Update: In response to player concerns, Marvel Rivals shared a statement via X that the Chrono Shield Tokens “will not be for sale and are only usable for Gold rank and below.” Original story follows below.
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There’s a lot going on in Marvel Rivals right now, with the upcoming debut of Ultron and the re-release of the Season 0 Battle Pass. Along with the re-release of the Season 0 Battle Pass, Marvel Rivals is launching a New Galacta’s Gift event, which will let players earn free rewards. Many of these are standard fare, including nameplates, sprays, and a costume coin to unlock a Season 0 hero costume. However, one item that quickly flashes by in the Galacta’s gift promo has player eyebrows raised, and not necessarily in a good way. The event will feature a new Chrono Shield Card item, which could mix up competitive play in Marvel Rivals.
Galacta’s Gift begins on May 15th, when players will officially be able to access the new challenges and rewards. This event is intended to celebrate hitting one year since the Closed Alpha for Marvel Rivals. But while the rewards mostly look back on Season 0, the Chrono Shield Card is a bit of a changeup, and players are pressing “pause” on the promo video to read all about it. Thanks to @XOX_LEAK, a consistent source of Marvel Rivals intel, we’ve got a clearer look at the new item’s description.
The Chrono Shield Card will mostly affect competitive gameplay by changing how the Chrono Shield works. With the current function, Chrono Shields recharge based on a player’s losses. The shield works once, then goes on cooldown, giving players just one “free” loss before their rank goes back down as usual. However, the Chrono Shield Card, which has a limit of 20, looks like a way around this recharge period, and players aren’t quite sure how to feel about it.
Marvel Rivals Fans Worry Chrono Shield Card is a Band-Aid for Poor Matchmaking
The Chrono Shield Card will automatically activate a Chrono Shield, helping to prevent point loss from a defeat during Competitive Play. As the description notes, there’s a limit of 20 per player. That’s quite a difference from the limit of one Chrono Shield until recharging on subsequent losses, and competitive Marvel Rivals players have some concerns.
The current Chrono Shield mechanic only impacts the Gold level and below, but it’s not immediately clear whether this new item will work the same way. Given that it activates a Chrono Shield, it’s likely that the same level limitations will be in place. Even so, players are worried that this is NetEase trying to fix poor matchmaking with a band-aid solution.
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If players are struggling in Competitive due to being matched with players far above their skill level, many Marvel Rivals fans would rather see an adjustment to how Competitive Matchmaking works. A Chrono Shield Card like this can help increase the number of times players can lose without reducing their rank, but even 20 of them aren’t a long-term solution for the issue. For other players, the concern is simply that it’s going to make Competitive less, well, competitive by making it easier for players to climb the ranks when they can ignore losses using the new item.
Then there’s those players who suspect it could be a way for Marvel Rivals to generate more in-game purchases. Of course, the item is currently listed among the rewards for Galacta’s Gift, which lets players earn free items by playing matches. However, that doesn’t mean the Chrono Shield Card won’t also become available in the in-game shop, and this raises pay-to-win concerns for Marvel Rivals Competitive play. If it does stay a free reward, it’s presumably available to anyone who plays regularly, so it may not cause as much upset as some players fear.
The Chrono Shield Card will arrive in Marvel Rivals on May 15th with the start of the Galacta’s Gift event and Season 0 Battle Pass re-release. It looks to be fairly early in the rewards structure, which means we’ll get a sense of how it does (or doesn’t) impact Competitive ranks soon enough. As for whether the Chrono Shield Card will stick around or is just a one-time gift during the event, we’ll have to wait and see.
