How to make your Lattice go further in Marvel Rivals
Every hero in Marvel Rivals is free, so the only thing real money buys is how your heroes look. That makes the store simple on the surface and surprisingly easy to overspend in, because the game splits its economy across several currencies that do not all behave the same way.
Cosmetics are the whole shop
NetEase has been clear about where the money goes. In its December 2024 developer diary on monetization, the studio wrote that cosmetic items are the only paid content in the game and that every hero is free to play at launch and beyond, a promise laid out in the official Marvel Rivals dev diary. Nothing you buy changes damage numbers, cooldowns or matchmaking.
That matters for how you think about spending. There is no power to chase, so the only question is which costumes you want and how to get them for the least Lattice.
Four currencies, four different jobs
Most confusion in the store comes from mixing these up. Each one has a different source and a different use.
Currency | How you get it | What it is for |
Lattice | Bought with real money | The Luxury Battle Pass, or exchanged for other currencies |
Units | Exchanged from Lattice at 1:1, or earned in limited amounts from the Battle Pass, achievements and events | Costumes and bundles in the store |
Chrono Tokens | Earned through tasks and events | Redeeming Battle Pass rewards |
Unstable Molecules | Converted from Lattice one to one | Chromas, the recolors of existing skins |
The practical rule follows from the table. Lattice is the only currency that flexes, so it should be the last one you spend on anything you could also earn.
Why the Battle Pass is the best value per Lattice
When NetEase announced its pricing, the Luxury Battle Pass cost 490 Lattice and contained items with a total value of 8,000 Units. No other purchase in the store comes close to that ratio, and the pass also hands back Units you can spend elsewhere.
The pass also does not punish a busy month. The developer diary states that once you buy a Luxury Battle Pass, you can keep redeeming its rewards in later seasons if you do not finish it in the current one. Chrono Tokens work differently: they do not carry over to the next season's pass, according to Dexerto's guide to every Marvel Rivals currency, and they only convert to Units after you have claimed every reward and reached the last page. Spend them as you earn them.
Bundles beat single costumes
If you already know you want a hero's new look, check whether it comes in a bundle before buying it on its own. The dev diary gives the example of a standard Epic-quality bundle priced at 1,600 Units against a standard value of 2,200 Units, a 28% discount.
It also helps to see the whole wardrobe first. A hero page such as the full list of Gorr costumes and how to get them shows which skins are free rewards, which come from events and which only appear in the store, so you do not pay Units for something the next event would have handed out.
Buy Lattice in the right size
Lattice is cheapest per piece in its biggest pack. On Steam in the United States, the standard price is USD $0.99 for 100 Lattice, while the top tier is USD $99.99 for 11,680 Lattice, per the developer diary. That works out to roughly 15% more Lattice per dollar at the top end.
Few players need 11,680 Lattice at once, though, and buying more than you will use is not saving anything. A better habit is to decide what you are buying this season first, then pick the smallest pack that covers it:
the Luxury Battle Pass, if you play often enough to finish most of it
one bundle for a hero you main, rather than several single costumes
chromas only for skins you already own and use
Where you buy matters too. The in-game store is not the only place to buy currency, and it is worth comparing before you top up. A dedicated marvel rivals top up page on a game store lets you see what is on offer for the game alongside the official prices. LootBar, for example, sells top-ups and in-game currency for more than 800 games in one place, which is useful if you play more than one live service title.
A spending order that holds up
Put the four currencies to work in a fixed order. Spend free Units and Chrono Tokens first, since one of them expires and both cost nothing. Use Lattice on the Luxury Battle Pass before anything else, because it returns more value than it costs. Only then turn Lattice into Units for bundles, and leave chromas for last.
None of it makes you better at the game, and that is the point. With every hero free, the smartest spending in Marvel Rivals is the kind you plan before the store rotates, not after.