Marvel Rivals should avoid role queue

Transcript

Welcome to Quick Play, a podcast about Overwatch, Marvel Rivals, and other live services. I'm Anthony Shelton. 

I'm just going to come out and say it. I hate role queue. It's not even a pros and cons issue. This is a "we are solving one problem by creating another problem" issue. 

I respect what role queue is meant to solve. I have a team and everyone wants to play DPS, so the entire team selects DPS. You solve that problem by limiting what people can choose. Because in reality, you need a balanced composition in order to win games. All DPS is not balanced. Five DPS is not balanced. Four DPS is not balanced. 

But role queue creates just as big of a problem. You have six people and they all want to play DPS. Now you are asking four players to pick from two roles and they likely all suck at those roles. So now you got the balance. But you don't have the skill. And competitive modes should be about the skill more than the balance.

This is exactly what happened in Overwatch. I was a Diamond level player when Competitive let you choose any role. The moment role queue came out, I dropped to Silver. My skill was the same but so many people had to play roles that they weren't comfortable with which affected my ability to win or in some cases they were choosing roles where they were flexing and getting roles that they weren't comfortable with. 

But going back to my all DPSs and balance statement, it may not be balanced, but there's a chance you could still win because you have the skill. Now, I get part of the problem is, especially at lower ranks, people don't have the skills. So that's why I'm like, role queue isn't the solution. 

I think Marvel Rivals should consider adding certain rules based on rank. So, like, adding role queue for the lower ranks, but allowing people to choose who they want at higher ranks. I imagine that's harder to do with coding and programming, but that's the right solution. Create rules and parameters that are suited for different levels. As you progress further, the rules and the parameters demand more of the players. And in this case, at the higher ranks, you have the responsibility to choose the correct hero for the situation and you have the option to choose from all the classes. No limitations. Figure it out. 

Think about it like this: The NBA and the NFL make rule changes every year. Sometimes the NFL does it midseason, right? So, like, the tush push. They're having real conversations about banning the tush push. It's like GOATS in Overwatch. It's just unstoppable. You know what the NFL isn't considering? If high school football teams are doing the tush push. The NFL cares about the best players playing at the highest level and if it's competitive and if it's entertaining. That's it. 

Same with the NBA. People are trying to figure out how to bring the complexity back into the game instead of just shooting threes. It doesn't matter if college shoots less threes or that high school has more inside play. The NBA is concerned about how to make the game at the highest level just as competitive and more entertaining. 

NetEase is the NFL and the NBA. They are the league of Marvel Rivals. And I like what they're doing with Marvel Rivals. They're making adjustments, but they're letting the players figure things out for the most part. They're not letting the lowest skilled players, and mediocre players dictate what happens in the game. If the game is balanced at the highest levels, it's up to the players to figure it out. 

Overwatch had this problem for years. I'm concerned they still do, particularly with Stadium. Gold players can't figure out how to beat Moira. So what? If you play the game right, there is a solution. Figure it out. We're not talking about fundamental brokenness like when Sojourn first came out. She was broken. We're talking about the characters are balanced and you can't figure out how to deal with them. No one should make balance adjustments for that. 

So that's what I'm thinking. Create rules for specific ranks. What do you think Marvel Rivals should do? Add a role queue? Keep going with what they're doing? There's a link in the show notes to visit GamingTrend.com. Go there, click that, share your thoughts. I'd love to hear what y'all are thinking about on this issue with Marvel Rivals. You can also find me on Bluesky. Anthony Shelton's the name. That's it for Quick Play. I'll talk to you later.