Over the past few days, clips of streamer and Spider-Man main Necros mocking support players with harsh language have gone viral. This provoked an intense backlash from support-main communities and prompting the developers to announce a buff to support damage in the next patch of Marvel Rivals.
Image Credits: NetEase
Yet, in reality, most of the heat comes from a long-running clash over dive-heavy metas versus slower, more tactical play. Support characters are inherently more fragile and lower-impact in raw stats, making them lightning-rods for frustration when games become one-sided dives.
While Necros’ insults provide clickbait, the real story lies in well-known balance tensions (dive vs. peel, performance-based ranks, stat-driven skill ratings) that veteran hero-shooter communities have been debating since the earliest days of Overwatch. Devs’ promise to boost support damage is a pragmatic stopgap; the deeper solution lies in better team-based “peeling” and fundamental meta diversity, not simply rebalancing numbers.
Context: What Actually Happened (Necros vs Support Controversy Explained)
Recently, while reacting to a post criticizing the inflated egos of some Marvel Rivals Duelist players, Necros took the opportunity to lash out at support mains, calling them “morons” and “idiots.” There’s something almost comically ironic about a former Genji main from Overwatch complaining about a lack of healing, but Necros’ outburst has definitely struck a nerve with Marvel Rivals’ Strategist players.
Dozens of support mains responded on X (Twitter) and Reddit, forming parody accounts (“anti-Necros Defense League”) and memes mocking his narrow perspective to illustrate that someone who mains one DPS has little authority to judge a fundamentally different role.
High-profile figures including Ninja chimed in, pointing out the difficulty of dodging dive-heavy flanks while keeping an entire team alive, pointing out the mechanical and cognitive pressures on support players.
Marvel Rivals Devs Respond To Support Strike. The devs reiterated that dive meta amplifies pressure on supports, urging all roles-vanguards and duelists-to provide better protection for their strategists (i.e., peel) or risk losing fights when their backline collapses.
Now, as per the latest Balance Post published on 30th April on the official Marvel Rivals website, Adam Warlock, Cloak & Dagger, Luna Snow, and Mantis, all these 4 healers have received damage buff making them slightly more threatening in dive situations. There are more excellent healers in Marvel Rivals who haven’t been so fortunate.
Image Credits: Netease
Marvel Rivals Support Meta: Facts vs. Background Noise
The Facts
- Dive Meta Intensifies Backline Pressure: Marvel Rivals, like Overwatch before it, features heroes capable of rapidly diving onto support characters (e.g., Spider-Man, Wolverine, Venom). Without coordinated peel, these dives snowball fights in the enemy’s favor.
- Performance-Based Ranking Disincentivizes Pure Healing: The new SR (skill rating) system heavily weights damage and final hits; pure-healers who focus on healing over damage lose more points per win and gain fewer on the rare win-making support play feel unrewarding by raw numbers.
- Supports Lack Self-Peel Tools: Unlike many DPS or tank heroes, most strategists cannot easily duel divers; they rely almost entirely on teammates to peel, so when teammates fail to protect, supports are left vulnerable.
The Noise
- Role-Based Elitism: Just like an average bad ranked experience for many, Necros’ derogatory language contributes nothing to constructive balance debate. Many flankers and DPS mains reflexively dismiss support skill as “less mechanical” or “boring,” perpetuating old tropes from arena shooters rather than facing the genuine strategic depth of healing, cooldown management, and positioning.
- “Support Strike” Hype: Videos and tweets claiming an actual strike-i.e., that no one is queuing support-are hyperbole. In practice, solos still pick support when games demand it, because the role remains essential for objective-based modes.
Opinion: Beyond Buffs, We Need Better Teamplay
1. Buffing Support Damage In Marvel Rivals Is a Band-Aid
A slight damage increase may make supports marginally more self-sufficient, but it won’t fix the core issue: when divers can bypass two or three frontline heroes, no amount of extra DPS will save a lone healer. Overbuffing could tip toward a triple-support meta, where healing plus damage makes teams virtually unkillable, reducing overall diversity.
2. Peel-Not Just for Tanks
Peeling (actively protecting support heroes by zoning away threat divers) is a learned team skill. Tanks and DPS alike must watch out for their backline being dived and turn to assist, much as Overwatch’s off-tank would use Defense Matrix or boop abilities.
While studios can consider tutorial or in-game tooltips emphasizing peel mechanics; the communities could produce anti-dive play guides to raise the awareness rather than blaming.
3. Rethink Performance Metrics
After the season 2 update, the current SR model penalizes pure healers and rewards high-kill duelists. A more nuanced rating that factors in healing received by allies, successful peel assists, or survival time under dive could encourage support play without artificial nerfs & buffs.
This is why, teams and players who base their argument depending on just the post match scoreboard should take into consideration that the numbers only tell part of the story, which is just registered damage numbers and not the situation such as if the healer focused on surviving successfully while being constantly dived.
Image Credits: Netease
Marvel Rivals Support Role: The Bottom Line
The Necros controversy is the latest flashpoint in a decades-old tussle over the value of healers versus the glamour of dive spoilers. While his insults captured attention, the real questions are systemic: how do you craft a ranking system that fairly rewards support impact? How do you instill peel responsibilities across all roles? And how do you balance raw character numbers without undermining team-play fundamentals?
Rather than trading memes and insults, both communities and devs must collaborate on education (peel guides, tooltips), metric reform (support-centric SR), and careful numeric tuning-to ensure that strategists become neither punchlines nor overpowered afterthoughts, but true linchpins of a healthy, diverse hero-shooter meta.
You can learn more about the upcoming balance changes including the support buffs from here.