How does environmental destruction work in Marvel Rivals? Answered

Use your surroundings to your advantage.

Player scanning to see its battleground weaknesses.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Unlike rigid maps in other shooter games, Marvel Rivals offers dynamic environmental destruction, giving you a chance to catch enemies off guard from angles that previously didn’t exist. 

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Before the game’s release in closed alpha, the developers briefly discussed the concept, saying it would give the player “a leg up” in chaotic superhero battles and how they wanted to ensure that it didn’t hinder the natural flow of gameplay.

So, what is environmental destruction in Marvel Rivals, and how can you use it to win more matches?

Environmental destruction in Marvel Rivals, explained

Player using the envrionment destruction scan to reveal structures.
So much to break! Screenshot by Dot Esports

While you can’t destroy everything on the map, there are specific structures that can be broken down, opening strategic points to ambush enemy players. However, you can’t directly see these objects or structures on the minimap. You need to press B on your keyboard to scan and reveal the destructible structures, which will be highlighted in gold.

For instance, the Royal Palace map in Yggsguard sees you battle for a capture point in the center of the map. You can enter the contested area through the ground gates or use the arch above to secure the site. However, you can also break the arch to even the playing field. Similarly, sneaky passageways can be created by breaking these marked structures for a tactical advantage. 

Player making a temporary hole to sneak on enemies in Marvel Rivals.
Some ceilings can be broken to sneak up on enemies’ spawn points. Screenshot by Dot Esports

You don’t need to use abilities to break these structures unless you want to speed up the process, as your standard attack should be enough to break them. Keep in mind that they will return to their original state after a set cooldown. 

As Marvel Rivals evolves and moves into a closed beta test next, it will be interesting to see how much depth environmental destruction adds to the game. You can already take great advantage of it with superheroes such as The Punisher, whose passive allows him to see enemies through structures, making it easier for to destroy their cover and secure easy kills.

Author
Image of Rijit Banerjee
Rijit Banerjee
Staff Writer at Dot Esports. You'll find him grinding platinum trophies and breaking the meta with his "fun" picks in the ranked queue when he's not reading his favourite Fantasy books. Previously wrote for GG Recon, ESTNN, and many more. Contact: rijit@dotesports.com