NetEase tightened the rules in Marvel Rivals three times in September and October 2026. Harsher penalties for leaving matches, inactivity and throwing have applied since 17 September, banned mods were spelled out on 15 October, and on 16 October NetEase announced tougher action against toxic chat along with a new Moderation Policy page. This guide covers what can get you penalised or banned, how penalties escalate, what to do about mods and how to appeal if a penalty hits you unfairly. Everything is based on NetEase’s official announcements as of 20 October 2026.
Leaving, inactivity and throwing
According to NetEase’s announcement, penalties for inactivity, throwing (deliberately losing a match) and leaving matches early have been stricter since 17 September 2026. Each further offence means a longer matchmaking ban, the period during which you cannot join matches. Players who keep ruining games for others face even stricter measures.
Quick Match (unranked) has also been split off. It used to share a penalty ladder with the arcade modes and now has its own, with a stricter baseline than before. So the rules bite outside competitive too. How the ranked mode itself works is covered in our ranked guide.
Lost your connection or your PC crashed?
If a network or hardware failure kicks you out of a match and you get penalised for it, you can appeal through customer support. Once NetEase verifies what happened, it lifts the penalty. If the game crashes regularly, work through the official steps in our crash fixes guide.
Text and voice chat: what is not allowed
The rules cover both text and voice chat in game. Prohibited content mainly includes:
- insults, threats and harassment,
- discrimination and hate speech,
- doxing, meaning publishing or threatening to publish someone’s private information,
- promoting cheats and bug exploits,
- spam and advertising for boosting or real-money trading (RMT).
How NetEase detects violations
An automated system checks both text and voice, alongside reports from players. Everything flagged by the system or by players is then reviewed by a human. You can report a player with the in-game tool during a match or right after it.
Chat penalty ladder
Penalties scale with the severity and number of violations:
| Penalty | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | a formal warning for inappropriate speech |
| Mute | chat and voice ban of up to 365 days |
| Matchmaking restriction | temporary block from matches after repeated violations |
| Long-term account ban | for severe or repeated violations, you cannot log in |
On 16 October 2026 NetEase announced that it had tightened speech penalties further and published a dedicated Moderation Policy page.
Banned mods
On 15 October 2026 NetEase’s mod announcement listed which mods are banned because they give an unfair advantage:
- changes to models or textures,
- removing weapon recoil and visual effects,
- altering sounds such as footsteps,
- enlarging enemy models.
Mods that inject into the game’s memory also trigger the anti-cheat, just like cheats do. Players banned for these mods in the two days before the announcement had their bans lifted. Further use will be penalised, though. So delete the mods and their files; NetEase specifically names pystubber.asi and MarvelRivalsUnmountBlocker.asi. If you were banned for a mod and believe it was a mistake, appeal through customer support.
Banned hardware and software
NetEase keeps a list of programs and devices that must not run alongside the game:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Hardware | DMA, Kmbox, monitor splitters, Fusers, hardware macros |
| Mouse and keyboard adapters | XIM, Cronus Zen, Titan Two, KeyMander, Brook Sniper |
| Hacking tools | CheatEngine, Process Hacker, x64dbg and similar |
| Scripts | AutoHotkey |
| Third-party plugins | the Blitz plugin |
| Virtual machines | VMware, VirtualBox, KVM |
| Game modifications | editing graphics.ini files, mods that change textures or camera shake |
Penalties depend on severity and can go as far as removal from the game. Using a mouse and keyboard on console through an adapter counts as cheating; more on console controls is in our platforms and crossplay guide.
How to appeal
- Work out what kind of penalty you got: for leaving a match, for chat, or for a mod or software.
- Contact NetEase customer support, for example by email at marvel_rivals@global.netease.com.
- Explain what happened. If you left because of a network or hardware failure, NetEase lifts the penalty once it is verified; for a mod ban it reviews special circumstances or errors.
Join our Discord to find teammates for fair matches: GamersTogether Discord. Looking for Czech or Slovak players? See our CZ/SK community guide.
FAQ
Yes. Since 15 October 2026 NetEase penalises mods that change models, textures, sounds or recoil, or that enlarge enemies. Mods that inject into memory trigger the anti-cheat.
NetEase specifically names pystubber.asi and MarvelRivalsUnmountBlocker.asi. Delete every other file and change the mod made to the game as well.
Appeal through customer support. If the network or hardware failure is confirmed, NetEase lifts the penalty.
Depending on severity, a chat and voice ban can last up to 365 days. Repeated violations lead to matchmaking restrictions and a long-term account ban.
Yes. Since 17 September 2026 Quick Match has its own penalty ladder, separate from the arcade modes and with a stricter baseline.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides are in our Marvel Rivals section.