Marvel Rivals character tier list – Best beta Vanguards, Duelists and Strategists

Marvel Rivals features a large roster of iconic characters and our ranked tier list will help you decide which to use to dominate the arena during the Closed Beta.

The Overwatch influences are clear to see, as each hero and villain is broken into the Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist roles, which roughly translate to Tank, DPS, and Support respectively. But, with the beta ending on August 5 and so many unique abilities to learn, picking the best character isn’t easy.

Luckily, we’ve put together a Marvel Rivals character tier list that ranks each one based on how powerful they are in the current meta.

Marvel Rivals characters ranked tier list

Tier	Character
S	Hela, Loki, Rocket Racoon, Scarlet Witch, Venom, Adam Warlock
A	Iron Man, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Doctor Strange, Namor, Jeff the Land Shark
B	Peni Parker, Groot, Punisher, Magneto, Mantis, Luna Snow, Thor
C	Storm, Magik, Black Panther, Hulk

Tiers explained

• S-tier: The meta characters that stand above the rest.
• A-tier: Powerful characters that are a strong alternative to the S-tier picks.
• B-tier: Viable options that only work in certain situations.
• C-tier: Avoid unless they’re your favorite characters.

Best characters explained

Jeff the Land Shark

• Joyful Splash: Unleash a healing splash.
• Aqua Burst: Launch a high-speed water sphere that bursts upon impact, dealing damage to enemies within range.
• Hide and See: Dive into the ground with only his dorsal fin exposed, granting himself a movement boost and the wall-crawl ability.
• Healing Bubble: Spit out a bubble that heals the ally who collects it, boosting all healing for that ally.
• It’s Jeff!: Deep dive into the ground and resurface to swallow both enemies and allies within range, activating Hide and Seek for a brief duration before ejecting the swallowed heroes forward.
• Passive: Oblivious Cuteness: Reduce damage taken from critical strikes.
• Team-Up Ability 1: Luna Snow infuses ice energy into Jeff the Land Shark, who then can tap into the ice energy to power up their abilities.
• Team-Up Ability 2: Jeff the Land Shark can ride on Groot’s shoulders, receiving damage reduction.

Jeff the Land Shark is one of the latest additions to Marvel Rivals, and his value is already plain to see. Healing Bubble is one of the best AoE healing abilities in the game, and he has great synergy with multiple other characters thanks to his Team-Up and Ultimate abilities.

He can still be vulnerable to damage while using Hide and See, but he’s very difficult to hit while in this state – making it a great defensive ability.

He doesn’t have the same Strategist prowess as Loki or Adam Warlock, but he’s a really great A-Tier choice that’s fun to play and fairly easy to learn.

Spider-Man

• Spider-Power: Swing fists forward to strike, dealing extra damage to the enemy with a Spider-Tracer.
• Web-Swing: Shoot a strand of webbing to swing.
• Get Over Here!: Shoot webbing to reel in the hit enemy. If the enemy is tagged with a Spider-Tracer, Spider-Man will get pulled to them instead.
• Amazing Combo: Launch an enemy upward, dealing extra damage to the enemy with a Spider-Tracer.
• Thwip and Flip: Perform a double jump.
• Web-Cluster: Shoot a Web-Cluster that deals damage and attaches a Spider-Tracer to the hit enemy.
• Spectacular Spin: Launch Web-Clusters all around to damage and Stun enemies.
• Spider-Sense (Passive): Give a warning of enemies that have been around.
• Wall Crawl (Passive): Press Space to crawl on vertical surfaces, and Press Left Click to run on them.
• Team-Up Abilities (Passive): Touch of Klyntar: Venom shares a part of his symbiote with Spider-Man and Peni Parker, activating their symbiote abilities. Spider-Man and Peni Parker can convert the symbiote into explosive spikes that inflict harm on nearby enemies and relentlessly drive them back.

Spider-Man has incredible mobility and works particularly well with the best Vanguard in the game, Venom, making him a great pick in the best team composition.

Web Swing and Get Over Here! both allow him to get in and out quickly, damaging enemies and leaving them behind before they have a chance to figure out what happened. His Ultimate, Spectacular Spin, also gives him an edge that lets him stun enemies to his teammates can finish them off.

Both of his Passives help know where enemies are and give him the mobility that many other characters in Marvel Rivals lack, making him a solid choice for any situation.

Doctor Strange

• Daggers of Denak: Cast Daggers of Denak forward.
• Cloak of Levitation: Ascend and then enter a brief state of sustained flight.
• Maelstrom of Madness: Release Dark Magic to deal damage to nearby enemies.
• Pentagram of Farallah: Open portals between two locations, enabling all units to travel through them.
• Shield of the Seraphim: Create a protective barrier against damage.
• Price of Magic (Passive): Dark Magic accumulates with every hit on an enemy. If Dark Magic is not released, Doctor Strange will enter a state of Anti-Heal.
• Gamma Maelstrom (Team-Up Ability): Hulk charges Doctor Strange and Iron Man with gamma radiation. When Doctor Strange uses Maelstrom of Madness, he unleashes excess gamma energy. When Iron Man uses Armor Overdrive, he will initiate a gamma upgrade.
• Eye of Agamotto (Ultimate): Separate nearby enemies’ Souls from their bodies. Damage dealt to these Souls is transferred to their physical bodies.

Plenty of characters on our list have interesting mobility options, but Doctor Strange takes this one step further by offering them to the rest of the team. Using the Pentagram of Farallah, he can open a portal between two spots on the map, making it easy for respawning teammates to rejoin the action, or help get the drop on them from behind.

That’s not all though, as the Shield of the Seraphim blocks incoming attacks and soaks up damage, while his Eye of Agamotto Ultimate gives his team a brief window to deal some hefty damage, making the Sorcerer Supreme a great all-rounder.

Unfortunately, the Dark Magic build-up that can slowly deplete his health bar does keep him out of the S-tier, but he’s still a more than viable option.

Iron Man – Best starter character

• Repulsor Blast: Fire nano pulse cannons forward.
• Unibeam: Fire a unibeam forward.
• Hyper-Velocity: Activate Hyper-Velocity state for swift forward flight.
• Armor Overdrive: Activate Armor Overdrive state, enhancing damage of Repulsor Blast and Unibeam.
• Micro-Missile Barrage: When Hyper-Velocity or Armor Overdrive is used, Iron Man can launch a missile bombardment.
• Gamma Overdrive (Team-Up Ability): Hulk charges Doctor Strange and Iron Man with gamma radiation. When Doctor Strange uses Maelstrom of Madness, he unleashes excess gamma energy. When Iron Man uses Armor Overdrive, he will initiate a gamma upgrade.
• Invincible Pulse Cannon (Ultimate): Fire a devastating pulse cannon in the targeted direction, delivering catastrophic damage to the targeted area upon impact.

If you’re a Pharah main in OW, then you’ll be right at home in Iron Man’s armor in Marvel Rivals. With the help of Stark’s thrusters, you can fly overhead and rain down damage from above.

While most of his abilities are that powerful individually, the fact he’s able to hover at safe distance and unleash constant hits is his real strength. If the other team wants to take you out of the equation, they’ll need to shift their focus from the ground to the air, which can also leave them vulnerable.

That’s not to say his gadgets are useless though, his Invincible Pulse Cannon, in particular, can lay waste to multiple opponents in a flash. If you’re new to this kind of shooter, Iron Man is a fun but rewarding character to choose while you learn the ropes.

Venom – Best Vanguard

• Dark Predation: Unleash tentacles forward to attack enemies.
• Venom Swing: Launch webbing forward, allowing for a singular swing in the desired direction.
• Symbiotic Resilience: Generate Bonus Health against damage. The lower Venom’s health, the greater the Bonus Health generated.
• Frenzied Arrival: Dash to the target location from a certain height. Upon landing, damage nearby enemies, knocking them back toward the landing point.
• Cellular Corrosion: Unleash tentacles to Slow enemies within reach. Enemies unable to break free in time will suffer damage.
• Alien Biology (Passive): Press Space/A/X to wall crawl, and while crawling, press LMB/R2/RT to sprint.
• Touch of Klyntar (Passive, Team-Up Ability): Venom shares a part of his symbiotes with Spider-Man and Peni Parker, activating their symbiote abilities. Spider-Man and Peni Parker can convert the symbiotes into explosive spikes that inflict harm on nearby enemies and relentlessly drive them back.
• Feast of the Abyss (Ultimate): Burrow underground for free movement. After a duration or by pressing LMB/R2/RT to devour enemies above and generate Bonus Health.

While the Vanguards are inspired by the Tank class in Overwatch, very few characters embody the role of a ‘Tank’ quite like Venom. The Symbiote is perfect for getting up close and personal while soaking up damage, which has made him my go-to brute during the beta period.

Combining Venom Swing with Frenzied Arrival lets you quickly get the drop on the other team, while Symbiotic Resilience offers extra health so you keep the pressure on. For the best results, you’ll want to get into the habit of dropping in, dealing damage, and swinging away for healing before coming back for more.

He’s more than strong enough to take out less skilled teams by simply spamming attacks and acting as a damage sponge, but if you take the time to learn his nuances you’ll find he’s one of the best characters in Marvel Rivals.

Rocket Racoon

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• Bombard Mode: Fire energy projectiles that deal damage.
• Repair Mode: Shoot bouncing spheres to heal allies.
• Jetpack Dash: Dash forward.
• B.R.B. – Battle Rebirth Beacon: Deploy a Rebirth Beacon that revives a fallen ally and periodically produces armor packs and rocket jet packs.
• Wild Crawl (Passive): Hold Space/X/A to run on a wall.
• Flying Ace (Passive): Hold Space/X/A to fall slowly.
• Old Friends (Team-Up Ability): Rocket Racoon can ride on Groot’s shoulders, receiving Damage Reduction.
• Ammo Invention (Team-Up Ability): Rocket Raccoon throws an Ammo Overload Device in the target direction. Upon entering the device’s range, The Punisher receives the buffs of Infinite Ammo and Faster Firing.
• C.Y.A. – Cosmic Yarn Amplifier (Ultimate): Deploy a Cosmic Yarn Amplifier that grants allies a Damage Boost.

Despite being one of the easiest to learn, Rocket Raccoon is also one of the best characters in Marvel Rivals during the beta. He’s the character I gravitated towards in my early hours, as he feels instantly familiar as a long-time Overwatch player.

His main goal is to keep his teammates alive and he does this easily with the help of Repair Mode, the alternate fire on his primary weapon, and B.R.B to provide armor and revive your allies. But that’s not to say he can’t deal damage of his own, as his main weapon packs more of a punch than expected.

If you’re someone who gravitated toward the likes of Baptiste or even Kiriko in OW, then this Guardian of the Galaxy is the pick for you.

Scarlet Witch

• Chaos Control: Use Chaos Magic to attack enemies and restore Chaos Energy.
• Mystic Projection: Enter the Projection state for free-flight. Press again to exit early.
• Dark Seal: Land a hit on a target or the scene, or press again to generate a Force Field that periodically Stuns enemies within range.
• Telekinesis: Hold Space/X/A to fall slowly.
• Chthonian Burst: Consume Chaos Energy to fire explosive magic missiles, damaging enemies.
• Chaotic Bond (Team-Up Ability, Passive): Scarlet Witch can infuse Chaos Energy into Magneto to enchant his greatsword. Upon receiving the Chaos Energy, Magneto can unleash its full force, striking down enemies with his enchanted greatsword.
• Reality Erasure (Ultimate): Engage in free-flight while charging energy, then unleash it to deal massive damage.

Many of the characters that ranked high on our tier list are fairly all-around when it comes to offense and defense, but Scarlet Witch is the definition of high-risk high reward. While she struggles to block Mystic Projection is her only real ability that avoids incoming fire, but this is balanced out by arguably the best damage output in the entire game.

Using Chaos Control as a standard attack is effective in its own right, but once you get into the rhythm of using it to charge the more powerful Chthonian Burst, you’ll be whittling down health bars in the blink of an eye.

The real skill is in deciding when to attack and when to hold back, but in the right pair of hands, she’s as devastating as comic book fans would come to expect.

Adam Warlock – Best healer

• Quantum Magic: Launch quantum energy to deal damage.
• Soul Bond: Unite the souls of allies in a bond, granting them healing over time and distributing damage taken across the bond.
• Avatar Life Stream: Target an ally for a bouncing stream of healing energy, which also heals himself upon casting; self-targets if no ally is selected
• Cosmic Cluster: Gather quantum energy into a cluster then swiftly launch it at the enemy.
• Regenerative Cocoon (Passive): Once his body perishes, Adam can freely move as a soul and reforge his body at a chosen spot.
• Soul Perseverance (Team-Up Ability, Passive): Adam Warlock enhances the rebirth power of Star-Lord and Mantis, granting them the power of cocooned revival.
• Karmic Revival (Ultimate): Awaken the karma of allies to revive them. Allies revived have lower health but enjoy a brief period of invincibility.

Every team needs a healer and Adam Warlock has already become the go-to Strategist for the job. His kit is tailor-made to keep his allies in the fight and bring them back from the brink of defeat.

Soul Link joins multiple teammates together and heals them both simultaneously while sharing any damage between them. This is ideal for when you’re pushing an objective, especially if you’ve got more than one Tank bonded together, as it makes them incredibly difficult to take down.

But even if he fails to keep them on the field, the Karmic Revival (Ultimate) can bring back fallen players and respawn them at a location of your choosing, which has already come in clutch and rescued multiple matches that looked destined to end in a loss.

This ability to completely change the momentum of a match is what elevates Adam Warlock above other characters in his class and into the S-tier.

Loki – Best Strategist

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• Mystical Missile: Fire Mystical Missiles to heal allies or deal damage to enemies.
• Regeneration Domain:  Use Rune Stones to create a magical field that converts damage taken by allies within its radius into healing energy.
• Doppelganger: Project an illusion that can cast some of Loki’s abilities.
• Devious Exchange: Swap with the selected illusion.
• Backstab: Pull out a dagger to stab enemies, dealing extra damage when attacking an enemy from behind.
• Deception: Become invisible and conjure an illusion to deceive enemies.
• Laufeyson Reborn (Team-Up Ability, Passive): When Hela lands a final hit in defeating an enemy, she can instantly resurrect Loki in the respawn phase. If Loki is alive, a Nastrond Crow will fly to him, granting blue armor.
• God of Mischief (Ultimate): Shapeshift into a targeted ally or enemy hero and use all the hero’s abilities.

Loki is known as the Trickster God and his kit doubles down on this on Marvel Rivals. Using his magic to confuse his opponents and sneak around the battlefield, he’s a Strategist who’s capable of influencing a match more than most.

Regeneration Domain is a vital ability that converts damage into healing, helping a team hold down a point while facing pressure for the enemies. Meanwhile, the combination of Doppelganger, Deception, and Devious Exchange floods the arena with copies of Loki that let you blend in and move around noticed.

But, the real icing on the cake is the Laufeyson Reborn Team-Up with Hela, which lets the meta Duelsit revive him after a kill or offer him an extra shield. Since these two top-tier characters also happen to work well together, don’t be surprised to see this combination often.

Best character in Marvel Rivals

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• Nightsword Thorn: Throw Nightsword thorns.
• Astral Flock: Transform into a flock of Hel crows to glide forth, press again to undo the transformation.
• Soul Drainer: Project an explosive Hel sphere to Stun nearby enemies.
• Piercing Night: Fire multiple Nightsword thorns that detonate after a delay.
• Nastrond Crowstorm: Defeating an enemy will generate a Nastrond Crow, exploding after a duration.
• Hel’s Descent (Passive): Hold Space/X/A to fall slowly.
• Queen of Hel (Team-Up Ability, Passive): When Hela lands a final hit in defeating an enemy, she can instantly resurrect Loki in the respawn phase. If Loki is alive, a Nastrond Crow will fly to him, granting blue armor.
• Goddess of Death (Ultimate): Soar into the sky and unleash Nastrond Crows from each hand at will.

Pound for pound, Hela is the best character in Marvel Rivals. She has appeared in virtually every match I’ve played so far and after finally making the switch, it’s easy to see why.

The powerful Asgardian is deadly at long range, with her main attack and Piercing Night ability ideal for picking off any Strategists lingering at the back of the crowd or flying characters like Iron Man.

Astral Flock also gives an extra layer of mobility, allowing you to quickly escape if you get pushed by the enemy team. It may take a few matches to learn the best vantage points on each map, but once you do, Hela is capable of dealing a ton of damage from relatively safe locations.

The Goddess of Death Ultimate is also one of the most powerful in the beta, ideal for clearing objectives or finishing off multiple enemies in rapid succession.

So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of options and want to focus in on just one meta character, Hela should be your first port of call.

Are Thor & Jeff the Land Shark good in Marvel Rivals?

Thor and Jeff the Land Shark are the latest additions to the roster and were released during the Beta on July 27. They have both already found their place in the current meta, with Jeff the Land Shark being a solid A-Tier character and Thor falling in B-Tier.

Jeff the Land Shark is an easy-to-learn Strategist that can fall into pretty much any team composition quite easily, making him a great choice for any situation. He has some of the best AoE healing in the game, and has one of the best Ultimates with the right combo.

Thor, on the other hand, is a little more niche. It takes quite some time to learn his abilities, and even then, he can fall short of other Vanguard characters.

Plenty of new heroes and villains are set to arrive in future updates, along with buffs and nerfs to the existing lineup. We’ll be sure to keep our tier list updated with the best Marvel Rivals characters as the meta evolves.

In the meantime, make sure you’re up to speed with the rules of every game mode and that you’re earning the Twitch Drop rewards on offer.