Marvel Rivals devs’ focus on constant new heroes fails to address the game’s rough map variety

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NetEase’s Marvel Rivals is a brilliant multiplayer game that features iconic superheroes and villains from across the Marvel universe. With a rapidly growing player base, more players dive in each day, but an already cramped hero roster in Season 1 has fans worrying about the game’s already glaring issue: map variety—or, to put it bluntly, the glaring absence of it.

With a new hero planned every month-and-a-half after the release of Human Torch and The Thing, it’s become clear that Marvel Rivals is more focused on hero variety than map variety. Even with the ongoing addition of limited-time game modes, the map pool in Marvel Rivals has begun to feel stale, resulting in a gameplay experience that risks becoming monotonous and may alienate players. The answer is simple: Marvel Rivals needs to broaden its rough map variety.

Marvel Rivals maps are beginning to feel repetitive and boring

The heart of a hero shooter lies not only in its diverse cast of characters but also in its larger-than-life arenas where epic battles unfold. Sure, NetEase wants to give us all the heroes it possibly can, right from the Fantastic Four to the X-Men if some leaks are to be believed. But with a new hero every six weeks, map variety is equally important.

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Marvel Rivals’ map design uses a flawless sense of art direction to deliver some truly stunning locales. Combined with destructible environments that allow you to alter their basic three-lane structure with a powerful blast from Iron Man’s Unibeam or repeated fire from The Punisher’s machine gun. Nevertheless, with a small map pool to pick from, even the game’s impressive destruction can grow stale.

Rivals’ biggest flaw right now is the game’s monotonous cycle of map rotations, leading to situations where players can find themselves fighting on the same map repeatedly within a single gaming session. The constant repetition affects strategic depth, leading players to master a limited selection of maps instead of adapting to a wider variety. Even innovative features like destructible environments in maps can quickly fall into a pattern of predictability.


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Marvel Rivals Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Girl using Tail Bounce.
Wakanda’s Imperial Dueling Ground is one of the commonly rotated maps. Captured by VideoGamer.

Additionally, the existing map pool in the game falls short of the thematic richness that could be drawn from the expansive Marvel universe. Fans would love to engage in combat across worlds drawn from various comic storylines or cinematic backdrops, be it around Spider-Man’s neighbourhood in Queens, or even the mysterious land of Kamar-Taj with many more sorcerers like Doctor Strange. I also wouldn’t mind taking a trip down to the Quantum Realm which could creatively manipulate scale and perspective, offering a unique experience.

Recent leaks have revealed new maps are in development, but they focus on already existing environments in the game. For example, Season 2 leaks claim that new maps are coming for the Symbiote homeworld of Klyntar, an environment that already has representation in the game.

Introducing new maps that alter gameplay based on shifting weather conditions, or environments where the time of day influences visibility and strategic decisions, could pave the way for the incorporation of innovative mechanics or environmental interactions, similar to the ideas players have been sharing on various platforms.

NetEase has demonstrated a keen awareness of community feedback by rolling out character nerfs and buffs and introducing fresh game modes that reflect player input. It’s now crucial for them to shift their attention to broadening the map roster.

Marvel Rivals players express desire for new map variety

Marvel Rivals players are taking to Reddit forums and social media to voice their frustrations, pointing out that while the game boasts a dynamic hero roster, the map diversity simply doesn’t measure up.

One such player wrote, “The future looks good but it does feel like they’re going to need to prioritize map variety a bit more going forward. The game is still so new, I’m sure within the next year or so we’ll have a great selection of maps.”

Another player agreed with the sentiment and chimed in, “Yeah. It’s irritating how I’m constantly getting the same maps back to back in a single session. It just makes the map pool look tiny even with Midtown now being in rotation.”

Doom Match gameplay in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals want the Sanctum Sanctorum map in main rotation. Captured by VideoGamer.

Some players have also mentioned how they played maps like Yggdrasil back to back across competitive matches, and still, they had to endure the gameplay for another “30 minutes” as quitting the game would fine them with a penalty. According to players, they would prefer the maps across all game modes that are exclusive to them, as different maps in their Quick Play and Competitive “rather than having multiple game modes for three of them.”

If you’re playing Marvel Rivals and want to communicate better with your teammates, even if you’re fed up with map rotation, check out the full list of slang terms you should know.

About the Author

Rishabh Sabarwal

Rishabh is a Gaming Writer on VideoGamer with over 7 years of experience. He likes thanking the bus driver in Fortnite and grab a sweet Victory Royale quite often.

Marvel Rivals

  • Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): Fighting, Shooter