Combining the best of the MCU and delving deep into Marvel’s extensive comic history, Marvel Rivals debuts with an impressive roster of 33 characters. This expansive lineup makes creating a tier list for Marvel Rivals to identify the top meta characters more challenging than any other hero-shooter at launch.
The great news is that nearly all Marvel Rivals characters are well-balanced and enjoyable to play. To get started, focus on identifying which of the three roles suits you best. Duelists (Duel) excel at dealing damage, Vanguards (Van) are tanky playmakers, and Strategists (Str) provide healing, buffs, and general support. While the roster leans heavily toward Duelists, maintaining a balanced mix of roles is essential for success—particularly in competitive matches.
Marvel Rivals Character Tier List: Ranking the Best Heroes
Based on early impressions, we’ve put together a tier list to highlight the best heroes at the launch of Marvel Rivals. The list consists of five categories: S-tier (top tier), A-tier, B-tier, C-tier, and D-tier (lowest tier). Here’s how the list breaks down:
Tier | Characters |
S | Luna Snow, Moon Knight, Hawkeye, Loki, Magneto, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Venom |
A | Adam Warlock, Spider-Man, Jeff the Land Shark, Iron Fist, The Punisher, Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Psylocke, Star-Lord, Scarlet Witch, Captain America |
B | Rocket Racoon, Hulk, Iron Man, Groot, Hela, Cloak and Dagger, Magik, Penni Parker, Mantis |
C | Storm, Black Panther, Squirrel Girl, Thor |
D | Namor |
Marvel Rivals: S– Tier Characters
Luna Snow
If you have good aim, Luna Snow is an incredibly effective choice. She offers substantial healing, high damage output, a passive ability that enhances her mobility outside of combat, and valuable crowd control, making her a strong fit for any team composition.
While teaming up with someone playing Jeff can be a great bonus, Luna doesn’t rely on specific team-ups to shine. In a game where DPS players often focus on diving and eliminating supports, her stun is essential for protecting yourself and quickly taking out key threats before they can respond.
Combine all of this with an ultimate that makes her nearly unkillable as she heals and boosts her allies, and Luna becomes a key ingredient for success.
Moon Knight
In a game that demands pinpoint accuracy, Moon Knight truly shines. His ability to deploy Ankhs and ricochet projectiles off them provides exceptional burst damage that’s almost guaranteed to connect.
Additionally, Moon Knight is equipped with tools to gain and maintain a height advantage, such as his grappling hook and cape-enabled glide. His Ankhs don’t just redirect projectiles—they also pull enemies into their center, setting up devastating combos. Paired with a massive AoE ultimate capable of near-instant kills, Moon Knight becomes a formidable force on the battlefield.
However, be mindful of skilled opponents who can quickly destroy your Ankhs to disrupt your combos. To counter this, ensure you’re ready to unleash your full combo immediately after deploying them.
Hawkeye
If you need a hero to take down the entire backline from a distance, Hawkeye is the perfect choice. While he may lack mobility and utility, his damage output more than makes up for it—provided you’ve got the aim to back him up.
Hawkeye’s playstyle revolves around precision, rewarding players who can line up their shots and fire at just the right moment. His headshots are devastating, and he comes equipped with a knockback, a double jump, and an ultimate that guarantees his shots land.
At higher levels of play, it’s easy to see how this hero could dominate. If you’re facing Hawkeye, diving him quickly should be your top priority.
Loki
Loki is, without question, the highest skill-cap character in Marvel Rivals. With a steep learning curve, he has the potential to carry games solo in the right situations. He boasts the highest burst healing in the game when utilizing clones, impressive DPS, stealth and teleportation capabilities, and even the ability to transform into other heroes. In skilled hands, Loki can dominate the battlefield.
That said, he’s incredibly challenging to master. His survival and damage output hinge entirely on precise clone placement. Nearly all of Loki’s strengths revolve around his clones, so understanding when and how to use them is critical for success.
Not a hero for the faint of heart, but undeniably powerful in the right hands.
Magneto
If you’re looking for a tank focused more on protecting allies than diving into fights, Magneto is the perfect choice. While his base HP is relatively low for a tank at 650, his arsenal of survival tools more than compensates.
Magneto comes equipped with a front-facing shield capable of blocking entire ultimates and a bubble shield that can protect either himself or his teammates, making him exceptional at keeping your team alive. If you ever find yourself as the sole tank on a team, Magneto is a reliable pick.
His ultimate is an excellent zoning tool, ideal for securing key objectives. Its ability to absorb all projectiles makes it nearly impossible for enemies to fight into it without significant risk. Magneto excels as a dependable, all-around tank who functions as a walking shield for his team. However, be mindful of his slow movement speed, which can leave him vulnerable in certain situations.
Doctor Strange
The Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, is a formidable force in the tank role. He can deal respectable damage with his Daggers of Denak and Maelstrom of Madness, has strong mobility with his Cloak of Levitation, and possesses one of the most unique abilities in the game with his Pentagram of Farallah portal.
However, Doctor Strange’s standout ability as a Vanguard is the Shield of the Seraphim, a massive circular shield that absorbs up to 800 damage before breaking. This makes him an excellent choice for advancing on objectives while allowing your higher-damage teammates to focus on the offense.
Wolverine
At launch, Wolverine is incredibly overtuned. While he lacks the utility of other melee characters in Marvel Rivals—not even having a ranged poke or harass option—his rapid attack speed and ability to become tankier with each hit make him extremely difficult to kill.
He also has high mobility, allowing him to reach his targets and land hits with ease. While he struggles against flying heroes due to his limited range, his ability to shred through frontliners makes that less of an issue.
Wolverine is a tank destroyer, winning nearly every 1v1 against heroes who can’t zone him out. However, his dominance seems to stem more from his overpowered stats than from being inherently better than other heroes. For now, though, he’s firmly in S-tier.
Venom
Venom is a true tank and one of the top Vanguard class characters in Marvel Rivals. He’s incredibly tough to take down.
With 800 base health, excellent mobility through his swing and aerial crash ability, crowd control, a reliable primary fire that outperforms melee tanks, and a shield that provides up to 900 temporary HP to absorb damage, Venom has everything you could want in a tank. Plus, his ultimate grants him even more shielding.
The only real weakness in his tank role is his lack of peel for teammates. If your team is being dived, it might be time to reconsider your pick. But aside from that, Venom is almost always a strong choice, especially with how well Spider-Man benefits from his team-up.
Marvel Rivals: A– Tier Characters
Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock has several weaknesses. He’s slow, lacks crowd control, has limited healing with only two charges that recharge slowly compared to other heroes, and his ultimate is only effective if he isn’t the first to be taken down in a fight.
However, Adam Warlock must be prioritized as the first target. He deals significant damage with both his primary and secondary fire, and his damage-sharing ability can negate most ultimates by evenly distributing damage among allies. He doesn’t even need his ultimate to disrupt an entire team’s offense on his own.
Additionally, his passive grants him a revive, giving him a second chance if he’s taken out. While he can be easily exploited if out of position, his potential is high enough to keep him firmly in A-tier.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man combines a deadly mix of crowd control and mobility that makes him incredibly difficult to counter. This is the core reason why he’s so effective. While he has enough damage to hold his own against most DPS characters, his true strength lies in neutralizing support heroes.
Playing as a support against Spider-Man feels like being in a horror movie. His unpredictable web-swinging makes him hard to hit, and if you’re isolated in the backline with no help from teammates, it’s only a matter of time before he takes you out.
His ultimate is a game-changer, capable of stunning opponents and even shutting down other ultimates. He’s even more dangerous when paired with Venom, as they can disrupt and control the backline together. Spider-Man is extremely powerful if you know how to use him effectively.
Jeff the Land Shark
Jeff the Land Shark may not quite reach S-tier, but he’s certainly close, which is why he’s placed in A-tier. He’s a simple, easy-to-play Strategist hero who fits into nearly any team composition. His ability to amplify healing with his bubbles, combined with some of the best AoE healing in the game, makes him extremely valuable—especially after the buffs he received in the final version compared to the beta.
While he’s still vulnerable to damage during his Hide and Seek ability, Jeff is so difficult to hit that it doesn’t pose much of a problem, except when evading melee characters. Additionally, Jeff’s ultimate, when used correctly, is one of the most powerful in the game—and can be hilariously disruptive if you enjoy sending both the enemy team and your own into the abyss.
Though Jeff might seem like a meme character, he’s genuinely strong and pairs exceptionally well with Luna Snow, making them one of the best support duos in the game.
Iron Fist
Iron Fist is a recent addition to Marvel Rivals, not available in previous versions of the game. While he lacks ranged abilities, he’s designed for players who enjoy playing on the edge— or in this case, the fist.
Among the heroes in the game, Iron Fist is one of the few with a self-heal. He also brings crowd control with his roundhouse kick, a quadruple jump, the ability to parry and counter incoming attacks, and unmatched hand-to-hand combat skills.
Iron Fist has one of the highest skill caps in the game, relying on precise movement and timely counters. While challenging to master, he’s incredibly rewarding and can be particularly effective in solo queue play.
The Punisher
The Punisher is the perfect choice for players who are new to hero shooters or prefer straightforward gameplay, similar to characters like Soldier 76 in Call of Duty. With a reliable rifle, a shotgun, a turret with significant health, and an ultimate that can wipe out anything in its path, his strategy is simple yet effective.
Given how mobile and hard-to-hit many of the heroes in Marvel Rivals are, having a straightforward, easy-to-use hitscan weapon is a valuable asset, especially for new players. While there are other DPS characters who excel at specific tasks, The Punisher is strong in most situations, earning him a well-deserved spot in A-tier.
Winter Soldier
Winter Soldier might not seem particularly strong at first. His gun has a relatively low ammo capacity, and his damage output isn’t among the highest in the game. Landing his hook on more mobile heroes can also be challenging, even though it’s faster than, for example, Roadhog’s hook. Marvel Rivals is a very different game, after all.
However, Winter Soldier offers versatility with his kit. He can dive and play aggressively, but he also excels at single-target lockdown, which is invaluable for protecting your supports. His dash, which ends with an uppercut that knocks up enemies, is useful both for engaging and for pulling an enemy out of your backline, setting them up for a quick combo.
Winter Soldier is an essential part of many team compositions, and mastering him can help counter dive comps effectively. Despite his versatility, his lack of consistent DPS and reliance on burst combos with longer cooldowns prevent him from reaching S-tier.
Black Widow
Luckily for those who dislike facing one-shot snipers (we’re looking at you, Widowmaker), Black Widow doesn’t have the ability to headshot for an instant kill. If she did, she’d undoubtedly be an S-tier character, so don’t be fooled by her trailer.
That said, she still deals significant damage and is excellent at pressuring backliners. Her rifle has an incredibly fast rechamber time, allowing her to land quick follow-up shots and secure kills.
In addition to her ranged capabilities, she performs decently in close combat and has tools to keep divers at bay. While she doesn’t dominate up close, she can hold her own. Though Black Widow isn’t quite as strong as Hawkeye, she remains a solid pick when played well.
Psylocke
Psylocke is incredibly close to S-tier, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see her land in S-tier on many early tier lists. With high mobility, strong DPS, stealth, and an ultimate that makes her nearly impossible to 1v1 while granting extended damage and CC immunity, she seems almost overpowered on paper. However, she does have some drawbacks in practice.
For one, her stealth has a short duration and is interrupted when she picks up a health pack. Her range is also limited due to her shotgun-like primary fire, and her best team-up ability, Recall, requires pairing with Magik, a character generally considered low-tier. While Psylocke can be a powerhouse in the hands of skilled players who fully utilize her kit, she falls just short of S-tier.
Star-Lord
Star-Lord is an excellent DPS character for newcomers to Marvel Rivals, offering a straightforward, mobile, and forgiving playstyle without sacrificing much power. His easy-to-use kit makes him a great starting point for learning the game.
His ability to fly and shoot in all directions makes him effective at countering fast-moving melee heroes. However, he struggles against long-range damage dealers who can shoot him out of the sky.
Star-Lord can excel if he’s able to control the skies and disrupt the backline, but be cautious of heroes like Hawkeye or Black Widow who can pose a serious threat from a distance.
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch may not have a lot of burst damage, but she brings a variety of useful tools for dealing with dive comps. Her ability to deal damage without needing to aim, a brief immunity to escape tough situations, and a stun to prevent dives give her more utility than most other DPS heroes.
That said, her lack of burst damage is a significant weakness, especially with how strong healing is in the game. Additionally, her ultimate is very telegraphed, leaving her vulnerable for a long time and making it easy for some heroes to counter.
While Scarlet Witch is strong, she’s not quite the S+ tier powerhouse she was in the beta.
Captain America
Captain America is one of the most skill-expressive and mobile heroes in Marvel Rivals, not just in the tank role, but across the entire game. With his ranged shield throws woven into melee combos and his reliance on movement and a small but powerful shield to survive, Cap is perfect for players looking for fast-paced, high-energy tank gameplay.
However, dive tanks are generally less effective in Marvel Rivals due to the strength of dive DPS heroes. In the current state of the game with role queue, there’s often little reason to choose Captain America over a stronger frontliner or diver. While pairing him with a skilled Thor player can be a lot of fun, it’s not the most viable option.
That said, Captain America still has his strengths, especially with his ability to effectively 1v1 certain projectile-heavy DPS heroes, giving him an edge in those matchups.
Marvel Rivals: B– Tier Characters
Rocket Racoon
Rocket Raccoon has a lot of strengths. He offers great, easy-to-use healing, an excellent movement passive that makes his already small model even harder to hit, a revive to keep allies in the fight, and a damage-boosting ultimate that’s difficult to fully utilize. In many other hero shooters, he would shine.
However, Rocket Raccoon suffers from a lack of damage. His primary fire has low DPS and slow projectile speed, making him a weaker damage dealer compared to most other characters in the game. If it weren’t for his strong team-ups and support abilities, he’d be ranked lower. In Marvel Rivals, characters that can’t deal damage are easy targets for backline divers, and while Rocket’s evasion helps, it’s not enough to keep him safe from them.
Hulk
Hulk has several strengths, and it’s clear he’s been buffed between the beta and release. He offers solid shielding for himself and allies, one of the best CC abilities in the game, decent ranged poke, excellent mobility, and an ultimate that makes him nearly unkillable. However, he also has some significant drawbacks.
If you revert into Bruce, you’re likely to be eliminated almost immediately. There’s rarely a situation where being taken out of Hulk form doesn’t lead to a quick death. Once you’re down in Hulk mode, it’s often game over. He’s not like D.Va in that regard.
Moreover, using Hulk’s ultimate to lock down an enemy still leaves him vulnerable to damage. In most cases, it’s better to avoid using the ability tied to his ult to preserve your survival. On top of that, his melee damage is fairly limited, and he struggles to stick to targets as effectively as other melee tanks like Thor and Captain America.
Iron Man
A skilled Iron Man can be a real headache to deal with. Against a melee-heavy team composition, he excels by staying airborne and raining down damage from above. He’s the type of hero who can force opponents to adjust their strategy and disrupt their game plan.
However, his flight speed is relatively slow compared to many other heroes, making him a bit of a sitting target unless he positions himself around tall buildings or cover. Additionally, Iron Man’s ultimate has been heavily nerfed since the beta, taking away one of the main reasons to pick him. He’s still a solid pick, but he’s most effective as a counterpick.
Groot
Groot has his strengths, but he’s not as strong or versatile as other tank heroes. Given the mobility of many other heroes and the open, destructible nature of maps, his walls have limited effectiveness. High DPS heroes like Punisher can easily break through them without much effort.
Additionally, Groot’s primary fire has a noticeable delay, which can take some time to adjust to when aiming at targets. He also lacks self-peel, which becomes an even bigger issue due to his team-up mechanics, linking him to certain support heroes. If you get caught out, your support is in trouble as well.
While Groot could perform well in Rush compositions (but not dive comps, which are different), he has the potential to be effective with the right team or against specific heroes. However, he has a number of weaknesses.
Hela
Hela was arguably the strongest DPS in the game during the beta, but recent balance changes and the introduction of new heroes have pushed her down the tier list. While she’s still strong, other options tend to outshine her.
Need ranged damage? Hawkeye and Widow are your go-to picks. Looking for a DPS with immunity frames and better mobility? Scarlet Witch offers a more user-friendly experience and stronger mobility. Even Hela’s ultimate has been surpassed by other DPS heroes, as she has to remain stationary and vulnerable in the air to deal significant damage.
Hela remains a solid mid-to-long-range DPS option, but there are now better alternatives.
Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger face a similar issue as Squirrel Girl, as their numbers fall just short of what’s needed to truly stand out. The vision-blocking wall is probably their strongest feature, allowing them to catch heroes like Hawkeye and Black Widow off guard.
Their healing is decent, but their damage is underwhelming and easily countered by healing. While Cloak and Dagger offer better evasion than most support heroes, their overall impact isn’t enough to elevate them beyond B-tier.
Magik
Magik is one of the most fun heroes in Marvel Rivals, with her ability to jump through dimensions, summon demons, and wield a big sword. However, she doesn’t quite measure up in terms of being a top-tier hero, except in certain situations.
Despite her focus on melee combat, she feels slow and clunky, and her overall damage output is fairly weak. Her portals grant her I-frames, but they don’t allow for much mobility. Her dash with a knockup slash has a very small hitbox, often leading to missed attacks. Magik’s ult sounds great in theory, but it’s common to be taken out before you can fully capitalize on the enhanced abilities.
That said, she excels at countering dive comps. If a group of melee heroes is trying to dive your supports, her long-range swings and high damage can be a powerful deterrent. This is the only scenario where picking Magik is a strong choice over other heroes.
Penni Parker
Peni Parker is the closest thing to a pure DPS hero in Marvel Rivals’ Vanguard class. However, she’s not meant to be a solo frontliner and really shines when she can set up her spider nest near a wall and deploy mines onto the battlefield.
Despite her B-tier placement, don’t be misled into thinking Peni is weak. In the right situation, she’s actually quite strong. If she’s not already positioned on an objective, though, she struggles to get in without using her ultimate. She has some of the highest damage potential in the game, but only when she’s controlling the environment on her terms.
Peni is a specialist who excels with the right team and the right map, but she’s best used by players who really understand how to leverage her strengths. If you’re not committed to mastering her, she may not be the most rewarding pick.
Mantis
Mantis is B-tier primarily due to her Inspire ability. While she lacks consistent crowd control aside from her sleep (which can be unreliable in solo queue), her primary fire is decent, and her ultimate provides a solid heal, though it doesn’t match the potency of Luna’s ult.
The real strength of Mantis lies in her Inspire, which boosts the damage of herself and her teammates. To get the most out of her, prioritize using this damage boost whenever possible. Only use her healing if your teammate is near death—otherwise, you’ll be missing out on Mantis’ greatest advantage.
Marvel Rivals: C– Tier Characters
Storm
Storm has an interesting concept, but in practice, she’s hindered by the abundance of hitscan characters who can easily shoot her out of the sky. While her ability to buff herself and her teammates is an intriguing mechanic, it doesn’t provide enough impact since she tends to be fragile in combat.
Even her ultimate, where she transforms into a hurricane, is only effective in a specific area, limiting her mobility and speed compared to faster, more damaging heroes.
Overall, Storm is slow, vulnerable, lacks substantial damage output, and doesn’t offer enough to justify picking her.
Black Panther
Black Panther is the most execution-dependent hero in Marvel Rivals. To succeed, you need to land your full ability combo on a target and break through the enemy backline, or else you’ll miss and be quickly eliminated. That’s the essence of playing this hero.
While he can excel in the hands of a skilled player, other melee heroes tend to be more reliable and effective in most situations. However, this doesn’t make Black Panther a bad pick. He’s a hero that rewards high-level play and offers a unique challenge.
If you’re up for mastering his mechanics, Black Panther can be a powerful choice.
Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl is the closest thing to a grenade launcher hero in Marvel Rivals, with her powerful but slow-moving projectiles that deal significant damage. She also has good crowd control and one of the best mobility abilities in the game. However, she does have some drawbacks.
For one, she struggles against flying heroes. Given the strength of melee characters like Iron Fist and Wolverine, you’re often better off playing them to deal with the backline. Additionally, her ultimate, the squirrel stampede, is one of the weakest in the game, as it can be easily countered by most heroes.
With some buffs, Squirrel Girl could become much stronger, but for now, she sits at C-tier.
Thor
Thor is one of the more intricate characters in Marvel Rivals. Despite his 2-star difficulty rating, mastering Thor is no easy feat. Unlike other tanks, he doesn’t focus on shielding teammates or absorbing damage; instead, his strength lies in dealing damage and swiftly moving around the battlefield.
While there will be some Thor specialists who truly understand his kit, playing him effectively isn’t always worth the effort in most situations. He’s not bad, but his playstyle feels clunky. The fact that using any ability triggers a global two-second cooldown on all other abilities is a frustrating limitation.
Thor can still be a strong pick, but the high level of execution required makes him less appealing compared to other Vanguard heroes who are easier to play.
Marvel Rivals: D– Tier Characters
Namor
Namor has his strengths, but overall, he feels like a weaker version of Loki, lacking the same damage and healing potential. While he does have shields and other useful utility, he still seems underpowered, even with buffs since the beta.
He can be effective at holding down a point, especially when supported by a wall of turrets, and his ultimate creates a significant amount of space, providing opportunities for engagement. However, his overall utility is limited, and in most situations, there are stronger options available. He’s not unplayable, but he’s far from top-tier. That said, when paired with Luna Snow’s ice buffs, he becomes a more viable choice.
And that’s our tier list for Marvel Rivals, featuring the top characters you can play.