Marvel Rivals hero tier list (January 2025): All characters, ranked

With 35 Marvel Rivals heroes to choose from, here is our tier list for season one. This list will likely change before the next season starts, especially as you master your main, learn every ability, and understand who is executing their ultimate and when (yes—I’m talking about you, Scarlet).

Our list has taken the heroes’ damage, helpfulness, and overall impact on a team into consideration without looking at who has the best Team-Ups. This list outlines the strongest based on their solo performance and how they contribute to winning the objective with their team. It’s important to note however, that no one hero is significantly worse than another. In fact, all heroes are viable so long as you utilize their kit correctly.

Let’s dive into our hero tier list for Marvel Rivals season one.

Marvel Rivals: Hero tier list (season one)

Tier	Hero
S	Doctor Strange, Hela, Magneto, Hawkeye, Storm
A	Mantis, Luna Snow, Moon Knight, Mister Fantastic, Psylocke, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Adam Warlock, Spider-Man, Venom
B	Cloak and Dagger, Magik, Invisible Woman, Iron Man, Star-Lord, Peni Parker, Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Loki
C	Captain America, Iron Fist, Squirrel Girl, Bruce Banner, Groot, The Punisher, Namor, Jeff the Land Shark
D	Wolverine, Black Widow, Rocket Racoon

S tier

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange has everything you could possibly need from a tank. His self-sufficient kit makes him one of the most powerful heroes in Marvel Rivals, as he can move his entire team to the objective, protect them with his giant holographic shield, and consistently deal moderate to high damage.

He is an intimidating force, with an ultimate that sucks the life out of anything within his grasp. What makes him better than Venom is his hybrid kit that mixes Venom’s high health pool with Magneto’s shields. He is, however, an incredibly difficult hero to master, especially if you’re matched against a team that knows what they’re doing.

Pros

• Great mobility.
• Excellent absorber of damage.
• Self-sufficient tank.
• Great survivability, making Strange one of the hardest heroes to kill.
• Fantastic at blocking Hela’s ultimate.

Cons

• Slower movement when his Shield of the Seraphim is active, requiring teammates to be near him so he isn’t flanked in this vulnerable state.
• Difficult to use, has a surprisingly high skill ceiling.
• Requires strategy, especially when teleporting the team.

Hela

Hela is one of those heroes that I forget exists. While this sounds like a bad thing, she’s actually an invisible force on the field that dishes out endless damage without ever being spotted. Hardly ever killed and instead flourishing as kill leader, Hela moves around the map unspotted as she picks off the team one by one. There isn’t any style involved when it comes to Hela. She isn’t flashy like Spider-Man or Iron Fist. This works in her favor as she gets kills in the background, often helping the team hit multiple Aces in a single match.

Pros

• Hela is difficult to track and kill, regardless of how accurate you are.
• She deals great damage with every ability, alongside being the best hero in long-range battles.
• She’s hard to spot during her ultimate.
• Has a versatile kit that deals a good amount of damage mid- to long-range.

Cons

• Has a more challenging kit to master, so it may take you a while to learn how to correctly use each ability and be impactful on a team.
• Requires accuracy.

Magneto

He may be slow and take a lot of getting used to, but Magneto is the ultimate support tank in Marvel Rivals. Unlike Thor or Captain America, Magneto takes an awfully long time to kill due to his armor and shields. Handing these out like candy, Magneto’s shields buff himself and teammates in strategic plays. Placing these on heroes like Scarlet Witch or Star-Lord make them unkillable during their vulnerable state when pulling off their ultimates. He’s a gamechanger when it comes to keeping the team alive, in turn making him the ultimate Strategist/Vanguard hybrid (in the right hands).

Pros

• Acts as the primary protector of the entire team, providing barriers to everyone.
• Difficult to kill.
• Makes sure the battlefield is safe for heroes to reposition, retreat, or push with his barrier placement.

Cons

• The slowest character in existence.
• Barriers require strategy rather than strictly placing them on a critically low teammate.

Hawkeye

You should always be shooting as Hawkeye for the threatening sound of his bow and arrow is enough to scare a team from pushing in. While he’s incredibly weak against movement heroes like Iron Fist and Spider-Man, he’s great when he plays with his team. So long as someone is there to keep Hawkeye alive, he will return the favor by being kill leader, picking off enemies one by one, and dealing consistent damage to the Vanguard. He can quickly and easily kill any Strategist or Duelist so long as they don’t have their sights set on him.

Pros

• Best hero to use if you enjoy getting headshots.
• Capable of one-shotting Duelists and Strategists.
• Effective at pressuring the opposition.
• Excellent at quickly shooting down flying heroes.

Cons

• You need to be highly accurate to use him.
• Terrible fighting close-range.
• Restricted movement and slow firing rate.

Storm

A strange DPS pick in Marvel Rivals, Storm’s kit is an intricate mix of all classes. Capable of supporting her team through buffing their movement or damage, Storm stays on the backline, pushing with her team and dishing out consistent damage with her projectiles. She’s decent at clearing the opposition’s defensive line and aids movement heroes, taking down precision shooters like Iron Man, Hela, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. Storm may not be strong enough on her own to carry the team, but she’s the perfect pick to complete one as her damage excels Iron Man, making her the stronger aerial fighter. With buffing capabilities and damage that demands your attention, Storm is our top recommendation for those looking for a hybrid DPS-support role.

Pros

• Decent mobility.
• While she isn’t a Strategist, Storm supports the team much like Magneto. Capable of buffing damage, Storm can deal decent damage while also boosting her fellow heroes.
• The Hurricane can distract enemies or effectively pull them closer to her teammates to finish the job.

Cons

• Difficult to reposition if you’re spotted.
• She isn’t as fast as Iron Man, so you may get caught out flying through the air, making her an easier target to shoot down.

A tier

Mantis

The easiest Strategist to play, Mantis is effective in both healing and damage departments. Yes, she cannot kill enemies by herself, but Mantis is supposed to be played alongside her team. She is often protected by the tank and DPS heroes, where she can easily support them through continual heals, or lend a helping hand with her decent projectile damage. She doesn’t seem special when you watch her moving around the match, but Mantis players will often stick around until the bitter end—with high healing and few deaths.

Pros

• Provides the most healing compared to every other Strategist.
• Really easy to master. Best starting Strategist to use in Marvel Rivals.
• Can stop enemies in their tracks, which is highly effective against mobility heroes like Spider-Man or Iron Fist.
• Strong enough to protect the team as the only healer.

Cons

• Limited to four heals at a time.
• Requires more strategy than other healers as you need to choose who to heal at a time.

Luna Snow

Luna Snow has a great mix of DPS and healing potential. Her ultimate is hilarious as she dances in the middle of a battlefield, drawing the enemy lines’ attention. Immortal within this small timeframe, the goal is to keep her teammates alive while simultaneously pulling all damage onto her. Her projectiles can easily kill Duelists and Strategists, and her freeze is incredibly effective in stopping movement characters and tanks. She is the best at putting an end to plays, allowing her team to punish anyone who dares to pop their ultimate in front of her.

Pros

• Great mobility to move around the map and reach objectives quickly.
• Halt enemy movement by freezing them into place. Pair this with damage from yourself and teammates to punish movement heroes or time it when enemies are trying to push the objective as the match is ending (in your favor).
• Her ultimate deals damage buff or quickly heals anyone in her dancing radius, making her an invulnerable boosting target that can turn the tables of a fight in your team’s favor.
• Strong enough to heal a team by herself.

Cons

• Can be caught out in the opening or isolated quickly if the team doesn’t play near her.
• Her weapons require precision, making her the tougher Strategist to use for this alone.

Scarlet Witch

Although Scarlet has the world’s loudest ultimate, she is ridiculously strong even in the weakest hands. Scarlet’s kit requires very little concentration, making her one of the best heroes to use as you learn the fundamentals of Marvel Rivals. She’s hard to kill and incredibly easy to use, as her damage requires literally no aim. Aiming is a necessity in Marvel Rivals—that is until you pick Scarlet.

With the temporary ability to turn invulnerable and move around the map with ease, Scarlet is best played alongside the tank, where she can chase down critically low enemies or weave between her teammates, dishing out perpetual damage. Her ultimate timed when the enemies are distracted can swiftly wipe out an entire team. Just hold your breath when she’s yelling chaos at them and hope they don’t spot you in time.

Pros

• Hard to kill.
• Easy to use.
• Capable of killing multiple enemies at once.

Cons

• Scarlet has the loudest ultimate in existence.

Thor

Thor is another small tank that has a more DPS-focused kit. His goal is for kills only, providing very little support to his team. There are no shields, armor, health, or buffs provided by Thor. Instead, he acts like one of the movement heroes (but without the movement). The goal as Thor is to build your Thorforce by surviving as long as you can while dishing out continual damage, this then increases your next attack’s damage tremendously. But it’s hard to make proper use of this if you keep getting targeted and killed.

Pros

• Thor is a small tank, he’s almost disguised on the battlefield as it’s easy to mistake him for a Duelist.
• Great mobility.
• Consistently high damage.
• High focus on DPS makes him one of the strongest Vanguards in Marvel Rivals.

Cons

• Has a difficult kit to master.
• Combos are tough to execute due to his cooldown.
• With a focus on damage, Thor doesn’t have a means of supporting his teammates, meaning that you have to rely on the Strategists for any healing, boosting, or shielding.

Adam Warlock

The best support hero without a doubt, Adam Warlock is capable of supporting an entire team by himself. Where you would otherwise need two Strategists on one team due to their low survivability, Warlock can heal and revive multiple heroes at once. Pairing this hero with Star-Lord and Mantis creates a downright unkillable trio. He is best used for convoy matches, where he can turn the tides in his favor by keeping his team alive in the most crucial moments.

Pros

• Can heal an entire team at once, making him the strongest healer on his own.
• While his charged attack requires pinpoint accuracy, both methods of attack are strong enough to take down Duelists.
• Revives multiple teammates in his Karmic Revival, making them temporarily invulnerable to attacks and removing the time it takes to run back to the objective after standard respawn.
• Capable of repositioning in an immortal state after being killed, allowing him to stay in the fight for longer. This can be followed by his ultimate if you have it charged, bringing multiple heroes back into the fight. It’s highly effective in the final moments of a match.

Cons

• Although he can heal multiple targets at once, his healing is smaller than other Strategists.
• He’s only strong when centered around teammates. Other times, Adam is incredibly weak in an isolated one-versus-one due to his long-range arsenal.

Mister Fantastic

Mister Fantastic is surprisingly easy to master, making him one of our go-to picks for season one. His all-rounder style kit pairs well with Invisible Woman, providing shields to teammates and consistent damage against foes. Mister Fantastic moves around the map similar to Bruce Banner, with two physical forms he can seamlessly switch between mid-fight. His strength lies in his long reach base attacks that can hurt multiple opponents at once. This, paired with his charge that lets him join a friend in danger, puts him in a more supportive position than an aggressive Spider-Man, Iron Fist, or Black Panther.

Pros

• Decent mobility with excellent range and damage output.
• Has a very balanced kit that supports his teammates with shields and his presence, alongside being able to keep the
• Combines Hulk form with Venom’s long reach in a manageable kit.

Cons

• Has a weak ultimate.
• His kit is predictable, making him easy to counter when ignoring his Reflexive Rubber form.

Moon Knight

Since launch, Moon Knight is the easiest DPS hero to get your hands on. Although there is a lot to keep track of with his kit, Moon Knight succeeds in taking down anyone in an isolated one-versus-one. Unlike movement heroes, Knight works best at the center of a team. An adaptable player, he isn’t restricted to the front or backline. Instead, he almost acts as the glue that keeps the team together. Charging head-first into a fight isn’t Knight’s style. Instead, he moves into an advantageous position and chain attacks with his abilities while keeping himself at a safe distance at all times.

Pros

• High damage when you combine his Ankhs and Crescent Darts.
• Great mobility.
• Can fight at all ranges.
• Excellent in a one-versus-one situation.

Cons

• Hard to master as there’s strategy to making good use of his abilities.

Psylocke

A difficult hero to make good use of, there’s strategy to using Psylocke. Instead of running in head first like most DPS picks, Psylocke thrives in flanking and ambushing an unaware team. She doesn’t play for most damage or kills, instead she assists the team in dishing out small yet consistent damage across the board. The goal isn’t to get kills but to hurt the enemy lines just enough, so your team can finish the job. Psylocke is great at holding a point during overtime and at overwhelming weaker enemies in her ultimate.

Pros

• Easy-to-use ultimate that can one-shot enemies within its radius.
• Best solo hero as you can quickly navigate around the map, ambush unsuspecting enemies, and retreat for health without being spotted.
• Great at flanking or hiding within the objective to stall time.

Cons

• Difficult to master.
• Can be killed quickly if you don’t have Psychic Stealth available.

Spider-Man

If you’re good with Spider-Man, the match will likely end in your favor. His movement is perfection, a fluid concoction of web-swinging, climbing walls, and performing backflips to taunt the enemies. There isn’t many ways to counter a fast-moving Spider-Man. His kit is perfectly balanced to deal damage while having an escape route in mind at all times. A better version of Iron Fist, Spider-Man is the biggest menace to Marvel Rivals as his presence alone is enough to make you swap characters if you’re playing sniper. He works best picking off Strategists and Duelists with limited movement/long-range weapons.

Pros

• Plays defensively and offensively with his balanced kit that’s appropriate for all ranges.
• Can deal huge amounts of damage while repositioning. Has the opportunity to initiate or disengage from fights without taking much damage.
• Difficult to hit due to his high mobility.

Cons

• Hardest hero to master. Similar to Venom, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, then Spider-Man‘s kit is wasted.

Venom

Venom is a go-to for Marvel Rivals for his giant health pool alone. He is Spider-Man and Iron Fist on steroids. As he’s near impossible to kill, you’re doing something wrong if you’re dying quickly. Venom is the ultimate distraction, being an unkillable force in a match and a beast that’ll jump in front of your face while his teammates steal the point. Unlike other tanks, it takes a while to kill off Venom. This forces the opposition to put all their util onto him, allowing his teammates to pick off enemies one by one, until no one remains. We recommend another tank to assist the team when Venom is around as his kit isn’t powerful enough to take down enemies by himself.

Pros

• Near impossible to kill due to Venom‘s ridiculously high health pool.
• Has armor when critically low, making him self-sufficient.
• The perfect distraction for your Duelists to get into prime positions, be it to flank, ambush, or secure the objective.
• An absorber of damage.
• Can kill multiple enemies at once with his ultimate, best placed on the objective when the opposing team is trying to capture/move it.

Cons

• Limited movement and abilities that lower his overall threat level.
• Surprisingly hard to master even though his abilities are rather basic.

B tier

Cloak and Dagger

Two heroes in one, Cloak and Dagger is an incredibly fun character to play, but they come with their own issues. The primary being that they’re difficult to seamlessly transition into one another without concentrating on your health at all times. Cloak and Dagger is similar to Doctor Strange in that they’re self-sufficient. They can support themselves with consistent damage and healing but often forget that there are other players on the team due to their taxing kit. However, if played correctly, Cloak and Dagger is an excellent Strategist that can live forever, helping the team keep the dream alive, and being a key component to winning the match.

Pros

• Disorientates enemies by obscuring their vision. Pair this with a mobility flanker like Iron Fist, Psylocke, or Star-Lord, and the blinded enemy won’t know what hit them.
• Effective at all ranges.
• Similar to Venom, Cloak and Dagger is unkillable if used properly. You need to perfectly blend both defensive and offensive gameplay by swapping between the characters depending on what’s happening in front of you.

Cons

• One of the more challenging Strategists to play, as you’re basically two heroes in one.
• Timing is crucial to the hero. If you neglect one side of Cloak and Dagger, then it’s highly likely you won’t be effective in either healing or damage departments.

Magik

Magik is the obvious frontline pick if you’re not good with movement heroes. She’s likely the main face you’ll see throughout the match as she full-sends you, regardless of your current health pool. Magik thrives in an intense environment, with a goal to take out as many as she can before inevitably dying. Strategists struggle keeping up with her, as she kamikazes her way through a team, taking out the long-range Duelists and any Strategists hoping to heal their team. She should play every match with kills in mind, hoping to ruin the day of a Hawkeye, Mantis, or Black Widow.

Pros

• Great at targeting Duelists and Strategists that hang on the backline.
• Overwhelms enemies by getting in their face and teleporting around in-between swinging her greatsword.
• Decent range during her close-quarter battles.

Cons

• You need to perfect your timing with Magik so you don’t die quickly. Her kit has more strategy than simple hack and slash.

Invisible Woman

Invisible Woman has a great all-rounder kit that feels the most balanced out of all the Strategists. She has good damage and healing capability (so long as she plays with her teammates at all times). Similar to Luna Snow, Invisible Woman can deal damage while healing her teammates. This is especially helpful if you stumble across a fight where your teammate is weakened, or when there’s lot of bodies on the objective. Her downside however, is her low survivability. While she may confuse others on the objective, looking similar to Dagger, she’s far easier to kill than the shapeshifting duo due to her inability to self-heal.

Pros

• Can deal two forms of healing; either from her projectiles (base attack) or by placing Guardian Shields that she can use to heal herself.
• Balanced kit that offers good ticking damage.
• A wide range of attacks as a Strategist, with the opportunity to boop enemies off the map, or deal a finishing blow to critically low Duelists and Vanguards.
• Good mobility with the added bonus to go invisible, letting her safely reposition.
• Small and manageable cooldowns.

Cons

• Unable to self-heal, making her more vulnerable to incoming damage.
• She isn’t strong enough to be the sole healer on the team.
• Minimal damage from her base attack against all classes.
• Needs to stick with the team at all times.
• Weak in a one-versus-one.

Iron Man

The villain of the sky, Iron Man is super effective at peppering enemies on the ground. If enemies fail to kill him, then Iron Man’s ultimate will surely bring their story to an end. Iron Man is best when his ultimate hits. The goal is to continuously shoot at enemies on the ground, move from cover to cover, and annihilate with his bombardment. His standard weaponry doesn’t deal a lot of damage, but he acts as a distraction, or dishes out just enough for your fellow Duelists to capitalize. Iron Man is the ultimate assister.

Pros

• Great mobility.
• He’s hard to shoot out of the sky.
• Powerful ultimate.

Cons

• Weak standard weapons mean enemies can often ignore him until he executes his ultimate.
• If you have bad movement while focused on shooting, then you’ll likely be shot down by long-range heroes.

Star-Lord

Star-Lord is the speed demon of Marvel Rivals. Never meant to be played scared or with hesitation, Star-Lord should race onto the objective with his fast-firing-rate weapons in hand. His goal is similar to Psylocke: whittle the enemy’s health down as much as possible and retreat. The goal with Star-Lord is to stay alive as long as possible and deal consistent damage so your team can move in on the weakened enemies. He should never attempt to take down Vanguards or Duelists unless he has an opening she can use against them. Star-Lords movement makes him hard to hit, allowing him to move around the map with ease and distract enemies while he peppers them with bullets.

Pros

• Great mobility.
• Hard to kill if you’re using his kit correctly.
• There’s room for errors with his fast-firing-rate weapons.
• Easy to use and fun.

Cons

• Doesn’t deal good enough damage to Vanguards to truly make a difference in a team fight.
• You cannot play Star-Lord mid- to long-range unless you’re inside his ultimate.

Peni Parker

Parker is surprisingly difficult to use well. Her kit is balanced, giving her decent DPS and healing all at once. But Parker is restricted in her movement and is often forced to play on her spun webs. This means that you need to play around the team and objective constantly and cannot be left alone, otherwise Parker will die incredibly fast. An overwhelmed Parker is useless. She isn’t meant to be flashy with movement or be able to take one-versus-ones. Instead, Parker is similar to Groot as both act as the defensive line that holds chokes and objectives by blocking off paths and dealing damage in mid- to long-range fights.

Pros

• Wide range of abilities that allow Peni to play defensively or offensively, depending on your current objective.
• Great util that can punish any attempt at pushing the objective.
• Provides damage while simultaneously supporting her teammates with her unique util.

Cons

• Easy to kill inside her weak ultimate.
• Slow mobility, making her easy to target compared to other tanks.

Winter Soldier

Winter Soldier is tougher than other heroes because of his limited ammunition. Three bullets per magazine mean that every bullet counts, giving him a higher skill ceiling than other heroes. Soldier has great close- to mid-range attacks, making him a good counter against movement heroes. He can slow enemies and pull them to him, which is incredibly helpful for finishing off any critically low opponents. Soldier won’t allow movement heroes to get away, but you can only capitalize off this kit if you can aim with his weapon.

Pros

• Can defend his team and himself from mobility heroes.
• Easily wins one-versus-ones.

Cons

• Terrible long-range.
• Slow mobility.
• Limited to three rounds per magazine, meaning accuracy is important to use Winter Soldier effectively.

Black Panther

Black Panther is the weaker movement character as he doesn’t move around the map as fluid as other heroes. His pathing is quite basic, making him easy to track and punish for overextending in a fight. Although he can run along walls, this is only helpful to get to and from the objective. As he’s a close-quarter brawler, Panther must be in an opponent’s face 24/7. This hero shouldn’t run at full teams, rather, he should look to isolate Duelists and Strategists as he’s strong enough to win one-versus-ones. Running into a group will only get him killed.

Pros

• Decent mobility.
• Easy to use.
• Rewards aggressive playstyles with higher damage output the lower his health is.

Cons

• Weak when facing two or more enemies.

Loki

Loki’s clones are incredibly unique. Acting as a sort of turret, his clones deal consistent damage while letting Loki smoothly move around the map unnoticed. Yes, he doesn’t have it in him to win one-versus-ones or take down enemies with his clones—but he is helpful at distracting enemies if you’re not using Squirrel Girl, Namor, or The Punisher. The goal of Loki is to distract and deal damage to his clones while supporting his team from the backline. His true self needs to be invisible, hidden from enemy line of sight so he can heal other heroes without ever being seen.

Pros

• Excellent at wasting enemies’ time with his clones.
• You can confuse enemies further by switching between clones, making you a hard target to track and kill.

Cons

• Deals minimal damage if clone numbers have depleted.
• Forced to play at the back; otherwise, your position will be revealed, and you will be punished for overextending.
• His kit could easily be replaced by Punisher’s turrets or Parker’s mines.
• Compared to other Strategists, there’s a lot to manage and keep track of as Loki.

C tier

Captain America

I keep forgetting Captain America is a tank. That’s not to say he’s useless…he’s just very small compared to Venom. But this actually helps him get to the objective without being targeted. The best part of Captain America’s kit is his shield which is incredibly effective at absorbing damage. You can use this offensively, too, moving onto the objective and bringing all eyes on you. The goal is for everyone to shoot at you and the only way to do this is to run at everything. You almost want to play America as a Duelist, switching to defense when your teammates are around to capitalize off your distraction.

Pros

• Can effectively block damage that nullifies strong weapons like Hawkeye’s bow.
• A mini tank, Captain America is the protector as he moves around to absorb damage while leading his team to victory.

Cons

• His dash and leap make his movement somewhat predictable, allowing the opposition to quickly punish you if you’re pushing or retreating from a fight.
• Unless you’re playing with a team that can synchronize their attacks and ultimate, then Captain America’s Freedom Charge will likely be wasted.

Iron Fist

Iron Fist deserves a tier of his own for being the most frustrating enemy to verse in Marvel Rivals. Thriving in a fast-paced environment where he creates fights all by himself, Iron Fist looks to ruin your day over and over again by targeting you. Don’t even attempt to play as Widow or Hawkeye if this guy is in your match. He’s omnipresent, has impressively fluid movement that’s impossible to track, and has his sights set on kill leader every match. Iron Fist is a menace to society that cannot be ignored (I hate this guy).

Pros

• Great damage that only increases the lower your health goes.
• Excels in defensive and offensive playstyles.
• Easily kills long-range Duelists and Strategists.

Cons

• Difficult to master.
• Can die quickly if you don’t know how to use him.
• It’s challenging to use his Harmony Recovery, meaning you may need to rely on Strategists more than you normally would as a flanking hero.

Squirrel Girl

Similar to Scarlet Witch, aiming isn’t an important aspect to making Squirrel Girl work. She plays at the center of a team, behaving much like a Vanguard’s right-hand woman. Her goal is to deal continual damage and pepper the team with her Slingshot. With a giant leap, Squirrel Girl can avoid damage and move around the map, chasing down critically low-movement characters that think they’re safe from harm. Her Squirrel army can either act as a distraction or ambush a team hellbent on killing her teammates.

Pros

• Accuracy isn’t needed to be effective with Squirrel Girl as her attacks ricochet off walls, landing on distracted enemies.
• Easy to use.
• Has good mobility to catch enemies off guard.

Cons

• Easier to target, track, and kill compared to other Duelists.

Hulk

I initially thought Hulk would be one of the best tanks for having three phases he can play in. However, his Bruce Banner phase is incredibly weak, making him an easy target to kill after you take out Hulk form. His grab often leaves him in the open and doesn’t deal enough damage to kill whoever was trapped in his grasp. But a great Hulk can definitely distract an entire team while keeping himself alive. It’s imperative that Strategists stay near him so that Bruce never comes out. Keeping Hulk in this form gives you and teammates shields while having great mobility to initiate multiple fights at once.

Pros

• Good mobility.
• A great distraction tank that can absorb damage while leading enemies away from your teammates who are focused on the objective.
• Great at handling isolated fights.

Cons

• Bruce is the easiest hero to kill in Marvel Rivals.
• His attacks will often leave you out in the open.

Groot

We don’t recommend playing as Groot unless you have Jeff the Land Shark there to support you. This duo is incredibly powerful by themselves, but without it, Groot has a weaker kit than most. What makes Groot strong are his walls—without them—he’s vulnerable to damage and incredibly easy to kill with heroes like Hawkeye and Black Widow. The walls act as an ironclad defense against enemies attempting to push the objective. Groot is better on domination maps than convoy. His walls can block pushes or funnel them through a bottleneck position, making it easy for your teammates to kill them.

Pros

• Excellent at closing off enemy line of sight or holding a position.
• Can trap enemies with his walls.

Cons

• While he has a very balanced kit, Groot is far weaker than other tanks (both defensively and offensively).
• One of the easiest Vanguards to kill as long-range heroes (Hawkeye, Iron Man, Hela, or Black Widow).

Punisher

The Punisher dishes out ridiculous damage with his turret, but his movement and standard weapon is limited. He is, instead, a very balanced hero who acts as a great place to start in Marvel Rivals. You shouldn’t stand still for too long as this character as you’re likely to get picked off by movement heroes. The Punisher works best as an all-rounder, helping support the team by dishing out constant damage, while trying his best to stay alive.

There’s a strategy to his kit, too, as he can obscure enemy vision with his smoke grenades, cause a massive distraction with his turret, and pepper bullets into the Vanguard by becoming a tank via his ultimate.

Pros

• Balanced, making him easy to use.
• Turret can distract enemies and waste their time.
• His ultimate deals good damage.

Cons

• Overall damage isn’t as effective as other Duelists, making him weaker than other heroes.
• Limited movement, making him an easy target to punish for peeking.

Namor

Namor’s ultimate is highly effective in dominance matches. This large AoE attack can kill anyone sitting on the point, or deal enough damage for you to finish them off with your trident toss. I won’t lie; his octopus minions don’t do much, and I haven’t really seen anyone distracted by them, but Namor’s kit allows him to fight without the help of a Strategist. He’s self-sufficient in a way, as he can protect himself and deal damage at all ranges, but this comes at a price. Playing by himself most of the match, Namor can get targeted, where teammates cannot help him in time.

Pros

• Capable of distracting enemies, allowing himself and the team to deal damage to opposing heroes who aren’t paying attention.
• Large AoE ultimate.
• Decent damage at all ranges.

Cons

• Weaker than other Duelists.
• While he can temporarily protect himself, he is trapped within this animation, meaning enemies can quickly kill him as soon as he exits his safety net.
• Limited kit.

Jeff

Although Jeff the Land Shark has an overpowered ultimate that works similarly to Overwatch‘s Lucio, Jeff is particularly weak when out in the open. Because of this, you need to frequently swap between Hide and Seek mode and healing your teammates. Jeff’s movement can be incredibly hard to track if done correctly. He shouldn’t stand around healing ever, otherwise he will die almost instantly. Instead, use Hide and Seek to move around the map, and strafe while healing to avoid Duelists. Use Hide and Seek whenever you’re not healing to avoid taking damage. Remember that you cannot use Hide and Seek to hold the convoy or take the point during overtime.

Pros

• Jeff can be an absolute menace on the battlefield if he times his ultimate correctly. Grab multiple enemies and throw them far from the objective, delaying the fight and increasing the endgame odds in your favor.
• Fantastic mobility.
• Can heal and hide, making him an impossible target to track during his Hide and Seek ability.

Cons

• Super weak health pool that means you can’t be out in the open for long.
• Slower healing than others. Healing Bubble placement is crucial because of this.

D tier

Wolverine

Wolverine is a bit of a weird one to me. He can be amazing in the right hands, but his kit is often wasted if you don’t know what you’re doing with him. He thrives on continuously hitting enemies, even if his punches aren’t connecting. This is because his damage increases the more furious he is. But Wolverine is incredibly easy to kill compared to other DPS characters. This is because his movement is rather limited and predictable. His leap, however, can help throw enemies off the point during overtime. This is incredibly helpful when one opponent remains on the point while the remaining members are waiting to spawn back in.

Pros

• Excels at absorbing damage to increase his close-range strength.
• Easily overwhelms enemies that are isolated.

Cons

• Punished easily if he has poor positioning.
• Easy to kill if he gets tunnel vision.
• Iron Fist does close-range fighting better than Wolverine.

Black Widow

Black Widow has a more balanced kit than Hawkeye, making her lethal at all ranges. But she isn’t as strong as him. Instead, Widow deals damage from afar, keeping herself moving so she isn’t shot down by projectiles, and supporting the team through the damage she’s dealt. Unlike Hawkeye, she likely won’t be kill leader, but her damage should be highest as she helps each member of the team. She’s a supportive DPS character who shouldn’t stand still for too long. She’s best played at the back, moving around the map, unnoticed and striking fear as her bullets hit the heads of her enemies.

Pros

• Decent mobility to rush to the objective or into an advantageous position.
• Widow has good weapons for all ranges.
• Great damage from her rifle.

Cons

• Easy to kill if caught standing still.
• Average health pool.
• Accuracy is key.

Rocket

The strength of Rocket lies in his ability to provide armor to his teammates and revive them. Placing beacons in safe spots, Rocket can bring back teammates who have fallen and give them a second chance. This is similar to Star-Lord, Mantis, and Adam Warlock’s Team-Up ability. Rocket has decent damage from a weapon that doesn’t require much accuracy, but you need to manage swapping between its modes to effectively support your team. Neither healing or damage is powerful enough to work on its own, so swapping between the two is essential to help your team survive.

Rocket isn’t strong enough on his own, but his movement and small hitbox makes him hard to kill. Unfortunately, he has the smallest impact as a Strategist.

Pros

• Tiny hitbox.
• Great movement.
• Revives a teammate in a safe and secure position, away from danger.
• Can provide armor alongside health to support fellow heroes.

Cons

• Inconsistent healing and damage output.
• More focused on damage than healing, which is odd as a Strategist.
• Isn’t strong enough as a Strategist.

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