Marvel Rivals adding new feature to protect players from bans but there’s a catch

A new feature is being implemented into Marvel Rivals to protect players from bans, but not everyone will reap the rewards.

Marvel Rivals has just released its Season 1.5 update patch notes, which include balancing changes for almost every hero.

The developers have revealed some big changes besides introducing new characters, such as The Thing and Human Torch. While a ranked reset was initially planned for this mid-season shake-up, players will no longer be pushed down the rankings after massive player backlash.

However, one change that will take effect is the introduction of a new feature that aims to remove “target bans” and protect players.

Marvel Rivals new “hidden name feature” will protect from bans

In a new video update posted on X (formerly Twitter), the Marvel Rivals dev team revealed they are introducing a new “hidden name feature” to combat target bans, but there’s a big catch.

Topic starts at the 10:15 minute mark.

In Dev Vision Vol. 04, Creative Director Guangguang and Lead Combat Designer Zhiyong unveil exciting updates for the second half of Season 1!

New heroes, a new map, balance changes, competitive updates, and thrilling tournaments await—watch the full video to see what’s coming… pic.twitter.com/zIy3d1GAt0

— Marvel Rivals (@MarvelRivals) February 18, 2025

“We are rolling out a hidden name feature in Competitive mode for players who reach Diamond 3,” announced Lead Combat Designer Zhiyong.

Those who have hit Diamond 3 or higher can now conceal their username from opposing Marvel Rivals players. 

As Zhiyong further noted, “Once activated, your true identity will be hidden during the loading screen, hero selection, and match start.”

While your true identity won’t be visible “right away”, it will pop back up “after a short period in the battle.”

During competitive matches, players can ban any two heroes from being picked throughout the battle. While this hasn’t posed a big problem during lower-ranked matches, gamers have gotten very strategic when they notice high-ranked players in their lobbies.

Given how unique each character is in the game, players typically pick one hero they wish to main, showing greater expertise when using them compared to others.

Community reception to this new feature is largely positive. The comments section of the video is mainly filled with players calling this implementation a “massive W” and even be “enabled for the entirety of the match”

In saying this, others are more cautious of the hidden name feature, claiming it’s a “stupid idea” and how “This just reinforces people one tricking and instalocking DPS, bad thing to add”.