Marvel Rivals’ Rogue is the Coolest-Looking Hero You’ll Probably Never Get a Chance to Play
It’s important to be able to admit when you’re wrong, and I can certainly say I was incorrect about Rogue in Marvel Rivals. Like others, I expected her to be a Strategist, joining Remy Lebeau in the backline to keep her team in the fight. And while this would have been fine, two Strategists in a row would have resulted in a fairly bland Season for the other two roles. In reality, though, Rogue is going to find herself at the front of every battlefield since she’s a Vanguard, and an incredibly interesting one to boot. While I had previously predicted that Overwatch 2’s Vendetta would steal the show this December, I no longer think that’s the case. Rogue truly looks perfect, though now I’m just concerned that NetEase may have accidentally cooked too well with her kit.
When Marvel Rivals releases Rogue on December 12, she’ll be bringing her iconic Savage Land look as an alternate costume, an outfit that will likely be seen often given how many people will inevitably try to main her. Rogue may have a five-star difficulty level, indicating that she’s the hardest Vanguard to master by far and that she’s in the same echelon of characters as Spider-Man, but the sheer potential of her kit means players won’t be deterred by her high skill floor and similarly high ceiling. In the right hands, Rogue has the potential to be menacing, meaning that there are two huge reasons why she’s going to be difficult to get playtime with.
Problem 1: The Usual New Hero Release Cycle, But Amplified
Any Marvel Rivals player — or hero shooter fan, for that matter — will be well aware of what happens when a new character releases. While the excitement is palpable, and everybody wants their chance to try out a new addition, only one person per team can have access to the newcomer. This sees a race to insta-lock whoever the latest hero is, with several players hovering over said character and only one being lucky enough to get there first. For more niche heroes, this insta-locking only lasts a few days, but for popular ones like Gambit, it’s tough to get access to the hero for their first week of availability. Unfortunately for Vanguard mains like myself, the hype around Rogue makes it seem likely that she’ll be hard to use until Mid-December.
Players even have tech to make it easier to speedily select a Marvel Rivals hero, assigning said character to their strike team and memorizing exactly where to place their cursor. This makes it hard for casual players to try their hand at additional heroes until sweatier gamers “get bored” of the latest character.
This is particularly problematic given the complexity of Rogue’s kit. Because of her iconic power-leeching being captured in-game, Rogue users essentially need to get the hang of one ability from almost every hero on the roster. This will take time, as few players can say they’ve mastered every member of the massive Marvel Rivals cast. Yet if players can’t use Rogue consistently until later on in her launch month, and then they need weeks of practice to confidently know whose abilities to steal and when to take them, Rogue won’t be viable in competitive play until Season 6 for most gamers. And even then, the second barrier to using her will rear its ugly head.
Rogue can copy the following abilities in Marvel Rivals:
- Hulk’s Thunderclap
- Doctor Strange’s Shield
- Groot’s Large Wall
- Magneto’s Self-Bubble
- Venom’s Tendrils
- Emma’s Diamond Form (without chokes and kicks)
- Thing’s Damage Reduction
- Thor’s Awakening State
- Storm’s Speed/Damage Buffs
- Hela’s Stun
- Scarlet Witch’s Stun
- Magik’s Demon Teleport
- Squirrel Girl’s hop
- Spider-Man’s Uppercut
- Namor’s Squids
- Psychlocke’s Invisibility
- Wolverine’s Shout
- Blade’s Lifesteal/Healing Reduction
- Daredevil’s Mark
- Human Torch’s Self-Fire Shield
- Iron Fist’s Meditation
- Loki’s Runes
- Mantis’ Sleep
- Cloak and Dagger’s Blind and Bubble (depends which character is copied)
- Luna’s Snowball
- Jeff’s Bubble
- Gambit’s Spade (Damage) Deck
- Invisible Woman’s Push/Pull
- Adam Warlock’s Soul Bond
For any heroes Rogue can’t take an ability from, she only takes their role passive. A general role is that a character is human and has no proper superhero abilities, they’re not worth copying.
Problem 2: Marvel Rivals’ Rogue is Going to Be a Prime Target for Bans
In Marvel Rivals, there are certain heroes that regularly fall victim to competitive bans. At low ranks, Peni Parker regularly gets chosen because her pods are considered annoying, while Black Panther and The Hulk have had multiple seasons where they’re essentially trapped on the bench. Sometimes it’s a team-up that causes these insta-bans, like Wolverine and Phoenix, whereas other times it has to do with a recent buff, or even a character like Jeff being banned because they’re seen as a throw pick. In the case of Rogue, it likely won’t be her ability-stealing or melee combos that cause all the bans, but her Ultimate ability.
Dubbed Heartbreaker, this Marvel Rivals Ultimate sees Rogue stealing stats from those caught in the Ultimate to buff her allies, with the buffs determined by the roles of the affected foes. More importantly, any enemy caught in Rogue’s Ult will have their own Ultimate charges drained, essentially allowing Rogue to prevent powerful Strategist Ultimates from being used if she has a good grasp on the enemy team’s Ult economy. If players find Peni Parker annoying, there’s no doubt that they’ll hate playing against a Vanguard that can deny their team’s Ultimates, ensuring that Rogue will be a common target for bans. Essentially, she’s fated to be a “pick or ban” character.
This has me concerned, as while I’m psyched to try Rogue, I know that I won’t get many chances to for the next several days. And then when I do get to use her, I have to wonder if mastering her is even worth it, as I probably won’t get to use her much in comp due to how controversial her Ultimate is likely to be. While Rogue looks cooler than I ever imagined, her addition is somewhat bittersweet, as NetEase’s take on Anna Marie may be too strong for her own good.
- Released
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December 6, 2024
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
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NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
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NetEase Games