netease / marvelMany support mains in Marvel Rivals are going “on strike,” refusing to play in higher ranks after some of the game’s biggest streamers said the role requires no skill.
The picket line is hitting high MMR matches hard, with several top players throwing in the towel on healing and deciding to DPS instead. It’s starting to affect matches at all ranks, with players doing everything they can to avoid the role.
Marvel Rivals streamer and Spider-Man main Necros is the biggest name who’s put this belief out there, claiming that support players are the absolute worst players on the team in any given lineup.
So, how did support players respond? By telling Necros and everyone else who flamed them to do it themselves, if it’s so easy.
Marvel Rivals community divided as supports go on strike
From a mechanical standpoint, it’s pretty hard to argue against the stance of Necros and several other creators. In terms of how much skill is required to play the role in terms of actual aim, it varies a bit, but is generally easier.
Many heroes like Cloak and Dagger and Mantis have lock-on heals that are pretty much impossible to miss. And, though some heroes like Luna, Adam and Mantis do require good aim to be at their most effective, they’re perfectly serviceable if you aren’t a crack shot.
Necros claims the reason behind this is because when someone isn’t doing well in Tank or DPS, they tend to get pressured into playing support by their team, since the role requires less mechanical skill on paper. bogur is one of the biggest streamers who’s spoken in support of him, but the opinion is shared by a large portion of the community.
However, there’s the added aspect of trying to play the game when you’re constantly being targeted by the enemy team and may not have much help from your allies staying alive.
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Even Ninja weighed in on the issue, saying that Necros is right in a way about mechanical difficulty, but that he’s missing the aspect of what it’s like to try and survive against a team that’s diving you.
“When you’re going up against players like Necros, who all they want to do is f**k with the healers and dive them with Spider-Man and all the sh*t they play, it becomes a sh*tshow,” he said. “You’re literally trying to dodge some of the best players in the world’s abilities multiple times a fight while you’re in charge of keeping your entire team alive.”
What does this actually look like in-game? Is it really that hard for supports to survive?
Well, if the enemy team is coordinated and playing dive heroes, then the answer is absolutely yes. If you don’t have a Magneto shielding you, an Emma Frost chokeslamming the diver trying to kill you, the other support player keeping you alive, or some other form of assistance the game quickly becomes unplayable. Your teammates will flame you as you die on cooldown with no help.
This, combined with an unintended effect of ranked updates that has support players earning less ranked points than ever, has support players fighting back. Playing support gives less ranked points due to being viewed as performing “worse” than other more damage-heavy roles, contributing largely to why players are abandoning the role in droves.
“Necros outright said on stream that he hates support players and called them ‘idiots’ and ‘morons.’ That kind of statement, coming from a big voice in the community, does real damage. Streamers don’t get to opt out of influence — if you have a following, what you say matters in your community. And now we’re seeing the consequences of that,” one Marvel Rivals player said in a viral Reddit post.
“We’re not asking to be glorified or seen as the ‘hardest’ role – because I don’t think we are. We just want basic respect. It’s tiring to be called brain dead or worthless when your stats are solid and you’re playing your role the way it’s meant to be played,” they explained.
The Marvel Rivals dev team has since stepped in, promising to buff support heroes both in terms of how much damage they deal and how many rank points they earn for winning games.
NetEase“Season 2.0 shifts the spotlight to coordinated attacks and focused targets, along with the necessary collective protective strategies and counterattacks which has led to a more intense combat rhythm. In this fierce environment, Strategists face increased pressure, needing to monitor teammates’ health closely while carefully using their key abilities and being mindful of their positioning on the map,” the devs explained.
“Meanwhile, Vanguards and Duelists must not only attack effectively but also provide better protection for their Strategists to achieve victory.”
In short, they acknowledged a dive meta exists and that it’s hard to stay alive as support, but they also believe that the other roles aren’t doing as good of a job as they should be of keeping their supports alive.
While the full patch notes haven’t yet been released, it’s safe to say Marvel Rivals will see a big balance shake up even before Season 2.5 drops.