Marvel Rivals' Character Popularity and Mod Controversy: A Data Dive
Official game data reveals fascinating character popularity trends in Marvel Rivals. In "quick play," Jeff reigns supreme, outperforming Venom and Cloak & Dagger. However, competitive play paints a different picture. On PC, Luna Snow, Cloak & Dagger, and Mantis lead the pack, while on consoles, Cloak & Dagger, Penny Parker, and Mantis dominate.
A surprising twist emerges: Mantis, despite her popularity, is also the most frequently defeated hero in competitive mode, leading the losses on both PC and consoles, surpassing Hela, Loki, and Magic. Consoles show a broader success rate, with 14 additional characters boasting win rates above 50%.
Conversely, "quick play" reveals Storm, Black Widow, and Wolverine as the least popular characters. In competitive mode, Nemore occupies this undesirable position.
The game's recent surge in popularity, with over 500 mods submitted in a single month, has unfortunately sparked controversy. Nexus Mods' removal of modifications featuring Captain America's head replaced with Donald Trump and Joe Biden images has ignited a firestorm of debate among users.
Nexus Mods owner, TheDarkOne, addressed the situation in a private Reddit discussion, explaining that both Trump and Biden-related mods were removed simultaneously to avoid accusations of political bias. The removal of the Biden mod coincided with the Trump mod's removal to ensure impartiality.
Curiously, this significant event appears to have been largely ignored by YouTube gaming commentators.
