NetEase says Marvel Rivals is getting a new "combat behavior detection system" to punish AFK cosmetic farmers, and shaking its finger with a stern expression, promises "warnings" and potentially "permanent account bans"

Marvel Rivals Season 5 Rogue and Gambit.

Marvel Rivals developer NetEase says it's planning to crack down on players exploiting the newly retooled proficiency system with punishments as severe as permanent account bans.

In a tweet, NetEase warned players against using an exploit that's been around for a long while now, but which has seen an uptick in frequency since last week's update. It's often called "lord farming," and in the simplest of terms, it involves hanging out in spawn and spamming skills to farm proficiency, a process that's been mistakenly expedited due to recent changes to the proficiency system. (In case you're wondering, it's called lord farming because the top prize for maxing out proficiency is the coveted Lord icon.)

"Recently, we’ve noticed that some players are exploiting matches by remaining stationary and repeatedly farming stats to gain hero proficiency points," NetEase said. "This behavior disrupts normal gameplay and seriously affects the match experience of other players.

"To address this, we are planning to introduce a combat behavior detection system. Players found engaging in such behavior may face penalties including, but not limited to: warnings, short-term suspensions, long-term suspensions, or permanent account bans."

Hey Rivals,Recently, we’ve noticed that some players are exploiting matches by remaining stationary and repeatedly farming stats to gain hero proficiency points. This behavior disrupts normal gameplay and seriously affects the match experience of other players.To address…January 19, 2026

I really think that if NetEase didn't want to sound like a timid young elementary school teacher puffing out their chest while sweating bullets at the head of a disorderly classroom, it should've just entirely left out the whole "warnings" threat and went straight to suspensions and bans. Still, it's good to hear it's taking action against an exploit that has probably tanked many a game for normal players, even if lord farming apologists will insist they only do so on dead servers.

"We ask all players to help us maintain a fair and healthy game environment," NetEase said.

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