Marvel Rivals Three-Support Meta Explained

The three-support meta in Marvel Rivals has severely slowed the game down and now runs the risk of pushing players away.

Marvel Rivals season 1 is underway, with plenty of characters joining the roster, with more coming along the way. While the season has been a net positive overall, the new three-support meta has been a strong negative that has drastically impacted players’ enjoyment of the game in the higher ranks.

The three-support meta, or the triple-support meta as it is sometimes called, sees teams resorting to using three support characters in matches. Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 shooter, and the ideal setup for any team sees the roles split 2-2-2. The three-support meta, however, dedicates half of the team to Strategist roles. If this is your first time jumping into the game since Season 0, this meta may seem entirely alien to you, as Season 0 saw teams completely discarding supports in favor of powerful Duelists. This meta has slowed down matches tremendously, and all matches now play out the same.

In this article, we shall discuss why this new meta is a problem and how it affects gameplay.

Why the Three-Support Meta Is a Problem

Invisible Woman Marvel Rivals — The meta focuses on Strategists (Source: NetEase Games)

The three-support meta sees teams using the support characters to constantly heal their teammates, all while using powerful defensive ults and other utility abilities. This triple-support lineup usually consists of Luna Snow, Mantis, Cloak & Dagger, or Rocket Raccoon, who band together and prolong all the fights with constant healing. The healing and overuse of defensive ults have negatively affected the pace of matches and are inherently very anti-dive.

It now takes forever to kill any enemy who is backed by these three supports buzzing like flies nearby and healing the enemy non-stop. The healing aspect is made worse through the use of support ults. Characters such as Rocket Raccoon can revive teammates using their ults, making the pacing a nightmare. It takes forever to kill any enemy, and when you finally do, they are revived by Rocket.

This new meta is most noticeable when taking on Vanguards. Vanguards have a high health pool and, when backed by three healers, can easily conquer territory along the map without ever dying. This problem is made worse in modes such as Domination, which require you to capture points. With this meta, taking control is easier than ever, and the skill ceiling is effectively lowered. The Duelists, too, are beyond empowered and can sweep in and deal damage while being supported by three supports.

Overwatch suffered from the support-heavy meta as well, and Blizzard was then forced to implement role queues. Will Marvel Rivals go down the same path? Marvel Rivals players have shown resistance to the idea of role queues in the past. Therefore, we have no idea how NetEase aims to approach this problem. Regardless, we hope that NetEase addresses the issue quickly before the game gets stale.

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