Alright so yesterday I decided to finally unlock Punisher in Marvel Rivals ’cause hey, who doesn’t want Frank Castle blowing stuff up on your team? Figured it’d be quick. Boy, was I dumb.

First thing I do is jump straight into Quick Play. Dive headfirst like an idiot thinking kills are the key. Played three matches as Iron Man, blasted plenty of bots, checked my roster afterwards… nada. Punisher ain’t there. Just my luck.
Okay, Rethinking This…
Felt stupid. Should’ve actually looked properly, right? Opened up the “Collection” menu, clicked on Agents. Saw Punisher’s ugly mug locked tight. Noticed a little button saying “Challenge Progress”. Hit that thing.
Boom. That’s where it was hiding. He ain’t unlocked by just playing random matches. You gotta grind specific tasks. Punisher’s unlock challenge screamed at me:
- Complete Team Deathmatch Mode Missions – Needed 30 of these things.
- Get Player Eliminations in Team Deathmatch Mode – Yeah, 120 freaking eliminations.
30 missions? ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ELIMS? I almost quit right there. “Who has time for that?” I mumbled to my empty room, debating life choices. But I wanted that skull vest.
The Actual Grind Begins
So I hit the queue button for Team Deathmatch. Prayed for short matches. My plan? Pick Rocket Raccoon every single game. His turrets shred groups if you place ’em right – basically cheat codes for eliminations. Got sweaty fast.

First session sucked. Took me like 10 matches just to nail 15 missions done and maybe 60 elims? Lost track counting bodies. Had to take a break. Felt my soul evaporating. Went back hours later, determined.
Second session was pure stubbornness. Queued up again. Map after map. Rinse and repeat. Plant turret. Spray gun. Die. Respawn. Felt like punishment fitting the name. Finally saw the number climb: 25 missions… 27… 29… Did the last one. Looked at elims – hit 117. Just needed three more kills. That final match felt eternal.
The Sweet, Sweet Skull Vest
Match ended. Hopped back to the Collection menu faster than Stark suits up. Punisher’s Challenge Progress blinked green. Clicked “Claim”. Heard that satisfying unlock sound effect. Finally. Frank Castle glared back at me from the roster. Fist-pumped. Felt like I conquered Everest, but the mountain was made of pure life drain.
Took me roughly… what? 20-25 deathmatches? Maybe more? Lost count. Real hours sunk? More than I care to admit. Just wanted Punisher. Got him, but the grind punished my brain.
- Lesson Learned? ALWAYS check the Challenge Progress tab first before wasting time blasting bots.
- Best Way? Suck it up, main a high-DPS hero like Rocket or Punisher himself later, and just grind Team Deathmatch non-stop.
He’s fun to play, I’ll give him that. Worth the hassle? Ask me after I recover from the tedium. Just… wow.
