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.
Published: Jan 10, 2025 12:26 pm