It’s Been 295 Days Since Marvel Rivals Gave Fans What They…

One of the most consistent strengths of Marvel Rivals has been its flow of content. The game is constantly receiving new cosmetics, maps, game modes, and heroes, while also working in some fun surprises like the popular Marvel Zombies PvE mode. Its events are a cut above many other live-service titles due to the quality of the free rewards, and the seasonal storytelling has been fun to keep up with for those obsessed with Marvel lore. However, despite all this strong content, it feels as if one role is being consistently neglected: Strategists.

Marvel Rivals Last ‘True’ Support Character Was Season 1’s Invisible Woman

Marvel Rivals reveals Future Foundation skins for Invisible Woman and The Thing.

While it’s true that Ultron came to Marvel Rivals in the mid-season update for Season 2 (155 days ago), he’s not the powerful healer that a lot of Strategists are drawn toward. While a Luna Snow or Cloak and Dagger provide extreme value through their ultimates and their constant healing output, Ultron is best used as a third Strategist. Getting players to agree to running three Strategist comps at lower levels is easier said than done, and with Ultron’s recent healing nerf leaving players confused, he’s essentially an extra flying DPS with the occasional healing via his drones. For players who just want to heal, it’s been nearly a year since there was something that caters to their play style of choice.

Invisible Woman releasing 295 days ago would be rough enough on its own, but the problem only gets worse when looking at how the other roles are treated. Both a new Vanguard and Duelist have been added in Marvel Rivals Season 4, while two Duelists came in Season 3. Essentially, Vanguards are receiving an acceptable amount of content, while Duelists are spoiled for choice at every turn. Unfortunately, based on Marvel Rivals’ latest teases and leaks, it’s unlikely for this unfortunate Strategist trend to come to an end in Season 5.

It’s worth mentioning that Marvel Rivals developer NetEase acknowledged the Strategist drought ahead of Season 4’s release. However, its response was basically a heads-up to players that, while they’ve been heard, a lot of content is already set in stone — meaning more Strategist-free Seasons are likely.

Marvel Rivals’ Season 5 Characters Have Major Duelist Vibes

Marvel Rivals has all-but-confirmed that Rogue and Gambit will be the next season’s big additions, and while many X-Men fans will be thrilled to see the two lovebirds join the roster, they could be getting added at the wrong time. Players have tried their best to make Gambit a Strategist through some fun suggestions, such as giving him a healing deck and a damage deck of playing cards, but realistically he feels like a natural Duelist due to his size and his main superpower being a damage-dealing one. Rogue is another probable Duelist, though perhaps she could be a Vanguard, getting a larger character model than expected like Emma Frost did. Either way, her power-leeching just wouldn’t suit the Strategist role when another character in that category — Loki — already copies ultimates.

Things only get worse when players realize that Elsa Bloodstone and Deadpool are expected to be the Season 6 additions, as both of these leaked characters are borderline guaranteed to be Duelists or Vanguards due to their use of swords and guns. Perhaps one of them will be pushed to a later Season so that a Strategist can be released in Season 6, bringing an end to this long period of boredom for healers. But if this doesn’t happen, supports could be looking at another four months without a Strategist that is strong enough to work in a two-healer team comp. Considering that the support strike was also a thing at one point, Strategists have regularly been given reasons to switch to another game, which can't be healthy for Marvel Rivals.

Unless Rogue or Gambit surprise fans by being a Strategist… Marvel Rivals will have gone an entire year without a true support character.

Elsa Bloodstone from Marvel Comics holding up her guns

Even if the Duelist role is the most popular in Marvel Rivals, there’s no reason for there to be more Duelists than Vanguards and Strategists combined. Currently, there have been 5 post-launch Duelists compared to 3 additional Vanguards and just 2 new Strategists. Unless Rogue or Gambit surprise fans by being a Strategist — a decision that would risk feeling forced and their kits not feeling like they should — Marvel Rivals will have gone an entire year without a true support character. And even when looking at the time since Ultron, that gap would be over 230 days. As great as Marvel Rivals may be doing with LTMs like Marvel Zombies and its seasonal storytelling, it’s impossible to deny that the lack of love for Strategists is hugely disappointing.

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