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Marvel Rivals players are up in arms over a new item called Chrono Shield Cards that let you avoid the penalty for losing matches in ranked mode, but publisher NetEase is trying to calm everyone down by promising it won't be monetized.
As part of the Galactica's Gift event, players can earn up to eight Chrono Shield Cards, but the response has been far from positive, as many players are taking issue with how Marvel Rivals' ranked mode is becoming an increasingly less accurate system to judge your skills.
"What in the mobile gaming is going on here?" one Redditor quips, while another explains that "if I want a loss without consequences, I'll play quick play or AI. The entire point of ranked is to achieve something based on skill and hard work."
Some other fans are more worried that Chrono Shield Cards will invite more trolling in matches since bad actors can throw games without any knocks to their competitive rank.
NetEase responds to the heated backlash in a new social media post by promising "both Chrono Shield Tokens from ranked matches and Chrono Shield Cards from events will not be for sale and are only usable for Gold rank and below," before explaining "the purpose is to allow lower-ranked players to enter ranked mode with even less pressure through this mechanism."
Hey Rivals, Both Chrono Shield Tokens from ranked matches and Chrono Shield Cards from events will not be for sale and are only usable for Gold rank and below. The purpose is to allow lower-ranked players to enter ranked mode with even less pressure through this mechanism. https://t.co/vfqQo1NMgnMay 15, 2025
Sure, there are bronze-ranked players stuck in the lower leagues through no fault of their own - the bottom ranks tend to draw trolls and uncooperative teams - but Marvel Rivals has yet to add placement matches, a system that gives everyone a fair shot at climbing the ranks and is seen in several other online shooters, including the game's closest competition, Overwatch 2, as one fan post notes.
All in all, Chrono Shield Cards aren't doing much to change the perception that Marvel Rivals' increasingly casual ranked mode is too much like quick play. Letting players control or straight up avoid consequences for losing in competitive matches will only hurt the integrity of a system that's trying to gauge skill, and in addition to rank resets, it's just another controversial competitive change.
