go ahead). Giving higher leaderboard placements, higher EXP gain, and potentially even whatever this game’s equivalent to loot boxes may be to the players who play their roles and the objective well should be the best way to accomplish this goal.
5. PvE Missions
If NetEase really wants to rub salt in Blizzard’s wound, there could be PvE missions in Marvel Rivals promised at some point in the future. As of right now, there appear to be no PvE missions planned for the immediate future of the game (This comes from the accounts of multiple notable leakers), but that doesn’t mean they can’t make their way in sometime later down the road. Considering we’re dealing with heroes and villains in the Marvel universe here, PvE missions would make perfect sense, giving players the opportunity to do Destiny-style raids against big baddies like Thanos, Fin Fang Foom, or Apocalypse.
