Marvel Rivals Tier List : Best Character Explained
by Alaguvelan M | Updated Dec 06, 2024
Marvel Rival Tier List
Marvel Rivals starts strong with 33 characters at launch, offering many heroes to pick from. Whether you prefer a close-range fighter, a sharpshooter, a tough tank, or a helpful support hero who heals and aids teammates, there’s someone for every play style. Marvel Rivals characters are divided into three classes: Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategists. Here below is our Tier List, based on the Hero's impression this list gives you an idea of which is the best hero at the launch of Marvel Rivals.
Tier |
Characters |
Tier S |
Venom, Luna Snow, Hela, The Punisher, Thor, Rocket Raccoon |
Tier A |
Magneto, Adam Warlock, Doctor Strange, Mantis, Scarlet Witch |
Tier B |
Groot, Jeff the Land Shark, Iron Man, Storm, Star-Lord, Namor, Loki |
Tier C |
Hulk, Magik, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Peni Parker |
S - Tier Characters in Marvel Rivals
These characters are great picks for any match you play. They might get some changes before launch because they're so strong, but their abilities are solid enough to stay top-tier even after adjustments.
Venom
Venom is tough with 800 base health and abilities that make him even harder to kill, like Symbiotic Resilience and Feast of the Abyss, which boosts his health. His tentacle attacks deal heavy close-range damage, and skills like Cellular Corrosion and Frenzied Arrival slow enemies and close gaps quickly. Pair him with a strong close-range hero like Magic for an unstoppable combo.
Luna Snow
Luna Snow is an excellent support hero, balancing damage and healing. Her primary attack heals allies or seriously damages enemies with precise hits. In Ice Arts mode, her attacks improve, and she heals herself while the buff is active.
Share the Stage lets her heal two allies at once, perfect for tanks or aerial DPS heroes. Absolute Zero freezes enemies and heals her, making it great against attackers. Her ultimate, Fate of Both Worlds, stands out with modes for healing or boosting damage, letting her adapt to any situation.
The Punisher
The Punisher is a straightforward yet powerful character, similar to Soldier 76 from Call of Duty. With an assault rifle for mid-range and a shotgun for close combat, he can handle any threat. Whether it's Iron Man above or Spider-Man flanking, he can take them down with ease.
His deployable turret and mech ultimately boost his damage, making him great for both pushing objectives and defending against enemies trying to advance.
Thor
Thor is one of the more complex characters in Marvel Rivals. Despite his 2-star difficulty rating, he's challenging to master. Unlike other tanks, he doesn’t shield teammates or soak up damage—he focuses on dealing damage and moving quickly across the battlefield.
While some players may become Thor specialists, he’s not the easiest pick for most situations. He’s not bad, but his abilities feel clunky, especially with a two-second global cooldown after using any ability. Thor can be strong, but the effort required to play him well makes other, simpler Vanguard characters a better choice.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon isn’t the best healer, but he’s a versatile support character. Like Adam Warlock, Rocket can revive an ally with Battle Rebirth Beacon, which also gives out armor packs. For healing, he relies on his repair mode secondary fire, though it’s not as effective as Luna Snow or Adam Warlock’s abilities when saving allies in critical condition.
Rocket works well with The Punisher, especially if he remembers to use your pylon for extra support.
A - Tier Characters in Marvel Rivals
These characters are great choices overall. They strike a good balance between damage output and versatility in their roles. While they may not be the top-tier picks, they are still very enjoyable and effective to play.
Magneto
Magneto is a strong tank with good defense, crowd control, and damage. His primary attack fires slow but powerful projectiles that can take out DPS and support. His Bulwark ability gives shields to him or allies and boosts his damage. While strong, Magneto feels incomplete without Scarlet Witch’s Metallic Fusion, which adds a powerful team-up attack with wider area damage.
Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock is a versatile support hero. His abilities, Soul Bond and Avatar Life Stream keep allies healthy, while his basic attack and Cosmic Cluster deal strong damage.
His ultimate, Karmic Revival, can revive the whole team, changing the course of a fight in an instant. His passive gives him a second life, and with his team-up abilities, Mantis and Star-Lord also get a second chance. He’s a hero who can truly make a difference.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is an aggressive tank, ideal for coordinated teams with his team-wide teleport. His large shield helps with pushing objectives or holding positions.
His basic attack can deal heavy damage, but it requires careful management of Dark Magic. If not used wisely, it can lead to an anti-heal state, which can be deadly. However, if played well, Doctor Strange can be a game-changer for his team.
Mantis
Mantis is a support character focused on healing over time rather than burst healing. While she may not quickly heal allies like Adam Warlock or Luna Snow, her constant healing makes her a nuisance for the enemy. Luckily, she also has self-healing.
Mantis isn’t as versatile as other support heroes due to her lack of damage, but she works well as a second support. Her stun ability and damage boost effect help cover her weaknesses.
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch is strong in the playtest, but her limited kit may cause her effectiveness to drop as players improve. Her basic attack is annoying but deals low, constant damage that can be healed by characters like Mantis, Adam Warlock, or Luna Snow. However, it generates Chaos Energy for her more powerful attack, Chthonian Blast.
Her real strength lies in crowd control. Dark Seal can repeatedly stun enemies caught in its blast, making Scarlet Witch especially effective in choke points or against tank characters, where she can shut down teams with ease.
B - Tier Characters in Marvel Rivals
This rank features characters that can be highly effective with the right player but may be challenging for the average one. With enough skill and practice, these characters have the potential to lead to victories.
Groot
Groot is a strong tank that excels in certain team setups and modes. He works best up close, blocking enemies and buffing himself near barriers. His large size makes him an easy target, but with an aggressive team like Venom, Star-Lord, and Magik, Groot can help overwhelm the enemy.
Jeff the Land Shark
Jeff the Land Shark is an easy-to-play Strategist hero who fits into most teams. His bubbles amplify healing, and his AoE healing is top-tier, making him very valuable, especially after buffs in the final game version.
While vulnerable in Hide and Seek, Jeff is tough to hit, except for melee characters. His ultimate is one of the best—and most fun—capable of sending entire teams into the abyss. Though he may seem like a meme, Jeff is a strong supporter, especially when paired with Luna Snow.
Iron Man
Iron Man is a strong ranged, aerial DPS character, great at dealing AoE damage. His ability to hover keeps him out of reach, though he struggles against counters like The Punisher due to his lack of a dodge.
When not countered, Iron Man is reliable for softening up groups of enemies. However, his lack of burst damage, aside from his powerful ultimate, keeps him from being top-tier.
Storm
Storm is a support-damage hybrid with a unique role. Her basic attacks, Bolt Rush, and Goddess Boost deal solid damage, and her ability to fly helps her stay offensive. Her main strength is Weather Control, which lets her switch between buffs like increased movement speed and damage. Storm excels in tight teams that can use these buffs effectively, but with random players, this synergy is harder to achieve.
Star-Lord
Star-Lord may feel like he's missing a few abilities, but his agility and high damage make him a strong DPS character when played aggressively. He shines when dashing in, dodging damage, and taking down weaker enemies, especially healers. His Blaster Barrage is effective for softening up enemy groups, but he’s an easy target, so having teammates with you is key.
Namor
At the bottom of the Marvel Rivals tier list is Namor. While he's a damage dealer, he relies on turrets that can be easily destroyed, limiting his effectiveness. Even with Luna Snow's ice-imbued effect, his turrets don’t become more durable.
That’s the current Marvel Rivals tier list. Now that you know where the characters stand, make sure your settings are optimized for the best performance. We also keep an updated list of Marvel Rivals codes for free rewards.
Loki
Loki lives up to his reputation as the god of trickery, excelling as a slippery support who thrives on movement and healing allies. His decoys may not fool anyone for long, but they can be useful for distracting enemies. With invisibility and a deadly backstab, Loki can be lethal in the right hands, able to assassinate players by weaving in and out of combat.
Since he’s not a dedicated healer, Loki works best with heroes like Adam Warlock or Luna Snow, who can keep allies alive while he disrupts the enemy.
C - Tier Characters in Marvel Rivals
These characters are the ones you can easily pass on. They are the most likely to see changes before launch, so there’s not much to dive into.
Hulk
Hulk has three forms, but he’s not as complex as it seems. Most of the time, you'll play as Hero Hulk, who isn't very powerful. His abilities, like heavy punches and gamma-ray blasts, focus on damage but lack impact, and he's an easy target with few defensive options.
Hulk works best by diving in and out of the action, creating chaos rather than focusing on kills. He’s best picked if you have another strong tank or damage dealers on your team.
Magik
Magik is a melee DPS that requires skill to master but can be very powerful with the right allies, like Venom or Magneto, to absorb damage. She can teleport in and use various melee attacks that grant her bonus health, giving her better survivability than other melee DPS heroes like Black Panther without sacrificing damage.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man isn’t just an S-tier hero because he's popular—his burst damage and mobility make him a threat. As a combo-driven character, he relies on web-slinging to stay alive, making him hard to master. But once you do, he can quickly take out healers and DPS characters.
Use Spider-Tracer to mark enemies, then close the gap with Get Over Here! and hit them with the Amazing Combo uppercut. This is usually enough to take down standard health enemies, giving you time to retreat and swing back into the action.
Black Panther
Black Panther struggles to keep up with heroes like Magik and Spider-Man. While his close-range, combo-based kit is similar, he needs to land his attacks in a specific order to deal optimal damage. Missing any of the attacks leaves him vulnerable, and even when he completes the combo, his damage output is lower than his competitors.
Peni Parker
Peni Parker, the cheerful super-scientist spider-woman, is a fun hero, but her trap-based abilities can make her feel cumbersome. While the traps deal good damage, they are easy to counter, and Peni's defensive style makes her struggle with pushing objectives. However, her webs provide added survivability.