Marvel Rivals players agree—the best part of playing Vanguard is showing up Duelists

Playing as a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals can be challenging, but many Vanguard players have stuck with their preferred class and ended up achieving some satisfying results.

In a recent Reddit thread posted on r/MarvelRivals, players threw around reasons why playing as a Vanguard (Tank) can be so much fun. Many of the most common answers revolve around getting large amounts of KOs, with a recurring theme being “outDPSing the DPS.” Duelists (the game’s DPS characters) are usually the ones trying to get the most kills possible—and the class has a reputation of getting upset at others when the Duelist players in question run off on their own and get KO’d because of it, while the Vanguards are with the group taking all the damage. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t getting their own eliminations.

But kills weren’t the only things on Vanguard players’ minds. Many also cited finding ways to better help their team that makes them happy, such as helping out the Strategists (Healers) from getting attacked from behind so they can keep healing you. Strategists usually get the short end of the stick, often getting blamed for other people’s losses despite trying their best. But both Vanguards and Strategists need each other to win, so it’s nice to see both helping each other.

In regards to more character-specific responses, Doctor Strange proved to be a very popular Vanguard pick in Marvel Rivals thanks to his strong shields and the unique plays you can make with his portals. By now, you’ve probably seen the clips online of Doctor Strange players opening up portals in front of the entrance of the enemy’s spawn point and watching them walk through the other side and off the stage to their deaths. While not as funny as a portal death trap, Peni Parker planting invisible mines all over the spawn point entrance and watching the opposing team walk right into them is also great.

And when it comes to ultimate attacks, both shutting them down and dishing them out can be equally satisfying. Hulk grabbing flying players trying to use their ultimates out of the air and Groot locking down other players so that a Duelist can finish the job were some of the many highlights players pointed out. But perhaps the best ultimate shutdown tool is Magneto, simply because he uses his own ultimate to do it, absorbing power and turning it back on the enemy team. “FEAR MAGNETO” is a Duelist main’s least favorite ultimate voice line—and a favorite of many Vanguard players, judging by the thread.

Responses like this really highlight the importance of team cohesion, and how everyone, including Vanguards, benefit when they work together. While all three classes have their perks, Vanguards do make a very good case as to why they are some of the most fun to play, especially when they outplay a Duelist.