What are patient gamers thinking about Marvel Rivals ? Looking for a game to replace League of Legends

I hope this post is still allowed as League of Legends is like 15 years old.

As I've been posting on !leagueoflegends@lemm.ee , the game seems getting quite enshittified lately, making especially difficult for new players to join.

As a potential consequence, the game got quite difficult lately. Before, you could still win a game as a casual player. Nowadays I feel like casual players left and there's only "serious gamers" around, especially in 5v5 normal games.

Anyway, all of that to say that Marvel Rivals has been on my radar as a replacement. Not the biggest fan of hero shooters, but gameplay seems fun and engaging. Is anyone here playing it?

33 comments

I don't understand the hype around it. Played it briefly, but found it clunky feeling. Characters are so big, they had to tone down their speed, so everything feelings sluggish. And the abilities just feel mostly useless.
But it's F2P, why bother being patient with a game you don't have to pay to try out?

I mean, they're very different games... If you're looking for something like overwatch, then seems like it could be a good match.
And yeah, the League new player experience is god awful. Even by people who still play it, it's known for its toxicity. Riot let it degenerate into a cesspit because moderation was too difficult/costly, which caused all the friendly players to abandon ship. That means that the only people who still play are either clueless, toxic, addicted, seeking to profit, or somehow immune to vitriol.
Sadly, if you want a casual moba, I'm not sure it exists right now. Maybe ones that were never obscenely popular and still have passionate communities could be more friendly, at least? Smite, HoN, Eternal Return?
If you just want a casual game, then yeah, best to get in with a game that has a lot of other casual players, and Rivals fits that bill right now.
- For me, it was them trying to rootkit me. 🤷‍♂️
  Get your anti-cheat bullshit off my CPU you cheap-ass corporation and put it where it belongs: on your servers. But whatevs, addiction broken now you fucks.
- I miss Battlerite :(
- Thank you

I played for a bit. Then i read an article about them putting you in bot matches if you lose two consecutive matches. Then i tested if it was true and once i confirmed it was i stopped playing.
I don’t mind playing against bots to learn the game if that fact is stated. I do mind being lied to about a game in which i think i’m playing against humans when in reality i’m playing against bots just to keep engagement up.
- Heard about this as well, that was surprising, probably a way to let people win after two losses
  
  Yeah, it’s to keep people from tilting and quitting the game. The bots are easy so if you give someone an easy win after two losses they are more likely to keep playing which raises engagement.
  I don’t fuck with that type of business model.

Heroes of the Storm is free to play and shockingly still great
- Interesting, I thought the game was abandoned by Blizzard
  
  Several years ago, HotS went into "Maintenance Mode" which means it isn't receiving further updates although the servers are still up for now.
  Which is such a shame. I'm not big on MOBAs but that was my favorite
  
  Another vote for HotS, it's the only MOBA that has ever truly clicked for me (and I am not even particularly into the rest of the Blizzard stuff).
  I'd say it's definitely worth a look despite the "maintenance mode". There is an active player base, the game is well balanced and it still receives occasional tweaks. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is if you are enjoying yourself or not.

I suppose it looks fun, but I always preferred games that didn't lock you into official servers like DRG and TF2. Hopefully this isn't too much of a derail from the question being asked :).
- DRG looks cool, good to hear they allow custom servers!
  
  Deep Rock is definitely a "play it however you want" kind of game, they have pretty hefty integrated mod support
  
  It's not a moba replacement, but it's one of my favorite multiplayer games. Highly recommend.

I don't like it very much, but the price is right.
I used to play Overwatch, and abandoned it shortly after the Overwatch 2 debacle. A bunch of my friends kept up with OW2, and when Rivals came out they made the switch so I figured I'd give it a go.
Season 0 was rough. It's on Season 1 now and things are a bit better.
Hitboxes are bad. Maps seem confusing, although that might be that my game sense hasn't figured them out yet. Lag is an issue a lot of the time, and the game crashes more than I feel it ought to - but I'm on Linux which I feel isn't officially supported.
I saw an article the other day criticizing that you can't type "Free Taiwan" into the chat. I guess I haven't actually tested it to confirm, but gosh that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I don't go in for the battlepass, but my friends usually do when they play a game and they say it's fair. They do have a model that allows you to purchase the battlepass and then continue to fill it out even after it's no longer the current season. So if it takes you a long time to finish content, you're not forced into playing more games for fear of missing out.
When it's fun, it's a lot of fun. When it's bad, my goodness, it's bad. I guess it depends on how willing you are to gamble with your feelings. But hey, I guess you're coming from League, so you might be ;)
- Thanks!

I'm playing it, I really enjoy it and I never played Overwatch. I was and am still a Heroes of the Storm player, which is fun and I like.
I think at the end of the day it's just fun. 6v6 and you get to mess with your ults. There's characters that you don't need good aim for and need to be strategic instead. You can also go ham like Wolverine, Iron Fist and Cap. It's just fun to dive in and go for it. There's only three classes: tank, DPs and healer or Vanguard, Duelist and Strategist. You'll pick it up quickly and the help menu is just F1 so you can read about the abilities at any point.
If you prefer a third person game that's more MOBA, there's Deadlock. It has multiple lanes and minions to push. Marvel Rivals is more like ARAM and people using their ults to do insane cheating-like moves.
- Thank you!
  Deadlock is still closed beta, right?
  
  Yeah I think I can invite people if you want to send me your steam handle.

I’m playing it. I think it’s on par with the OG Overwatch, which is definitely the most similar game to compare to.
It’s F2P with absolutely no P2W (the paid content is cosmetic only) so if you are at all vaguely interested just give it a try!

100% not judging anyone who prefers mobas or MMOs. I just feel that as a patient gamer (with a huge backlog) I can't no more try or play another one.
The time sink alone and psychological methods like daily missions/battlepasses/FOMOs they use to make me get hooked just now days make me want to skip all of those kind of games even when I'm really into the game/idea.
I can experience 10 single player games (that I already have) instead of one GaaS game. I'm happier this way.
- I haven't played LoL in a while, and now it's just a way to spend an evening playing with friends we all know and can play.
  Did a BG3 run with 2 friends last year, that was nice too, but definitely a different experience.

I’d say try it out for yourself. I know people who really like it and people who dislike. It depends on your personal preference
- Thanks!

I think it's quite good but it also makes me miss launch overwatch, because it isn't quite as good as that was.
It has some really cool additions, like destructible terrain, but the overall "shooting feel" isn't quite as tight as overwatch imo.
I also think it has some very irritating characters to play against like iron man. They're not necessarily OP, they're just a pain to deal with. I'm kind of a noob, so take it with a grain of salt!

If anyone is in the same situation as I am, just found out about Supervive: https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/supervive-hands-on-excitingly-unique-but-intimidatingly-ambitious/
Similar isometric view than MOBAs, so that can be interesting

I tried it. I didn't like/enjoy it.
From your description, to replace LoL with a more populated game so it has a broader player base, it'd be a fit. It's free to play, so why not try it out?
For me,
gameplay/mechanics: generic, like all the other titles
guidance: bad, confusing
matchups/difficulty: genre problem of diverse characters and abilities, and at times you don't know what's happening. Diverse skill levels, and team matchups. Sometimes your team is getting stomped and you have no idea how or even if you could have influence on that. (I switched class and it got even worse.)
polish/UI/UX: lacking, unoptimized, at times confusing
Honestly, if you want a personal, subjective recommendation, I would recommend Overwatch over Marvel Rivals. It's easier to get into, also still popular, also free to play. Alternatively, SMITE, which could be considered a middle ground between top down MOBA like LoL and dynamic hero shooters. I played SMITE for a long time, but have not for a while now. Both titles keep shoving pay-content on your screen, but you can ignore all of them.
Have you played Awesomenauts?
- Hello,
  Thank you for your comment. Didn't Blizzard abandon OW after the OW2 update?
  We played Smite for a bit but didn't like it that much.
  Awesomenauts
  First time I hear about it, thanks!
  
  Overwatch was converted into/replaced by Overwatch 2. Overwatch 1 became Overwatch 2.
  They're still actively working on it. In the live-service manner. Even considering and experimenting with main gameplay formats.
  What they abandoned is the separate PvE mode that was planned for Overwatch 2. There's only occasional PvE event modes.

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