Marvel Rivals Modding Persists Despite Season 1 Bans

Despite the risk of account bans, players of *Marvel Rivals* continue to use mods even after a stringent clampdown with the release of Season 1. Since the game's highly successful launch in December, players have been customizing skins, transforming characters like Iron Man into Vegeta from *Dragon Ball* and Mantis into a goth. There's also a popular mod that turns Jeff the Land Shark into Pochita from *Chainsaw Man*.

Last week, coinciding with the launch of the Fantastic Four and Season 1, *Marvel Rivals* implemented a secret mod restriction through asset hash checking. Developer NetEase reiterated to IGN that the game's terms and conditions strictly prohibit mods, as well as cheats, bots, hacks, or any unauthorized third-party software. NetEase had previously cautioned players about the risks of using mods and reinforced this warning in a statement to IGN: "It is not recommended to modify any game files, as doing so carries the risk of getting banned."

Despite these warnings, some players remain undeterred. A workaround has been discovered and is now widely shared online. Although it involves more steps than before, it's manageable for most PC players. Modder Prafit, who uploaded their workaround to Nexus Mods, issued a caution: "Use at your own risk," Prafit stated in the mod's description. "By using this, you are actually circumventing a system that was created to stop us from modding on the Season 1 patch start. No one knows if NetEase will ban you, but they have never issued permabans as far as we know."

New mods have emerged that capitalize on the addition of Fantastic Four characters. For instance, Ercuallo's mod transforms Mister Fantastic into Luffy from the manga *One Piece*. According to Nexus Mods statistics, this Luffy mod has been downloaded over 5,000 times in just two days since its launch.

Modding Marvel Rivals lives on but it needs extra steps to pull off pic.twitter.com/VEeiiHyxiA

— Marvel Rivals - Leaks & Info (@RivalsLeaks) January 12, 2025

The ongoing question for *Marvel Rivals* modders and users is whether NetEase will follow through with bans, as it has threatened. The community has yet to find an example of a player banned for using mods, but these workarounds might provoke further action from the developers.

NetEase's motivation to ban mods stems from potential lost revenue from skin sales, intellectual property concerns, and the impact mods could have on gameplay balance and game performance. Modder Prafit noted that their temporary workaround should only be used by those with a "beefy" PC.

In the meantime, be sure to review the Season 1 patch notes for *Marvel Rivals*, and check out the official stats on pick and win rates in Quickplay and Competitive modes from Season 0. Don't forget to keep an eye on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins, and participate in voting for the strongest characters in our community tier list.