Marvel Rivals recently hosted a special Valentine’s Day event as a way to offer players free skins for both Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic. However, the limited-time event didn’t go over well, as many players ended up frustrated. Marvel Rivals teamed up with a variety of streamers to help with this special holiday celebration, and while players had the chance to win free skins, the event ultimately turned out to be more of a headache.
For the event, Marvel Rivals tasked players with joining Quick Match games at specific times throughout the day. Those who were lucky enough to get into a lobby with one of the prominent streamers helping developer NetEase promote the event would be gifted the 60th Wedding Anniversary bundle for Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic. This ended up causing a lot of Marvel Rivals players to be unhappy with the event, as it made playing Quick Match games chaos.
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Marvel Rivals’ Limited-Time Valentine’s Day Event Was Doomed From the Start
Marvel Rivals Players Report Bad Matches and Overwhelmed Lobbies
One of the biggest issues regarding the Valentine’s Day event is that a lot of players would watch sponsored streamers’ broadcasts, then join matches solely in the hopes of ending up in the same lobby. Many players reported issues of others immediately leaving matches if they didn’t end up in the streamer lobby or simply purposefully throwing matches in order to go to another lobby quicker. Skins in Marvel Rivals bring unique alternate looks to their respective characters, and the 60th Wedding Anniversary offered interesting wedding-inspired cosmetics for both Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic. As two of the newest characters to be added to the game’s roster, the prospect of extra free skins got a lot of players excited.
The Thing and Human Torch come to Marvel Rivals on February 21.
Unfortunately, the influx of players reportedly caused server issues, especially for the Frankfurt servers. Players have been vocal online, voicing their complaints about the event. Reddit user ZtrikeR21 said that the event was “one of the worst ideas I have ever seen” and asked, “Who approved of this idea? This was obviously going to happen.” Serious-Run-6165 responded, “I’m usually an optimist about these events, but I honestly don’t even know what their idea was. They are promoting stream sniping.” Since its launch, Marvel Rivals has been a fun free-to-play title, but the Valentine’s Day event has clearly not sat well with a lot of players.
Items Included in the 60th Wedding Anniversary Bundle
- The Life Fantastic Mister Fantastic tuxedo skin
- The Life Fantastic Invisible Woman wedding dress skin
- Emotes
- Banner
- Spray
The 60th Wedding Anniversary bundle features Legendary tier items. Apart from the Valentine’s Day event, the bundle was also made available in the in-game shop for 2,800 units.
NetEase’s Next Event Hopefully Avoids the Same Outcome
NetEase’s attempts at shaking things up for a special occasion would likely have gone better if the event didn’t hinge on being in the same lobby as a sponsored streamer. Instead, a random lottery for players involved in Quick Match games during certain times would have at least avoided the stream sniping issue. Of course, there still would have been the problem of overwhelmed servers, though. Instead, sticking to limited-time challenges in Marvel Rivals that don’t require streamers to be involved could be the best path forward for future free skin events.
Due to the involvement of a handful of sponsored streamers, players also run the risk of feeling cheated by the game. Granted, the event made it clear that only a select few would win the 60th Wedding Anniversary bundle, but with such a short time frame, spending several hours playing just to receive nothing is bound to frustrate a lot of people. Marvel Rivals has been a strong competitor in its genre since launching, and NetEase may reconsider reusing this event structure in the future.
Third-Person Shooter
Action
Multiplayer
- Released
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December 6, 2024
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
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NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
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NetEase Games