Marvel Rivals’ anniversary event is here, and NetEase is celebrating the occasion by handing out over 2,500 Units to players, all for free.
What’s the catch, you wonder? Well, apparently, it takes more than just playing the game to claim them, and players aren’t happy with NetEase’s bizarre mobile-like decision-making.
The first set of free Units comes from logging in every day, which is part of the multi-phase anniversary event. Players would receive a total of 1,500 Units as long as they log in every day from November 27 to December 3. These ‘dailies’ are notoriously popular in mobile Gacha games like MiHoyo’s Zenless Zone Zero or Genshin Impact. The tactic boosts engagement by encouraging players to log in and play the game, apart from just claiming the rewards.
It’s not a big deal for some, but for players like me who expected to receive the free 2,500 Units instantly, it’s disappointing. To add salt to the wound, the free Units are reportedly time-limited, as shown by their unique visual icon. Players are worried that if they do not use them soon, they may disappear in a future update.
Players can receive a total of 600 Units, but only if they invite someone. They would need to input a friend’s crew code and invite them to follow you. Even then, they will not receive the Units yet. Players would need to play a few missions together to earn ‘Assemble Points.’ Activities like dealing damage, playing quick play together, or simply logging in will grant said points.
It may seem like a jolly celebration on paper, but Marvel Rivals players are frustrated over this design choice. One Reddit user was disappointed because it takes so much effort to convince their friends to play Marvel Rivals. Others are even planning to invite random players they find on Quick Play just to get the rewards.
The second phase of Marvel Rivals’ anniversary event goes further into mobile-like territory. Remember those mobile games where you had to invite friends just to unlock rewards and cosmetics? Apparently, that’s what’s going on in the upcoming “Rivals Assemble” event, which launches on December 4th.
NetEase has fully embraced a mobile-like approach with this event, a strange direction given the game’s console roots. This could mean that it’s only a matter of time before Marvel Rivals leans completely into that model. Which is a harrowing thing to witness.
The anniversary event really defeats the spirit of a social event when players focus on collecting rewards rather than forming memorable experiences with others.
As someone who was looking forward to this anniversary event, having to do a laundry list of objectives before receiving the rewards feels unnecessarily tedious. Sadly, Marvel Rivals fans might have to get used to this, as future events will likely follow the same formula.
Unless players speak out once again, as they did with previous issues like matchmaking problems and rank resets.
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