Marvel Rivals just launched, and though it hasn’t effectively killed Overwatch, the game is still reporting strong numbers and a steadily growing online community.
Though players log in to see how they compare to other players worldwide, one user has discovered that the game uses bots, and players can sometimes be put in matches against them.
Bots Discovered in Marvel Rivals?
According to Reddit user u/ciaranxy, Marvel Rivals has secretly put players into lobbies with bots. This doesn’t just happen randomly; it’s been said that only players who have gone through two consecutive losses will be put in matches against all bot teams. Here are the bullet points:
- Bots only appear in Quickplay, not Competitive
- After two consecutive losses, your chances of being put into a bot lobby in Quickplay are very high.
- If put into a bot lobby, it will be 4 human teammates + 2 bot teammates VS 6 bot opponents.
- You will be penalized for leaving these bot lobbies.
- All bots are Account Level 1.
- All bot profiles have "restricted access" (as opposed to "limited access" for human profiles).
This strategy is done to keep players who aren’t skilled in the game engaged while not having to go up against the more skilled players during matches. Besides that, it also allows for faster queue times.
The user who spotted the bots aims to raise awareness in the community so that NetEase will be forced to make some kind of statement regarding this because some players are not happy that they have to go up against computers as punishment for losing consecutive games.
Though some players aren’t happy about the bots' reveal, Dexerto has pointed out that this isn’t a new practice in online multiplayer games. Fortnite does the same thing for the same reasons, and NetEase also uses bot lobbies for its other games, like Identity V.
Can A Compromise be Met?
At this point, NetEase hasn’t said anything to address the bots yet, but some are hoping that if they do go public, they will give players the option to toggle getting placed in bot matches. While some pro players are outraged that they have to go up against non-humans, some more casual gamers welcome the short wait for a full game and easy target practice while things are still starting.
If anything, games that don’t use bots, like Overwatch, are plagued with lobbies that take forever to fill up—especially when no one in the server is online. That would be a good compromise if players can adjust the bots’ difficulty.
Maybe NetEase could add an option not to be placed in a bot lobby, even if that means waiting longer for a new match. Maybe it’s just an issue with matchmaking. Players will just have to wait and see how this all plays out.
Marvel Rivals is now playable for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.