The launch of Marvel Rivals echoes that of Overwatch‘s early days in many ways. Chaotic shootouts and slugfests with a myriad of wacky, unbalanced team comps. A huge roster of characters, mostly being DPS (Duelists) and a sprinkle of tanks (Vanguards) and supports (Strategists). A bunch of gorgeous cosmetic skins and MVP fanfares to flex on your lobbies. But, one thing it doesn’t seem interested in (which Overwatch would later adopt itself) is role queues. And you know what? It’s better that way.
In an interview with Dot Esports, Marvel Rivals creative director Guangyun Chen states, “Right now, we’re not considering a role queue.”
“The team’s goal is to offer a wider variety of team composition through team-up skills and their own designs, to let people play their Marvel superheroes rather than limiting players to choosing a role.”
Hell yeah. Embrace the chaos. Listen, I get it — it’s annoying to jump into a match and see that four players are already locked into duelists. But forcing teams into the standard 2-2-2 composition is boring. It’s tired. It’s a lazy way to solve the issue at hand. I don’t want to rob Marvel Rivals of its wacky charm and unorthodox team compositions in favor of “the standard.”
Let a team choose six tanks if they want; just give me an equally stupid way to counter them. Let those trash DPS insta-lockers have their fun; they’ll eventually weed themselves out of your bracket. Besides, let’s be real — if you’re playing competitive, you should be able to flex all three roles anyway. Sometimes, you gotta take one for the team!
‘Marvel Rivals’ isn’t like those other hero shooters
Part of what makes Marvel Rivals unique from Overwatch is its team-ups for pairing specific characters together on the same team. Wanna ride around on Groot’s shoulder? Pick Jeff or Rocket Raccoon. Wanna turn Spider-Man or Peni Parker into explosive symbiote spikes? Pair them up with a Venom. It’s an interesting way to add variety to each match while leaning into that juicy Marvel lore, and it’s worth exploring.
Now, imagine that system even more fleshed out, with generic team buffs that aren’t necessarily lore-specific. More health boosts for a team with two healers (and uh, maybe nerf Stategists’ healing power cause it’s too damn high). More attack damage for solo tanks. I don’t know; I’m not a game designer. The point is that Marvel Rivals has more unique avenues for balancing beyond the 2-2-2 setup, and also, I really appreciate instant queues.
I’ll be the first to admit that Duelists are fun as hell to play, but with some balancing and the right incentives, Vanguards and Strategists can be too. Some of them already are, in fact. But I think players aren’t convinced enough to hop off their Hawkeyes and Helas just yet. Give Tanks more killing power, tune some Duelists down a little, and throw in some more creative team-up abilities, and maybe they will. That’s what I’d like to believe Rivals‘ creative director Chen is going for. And I’m excited to see how it turns out.
The post ‘Marvel Rivals’ Is Better Without “Role Queue” and I’ll Die on That Hill appeared first on VICE.
The post ‘Marvel Rivals’ Is Better Without “Role Queue” and I’ll Die on That Hill appeared first on VICE.