Marvel Rivals Devs Promise To Share Valuable Combat Data Including Pick Rates Post Launch But That Could Ruin Hero Balance For Good

With Marvel Rivals all set to release in the first week of December, NetEase Games has been conducting various test phases to make sure the game is ready for the final release. Players had a great time trying out the game during the beta phase and now the studio has announced that it will release some statistics, including the hero with the highest pick rate.

These statistics are indeed important for NetEase Games to ensure the smooth running of the game, however, releasing this data to the community could ruin the game as players will always pick the most popular hero, a concept known as instalocking that is observed in games like Valorant. The release of this vital data would encourage instalocking, making the game unbalanced.

Sharing Marvel Rival‘s Combat Data Could Ruin The Game

In the recent Dev Vision Vol. 2 posted by NetEase Games on YouTube, the lead combat designer, Zhiyong, talked about the development process of Marvel Rivals. Zhiyong explained that NetEase Games is planning to release all the vital data it collected during the Closed Beta phase, including the win rates and pick rates. He said,

Players are very excited to try out Marvel Rivals but releasing this data at launch could ruin the game as all players will rush to pick the most popular hero, assuming that it would be the best. This will prevent many players from trying out different heroes, causing the game to be unbalanced.

Many PvP games in the past, particularly hero shooters, have been ruined because of this. Releasing this data at launch would ruin the game’s initial impression, inviting criticism from those who try it out.

NetEase Games Revealed The Roadmap For Marvel Rivals

Earlier this month, NetEase Games revealed its roadmap for Marvel Rivals in Dev Vision Vol. 1. In the 5-minute video, the creative director of the game, Guang Guang, revealed that on December 6th, with the release of the game, the Season 0, a.k.a Doom’s Rise will kick off.

Throughout this month-long season, the studio will release a total of 33 playable heroes, 8 maps of Quick Match and Competitive Modes, 1 Conquest Map, and a new Practice Range. The studio has revealed some of the heroes and it’s safe to say that the anticipation is at an all-time high.

As for the game’s future, the first season will roll out in early January 2025 and a new season will be released every 3 months. Players should expect to see a lot of new content in every season as NetEase Games aims to deliver a game as epic as the Marvel universe deserves.

Marvel Rivals is all set to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on 6th December, 2024.