‘Marvel Rivals’ tier list – top Duelists, Vanguards, and Strategists

Marvel Rivals is finally out and NetEase have delivered a huge roster of characters across three different classes. Each hero has a variety of abilities, some are fresh for the genre and others are carbon copies of other moves we have seen in shooters before. But, with so many characters, it isn’t easy to find which ones are the best. That is where this article comes in.

Below we have put together a Marvel Rivals tier list, covering all 33 characters in the game right now and where they rank on the list of the best characters in the game. On top of the ranking, you can find a detailed explanation of why each character is positioned where it is. This article will be kept updated each season and when new characters drop!

‘Marvel Rivals’ tier list – best characters

The Marvel Rivals tier list currently is:

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

S-Tier

S-Tier heroes are the best in the game. They offer incredible character abilities and kits that can pump out massive damage, support your team, or push into objectives easily. In the right hands, some of these heroes can destroy teams, while others are just powerful generally.

Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock is the best Strategist in the game right now. Soul Bond and Avatar Life Stream work together to service some incredible healing potential, as well as allowing you to distribute damage more evenly across your team. His cooldowns are also quite fast, allowing you to quickly and rapidly heal your team and support them. The fact you don’t need to aim these healing bursts too is also handy.

On top of that, his ultimate is one of the best in the game, with the potential to change an entire round by reviving your team. The one major downside with Adam is that his weapon requires some precise aim to deal damage, but it is powerful if you can land hits.

Captain America

As players have finally got hands-on with Captain America, he has become a standout character. He has the same charge potential as other Vanguards like Venom, but with the added ability to reflect damage thanks to his shield. He can also throw it to give him some extra range.

He also boasts some of the highest mobility for a Vanguard, able to charge in and leap into battle to surprise a team. That high defence, strong damage, and mobility work with his ultimate that will continuously heal and boost the movement speed of your team. He can also launch enemies in the air, pulling them away from a point, something few Vanguards can do.

Doctor Strange

A good Doctor Strange can win you the match. The character is the strongest Vanguard in the game because of his suite of abilities. Not only can he place portals to teleport the team, he can also hold a shield up to prevent the enemies from damaging your team like Magneto. He also has an area-of-effect stun that can damage groups of enemies, as well as the ability to levitate and hover around the arena.

Strong regular damage, as well as his Eye of Agamotto Ultimate which stuns all enemies and allows you to damage their souls while they are stunned, make him a force to be reckoned with. You can lose games if your Doctor Strange isn’t playing him right. While you can without him, having him on your team doesn’t hurt.

Iron Man

Iron Man is a bombardier, able to fire small explosive rounds from his repulsors that deal decent damage. However, when done while he is flying, he can have more precise aim and hit enemies easier due to the elevation. You want to play in the air all the time as Iron Man. If you are on the ground you are playing him wrong.

This means you can hang back, deal some damage without being at risk of getting punched by one of the several melee characters high on this list. Additionally his Ultimate fires a huge Pulse Cannon explosion that can wipe out an enemy team in a similar way to Scarlet Witch’s Ultimate.

Moon Knight

Moon Knight is exceptional currently. His entire playstyle is supported by the fact his projectiles can deflect off enemies to land several hits (each doing the same damage). This can be amplified with Ankhs that he places on the ground that act like totems, reflecting that damage back again. You can land several hits on groups of enemies if you spam your projectiles and kill low-health characters in one or two seconds by making the most of how he functions. This is why Loki and groups that stand close together are particularly vulnerable to him.

Additionally, he has a solid movement kit that allows him to glide and grapple, as well as double jump. His Ultimate is an improved version of Namor’s in a way. It calls down Hands of Khonshu that fly in from the sky and deal damage in an area. The best part is this can work indoors and it actually does damage, unlike Namor’s Ultimate.

Psylocke

Psylocke might be the hardest heroes to learn in Marvel Rivals. She is a high-skill character, focused on dashing and darting around. She is a nuisance, a pain, distracting opponents while the rest of their team fights. Additionally, she can also become invisible which makes her faster. Her ultimate is a set of several sword slashes that are distrubuted evenly amongst an enemy team in the area and her regular fire can do decent damage in clusters.

The one major catch with Psylocke is that she is incredibly weak, so not playing her right and not using her abilities can make you an easy target. However, putting in the time to learn her is incredibly rewarding because she is so powerful and she can easily change the tide in seconds if a flank is executed well.

Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl is probably going to see a nerf. Her kit is simple, but the damage she does is high, arguably too high. Her slingshot fires bouncing explosives that can catch enemeis around a corner. She also has a giant acorn she can throw that can lock enemies in place if hit by it. This can ground flying opponents, which can be devastating for them.

That is really it. Her Ultimate charges some squirrels at enemies, but it isn’t too effective. Those core parts of her kit are so strong that she manages to enter the S-Tier. She is also incredibly easy to learn.

A-Tier

A-Tier heroes are great, easy to use or highly powerful. They have some of the more powerful abilities in the game and can easily outpower anyone in the right scenario. They are obvious choices for anyone looking to rack up kills in a match.

Cloak and Dagger

Cloak and Dagger are an intimidating duo to learn. They are effectively two characters in one, which you can freely switch between. Dagger servers as the main healer, while Cloak can deal high damage and blind enemies. Both of these toolsets makes them one of the strongest Strategists in the game.

From becoming invulnerable to placing healing auras and throwing out walls to blinding enemies, one of these characters would be good, but both of them together makes them excellent. They take a little while to learn, but are extremely strong in a skilled player’s hands.

Groot

Groot has really grown into himself during the full launch of the game. Once a tank that felt out of place, he is now a core part of any good team. High health and barriers that he can place can keep enemies off of objectives, separate groups, and allow your team to effectively counter some Ultimates. It also boosts his own survivability, allowing him to be healed or to reload his man attack.

He has good range, a bomb that can deal good damage, and an Ultimate that can lock enemies in place and disable their abilities. All of these powers and attacks work together to create one of the strongest, well-rounded Vanguards in the game and makes him incredibly enjoyable to play too.

Hawkeye

Hawkeye has snuck onto the scene and become a menace. His powerful arrows can pick enemies off and deal consistent damage without needing to be in the middle of the action. Additionally, his knife attacks are great at tackling any ambushers.

His Ultimate is also exceptionally strong, allowing you to aim at enemy afterimages as they move and deal damage to them. There is no escape when you are facing a Hawkeye and that makes him especially effective as a Duelist.

Hela

Hela is the closest thing to a sniper outside of Black Widow. Unlike the Russian spy, she uses high-damage projectiles and well-placed Thorns to deal a bunch of damage in bursts. She requires good aim, but if you keep back you can pick enemies off quickly, especially with the ability to fly upwards and turn into a raven.

Her Ultimate makes her a bit of a sitting duck, but she does a lot of damage and has a lot of health, which can wipe out an enemy team if used right. She doesn’t have the most interesting kit, but it is a powerful one.

Iron Fist

Iron Fist is a complex Duelist. His entire build revolves around constantly zipping around the map and dealing damage. He has a lot of jumps and movement abilities to help with this, alongside both dashing punches and regular flurries. Additionally, Iron Fist can parry attacks, one of the only characters in the game with this ability. Parrying an attack gives him additional damage reduction and allows for a quick follow-up.

His Ultimate is also exceptionally strong, amping up everything about his kit and boosting his speed, damage, and attack range, making him incredibly devastating. Iron Fist is hard to learn but someome skilled can destroy a team with him.

Magneto

Magneto is one of the easiest Vanguard characters to learn in the game, and one of the most tanky. He has tons of health and can apply additional bubble shields to you and your teammats. His Ultimate is great at pushing enemies back or off an objective and his damage is excellent, especially when paired with his shield which he can hold up in front of him.

He also has an additional passsive effect of building up strength in his regular attacks the longer you wait between shots. The more rings appear on his back the more damage he does and it is excellent. Someone with precise, well-placed shots can do a lot of damage with him.

Mantis

Mantis is still a really solid healer. The easiest in the Strategist category to use, she can support her team with an aura that heals and boosts the movement of surrounding allies. She also overheals her team if they are at full health. This makes her better than Luna Snow in almost every way. Additionally, she can avoid projectiles easily and amplify those supporting effects with other attacks in her arsenal.

She is a little weak, but as supports go she is one of the best to use.

Peni Parker

Peni Parker has seen a dramatic buff since the pre-launch period. Originally, not too effective, her suit can now coat the map or an objective in little drones that deal damage, as well as Cyber-Webs that provide boosts and healing for your team, as well as slowing enemies. Her Ultimate allows her to charge around the arena, spawining these everywhere.

She is great at locking enemies out of areas or supporting your team in them. The only catch is she has one core playstyle and you can’t be too flexible with her.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch is one of the strongest pure Duelist characters. Her game is damage and that is about it. She can deal continuous damage to enemies at a close range with her powers sucking their lifeforce. But, at medium to close-range the attack will do nothing. She can get up close (and back off) with her teleportation and glide, allowing her to quickly travel or hang above groups and deal damage.

She also has a incredibly effective orb that will periodically stun enemies and prevent them from moving if they are in its radius. Finally, her ultimate is one of the most powerful, capable of wiping out an entire team. The only downside is she can easily be killed by a team that is able to prioritise key targets well.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is the hardest hero in the game to learn, maybe besides Psylocke. He is exceptionally weak, but his form allows him to avoid damage and projectiles easily, alongside the fact he can swing anywhere and everywhere.

What makes him hard to learn is his combat style is about swinging in, landing an uppercut punch, and then swinging back out. This requires good aim, excellent situational awareness, and strong planning to ensure you make it out alive. When up close he can do incredible damage, but these combat aspects make him hard to pick up and play.

Venom

Venom is by far the strongest high-health Vanguard in the game. He can overheal, add armor when love to supplement his lack of health, and attack from a medium range thanks to his tentacle pierces. He also has a really strong melee combo.

The one weakness is his ultimate isn’t powerful, but it can split teams apart and finish off enemies that are running away. But, you can quickly escape back it or continue to deal damage with his grapple and diving slam. Once you learn how to play Venom, then there isn’t another high-health tank that is as fun to play.

Wolverine

The only downside with Wolverine is his lack of a ranged attack. Otherwise, he is an insane character, able to pump out damage with his claws at a concerningly insane rate. He combines that with boosts damage, overhealing as he attacks more and is able to induce a rage state.

He excels even further thanks to his mobility options and the fact he can catch several enemies in an attack. He can launch someone away from the team, pin them to a wall, and even dash forward to ambush them. Quite frankly his abilities are unlike any other in the Duelist slot and he can push in a similar way to a Vanguard.

B-Tier

B-Tier heroes are good, able to hold their own and support your team. However, they have one or two downsides that make them a risky choice if you haven’t learnt how to play them or are facing a team with a lot of team-up abilities. You can absolutely make these heroes work. They just aren’t quite as good as the A and S tiers.

Black Widow

Black Widow serves a unique role in Marvel Rivals, with a sniper rifle. Besides Hela, not many other characters fill this slot, and as such, she has a solid range of abilities. She can charge shots while also remaining effective up close thanks to her nunchucks and kicks. However, her Ultimate isn’t too special, and Cloak and Dagger have a similar effect but are more effective.

Arguably, Black Widow’s biggest downside is that she can’t one-shot anyone at full health, which prevents her from being overpowered. But, it does make her a little weak. She is able to keep to the back corners of maps and arenas, out of the way, which is a huge advantage.

Jeff the Land Shark

Jeff the Land Shark is the most adorable character in the game and his Ultimate can be devastating, throwing an entire team off the map if you get lucky. However, his stature and exposed flesh make him incredibly weak. So, while he can heal everyone effectively, his own survivability could be better.

One major upside is you have a lot of mobility thanks to being able to dive into the ground. He can also deal a lot of damage with his charged attacks.

Loki

Loki has some core strengths, like being able to copy abilities, place duplicates of himself, and place healing auras. He also has alright damage. But, those abilities make him a target in the current state of the game. Tightly packed duplicates or multiple enemies standing in a healing aura allow you to be the target of explosive or Moon Knight’s Ankhs.

Moon Knight specifically can make short work of a team with Loki as his projectiles will reflect off his Ankhs he places, as well as enemies. Duplicates count as enemies so those projectiles will reflect off of them, dealing extra damage to an entire team.

Luna Snow

Luna Snow is here purely because of her Ultimate. Fate of Both Worlds allows her to heal allies and grant them a damage boost by switching between two modes, which can allow a team to push an objective or survive an onslaught. Her regular healing abilities are also pretty solid, alongside her movement options.

But she is weak, easily picked off. Additionally, Luna Snow lacks damage options, making her not as effective as other Stategists.

Rocket Raccoon

Rocket has a pretty diverse kit. He can give Bucky and The Punisher unlimited ammo, place small armour packs, buff his team with his C.Y.A. amplifier, and set down a revive beacon for your team to spawn closer to the objective. Solid damage and healing make him a great jack-of-all-trades character.

However, his movement isn’t ideal, and generally he can’t hold his own if he is at the front. Therefore, you are reliant on your team to take the brunt of the damage when using him. Either way, he is still a good character overall.

Star-Lord

Star-Lord in Marvel Rivals has his dual pistols and a lot of movement from his jet boots. He can fire really fast, dash around, and hop in the middle of a fight to act as a Duelist/disruptor. But, he lacks damage.

His regular fire is extremely weak, and even when you gain a form of auto lock-on with his Ultimate, that damage doesn’t change. It’s his main drawback and stops him from being higher on this list.

Storm

Storm balances wind and lightning to support her team, granting increased movement or boosting overall team damage. These buffs can dramatically change key moments in a match, even when her damage doesn’t match the effectiveness of these buffs.

However, being in the air, around your team, makes you an easy character to pick off. She also lacks a lot of movement abilities besides her glide, which makes her a bit of a sitting duck.

Thor

Thor remains a solid tank. He has a lot of damage and armour that he can regain with Thorforce and Awakening Rune to enter his Awakened State. His damage potential is also decent. However, the one major catch is that all of his abilities rely on your Thorforce charges, and most use them. To enter the Awakened State, you will need full charges, which doesn’t happen as much as you would think.

This can severely limit Thor’s power and effectiveness, making him reliant on his hammer swings. Additionally, your movement ability removes a Thorforce charge, which means you can’t dash into enemies easily and activate Awakening Rune right away.

Winter Soldier

The Winter Soldier has one of the most fun character kits in the game. His Roterstern weapon does an excellent chunk of damage, while his ability to pull enemies to him, dash to them, or slow them gives him a lot of versatility. Add on top his Ultimate, which can break up enemy groups and instantly kill opponents when they are marked by a slam, refilling his ultimate to use again, makes him a really strong Duelist.

The one major catch is that if you are facing a lot of high-health enemies, these abilities lose effectiveness as you can’t kill them quickly. He can also be picked off fairly easily.

C-Tier

C-Tier characters are situationally good but not strong at all. In a few scenarios they can dominate matches and deal a lot of damage. But generally, their abilities have a few downsides that can easily be countered.

Black Panther

Ahead of launch, Black Panther was widely considered to be one of the strongest characters. However, in the full game, other characters have a better ability to dart around and disrupt enemies. He is still highly mobile, but his kicks and spear toss aren’t easy to land in the heat of a battle, despite doing good damage.

Really, though, he can just be picked off far too easily in the game right now, and a small health boost or rework would see him climb this list.

Bruce Banner/Hulk

Bruce Banner/Hulk is still the weakest Vanguard in the game. He is a walking tank in that he has a lot of health, but he lacks damage. Radioactive Lockdown can catch an enemy off guard, but there are other Vanguards that do everything Hulk is doing better.

The fact that his abilities are split into three forms makes him tricky to master, and you have to do a lot to be able to consistently survive and not be trapped in Bruce Banner’s scrawny form. Overall, there are much better choices you can make.

Magik

Like some other characters on this list, during the beta period, Magik was a lot stronger than she is in the full game. She still has a lot of unpredictability that can make her hard to deal with. But besides a Sword Arc, her reliance on melee attacks means she needs to have good supporting healing or damage buffs to be able to survive.

She is particularly weak to area-of-effect attacks, explosives, and other Ultimates due to her lack of health and defence. On top of that, she is quite hard to learn, and you don’t necessarily get a return in effectiveness back if you invest that time.

The Punisher

So, The Punisher is a bit of an outlier in this tier. He can be exceptionally strong, doing a lot of hitscan damage, meaning you don’t have to worry about projectile travel time. He also has a strong turret that can mow down a team, providing you aren’t flanked. But, besides target damage, he lacks the ability to control areas and objectives.

Additionally, besides his ultimate, he has extremely low multi-target damage potential, meaning he can easily get picked off by several enemies. Rebalancing isn’t really needed – his placement is because of the way the character plays.

D-Tier

D-Tier heroes are those that are not effective in the current state of the game. They either have poor damage, bad abilities with few uses, or aren’t able to survive long enough to be effective.

Namor

Unfortunately, Namor is the only D-Tier character right now. His damage output is decent, but his abilities are lacking compared to almost every other character in the game. While his Horn of Proteus ability can stun a group of enemies, charged spear attacks and his minions aren’t anything special.

His kit feels like a number of different abilities stitched together, rather than a unified kit that is effective. Fingers crossed he sees a rework soon!

For even more on Marvel Rivals, check out our breakdown of how to earn Units, how to earn Chrono Tokens, and how to earn Lattice in the game.