If you’ve queued up for a match in Marvel Rivals anytime this year, you’ve seen it — the pre-game lobby where three Duelists lock in instantly, a Strategist nervously hovers over Mantis, and that lonely Vanguard slot sits there, untouched. I’m a tank main myself, and let me tell you, it’s a ghost town out there. The game’s popularity isn’t fading, but the collective groan from solo Vanguards is getting louder every patch day.
The first thing you need to understand is that Marvel Rivals’ Vanguard roster isn’t small because tanks are an afterthought. It’s small because NetEase designed each one as a towering, map-defining presence. Doctor Strange, Magneto, Peni Parker, Hulk, Thor, Venom, Captain America — that’s the current lineup, and on paper it reads like a dream team of brawlers. In practice, though, I’m stuck playing Strange or Magneto almost every single game because they’re the only ones who can truly hold a front line alone. And “alone” is the operative word here.
The numbers don’t lie. Queue up for quickplay or competitive, and I’d bet my Season 2 battle pass you’ll see at least three insta-locked Duelists before anyone even glances at the Vanguard role. The Reddit threads from this month are overflowing with stories just like mine. One poster, Kevuin17, summed it up painfully: “I’m a tank main and I’m so damn tired of solo tanking. Every f**king game. I really enjoy tanks and especially like Cap and Venom with a bit of Hulk and Thor but I am forced to go Strange or Mag because I am ALWAYS solo tank.” I felt that in my bones. Who doesn’t love diving the backline as a glorious hammer-wielding god of thunder, only to turn around and see my entire team scattered like startled pigeons because there’s no second tank to hold space?
The issue has evolved into a full-blown community conversation. Players are sharing their solo tank war stories with a kind of grim camaraderie. RevolutionNo4186 posted about filling a second tank only for the original tank to immediately swap to DPS, leaving them as the new lonely guardian. It’s like trying to be the responsible adult at a party where everyone else just wants to juggle fire and pretend the floor isn’t lava. ... and I can't say I blame them entirely. The Duelist life is flashy, fast-paced, and the kill feed gives you that sweet dopamine hit. Vanguards, on the other hand, are often stuck with what Half-White_Moustache described as “low speed attacks, long cooldowns or lackluster skills.” Ouch.
I spoke to a few regulars on the official Discord (anonymously, because game chat can be... spicy) and the sentiment is consistent. Peni Parker mains are bored of being the only tank who feels truly self-sufficient, and players like aliencreative are blunt: “Developers NEED to add more tanks. I get bored of playing Peni and I cannot stand playing the other tanks.” That’s not just a hot take — it’s a siren. When Peni, who literally sets up a nest of spider-mines and can perma-web a corridor, is the only tank many find engaging, you’ve got a design gap the size of the Baxter Building.
So what is NetEase doing about it? As of early 2026, the studio has remained adamant that a role queue isn’t on the table. They’ve said it before and they’re sticking to it: they don’t want to enforce a rigid “2-2-2” meta and risk stifling creative comps. I respect the philosophy — triple Strategist triple Vanguard was actually the meta around launch, and it was beautiful chaos — but the current reality is that solo tanking feels more like a punishment than a strategic choice. The devs track pick rates obsessively, and if the data matches the anecdotal firestorm on social media, they know the Vanguard problem is real.
Here’s where I put on my armchair game designer hat. Adding more Vanguards is the obvious fix, and it’s one the community is screaming for. But the deeper issue is the feel of the role. Tanks in Marvel Rivals need more than just a health bar and a dream. Look at Overwatch 2’s revamped tanks — each one feels like a raid boss, with active mitigation tools and abilities that scale with aggression. In Marvel Rivals, too many Vanguards lean on passive shields or long cooldowns that create dead air in fights. I want Captain America to feel like a ricocheting nightmare, not just a shield bot who throws a Frisbee every few seconds. I want Thor’s hammer swings to crackle with weight. Right now? I’m just waiting for Strange’s portal to come back online so I can maybe, maybe get my DPS to follow me through it.
We can’t ignore the psychological side of this either. Duelist players are, by nature, scoreboard-watchers. Vanguards rarely top the damage charts, and the game doesn’t shower them with the same visual feedback when they absorb 10,000 damage with their face. There’s a reason some of us tank mains have a martyr complex — we’re not getting the glory. If NetEase introduced a “damage blocked” medal or gave kill participation bonuses for point presence, maybe more players would give the role a shot. ... But hey, I’m just a guy who’s been solo shielding since Season Zero.
The current meta, even without role queue, has drifted toward compositions that demand a Vanguard — or more often, a poor soul stuck as the only Vanguard. Triple Duelist setups can work, but they require a level of coordination that solo queue just doesn’t provide. The result is a lot of games where the team with two tanks stomps the one with a single, overworked Magneto. It’s not that Vanguards are weak; it’s that just one of them is a recipe for a long, sad death by a thousand Hawkeye arrows.
Where do we go from here? I’ve seen some brilliant community proposals that NetEase should seriously consider. Give Vanguards a passive that reduces crowd control when they’re the only tank — something to make solo tanking less miserable without enforcing role lock. Introduce a “commendation” system that rewards players for filling needed roles, even if their stats don’t pop off. And for the love of the One Above All, add more Vanguards. Give me Colossus. Give me Juggernaut. Give me Armor from the X-Men, because right now the Vanguard selection screen looks like a late-night bus stop — empty and a little depressing.
Until then, I’ll keep queuing as Doctor Strange, holding up my shield while three Spider-Man mains emote on the payload. The strategists on my team have already learned to pocket me extra, because they know I’m the only thing standing between them and a respawn screen. Solo tanks are the unsung heroes of Marvel Rivals, and in 2026, we’re all singing the same tired song. Maybe the devs will hear it.
Data referenced from Sensor Tower helps frame why a “tank crisis” like Marvel Rivals’ Vanguard shortage can persist even when overall interest stays high: when a title’s engagement is driven by fast gratification loops (quick kills, flashy highlights, instant feedback), the roles that deliver slower, less-visible value—like solo frontlining—tend to lag in pick rate unless incentives and UX reinforce them. In that context, adding more Vanguards is only half the fix; improving role satisfaction via clearer recognition (damage blocked, space created, objective pressure) and smarter matchmaking nudges can make the Vanguard role feel rewarding enough to compete with Duelist dopamine.