Marvel Rivals is also about to present a fantastic new skin for Hulk which has caused a stir in the community. The Maestro look is derived from the Future Imperfect comic series and lets one assume a more powerful, tougher form of Hulk who even has fights with himself during the MVP animations in the game. The insane skins will become available from October 10 UTC and already a division among players has been created with some being very impatient and others fearing the negative influence on the game.
So, who is this Maestro? In the comic, Maestro is a future corrupted Hulk who is almost the outcome of Bruce Banner’s total surrender to his anger and transformation into a terrible ruler. The game conveys this quite well with a costume that depicts Hulk literally battling with himself in that post-game MVP sequence. One of the players remarked, “I just saw Grandpa Hulk kill Hulk in an MVP” which indeed sounds both frightening and fabulous at the same time.
As a result, Hulk players were in a very favorable position, having waited for new content patiently. One player, full of enthusiasm exclaimed, “I hardly ever use Hulk but I’m buying this skin” which shows how much tempting the cosmetic must be. And really, who can argue with them? Killing your evil self on the MVP screen is some next-level psychological warfare that resonates with Hulk’s character perfectly.
Notwithstanding, there is another side of the game that is becoming quite a topic of discussion. Players are arguing seriously about the issue of game balance. The so-called “triple support meta” is creating issues and players are expressing their discontent through remarks such as “Nerf triple support” and “3 supp is ruining the game” among others. It is claimed that when a team has three character designs to the support role, the resulting matches are long and tedious as the team cannot be killed due to the healing and controlling powers.
One of the regular players of the game highlighted the problem and said, “There is just too much healing which leads to prolonging the matches and no one dying. Not even flankers can do anything when the enemies have all the crowd control.” He proceeded to mention Mantis sleep, Cloak and Dagger’s invincibility bubbles, Loki’s lamps, Adam’s healing as some of the irritating powers – and it seems that every single support character has their own method of prolonging the fights for as long as they like.
The Scarlet Witch players, meanwhile, are constantly requesting updates on her powers. Players suggest more magical abilities with one person saying, “Scarlet Witch should have more tools!!! like chaos magic shield, rocks idk, she does not need to grab rocks from the map, she’s a reality warping witch.” Another player contrasted her with new characters and said: “here we see a strong character with a strong kit with many abilities to use and combine… and on the other hand, we have Wanda Maximoff.”
The question of the legendary skins receiving improved visual effects has been discussed for quite some time. Players are asking for VFX updates for both new and existing legendary skins and making suggestions like “Zombie Strange (chaos magic and runes), phoenix Wanda (phoenix force flying around her with fire and pink energy runes).” It seems that some of the expensive skins do not look that much appealing without the ultimate animations to go with them.
Oh, and someone commented that Blade’s get-up is “cringy” because instead of having a more traditional vampire look he is “wearing a chain and bracelet”. Which, to me, seems like a pretty reasonable argument? But on the other hand, it is 2024 and the vampire look has transformed, people.
There are also technical problems and one user reported “Shaders restarting endlessly every time I open the game” which must indeed be a nightmare scenario. The other issues voiced were the requests for Portuguese dubbing and the desire to see the return of “the KRAK” whatever that is.
One of the biggest surprises for me, though, is how divided the community is on the issue of character balance. While some players are complaining that they cannot beat a team with triple support, others are retorting “Skill issue. Saying this on a skin for a day one character. Tilted.” Thus, it is quite evident that there is a difference of opinion as to whether it is the game balance issue or players simply needing to better their skills.
What is certain, though, is that the Maestro skin is super cool. The concept of Hulk at war with his dark side is so in tune with the character’s conflict that one can hardly think of a better match. And MVP animations that are bringing that war of wills to life? An excellent move by the developers. It is these small narrative techniques that set Marvel Rivals apart from other hero shooters.
As we count down to October 10, be prepared to see a whole lot of green on the battlefield. No matter if you are the one getting excited or the one getting worried, one thing that Marvel Rivals keeps on doing is – providing a lot of interesting topics for the players to talk about. The game is always transforming by releasing new content, and making balance adjustments keeping the community engaged and sometimes even annoyed in that unique way.
So, make sure you save the day for the Maestro release and in the meantime practice your Hulk gameplay. Because nothing can say “I’m the strongest of all” like defeating a dark version of your self right in front of everybody after winning a match. The costume is also available on PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
