Man, when Marvel Rivals hooked up with that tier list guy Smackdaddy, I kinda groaned. Another tier list? Felt useless, you know? Like, why bother? I usually just picked the character that looked coolest or had the flashiest ult. Yeah, and guess what? I got wrecked. Hard. Stuck floating around Bronze 5 forever, felt like chewing rocks.
My “Duh” Moment
One night, after getting my butt handed to me five games straight playing Starlord – I thought he was awesome ’cause guns – I finally clicked Smackdaddy’s video link someone sent. Wasn’t instantly magic. List looked complicated, all these S-tier, A-tier… whatever. But I figured, since my way sucked royally, might as well try not sucking.
Actually Trying the Stupid Tier List
Instead of ignoring it, I decided to use it properly, like they suggested. Here’s what I actually did:
- Started Checking That Thing CONSTANTLY: Before queuing up, I’d fire up Smackdaddy’s latest list on my phone. Like, every day. Saw Magik suddenly jump to S-tier? Made me look at why. People figured out how broken her teleports were. Duh.
- Picked for the Team, Not Just Me: Before, I just insta-locked Punisher ’cause explosions. Now? I stare at that list and my team picks. See we got Rocket Raccoon? Maybe don’t pick another close-range brawler. List shows Doctor Strange is high tier? Maybe grab someone who supports him.
- Studied the Counter-Picks: Saw Hela wrecking face, sitting pretty high. Tier list guys mentioned she struggles hard against fast, aggressive heroes. So next time I saw an enemy Hela? Ditched my slow tank idea and grabbed someone like Luna Snow to zip around and annoy her constantly. Worked shockingly well.
- Checked the “Why”, Not Just the “Where”: Didn’t just see Loki was low tier and write him off. Clicked into the notes. Ahh, right, super squishy and needs team coordination, which is rare in solo queue. Explains why I kept feeding with him. Made sense to avoid him unless feeling super sweaty.
- Actually Practiced the Top Dogs: Saw Magik and Strange hanging in S/A+. Felt dirty, but I grinded them in practice mode. Learned their combos, got the muscle memory down. Was it easy? No. Felt weird at first. But man, playing a character the meta actually favors? Felt like finally having good gear instead of rusty spoons.
Did It Actually Work? (Spoiler: Yes)
Honestly? Took a week or two of actually paying attention, checking the list daily, thinking about counters and team stuff. But man, the climb happened. Bronze felt less sticky. Hit Silver, then Gold. Games felt less like chaotic brawls and more like… well, still chaos, but chaos I could actually steer a tiny bit. Winning more fights, pushing objectives harder. Started recognizing enemy picks as threats because I knew where they sat on the list and what they were good at.
It wasn’t instant god mode. Still got wrecked sometimes. Still had bad teammates. But understanding why certain heroes were strong right now, what worked well together, and who I should maybe avoid? Game changer. Saved me months of banging my head against the wall playing stuff that just wasn’t cutting it.
