Is Marvel Rivals balanced enough to be competitive?

Player’s have called Marvel Rivals‘ balance philosophy into question following the announcement of the latest patch update.

With the dominance of the triple strategist meta and developer views on requested features like role queue, players are wondering whether the game can be considered competitive.

The latest patch will see Iron Man, Cloak & Dagger and Human Torch buffed come March 13th, 2025. While many have welcomed these changes, a select few are not so enthusiastic.

Human Torch has been a contentious topic, with some users worrying that he will be ‘broken just like Storm.’ When it comes to weaker characters, NetEase tends to buff them to kingdom come, as shown through Storm’s dominance in Season 1.

These are the changes coming to Human Torch:

It was only three weeks ago that many anticipated Human Torch to be a powerful duelist following his reveal trailer. However, he has recently fallen short compared to other Fantastic Four members, such as Invisible Woman and The Thing.

Another name stirring debate is Cloak & Dagger, one of the most-picked heroes back in February, with many arguing that NetEase is buffing the wrong aspects.

Cloak and Dagger will receive the following change:

A user online expressed how the changes were “almost unnecessary” and instead suggested that Marvel Rivals should ‘buff their ult a bit.’ Other players shared this sentiment, calling for yet another buff to the Strategist’s ultimate.

Marvel Rivals is reaching a critical point in its journey. Player opinions have split — once more united on changes, they’re now divided over which characters need tweaks and the game’s direction in esports.

Marvel Rivals has been out for less than six months and already we are seeing dominant metas shaking up the competitive scene in Season 1: Eternal Night Falls.

Despite the nerfs, triple strategists remains one of the most popular compositions in the game. Tournaments such as Fight Night saw characters like Invisible Woman, Loki and Luna Snow become popular picks in the Marvel Rivals esports scene.

In an X post online Bogur, Marvel Rivals content creator, said: “Nobody enjoys a meta where you feel like a spectator and the average time to kill is 5-7 business days.”

Some players have called out NetEase’s design philosophy for many of the game’s strategists. Four characters have ultimates centred around negating damage through an abundance of healing, which is potentially contributing to the game’s slower pace.

Some have posed the solution of a role queue to address this, and perhaps sway more players to diversify their choices outside of the 18 duelists. It is something Marvel Rivals developers have shut down in the past, all the while confirming their commitment to esports.

In an interview with METRO earlier this year, Creative Director Guangyun Chen said: “We totally get that the community is discussing role lock and role queue. At its core, it’s really about the game balance.

“So, what we want to offer is more line-up or more team comp possibilities through our hero design and our team-up mechanic. So, we’ll be taking a little bit more of a Marvel-inspired approach.”

It’s clear the game is prioritising content over competitiveness, with the promise of two heroes every season, resulting in ten heroes added by the end of 2025. However, only time will tell if sticking to it’s guns will ultimately pay off or lead to its downfall.