AIGameGuides.com v4/27/2025

Marvel Rivals players have encountered a variety of recurring issues that impact their experience, based on community feedback, official updates, and ongoing discussions. Since its release on December 6, 2024, the game has seen significant popularity—over 40 million players by February 2025—but it’s not without its challenges. Below are the most commonly reported problems, drawn from player sentiment and technical observations up to this point.

Related: Strategy and Tips Guide for Marvel Rivals

1. Performance Issues (FPS Drops, Stuttering, and Lag)

Players frequently report inconsistent frame rates, with drops from high FPS (e.g., 120) to as low as 20 during intense team fights, even on high-end systems. Stuttering and input lag also disrupt combos and quick movements, especially for fast-paced heroes like Spider-Man or Wolverine.

•Cause: Optimization issues, including the game’s demanding Unreal Engine 5 requirements, outdated GPU drivers, or running on HDDs instead of SSDs (the latter is recommended).

•Impact: These issues hinder competitive play, making it frustrating to execute precise actions or react in real-time.

•Temporary Fixes: Lowering graphics settings (e.g., to 1080p, reducing shadows), capping FPS at 60, updating drivers, and ensuring installation on an SSD can help stabilize performance.

2. The FPS Bug (Frame Rate Advantage)

A widely discussed bug ties hero performance to frame rate. At lower FPS (e.g., 30), heroes like Venom, Magik, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, and Star-Lord move slower, deal less damage, or have shorter ability ranges compared to higher FPS (e.g., 60+). Conversely, uncapped FPS can cause lag spikes and high ping.

•Cause: Linked to the game’s client-side prediction mechanism, where movement and damage calculations scale with frame rate, giving high-end PC users an unintended edge.

•Impact: Creates an unfair advantage, frustrating players with lower-spec systems and souring competitive integrity.

•Status: Developers acknowledged this in early January 2025 via Discord, promising a fix with Season 1 (launched January 11, 2025), though some reports suggest lingering issues. A full resolution may still be pending.

3. Loading Screen Bugs (99% Hang)

Players, especially on PC, get stuck at 99% on loading screens for minutes, sometimes flagged as inactive or penalized as leavers despite not entering matches.

•Cause: Faulty storage devices (e.g., HDDs), corrupted game files, or server-side issues during peak times.

•Impact: Disrupts match entry, wastes time, and risks penalties, particularly aggravating in quick 15-minute matches.

•Temporary Fixes: Move the game to an SSD, verify game file integrity (via Steam/Epic), restart the game, or check server status on the official Discord.

4. Server and Network Issues (High Ping, Disconnects)

High ping (e.g., 110+ ms to certain regions), lag spikes, packet loss, and random disconnects plague online play. Players report teleporting (e.g., Wolverine rubberbanding) or failing to load past queue screens.

•Cause: Server instability, regional server limitations, or poor internet connections exacerbated by the game’s online-only nature.

•Impact: Makes dodging attacks or coordinating with teams nearly impossible, especially in ranked play.

•Temporary Fixes: Switch to wired Ethernet, reset routers, or wait out server-side issues (check Discord or X for updates). Developers addressed a disconnect bug with a hotfix in December 2024, but some problems persist.

5. Matchmaking and Team Play Problems

Players complain of unbalanced matchmaking, with newbies pitted against veterans or high-rank teams with uncooperative “one-trick” players who refuse to swap heroes (e.g., locking Hela or Hawkeye despite team needs). Posts on X highlight worsening teammate quality in higher ranks.

•Cause: Loose Quick Play matchmaking and a lack of incentives for team-oriented play in the game’s design or battle pass challenges.

•Impact: Leads to frequent stomps, lack of coordination, and frustration, especially for new players or in competitive modes.

•Status: Community calls for a “broken” matchmaking fix persist (e.g., X posts in February 2025), but no major overhaul has been confirmed.

6. Game Crashes

Random crashes with no error codes occur mid-match, sometimes linked to GPU memory leaks or specific hero abilities (e.g., Doctor Strange portals tanking performance).

•Cause: Outdated OS/drivers, Intel 13th/14th-gen CPU instability, or unoptimized game code.

•Impact: Interrupts gameplay and risks penalties for leaving, souring the experience.

•Temporary Fixes: Update OS/drivers, run as admin, lower settings, or update BIOS for Intel users (per official FAQ).

7. Battle Pass and Progression Frustrations

The battle pass relies solely on completing daily/weekly challenges for “gems,” halting progress once exhausted. Challenges often push selfish play (e.g., picking specific DPS heroes) over team goals.

•Cause: Design choice to enforce daily logins rather than rewarding general playtime.

•Impact: Feels monotonous and unrewarding, driving some players away despite the game’s core fun.

•Status: No changes announced, though player feedback on X and forums remains vocal.

8. Hitbox Inconsistencies

Hitboxes feel off, with attacks missing despite appearing to connect or registering when they shouldn’t, especially with mobile heroes like Spider-Man or projectiles from Hawkeye.

•Cause: Possible sync issues between client-side prediction and server validation, worsened by the FPS bug.

•Impact: Undermines skill-based play, leading to unpredictable outcomes.

•Status: Discussed on X (e.g., February 2025 posts), but no official fix yet.

Developer Response and Outlook

NetEase Games has been proactive with patches—e.g., a December 10, 2024, update fixed map and hero bugs, and Season 1 (January 11, 2025) aimed to address the FPS issue. Community managers on Discord and X (@MarvelRivals) regularly acknowledge problems, promising hotfixes or future updates. However, the game’s rapid growth and ambitious scope mean some issues linger, with players feeling it’s still in a “polished beta” state.

Conclusion

The most prevalent player complaints center on performance (FPS bugs, stuttering), accessibility (loading, crashes), and fairness (matchmaking, hitboxes). Technical fixes like SSD use or driver updates help, but many await broader optimizations. Despite these hiccups, Marvel Rivals retains a strong player base—1.5 million monthly active users in January 2025—thanks to its Marvel appeal and core gameplay. For the latest, check the official Discord or X posts from @MarvelRivals, as issues evolve with each patch!

You may also like:

•Strategy & Tips Guide for Marvel Rivals

•Player Problems with Marvel Rivals

•Marvel Rivals Official Bug Fix Resources