Marvel Rivals Has A Progression Problem

I really enjoyed Marvel Rivals… for the first few hours. The second it became about grinding out menial challenges for gems to buy items on a battle pass at glacial speeds, I lost interest.

Battle passes tend to be experience based. You play the game, you progress. Simple. Like so many others, Rivals also has weekly, daily, and event challenges, of which Fortnite does better than anyone. In Epic Games’ hit battle royale, these are just a vehicle to earn you even more XP — playing the game still contributes.

There’s Not Enough Momentum

Marvel Rivals doesn’t work that way. The only way to unlock anything is to complete challenges, as these earn you special gems that can be spent on items in the battle pass. Once you’ve exhausted your daily and weekly rewards, you hit a brick wall and have no choice but to wait.

The idea, as with any live-service game, is to keep players coming back day after day. By stifling progression, you have to keep returning in order to complete the battle pass. A few hours on the weekend gets you as far as an hour after work (or school), so you’re better off playing a little bit every day instead. That’s the problem.

There’s no sense of movement, you stall almost immediately. That can make it hard to stay invested, especially when other live-service models are so much more gratifying, rewarding you for playing well and getting better at the game instead. Completing challenges is and should be a bonus. Marvel Rivals, on the other hand, makes its battle pass feel like a mind-numbing chore.

The Challenges Incentivise The Worst Kind Of Player

The biggest issue with the Marvel Rivals battle pass is that it’s only worsening the game’s infamous DPS problem.

Far too many people are hogging the damage dealers and refusing to play as tanks and healers (there should really be a role queue, despite what the devs say). Hero shooters are built on team synergy, so you’re almost always guaranteed to lose if everyone is off doing their own thing.

But so many of Marvel Rivals’ quests incentivise playing as one from a list of characters, so people often pick the DPS hero from the line-up and rush to grab them at the start of the match. And since they have a limited time to complete their quest, to make the most of their time in Rivals that day, they rarely budge, even if that means there’s no healers and only one tank.

If Marvel Rivals is intent on sticking with its obtuse, unrewarding battle pass system, the challenges could at least be used to incentivise more team play. Things like moving the payload or capturing points could offer more collaborative goals than these selfish, isolated objectives.

Live-Service Games Are Moving Away From Battle Pass Currencies

The idea of using gems to buy things off the battle pass isn’t anything new. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 just launched and does the same, and in Helldivers 2, you need to use Medals to purchase items on the Warbond. But it’s never been an especially popular system.

In-game currencies on top of a battle pass is just a hat on a hat. XP is what gets you the currency anyway (at least in other games), so you might as well cut out the middleman and streamline things. That’s how it used to work, so it’s always felt like a needless feature added just for the sake of it. But Fortnite rules the roost, so when it introduced Battle Stars, everyone jumped on the trend even if it made no sense.

This year, to much fanfare, it finally got rid of Battle Stars and returned to the traditional method of XP unlocking everything. It’s a far more rewarding — and less confusing — approach. And it goes to show that it’s never too late to overhaul these systems.

Related

Marvel Rivals’ Success Will Be Down To More Than Just Its IP

Keeping people playing a live service game requires more than well-known heroes, and Rivals is already demonstrating it’s well aware of that.

I’d love to play more Marvel Rivals, but its progression built to make you come back every single day makes me never want to return at all. The challenges are so dull that focusing on them rather than the game in front of you is exhausting. There’s an amazing hero shooter to rival Overwatch 2 here, but expensive cosmetics and a lacklustre battle pass bury it under a mountain of monotony.

Marvel Rivals is a Super Hero Team-Based PVP Shooter!
Assemble an all-star Marvel squad, devise countless strategies by combining powers to form unique Team-Up skills and fight in destructible, ever-changing battlefields across the continually evolving Marvel universe!

A Deep and Varied Marvel Roster
Choose from a vast array of fan-favorite and cult-classic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains from across the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and many more from across the Marvel Multiverse.

Fast and Fun 6v6 Action with Ever-Changing Game Dynamics
With intricate environments, fast-paced gameplay, and ever-changing battlefields, there’s never a dull moment in Marvel Rivals! Battle as Super Heroes and Super Villains with incredible abilities and combine your powers to bring unexpected fun to the battlefield in a matter of seconds.

Dynamic Hero Synergy
Coordinate unique combinations between characters to ignite surprising Team-Up Skills! Unleash the synergy of combined superpowers and invent new tactics that can turn the tide of combat. Ride on Groot’s back as Rocket Raccoon to take on your enemies as a dangerous duo, unleash Gamma energy as Hulk to charge Iron Man’s armor for massive damage, and so much more!

Creative Environment Destruction
Tear your way through iconic Marvel worlds across destructible environments! From Asgard to the Tokyo of 2099, use superpowers to alter these environments, reshape the terrain, and craft a strategic advantage on the battlefield! Take cover to dodge attacks or use makeshift weapons to strike down enemies. Players will find countless ways to utilize the environment to claim victory!

Continually Evolving Universe and Robust Post-Launch Updates
The Marvel Multiverse brings infinite possibilities! Each seasonal drop will introduce new Super Heroes to the battlefield along with challenging and diverse maps! Unlock new content to implement across various gameplay strategies while experiencing thrilling action and endless possibilities in these adventurous team battles!