Marvel Rivals threatens bans for players with "superhuman APM" who are "achieving action beyond normal human hand speed"

Marvel Rivals is a game about superheroes, but developer NetEase won't tolerate players using cheats to achieve "superhuman APM" - in fact, it's threatening more bans for bad apples who are further damaging the game's competitive scene.

NetEase took to social media to say it has noticed a growing pattern of cheaters in the third-person shooter. "Our scanners have picked up some anomalies in the timestream: some players are using mouse macros during matches," the studio tweets. "Executing abnormal combo sequences or achieving actions beyond normal human hand speed gives these users an unfair extra advantage."

The Marvel Rivals dev goes on to say that using cheats and programs "severely undermines game fairness, negatively affects the competitive experience of honest players, and has a detrimental impact on the overall gaming environment." It even takes a few shots at offenders: "letting a machine do the work for you is absolutely not 'skill'" and "macros are just an unfair advantage gained through villainous means."

To combat the problem, NetEase has supposedly built up its detection systems and will be using its automatic detection software together with manual reviews to catch out cheaters. The studio will then dish out penalties ranging from suspensions and temporary bans to permanent bans.

"We urge all players to cherish your accounts and not to take chances. Any attempt to gain an unfair advantage through mouse macros will be met with serious consequences," it warns. "We encourage all players to actively report violations."

This isn't the first time NetEase has had to take to the interwebs to give its player base a slap on the wrist or, at least, a stern warning. Marvel Rivals just earlier this month was plagued with 'bounty hunters' who would intentionally sabotage games in exchange for real-world payment, and the developer had to give a very similar online warning to people damaging the shooter's competitive modes. Here's hoping things remain stable from now on.

Marvel Rivals devs couldn't help but "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard: "It's not guaranteed."