Why Marvel Rivals Pulling the Trigger on Role Queue May Be a Tough Ask

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 28, 2024 8 Views 8 Min Read
Why Marvel Rivals Pulling the Trigger on Role Queue May Be a Tough Ask



Marvel Rivals will launch on December 6. With Hydra Charteris Base and Klyntar: Symbiotic Surface drawing attention as the newest maps to be added to the superhero shooter, the excitement surrounding Marvel Rivals continues to grow. An impressive roster of 33 heroes and villains will also be playable starting in Season 0.




While the announcement of heroes like Hawkeye joining Marvel Rivals is generating excitement, the limited number of Strategists could turn out to be a double-edged sword. Moreover, players hoping for Role Queue may be disappointed in the lack of structure when delving into matches. Though it makes sense why the playtests and early seasons of Marvel Rivals may not have role lock, Competitive modes would benefit from such a feature.

Marvel Rivals will allow players to see pick rate and win rate data.

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Marvel Rivals Will Make It Easy for Players to Figure Out the Best Characters to Pick

Developer NetEase Games surprises players by announcing it will give them the information they need to choose the best characters in Marvel Rivals.

Marvel Rivals Faces Potential Controversy Over Its Lack of Role Queue

Marvel Rivals Could Be Unknowingly Sabotaging Its Own Success

In an August interview with Dexerto, developers from NetEase Games stated that they had no interest in adding a role lock to the game. Executive Producer Danny Koo reasoned, “We do not want players to have role lock. We want them to be creative with their formations and use the heroes as they like in their 6-player team.” While choosing to forgo role queue in Marvel Rivals is a bold decision, it’s also possible that the studio may change its stance as the hero-shooter evolves and metas start taking shape.


Considering that similar titles like Overwatch didn’t implement Role Queue until 2018, two years after launch, NetEase Games is unlikely to rule out the idea permanently. After all, Marvel Rivals has potential as an esport, and the various tournaments held during the playtests are a testament to this. If the third-person shooter plans to continue down this path, maintaining a healthy atmosphere in Competitive modes will be essential, as top-ranked players often play on ladder, scrimmage, and put significant effort into the esport.

“Maintaining a healthy atmosphere in Competitive modes will be essential.”


Additionally, while casual players may not mind the absence of role lock, those aiming to climb the ranked ladder may begin to criticize overly dominant metas. In the long term, as the player base grows, the demand for more structure in team compositions will likely increase, and failing to address this could harm the game’s success. Therefore, NetEase Games may want to consider a solution similar to Overwatch, wherein people can play Open Queue or Role Queue based on their preferences. Alternatively, Marvel Rivals could make role lock exclusive to Competitive.

Marvel Rivals’ Roster Needs More Diversity

Luna Snow in Marvel Rivals

Unfortunately, even if Marvel Rivals were to implement role lock, it could take time. Based on Marvel Rivals‘ content roadmap and the characters revealed so far, the number of Duelists and Vanguard characters available far outweighs the Strategists. As of November 26, 28 heroes have been confirmed and only six are designated Strategists. This list includes:

  • Adam Warlock
  • Jeff the Land Shark
  • Loki
  • Luna Snow
  • Mantis
  • Rocket Raccoon


For players keen on trying popular characters like Psylocke, Moon Knight, and Hawkeye, this could result in the Strategist role being neglected. So far, there have not been any new Strategists announced since Jeff the Land Shark, which means all of them were already playable during the Closed Alpha and Beta. As such, the limited number of Strategist heroes may hurt Marvel Rivals‘ launch, as players eagerly rush to try the newer characters. If Marvel Rivals wanted to pull the trigger on role queue, it may be better to wait until the Strategist role fills out more.

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