Less than a day after announcing their plans to resetMarvel Rivalsplayers’ Competitive Mode ranks, NetEase Games is crying Uncle (Ben?). After being swamped by a tsunami of “negative feedback, ” the rising star hero-shooter has pulled the plug on what many fans have labeled its first big misstep.
Word thatMarvel Rivalsplayers would lose their hard-won competitive ranks came in aDev Diary Postabout the big mid-season patch set to drop on August 09, 2025. In its defense, the post wasn’t all bad news: it confirmed that the patch will add Human Torch and The Thing to the game’s roster, finally uniting all members of the Fantastic Four together as playable heroes.
However, mostMarvel Rivalsplayers (myself included) were far more interested in the news that the patch would also shave our ranking of the game in Competitive Mode down to half of what they were pre-patch.Marvel Rivalsrewards players who reach certain ranks with unique costumes and “Crests of Honor they can proudly display on their plate profiles, so losing these ranks could cut players off from receiving rewards they practically broke their fingers to collect.
Within minutes of this announcement going live,Marvel Rivalsplayers descended on social media like a fleet of Ultron units.Reddit posts like this onemade it clear as crystal that an overwhelming majority of fans weren’t happy about this decision, and users on X (formally known as Twitter) punctuated that opinion with some hilarious but frustration-fueled posts.
Luckily, NetEase Games responded to their player base’s ire almost immediately. Ina second Dev Diary Postuploaded just hours after the one that started all this, the dev team announced they were quashing the planned rank cut. Acknowledging the massive backlash the decision unleashed, NetEase confirmed that players’ ranks will remain untouched until Season 1 ends and that players who’ve reached “Gold III” rank will receive the exclusive Blood Shield costume for Invisible Woman.
While there’s bound to be some lingering ill-will, the breakneck speed with which NetEase addressed their concerns shocked and delightedMarvel Rivalsplayers. Other hero shooter dev teams would have taken days, if not weeks,to acknowledge a controversial move on their part, let alone address it. By mending a bridge that wasn’t even broken yet, NetEase has confirmed its commitment to its fans. If responseslike this Reddit postare anything to go on,Marvel Rivalsplayers are grateful for the change and willing to forgive, sending a message other game developers might want to listen to.
