The competitive scene in Marvel Rivals has developed some peculiar habits since NetEase launched their hero shooter last December. Chief among them: certain heroes might as well be decorative roster options once you hit Diamond rank and above.
It’s a tale as old as time in hero shooters—the higher you climb, the narrower the viable character pool becomes. But what’s particularly fascinating is how some of the game’s initially “weakest” characters have transformed into must-ban nightmares that competitive players refuse to deal with.
One beefy green Vanguard in particular has become the poster child for this phenomenon. His individual kit isn’t even the problem—it’s what he does for his teammates that has players smashing that ban button as soon as they get into a match.
Why Hulk mains can’t have nice things in Marvel Rivals
The irony of maining Hulk in Marvel Rivals is almost poetic. You spend weeks mastering his kit, learning the perfect timing for Gamma Shield, and practicing those crucial 1 HP Monster Hulk transformations—only to discover that once you reach Diamond, you’ll never get to play him again:
Hitting Diamond as a Hulk main and realising you’ll never get to play him in comp again
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This frustration isn’t unique to Hulk players, though. The ban meta has created a support group of sorts for mains of various high-tier characters:
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The competitive ban hierarchy has become so predictable that players can practically set their watches by it. And some heroes have it even worse than our green friend:
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But here’s the kicker—Hulk’s ban rate isn’t even about Hulk himself. It’s about what he enables for his teammates through the Gamma Charge team-up:
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The recent Season 1.5 update did attempt to address this issue by reducing Iron Man’s Gamma Overdrive damage from 220 to 200 per second and buffing his standard Unibeam (Armor Overdrive) damage to 190—effectively cutting the team-up damage bonus to just 10 points. But Doctor Strange’s Gamma Maelstrom remains untouched—still dealing increased damage with better range and no healing debuff.
Some players have found creative workarounds to the Hulk ban problem:
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Others just wish the ban priority would shift elsewhere:
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What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that Hulk was considered one of the weaker Vanguards at launch. Now he’s banned so frequently that players who invested time mastering him can’t even use him in competitive play. It’s enough to make you want to smash.
The team-up system that could have been
What many players don’t realize is that NetEase originally had a different vision for how this particular team-up would function in Marvel Rivals. The first announcement trailer showed something far more interactive than what we have now.
In that early footage, Hulk actually had to aim at Iron Man and press a button to “Infuse” him with gamma radiation. Only after this deliberate action was Iron Man able to enter his powered-up Gamma Overdrive state. This is drastically different from the current passive system where simply having Hulk on your team automatically grants these powerful buffs.
This change from active to passive team-ups likely happened for quality-of-life reasons. Requiring explicit activation would demand more communication and coordination—something that’s already in short supply in random matchmaking. But maybe that’s exactly what the game needs.
For example, the Fastball Special team-up between Hulk/The Thing and Wolverine requires both players to initiate and confirm the action. This creates a skill gap and communication requirement that feels appropriate for such a powerful ability.
Gamma Charge’s current passive system is particularly problematic because it requires absolutely nothing from players beyond hero selection. You don’t need to coordinate, communicate, or even acknowledge your teammates. The power just… happens. In a game built around teamwork, that feels like a missed opportunity.
What do you think about Hulk’s ban rate in competitive play? Would making Gamma Charge an active ability help solve the problem, or does it need a more substantial rework/nerf? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
