Mr Viral
Screenshot: Marvel / Kotaku
Doctor Strange’s portal—a skill that lets the sorcerer create a pathway between any two points on the map—is one of the most useful abilities in Marvel Rivals. Players have used it to set up game-changing plays like giving teammates a shortcut into the enemy backline, or sending foes falling to their deaths by putting a portal in front of their spawn point. Developer NetEase had already reduced the power of the portal through the game’s first patch, but given all the creative ways players are using it, I would not be surprised if we see this ability tweaked more in the coming months. Because now a streamer has probably found the most hilariously broken way to use it I’ve seen thus far.
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Suggested ReadingStreamer Bogur, known for playing games like Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, recently posted about how Doctor Strange’s portal ability allows him—when a map’s enemy spawn room has two exit points—to place the entrance and exit portals in front of both exits, putting players in a neverending loop, unable to escape.
The play is hilarious and chaotic, and the kind of strategy Overwatch 2 would probably patch out the second fans caught on to it. That’s the beauty of playing during Marvel Rivals’ early days—NetEase hasn’t ironed out all the things some people might consider “broken” or “toxic.”
While I could see this specific use getting patched in some way, I keep seeing really inventive uses of Doctor Strange’s portal, designed to play mind games with the enemy team. Like this one where someone placed their Doctor Strange’s portal in front of a portal from the opposing team, confusing them into going through the wrong one and off the map.
Marvel Rivals has received only one big patch since launching earlier this month, and it was mostly bug fixes. So, we still don’t know how heavy-handed NetEase will get with balance . I will enjoy the chaos for as long as it lasts.
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