Multiversus decides people were levelling up too quickly, doubles the time needed

Rick Sanchez in MultiVersus — (Image credit: Warner Bros)

MultiVersus has doubled the amount of time needed to level up characters, much to the frustration of a handful of fans.

Each MultiVersus character has a mastery level, a brief glance at the amount of time spent with a character. Most characters don't have their full kit until level 15, with an assortment of perks and specials being locked behind the system. It means, ideally, you want to be hitting that level as fast as possible when trying out a new character.

Unfortunately, Player First Games says in its patch notes that "players could get to level 15 of the mastery track too quickly," doubling the amount of experience needed between levels three and 15. While it makes sense in minor ways—increasing player retention and giving people more time to feel out new characters—it's certainly a choice that has upset some. The game's official subreddit is a real mixed bag right now. While some players agree that the grind wasn't quite grindy enough, others are pointing out that it's simply making things needlessly harder for future players. Some have also expressed concern that it's an attempt to potentially sell the game's experience boost separately in the near future.

I feel like the reception wouldn't be so lukewarm if perks weren't locked behind the mastery track. While it's nice to give players something to work towards, it's frustrating having an important special or handy perk gated behind wins or time spent. As some have suggested, moving perks earlier in the track and offering cosmetics in later levels could have been a nice solution but for now, it seems like it'll simply take longer to have full access to each character's kit. Add to the fact that you can still level beyond 15, albeit rewardless, it would've been nice to see some extra goodies added to later levels.

MultiVersus is still mighty new, and Player First has been doing its best to communicate and feel out which direction is best for the game. It's still in open beta so it deserves some allowance, but changes that increase the time sink aren't always great. On the plus side this update also brings the much-requested character of Rick, so fans do have something to cheer for.

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.