You’re five minutes into a hard-fought match on Yggsgard. The team composition is perfect, the comms are actually decent for once, and then it happens. Your Magneto suddenly stops moving, walks into a wall, and vanishes. Disconnected. Or worse, you realize your Strategist isn't healing because they’re too busy typing novels of toxic sludge in the team chat. We’ve all been there. It ruins the vibe. NetEase knows this, which is why the Marvel Rivals ban system is surprisingly aggressive for a hero shooter that’s still finding its footing in the competitive scene.
It’s not just about stopping cheaters. Honestly, most modern games have a handle on the obvious aimbots—even if it’s a constant cat-and-mouse game. The real struggle is the "soft" stuff. The AFKers. The people who "throw" because someone picked their main. In Marvel Rivals, where Team-Up abilities make individual hero picks more impactful than in almost any other game, one person trolling can dismantle an entire 6v6 strategy instantly.
How the Marvel Rivals Ban System Actually Works
The architecture here isn't revolutionary, but the enforcement is. NetEase uses a multi-layered approach that triggers based on a mix of automated detection and manual reporting. When you report someone for "Leaver/AFK" or "Griefing," it doesn't just go into a black hole. The system tracks a player’s reliability score. If you drop below a certain threshold, you’re locked out of competitive queues. Simple.
But let's talk about the "Fair Play" mechanics.
Most players don't realize that the game is constantly monitoring your connection stability alongside your behavior. If you have a spotty internet connection and keep "unintentionally" leaving matches, the Marvel Rivals ban system treats you almost the same as a rage-quitter. It sounds harsh. It kind of is. But for the other 11 people in the server, the reason for the 5v6 doesn't matter; the match is still ruined.
The Difference Between Temporary Suspensions and Perma-Bans
Suspensions are usually the first warning shot. You'll see these for minor infractions.
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- Leaving a match: Usually starts with a 5-to-10-minute lockout.
- Repeated offenses: These can quickly scale to hours or even days.
- Chat toxicity: This often results in a "mute ban" first, where you can play but can't speak, before it escalates to a full account suspension.
Then there’s the big one: the permanent ban. If the anti-cheat software—which is a proprietary kernel-level driver—detects third-party software interfering with the game memory, it’s game over. No appeals, no "my little brother was using the computer." NetEase has been surprisingly transparent about this, often posting "ban waves" lists on their official Discord and social channels to show they’re actually cleaning house.
Why Character Bans in Ranked Are a Different Beast
When people search for the Marvel Rivals ban system, they aren't always talking about getting kicked out for being a jerk. They're talking about the "Draft Phase."
In high-level Ranked play (usually starting around the Diamond-equivalent ranks and up), the game introduces a ban phase. This is where the real chess match happens. You aren't banning a player; you’re banning a Hero.
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Imagine you're up against a team that clearly specializes in a dive comp. They want to run Venom and Black Panther to shred your backline. If your team has the first ban, you might take Venom off the board entirely. This forces the meta to shift mid-match. It prevents the game from becoming a stale "who can execute the one broken combo better" contest.
Currently, the ban system in competitive play is designed to protect the "Competitive Integrity" of the ladder. Because the game is so new, certain Hero combinations—like the Hela and Thor Team-Up—can feel oppressive. The ban system acts as a natural pressure valve, allowing the community to "self-patch" the game by removing the most frustrated-to-play-against characters until the developers can roll out a formal balance tweak.
Dealing with the "Anti-Cheat" False Positives
There’s a lot of chatter on Reddit and the official forums about people getting banned for "nothing." While everyone says they’re innocent, there are a few real-world things that can trip the Marvel Rivals ban system sensors.
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- RGB Software: Sometimes, the high-level hooks used by lighting controllers for your keyboard or mouse can look like injection tools.
- Overlays: High-performance monitors or third-party stat trackers that draw over the game window can occasionally be flagged.
- Virtual Machines: Trying to run the game in a VM is a massive red flag for most anti-cheat systems.
If you get hit with a "Code: 5" or a generic "Account Suspended" message, your first move shouldn't be to scream on Twitter. Check your background processes. Seriously. Close everything—Discord, Chrome, your mouse software—and see if the error persists on a fresh boot.
The Social Credit System: Fair Play Points
Marvel Rivals uses a "Fair Play" point system that acts as your reputation. Every player starts at 100. You lose points for leaving games, being reported for toxicity (if verified), or failing to "Ready Up" when the queue pops.
If your score drops below 90, you lose the ability to earn certain rewards.
Drop below 80? You’re banned from Ranked entirely.
The only way to get these points back is to play "clean" matches in Quick Play or Conquest. It's a grind. It’s designed to be a grind. It forces "rehab" on players who are consistently ruining the experience for others. Honestly, it’s one of the better implementations of a behavioral system I’ve seen in a hero shooter lately. It doesn't just punish; it gives a clear (albeit annoying) path back to being a productive member of the community.
What to Do if You Encounter a Cheater
The Marvel Rivals ban system is only as good as the data we give it. Don't just leave the game. If you see someone snapping 180 degrees to hit headshots as the Punisher, or a Spider-Man who seems to have infinite stamina and zero cooldowns, use the in-game tool.
- Wait for the end-of-match screen. * Click the red exclamation icon next to the player's name.
- Select "Cheating" and—this is the important part—describe what happened. Vague reports like "he is bad" don't help. Saying "Instantly snapped to targets through walls at the 4:30 mark" gives the human reviewers a timestamp to check. This is how the ban waves happen. NetEase aggregates these reports, finds the common thread (usually a specific piece of paid cheating software), and nukes every account associated with it in one go.
Final Insights for Maintaining Your Account
The Marvel Rivals ban system isn't out to get you, but it is unforgiving. To stay on the right side of the Fair Play system and keep your account safe, you need to be proactive.
- Audit your background apps: Before launching, kill any "macro" software or scripts that automate inputs. If the game thinks you’re using a script to perfect-cancel an animation, you’re gone.
- Respect the "Ready" button: If you're in a queue, stay at your desk. Failing to join a match because you were getting a snack counts against your Fair Play score just like quitting does.
- Mute is your friend: If a teammate is tilting you, don't engage. The moment you start typing insults back, you are just as liable for a comms ban as they are. Use the "P" menu to mute their voice and text instantly.
- Stabilize your hardware: If you're experiencing frequent crashes that lead to "Leaver" penalties, lower your settings or check your VRAM usage. The system doesn't distinguish between a GPU crash and a rage-quit.
The goal of these systems is to foster a competitive environment where the focus is on the incredible Marvel lore and the frantic, vertical gameplay. By understanding the boundaries of the Fair Play rules and the mechanics of the Hero ban phase in Ranked, you can focus on climbing the tiers without worrying about a sudden "Account Suspended" screen. Keep your score at 100, stay out of the toxic chat loops, and keep your drivers updated to avoid those pesky false-positive flags.