Marvel Rivals Issues Apology for Unfair Bans; Players Advocate for Expanded Character Ban System

NetEase, the developer of Marvel Rivals, recently issued a public apology for mistakenly banning numerous innocent players. The mass ban, intended to target cheaters, inadvertently flagged a significant number of non-Windows users employing compatibility layers such as those used on macOS, Linux, and the Steam Deck.

The erroneous bans, implemented on January 3rd, were swiftly reversed after NetEase identified the cause. The company acknowledged the inconvenience and apologized for the disruption caused to affected players. They encouraged players to report actual cheating incidents and offered an appeal process for those wrongly penalized. The Steam Deck's Proton compatibility layer, known for triggering some anti-cheat systems, appears to have contributed to the problem.

Separately, a significant portion of the Marvel Rivals community is advocating for the expansion of the in-game character ban system. Currently, this feature, which allows players to remove specific characters from selection, is only available at Diamond rank and above. Players at lower ranks express frustration, arguing that the lack of character bans creates unbalanced matchups and limits strategic diversity.

Reddit threads highlight the sentiment of many players who believe that implementing character bans across all ranks would improve gameplay balance, enhance strategic depth, and provide a more equitable experience for all players. NetEase has yet to publicly respond to this feedback.