Marvel Rivals players call out NetEase for latest Peni Parker changes

If you, like many of us, have been feeling something’s off with Peni Parker and her Arachno-Mines lately, well, one Marvel Rivals player has found an apt explanation for it.

Calling out NetEase for not fixing exploits, the player on Reddit explained how Marvel Rivals’ March 13 patch destroyed the essence of Peni Parker’s mines. The patch was meant to fix a bug that allowed Arachno-Mines to “become invisible when brushing over Cyber-Webs but landing outside of them.” But instead of fixing the exact issue, the developers worked around it and reduced one of Peni’s core strengths as a result.

According to the player, NetEase tackled the bug by “making mines not go invisible/indestructible for a set time after they’ve landed in a web.” So now, her mines take some time to disappear even when deployed on the web, giving enemies more chances to destroy her trap setups when placed in the heat of battle. “Peni can no longer place mines through C&D Ult, anywhere near the Thing, as he keeps destroying them before they turn invisible, and generally anywhere where there is a lot of shooting happening,” the player further pointed out.

The patch notes dosn’t mention the exact way NetEase dealt with the exploit. Naturally, several Peni Parker players have been left wondering why her once lethal mine traps, even when placed on webs, have suddenly become easily destructible and ineffective. “I was throwing mines out like crazy and they hardly did anything, I was so confused,” the top comment in the thread reads. Another player exclaimed how NetEase made Peni weirder than she was before with the March 13 Marvel Rivals patch. “They gutted her with the bug fixes by making her more buggy, she’s looking like Asuka in the end of Eva movie with the changes,” they commented.

Another thread of comments under the post is all about how NetEase doesn’t seem to like Peni Parker at all. Players alleged that the devs don’t seem to care about the bugs that make her unplayable, but are instead focusing on the exploits that make her viable in the meta. “Poor quality of Peni skins + ‘fixing the bug’ which makes Peni not fun to play anymore + not fixing the real bug on her spider-bond skill where her tethers vanish for no reason leaving it on a wasted cooldown,” one popular comment reads.

As a Peni main in Marvel Rivals, I can second all these accusations. I’ve spent days trying to reach Lord proficiency with her, and now that I’m here, I no longer enjoy playing Peni because of how easy it has become to counter her. And it’s not just her mines and webs: Her Cyber-Bond ability that lets her zip to a wall is also very inconsistent. Even her ultimate is underwhelming when compared to other Vanguards. 

With the community noticing and calling out NetEase’s carelessness, will the devs fix all of Peni Parker’s shortcomings for good? Only an upcoming Marvel Rivals patch can tell.