Newly announced changes to Marvel Rivals that will add rank resets both at midseason and the start of a new season have been met with a lot of negativity today.
NetEase Games revealed today that players will reset ranks to drop four divisions at mid-season and six divisions at the start of every new season. And the news has not been met with much enthusiasm within the community.
Many players feel that a rank reset every six-to-seven weeks isn’t plausible, making the game feel like a chore that has to be played to keep your rank, while also dealing with the ups and downs of the competitive queue itself.
“This is an extremely demotivating idea to rank reset every 45 days,” one Rivals gamer replied. “This game is not a [battle royale]. That makes sense in BR like Apex due to the RNG nature but it’s not good for a hero shooter where very clear MMRs should be adhered to. Comp instability defeats the point of ranked.”
A ranked ladder is the main draw in a game such as Marvel Rivals, where it’s multiplayer only and the replay value is found in climbing ranks, outside of the normal everyday fun of the matches themselves. And for most gamers, the lack of game time available seems to be a top aspect that has them worried.
“Ranked isn’t for people who have a full time job, I guess,” one player lamented. But even for someone who does in fact play the game as their job, popular Overwatch 2 and Rivals streamer Eskay, it sounds like a lot even to them.
“There does not need to be a rank reset every half season omg I can’t keep up and it’s my job,” Eskay said. “I feel like games still aren’t recovered from the last reset. Every game, even in Celestial, is a mix of previous top 500s and Grandmasters and it’s a dice roll on which ones you get.”
Personally for myself, the idea of dropping ranks into divisions you fought like hell to get through (especially as a solo player where the game sometimes feels like a coin flip whether or not you even have a chance at winning) is a tough one to swallow. But maybe it’s best for the game.
Maybe the reset is needed for the addition of two new heroes (Human Torch and The Thing), or other additional heroes in future seasons. But given NetEase’s limited explanation on why the change is being implemented, it’s tough to know for sure yet.
“After careful observations and consideration, we have concluded that players’ ranks during the first half of season are the best indicator of their competitive skills within the season,” NetEase said. So, we will be introducing additional rank reset to better align with the upcoming content and changes.” And that’s all that was explained.
This could just be the growing pains of a live-service title in its first couple of months of its lifespan. Maybe NetEase will renege on this decision if the community outcry is consistent enough. Or maybe those against it will have a change of heart after seeing it in practice.
Read the full article here
