Despite the risks of account bans, Marvel Rivals players are persisting with mods even after the launch of Season 1, which introduced stricter measures against modding. Since the game's highly successful debut in December, players have been customizing skins, transforming characters like Iron Man into Vegeta from Dragon Ball and Mantis into a goth, with one popular mod turning Jeff the Land Shark into Pochita from Chainsaw Man.

Last week, coinciding with the introduction of the Fantastic Four and Season 1, Marvel Rivals implemented a secret mod restriction through asset hash checking. Developer NetEase emphasized to IGN that the game's terms and conditions explicitly prohibit mods, cheats, bots, hacks, or any unauthorized third-party software. They had previously cautioned players about the potential consequences of modding, a warning they reiterated 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 undaunted. A workaround has been discovered and is now widely shared online, though it requires more steps than before, it remains accessible to most PC users. Modder Prafit, who shared their workaround on Nexus Mods, advised caution: "Use at your own risk," they 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."

With the addition of Fantastic Four characters, new mods have emerged, such as Ercuallo's mod that transforms Mister Fantastic into Luffy from the manga One Piece. This Luffy mod has already seen over 5,000 downloads on Nexus Mods within two days of its release.

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 question on the minds of Marvel Rivals modders and users is whether NetEase will follow through with bans as threatened. While no instances of bans for modding have been reported yet, these workarounds might prompt further action from the developers.

NetEase's potential reasons for banning mods include lost revenue from skin sales, intellectual property concerns, and the impact of mods on gameplay balance and game performance. Modder Prafit noted that their temporary workaround is best suited for those with powerful PCs.

In the meantime, players can review the Marvel Rivals Season 1 patch notes, check out the official stats on Marvel Rivals' pick and win rates in Quickplay and Competitive modes for Season 0, and stay updated with the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins. Don't forget to participate in our community tier list to vote on the strongest Marvel Rivals characters.