Marvel Apologizes for Unfair Bans

NetEase's Marvel Rivals mistakenly bans innocent players

NetEase, the developer of Marvel Rivals, recently issued an apology for mistakenly banning a significant number of innocent players while attempting to eliminate cheaters. The error disproportionately affected players using compatibility layers on non-Windows systems, including macOS, Linux, and Steam Deck.

The unintentional mass ban, which occurred on January 3rd, was acknowledged by community manager James on the official Discord server. NetEase identified the cause of the false bans, reversed them, and issued a public apology for the inconvenience. They encouraged players to report actual cheating behavior and offered an appeal process for those wrongly banned.

This incident highlights the challenges of implementing effective anti-cheat measures while avoiding collateral damage to legitimate players. The Steam Deck's Proton compatibility layer, known for triggering some anti-cheat systems, appears to have been a contributing factor.

Calls for universal character bans

Separately, Marvel Rivals players are advocating for the universal implementation of character bans across all ranks. Currently, this feature is only available at Diamond rank and above, leading to frustration among lower-ranked players who feel disadvantaged by imbalanced matchups. Reddit users have voiced concerns about the lack of character bans in lower ranks, impacting gameplay and preventing strategic diversity.

Many players argue that extending character bans to all ranks would provide a more balanced and enjoyable experience, allowing for diverse team compositions and strategic experimentation. While NetEase has yet to respond publicly to these concerns, the player community's feedback suggests a desire for improved competitive balance.