Fariha Bhatti 
Marvel Rivals breaks up its roster into roles but it doesn’t have a defined role queue. Is there any chance that changes?
Marvel Rivals has a roster stacked with 33 heroes, all repping abilities inspired by their comic book and film counterparts. At the peak of a six-versus-six battle, the arena may get a bit too overwhelming for those new to hero shooters, but seasoned hero shooter fans love the clutter. The positive reception is reflected in its incredibly high player count after launch, hitting almost 500,000 concurrent players on Steam alone.
While most fans are happy with the game itself, some players have a few reservations. In particular, there are concerns about the game’s balance and the outsized impact of selfishness among solo queue players.
Does Marvel Rivals have a role queue?
Marvel Rivals doesn’t have a role queue and NetEase hasn’t revealed any plans to add it soon.
Marvel Rivals launched without a role queue, allowing all players the freedom to choose any hero without being confined to specific roles. According to the developers, players are encouraged to “get creative with their formations” and use the heroes however they see fit.
NetEase made a deliberate decision to forego a role queue at launch, making it unlikely that role queue will be added to the game any time soon.
This starkly contrasts Marvel Rivals’ competitor Overwatch 2, which forces players to be disciplined with their hero picks. In a standard game of Overwatch 2, each team must have one tank, two DPS, and two support heroes. It seems fans who are used to Blizzard’s structured hero shooter, are now hoping for the same rules to be imposed on Marvel Rivals.
Players call for role queue in Marvel Rivals
As more players unlock ranked mode, the reality of that “freedom” is starting to sink in. While a good chunk of the fanbase loves the freedom to be able to spam Iron Man game after game, players who main strategists like Jeff the Landshark or Loki aren’t exactly thrilled about it.
Players are venting their frustration over queuing with teammates who refuse to play any class other than duelist. Duelists are the flashy DPS heroes tasked with picking off supports or diving behind enemy lines. In all shooters, selfish players will insta-lock these characters, and there’s no helping it.
Unfortunately, when there’s no restriction on the role, even support players can be forced to change their pick to duelists just to survive. These players may be able to contribute more in a more passive role and avoid feeding.
For fans who love Rocket Raccoon or Cloak and Dagger and want to main them, this can be extremely frustrating. Ultimately, these heroes are just not viable on a team with five duelists.
It’s unlikely NetEase would give into backlash so quickly and add a role queue. The good news for Marvel Rivals players is that the lack of a role queue reduces queue time and results in more exciting, unpredictable games. Still, some fans are keeping their fingers crossed that it comes to the game
