The Ball is in Marvel Rivals’ Court for Destructible…

It may have taken a backseat to how alluring its character designs are, but environments being destructible in Marvel Rivals is a fairly substantial gimmick. A tiny hole punched through the right wall can offer Squirrel Girl an uncontested vantage point, for instance, while some environments in Marvel Rivals will collapse and form new foundations and fixtures when destroyed. Such environments are only subtle because an Iron Fist or Psylocke flanking players can quickly distract from how sensationally a map may change in an instant, but if players know how to exploit destructible environments well they can turn any tide in their favor.

Wakanda’s Imperial Dueling Grounds is an excellent map when it comes to environmental destruction, for example, because huge pillars can topple with canopy platforms crumbling to become a newly accessible perch to snipe from. It’ll now be fascinating to see what maps are added in Marvel Rivals’ future and how environmental destruction will be implemented to make them robust. Indeed, while Marvel Rivals choosing to adapt Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters would be a no-brainer based on its established familiarity, it could also have one of the most satisfying uses of environmental destruction imaginable.

Marvel Rivals: Jeff's Popularity is a Double-Edged Sword

Jeff's kit in Marvel Rivals may be controversial, but it shouldn't stop NetEase Games from adding unique heroes to refresh the gameplay experience.

Posts

By Amjad A. Asma

Marvel Rivals Could Work Wonders with Xavier’s School’s Basketball Court

Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in Marvel lore isn’t lying about who the institution functions for. Housing mutant children who either feel alienated or unsure about how to control their budding evolutionary powers, Professor Charles Xavier’s school is a safe haven. The mansion is also home to the X-Men with an elaborate simulation program called the Danger Room they can train in. But, for all intents and purposes, Xavier’s is truly a school and its gorgeous grounds are typically portrayed with a basketball court.

Interestingly, one of the most iconic aspects of Xavier’s mansion is a clandestine jet hangar below the courtyard’s basketball court. The court itself is actually a platform that opens when the X-Men need to fly their jet, dubbed the Blackbird, out on whatever exploits they must attend to. Given that Marvel Rivals’ maps revolve around a destructible environment mechanic that rapidly dictates how players navigate or defend a control point, it could be phenomenal if Marvel Rivals ever implements an Xavier’s Mansion map where players could destroy the basketball court and collapse it into the Blackbird hangar beneath.

Even more enticing would be if this secret hangar was the map’s Domination control point, rendering it essential to the overall aesthetic and strategy.

Marvel Rivals doesn’t include many X-Men characters yet, but it does feature a number of mutants. There’s certainly time for more to be added once other corners of the Marvel pantheon have been explored thoroughly, such as a bigger selection of actual villain characters or Marvel Rivals’ leaked Fantastic Four, and an Xavier’s mansion map would be a great accompaniment to them.

Genosha and Krakoa have leaked as Marvel Rivals maps thus far and, even with a modicum of salt, it seems fair to presume that a lot more X-Men content will be in the hero shooter’s future. So far, Marvel Rivals’ Wakanda, Asgard, and Klyntar maps are terrific showcases of destructible environments while honoring the characters who are popularly from their locations, especially with new in-game lore ascribed to them.

It’s great that Black Panther, Venom, Loki/Thor/Hela, and Winter Soldier all have maps representing them, and who gets a map associated with them next will be fascinating to see. Xavier’s school being a map seems more like an inevitability than anything, but only time will tell if and when its grounds will actually be explorable, let alone destructible.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image