Once Marvel Rivals came to this world and the player base have been doing research as to which characters are enjoyable to play and which just aren’t. For the latest episode, a tier list went viral on social media, ranking all the tank heroes from “clunky” to “fluid,” with the players now going all-out.
The original tweet from an account called MarvelRivalsALT simply said, “does a lot of the tank line up feel bad to play?” while attaching an image of a tier list that basically damned half the roster with faint praise. Hulk, Venom, Magneto, Captain America, and Thor all fell under the “clunky” label, while Groot and The Thing were on the “fluid” end of the spectrum. We can guess the outcome of this.
Let’s salute Thor first. Florian goes on without hesitation as “Thor is the most clunky easily for me. His dash locking your camera for a second and having to wait a second between every thorforce ability makes him feel horrible.” Wow. That would feel frustrating, a walk through mud, if it was mud, with lead boots. Hulk comes in. Some say he’s clunky if you do not know what you want to do with him. William Motta says proudly, “Brother the only way Hulk is clunky is if you don’t have the slightest idea how to even select him,” haha. But that is not what some believe like Spawnytheistic; “His jump getting canceled by every little thing that hits him puts me off of him completely.” So the jury is still out, but the frustration is there for some.
Captain America is not alone in these assaults. Player Dan pinpointed: “My one irk with cap is it seems like they designed most of the high ground to be juuuuust high enough for him not to reach with his jump.” That does sound irritating, doesn’t it? Like, come on. You’re this super soldier and you can’t jump in a crate? Another user, ElectronicHunter, takes it even further, “Cap is not a tank.” Wait, what? How can that be questioned? Since the tier list included him, perhaps the devs regard him as one, but the players are now shoving back.
Venom is another hot topic. One player called Frying Pan claimed, “venoms main problem for me is how inconsistent his primary fire feels at times. other then that he is one of the mot fluid characters to play in the entire game.” So that inconsistency can really counteract the whole game, huh? And Magneto? Some say he is slow but not clunky while others say, “if you think Mag is clunky then you’re bad at the game.” Harsh, but that’s the internet for you.
The Thing and Groot appear to be the most wanted choices in the glass of fluid. Sector. Khan, “The Thing feels fluid and is well designed,” which is another win for the big orange rock guy. And Groot? Well, nobody’s really complaining, so that’s something. But then there’s Peni Parker in “kind of jank,” and one player, architelligent, ardently defended: “No way Peni is ‘kind of jank.’ If any of her offense did any extra damage she’d be a monster. (She’s still a monster in the right hands … mine.)” Maybe it’s a skill issue? Or maybe the flip list is just wrong.
Then we’ve got the classic backlash. Some players call the whole thing”ragebait” or “trash shitter tier list.” A user under the name DruLIVE dropped a laughing emoji and said, “Nice ragebait,” implying the whole thing was designed to stir up drama. FrickenNormies, on the contrary, gave it with no pause: “trash shitter tier list.” So yeah, they’re not fans.
Beyond all these specific character-related complaints, there seems to be an ongoing discussion over what makes a tank feel good to play. ROBO-D Smash said: “Its not about how hard or easy they are to play. Its mechanically speaking, how consistent the character feels to do the thing they were designed to do.” Very much agreed. This is not a level of power discussion but a level of control response, ability synergy, and player feeling in control rather than being a fight against the game.
Blake added,”You have to have game awareness as a tank, not a role for everyone.” It sounds fair; tanks often require more strategic thinking, but that doesn’t mean they should feel bad to play. If the mechanics are clunky, it makes that role even harder to enjoy.
So, what does this mean? Well, it is certain players have strong opinions about the tank line-up in Marvel Rivals. Some characters are generally lauded for smoothness of mechanics. But the others are neck-deep in divisions. Camera lock issues with Thor, jump cancel issues with the Hulk, and mobility issues with Captain America made heads roar in pain and complaints. But under all that, there is also a big element of the skill and comfort of the individual player — a character might be clunky to a novice and feel fluid to someone who’s mastered them.
NetEase devs probably had their eyes on that controversial feedback for some time. It’s always hard balancing a game with a recognizable superhero that players have very strong emotional ties to. Messing with ability responsiveness, camera control, and smooth movements could well be the best remedy to all these grievances and maybe just worth a few patches and a few glitches fix.
But for now, though, it goes on. Be it because of all that love and hate towards Hulk or Magneto’s inconsistency, the one thing is clear: Marvel Rivals players are very much into discussing their heroes. The good thing about this is that people care enough to argue about it. So, jump in, test the tanks for yourself, and find out where you stand. Be ready for a great chat engulfed in heated discussions, however.
That is another update for you all. Keep an eye on those patch notes as your favorite clunky black tank might finally get that buff. Or, eventually, you’ll come around to loving them either way. Happy gaming! And for the love of God, don’t throw that controller again while Thor’s dash lock is active. Been there, done that!
