In less than two weeks, NetEase Games has already made some changes to Marvel Rivals, adding new skins, balance adjustments, and more. While the developer is clearly open to making some changes, one thing that’s not in the works is a role queue. In an interview with Dot Esports, Marvel Rivals creative director Guangyun “Guangguang” Chen shut down the possibility, at least for the time being. According to Chen, the goal is to not make players feel like their hero options are limited to the team’s needs, and make them feel comfortable picking whoever they want to play as.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Right now, we’re not considering a role queue,” Chen told Dot Esports. “The team’s goal is to offer a wider variety of team composition through team-up skills and their own designs, to let people play their Marvel superheroes rather than limiting players to choosing a role.”
Chen’s statement leaves the possibility open that we could see a role queue happen at some point, but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be anytime soon. That’s bound to disappoint fans of hero shooters like Overwatch 2 (which added a role queue back in 2019). For those unfamiliar with role queues, they allow players to select the specific role they want to play ahead of a match. The idea is that there’s less pressure to make a character selection, and it would lead to teams made up of a specific balance of roles. However, there are trade-offs, and it’s easy to see why NetEase might want to avoid a role queue for Marvel Rivals.
The roster for Marvel Rivals features iconic characters from the Marvel Universe, from relative newcomers like Jeff the Land Shark and Luna Snow, to characters that have existed for decades, like Spider-Man and the Black Panther. With even more classic heroes and villains on the way, it makes sense that the developers are trying to avoid boxing in players, and forcing them to pick specific roles like Vanguards, Duelists, or Strategists. Chen notes that the developers have been keeping an eye on the data to see how things are playing out in the game, and to ensure that everything remains balanced.
“From the data we’re seeing in our back end, things are going pretty solid,” Chen continued. “We want people to have a Marvel experience where they’re free to select what they want. [Since the closed beta test] things have been rational and within expectations. In our Competitive play recently, there is a lot of different compositions emerging from players and we’d like to continue to monitor these fun compositions and how they impact our game.”
RELATED: Marvel Rivals Holiday Event Adding Splatoon Inspired Mode
As the developers get more data about how players are interacting with the game, it will be interesting to see what changes are made to Marvel Rivals. It’s a safe bet that we’ll continue to see tweaks to each playable character to help keep things balanced, and encourage players to find the hero that works best for them. Whether the need to add a role queue becomes greater as the game evolves remains to be seen. Hopefully the developers remain open to the possibility, and will adjust if necessary!
Are you disappointed that Marvel Rivals doesn’t plan on adding a role queue? Do you think it would improve the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
