Marvel Rivalsis heading toward its first full season shortly. Besides the likely, but no less exciting, inclusion of new characters, maps, and a fresh battle pass, players can also expect some changes to the game’s competitive game mode. The exact form of this change remains to be seen, but based on there already being rewards for specific ranks within season zero, a competitive reset seems likely.
Regardless of the way season one is implemented,Marvel Rivalsdesperately needs a fix for one of competitive’s biggest issues, especially before season 1’s incoming launch. Currently,Marvel Rivalshas no placement matches, with the entirety of the competitive player base beginning their journey within bronze. While perhaps acceptable for season 0, to prevent a continuous slog of uneven ranked matches,Marvel Rivalsneeds a method to properly place their players.
Placement Matches Are Sorely Needed
Players Need To Be Placed Closer To Their Skill
Placement matches, or a system which accomplishes a similar goal of starting off players in a rank bracket they better belong in, are a core component of an effective competitive system. Lacking such a system creates a level of friction for players of all skills. High-ranked players could certainly climb their way back up if they started in bronze, but the result of that choice would beconsistently uneven games which drain the fun for all involved, as has already been seen withranked skill disparities inRivalsseason 1.
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Reducing the number of clearly uneven matches, as much as possible, should be a major goal for Rivals' developers heading into the much-anticipated season one. Matches will eventually become more even as a season progresses,but without a placement system, that process takes longer than it needs to.Beyond ranked rewards,such as free skins, and a sense of achievement, players often flock to competitive modes for those close games where skills are truly tested. A placement system enables those games quicker, and without a time-consuming grind.
What Rivals Could Learn From Other Competitive Games
How Other Games Make Ranked Resets Seamless
Many other games use a balance of a hidden MMR system, and a requisite number of placement matches at the start of a season.An MMR system is likely already implemented within Rivals.With season 0, players likely began with the same MMR, with the number of uneven matches further reduced as thebestRivalsteam compositionsand strategies were still being figured out by players of all skill levels. However, the question remains about how this MMR will be translated into future seasons, especially as player knowledge has stabilized.
Rivalscould learn from games likeLeague of Legends, which uses a combination of MMR and placement matches. At the start of a season, placement matches occur, with the ranked gains being tied to that hidden MMR. Individual matches may see players skip entire ranks, slowing down as player skill and rank equalize.
This relegates those uneven matches to mostly within the initial placements, allowing for a quicker transition into a proper ranked grind. The best option forMarvel Rivalsis to implement a similar system, which willpreserve new seasons as an exciting event without the joyless ranked slog.
