From Discord rewards to esports predictions, Marvel Rivals is handing out more than you think
Marvel Rivals has earned a reputation as one of the more generous free-to-play shooters in recent memory, and for good reason. While most games in this space treat premium currency like a closely guarded secret, NetEase has built multiple paths for players to accumulate Units without spending a single dollar. At the same time, the studio is making increasingly clear that the game’s long-term ambitions extend well beyond its current form. Whether you are here for the free rewards or the bigger picture, there is a lot worth knowing right now.
The easiest free Units you can grab today
Before a player even loads into their first match, the Community tab in the main menu settings is already waiting with a pair of quick one-time rewards. Linking a Discord account to a Marvel Rivals profile earns 100 Units, and signing up for a NetEase Gamer Premium membership adds another 100. Both take only a few minutes and together represent the lowest-effort 200 Units in the game.
The referral system attached to the Hero Gathering Event adds more, offering 300 Units for every friend who signs up using a personal Assembly Code and reaches level 10. For players with a wide social circle, that number climbs quickly.
Achievements that pay out over time
Marvel Rivals runs two separate achievement tracks that reward consistent play. The Chronoverse Saga covers map-based challenges and currently holds around 600 Units in total, most of which arrive naturally through normal gameplay. The Heroic Journey is the more substantial of the two, offering 1,700 Units distributed at milestone intervals as players accumulate Achievement Points across hero-specific challenges. Both tracks expand with every new map and character added to the roster, meaning the earning potential grows alongside the game itself.
Seasonal sources that add up fast
The Events tab is arguably the most reliable ongoing source of free Units in Marvel Rivals. Every season, and each half-season runs roughly a month, NetEase rolls out fresh mission sets covering a wide range of in-game tasks. The rewards typically mix cosmetics with Units, and because the missions are spread across the full season window, there is no need to grind everything at once. Steady progress pays off.
The free tier of each season’s Battle Pass adds up to 400 Units for every player regardless of whether they purchase the premium version. For anyone playing regularly, this is essentially passive income that accumulates without any deliberate effort. Players who do buy the pass and complete all its pages unlock a Chrono Token conversion page that trades surplus tokens for additional Units at a rate of 1,000 tokens per 100 Units, a quiet but consistent drip toward the end of each season.
The Esports Events section inside the Events tab offers another avenue through prediction contests. The Ignite 2026 Preseason event, for example, rewards 100 Units each at accuracy thresholds of 60, 80 and 100 percent, with a perfect prediction sheet earning 300 Units total. It costs nothing to participate, and even a passing familiarity with the competitive scene is enough to put together a reasonable set of picks.
Finally, the official Marvel Rivals Discord server runs community events on a rolling basis, ranging from screenshot contests to Easter egg hunts, with Units regularly offered as prizes. The barrier to entry is low, the format changes often enough to stay fresh, and some events do not even require opening the game.
What NetEase is building for the long term
The free rewards are only part of the story. NetEase has mapped content plans through 2027 and has made clear that its ambitions for Marvel Rivals reach well beyond a standard hero shooter. Creative director Guangyun Chen has described the studio’s goal as breaking boundaries in 2026 by moving the game past its core competitive format, with expanded PvE content and collaborative modes already in development.
The Path to Doomsday event, launching this month and running across five themed updates through December, draws direct inspiration from the four Avengers films and concludes with content tied to Avengers: Doomsday. The game has also developed its own tie-in comics and made a notable impression on the main Marvel publishing line, with this summer’s Queen in Black event centering on Hela after her prominent role in the game’s third season. For a title barely two years old, the cultural footprint is already considerable, and if NetEase delivers on its roadmap, it may only be getting started.
Story credit: fandomwire