Marvel Rivals, the new free-to-play hero shooter from NetEase, has attracted a large player base since its recent launch. However, the game's battle pass progression system is causing frustration among players.
Rivals features a non-expiring battle pass, allowing players to continue earning rewards from previous seasons. However, progression is tied exclusively to completing limited-time challenges, rather than earning XP through regular gameplay.
Challenge-Based Progression Sparks Criticism
Players can only progress through the battle pass by completing daily and weekly challenges, which often require specific hero selections or playing on certain maps. This restricts player agency and limits how quickly they can advance through the battle pass.
The lack of traditional XP-based progression, where players earn rewards simply by playing matches, has led to complaints. Players feel their in-match performance isn't adequately rewarded, and the limited number of challenges creates a daily cap on progression.
"I absolutely loath the mission/challenge based progression system... it incentivizes people to actively hurt their team by prioritizing challenge completions over winning,"
- SecretTracer (Reddit)
"Let people finish the battle pass early. What's the harm in that?... Why do you devs need to dictate the pace of us completing the pass?"
- Tato23 (Reddit)
NetEase's Strategy
While the non-expiring battle pass is a welcome feature, the challenge-based system likely serves to encourage more frequent logins. The 12-hour timers on daily challenges and the staggered release of new challenges incentivize players to log in multiple times per day to maximize their progression opportunities.
