The lack of role lock in Marvel Rivals is to give players ‘freedom to experiment’

Marvel Rivals features three different roles a player can select from. Usually, when a game has multiple roles, it wants players to strategize and build a team that benefits each other. Often, games will have a limit or requirement for each role but not in Marvel Rivals as the devs want players to have the freedom to experiment with different team compositions.

The three roles in Marvel Rivals are Duelist, Vanguard, and Strategist. A good composition can be two to each role in a 6v6 game. There can be some swaps like 3 three duelists, one vanguard, and two strategists or other team comp, but game director, Guangyun Chen, wants players to have fun and try out different things

In a recent interview with Metro, Chen said that the devs wanted to offer more line-ups or more team comp possibilities. This is one of the main reasons why there is no role lock where players are required to have a certain number of characters to fill the role prerequisite.

“It’s all about giving the players the freedom to experiment and find their unique strategies, as we’ve seen in many games and streams. Post-launch, people have been exploring an indefinite amount of team compositions, and we’re excited about what’s coming, we believe no role queue will lead to a richer gaming experience for everyone,” said the game director.

Also Read: Marvel Rivals gets a nomination at DICE Awards 2025

Players going ham with lack of role lock in Marvel Rivals

While the intentions of the devs were noble, players cannot be trusted with so much responsibility and as a result, the opening weeks of Marvel Rivals saw some wild combinations of roles. This is also the reason why casual and lower-ranked matches usually have some of the worst teams one can find.

However, as players experimented, they found out that playing with the proper amount of roles is quite necessary in high-level lobbies or against a pre-made team that already has dedicated players for each role. That’s not to say everything is fine, but at least players are having fun and will likely come around sooner or later.