I told myself I would tackle my huge backlog over Christmas break. That was a lie. While I did finish a few short video games, most of my gaming time was spent on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Diablo 4, and Marvel Rivals. All three were filled with traditional microtransactions, but it didn’t feel like NetEase Games’ hero shooter was the only one doing it best.
All in all, the Battle Pass is okay. I think this is a good alternative to betting money on loot boxes and being tempted by expensive premium skins. The latter is important regardless of most online games with a pass. For anyone who plays online regularly and is interested in customization, the Battle Pass is good value and helps develop content that everyone can actually play. However, traditional implementations may be better, and one of the main problems with the model is Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Marvel Rivals quickly resolved the issue by preventing passes from expiring. But what about the average time it takes to complete a pass?
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After a complete departure from Overwatch, Marvel Rivals has felt like a winner in the same space so far. It looks gorgeous, has a lot of charm, is consistently fun to play, and works well enough. Now I’m also starting to realize that it’s a rare type of live service game that doesn’t feel like a side job if you’re looking to complete premium seasonal tracks and free events.
At first, I was (and still am somewhat annoyed by) the game’s approach to battle pass progression in terms of ‘daily/weekly challenges’. For a game that prides itself on allowing players to embody their favorite heroes and villains from Marvel’s incredibly rich multiverse, there are certain missions and plays that will take a significant amount of time to earn the points needed to progress through passes and events. It forces a style. It’s not ideal. I get to spend more time with characters I didn’t really care about before, and I want to have the opportunity to develop just by playing them.
However, I was quite surprised at the speed with which I progressed through the (admittedly half-length) S0 pass. The amount of points you could earn per day in a short one-hour session was quite generous, even if it didn’t seem like much at the moment. In just over 15 hours, I fully completed the pass. This puts the time it would take to complete Season 1’s standard pass at around 30 hours, which frankly feels pretty comfortable if the NetEase folks stick to their planned three-month schedule.
As someone who constantly bounces between different games (and not just because of work), I’ve given up on the idea of ​​completing a battle pass for anything other than MTG Arena (an addiction I’ve now escaped). This is another card game that can be played on a small scale. The time investment seems too high and it is not intended for functional adults. On the other hand, Marvel Rivals’ developers and publisher seem to be fully aware of this issue. Of course, this may translate to much less engagement in terms of total average time, but it may help solve the recurring problem of players gradually exhausting themselves. I continued playing after completing the S0 pass, and I want to reach S1 quickly.
The Jeff-centric Christmas event was another pleasant surprise. We had just a few hours to earn the ‘gold stars’ we needed to pass the Slim Track, which ended with the cool winter skin of our favorite land shark without any effort. I know that could change in the future if NetEase and Marvel try to push players harder, but right now Marvel Rivals feels like an early Overwatch 1 in every way.
Another byproduct of first passes and events not putting pressure on me is that I’m enjoying the game enough to constantly dive into competitive matches. Letting players breathe a little more and play ‘for fun’ has been shown to lead to healthier, more curious habits developing more often. Creepy person!
In an age where live service titles come and go, and a few giant whales control too large a swath of the crowded online gaming market, a more player-friendly approach like Marvel Rivals is sorely needed. It’s by no means perfect, and there’s room for improvement and failure as the game gets bigger and gets into its groove, but as it stands, Marvel Rivals has a lot more going for it than its brand appeal. I am now almost 33 years old. I don’t want to be pushed out of online gaming because of business-first practices.
Hell, NetEase and Marvel can continue to hit home runs with this banger and you might end up buying a premium skin that’s sick enough. sorry. As cool as Sue Storm’s back looks with the Mistress of Hatred skin, I’m the kind of geek who goes for looks inspired by legendary comic books instead.
