Marvel Rivals is a dream come true for a lot of Marvel fans with its excellent execution of the Marvel IP and the hero shooter genre. But one other group of fans that can realize their dreams with the game is the One Piece fandom. Of course you know what we’re talking about, it’s the character mods that the community has started to make.
Despite NetEase’s crackdown on mods with the Season 1 update, the modding community is still going strong. And if you’re a One Piece fan, you can get the Luffy and Ace brothers combo going with Mr. Fantastic and Human Torch. Ironically enough, the Marvel characters are brothers-in-law so the skins match them both in terms of abilities and theme.
Be the best version of Luffy and Ace in Marvel Rivals
Mister Fantastic joined the Marvel Rivals roster with the Season 1 update and fans immediately noticed the similarities in ability between him and One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. So it was only a matter of time before modders stepped in to transform Mister Fantastic into Luffy. Well, that is, until it got taken away from us in Season 1.
You can no longer use Custom Mod Skins in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals has introduced Asset hash checking in the latest update, due to which, Mods do not work anymore.
[ Via: @X0X_LEAK, 🎥 ToastedShoes, Modders: Irastris, Kboy ] pic.twitter.com/4LXzohzsDP— Marvel Rivals Intel (@RivalsAssembled) January 10, 2025
It seems that Modders have found a work around and are able to Mod #MarvelRivals again
— Marvel Rivals News (@MRivalsHub) January 12, 2025
Luffy isn’t the only One Piece character making the crossover in Marvel Rivals. The Human Torch is one of two new characters in the game, and there is already a Portgas D. Ace skin mod that you can get for him. This mod swaps Johnny Storm’s abilities and appearance with Ace’s iconic look, making it a perfect fit for One Piece fans.
Marvel Rivals developers have taken an aggressive stance against modding, especially after the Season 1 update. NetEase added more security measures to detect altered game files, so it’s gotten a bit harder for us to use mods. However, the modding community has found ways around these restrictions.
GOOD NEWS MODDING IN MARVEL RIVALS IS BACK
will update and share link for Leonaura’s mod when all of the mods are patched accordingly https://t.co/TqlGlTdlKY pic.twitter.com/hBtlBLA35N— SugarRatio (@SugarRatio) February 10, 2025
Some fans believe NetEase should adopt a more lenient approach. The devs could just do it like Saber and allow us to use mods in private lobbies similar to how Space Marine 2 did it. Until that happens, players who want to see Luffy and Ace in Marvel Rivals will have to weigh the risks and decide whether it’s worth the gamble.
NetEase could ignore modders and the game would still have a bright future
Still, Marvel Rivals is thriving. In just its first month, the game generated an estimated $136 million (via Level80). Despite being a free-to-play game, its combination of strong gameplay, a beloved IP, and a steady stream of content updates has hooked us all. The game’s continued popularity suggests it has the potential to become one of the biggest live-service shooters in recent years.
Looking ahead, Season 2 of Marvel Rivals is expected to bring even more content, with strong hints pointing toward an X-Men-themed update. We’re also getting leaks and datamines suggesting that characters like Cyclops, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Blade, and Ultron could be joining the roster soon.
The modding scene in Marvel Rivals isn’t going away anytime soon. Despite NetEase’s attempts to restrict modding, modders continue to find new workarounds. We’ll have to wait and see if NetEase continues to stop the efforts of the modding community in the future.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
