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Key Takeaways
This hero shooter features a wide variety of characters like Captain America, Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Adam Warlock, and more.
Each character in Marvel Rivals has unique abilities and traits, from healing to damage dealing, making gameplay diverse and engaging.
After a successful alpha and beta, Marvel Rivals is officially set to release on December 6, 2024, for free on PC, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5. A hero shooter in the same vein as Overwatch or Rogue Company and, like those games, Marvel Rivals will feature a wide variety of characters on the roster.
However, NetEase Games has revealed that Marvel Rivals will launch with every character on the roster immediately available. No microtransactions or unlocking characters are necessary, with 25 characters ready to be played, including the newest arrivals: Captain America and the Winter Soldier.
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1 Adam Warlock
Wielder Of Quantum Magic
Class: Strategist Difficulty: 2/5 First Appearance: Fantastic Four #66
Despite having godlike power, Adam Warlock is not the damage dealer that one might expect. Instead, he focuses on healing teammates with a simple snap of his fingers that can even heal tanks at incredible rates.
Adam Warlock can also bond with his teammates, allowing him to heal with them gradually while allowing everyone to share their health. This allows Vanguard classes to protect their teammates even more by sharing their already large amount of health.
2 Black Panther
The King Of Wakanda
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 4/5 First Appearance: Fantastic Four #52
The King of Wakanda features many attacks and abilities one might expect from the character, from using vibranium claws to throwing a spear to unleashing the spirit of Bast at his enemies. On the surface, Black Panther seems to be the most straightforward melee-based character, but that is not the case.
The lunging and claw attacks of Black Panther force him to charge in and out of battle since several long-range characters can gun him down in seconds. However, his speed and agility can make him difficult to hit, providing a challenge for both himself and his opponents.
Ths Strongest One There Is
Class: Vanguard Difficult: 4/5 First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #1
The best way to describe Hulk in Marvel Rivals is that he is essentially a reverse version of D. Va from Overwatch. Instead of a big character who turns into a smaller character for a last-minute escape, the player starts as Bruce Banner with his gamma pistol and must choose the right time to transform into his alter ego.
As Hulk, he has the standard affair of abilities: thunderclap, long jumping, rage, and more. All of this is very much classic Hulk, but he is very slow with little to no range, which forces him to rely on at least one other teammate to back him up when pushing objectives.
4 Captain America
Sentinel Of Justice And Liberty
Class: Vanguard Difficulty: Unknown First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1
With his signature shield, Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, is going to be a powerful Vanguard character in Marvel Rivals. Not only can he throw his shield to ricochet and deal heavy damage, but when he uses it as a shield, it is deadly and protective at the same time, since it can rebound attacks such as Iron Man’s ultimate ability right back.
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Steve Rogers can also use his ability to rally his teammates, thus granting them buffs. However, the biggest downside about Captain America is that he will be mainly for melee attacks, so ranged teammates will need to assist him.
5 Doctor Strange
Master Of The Mystic Arts
Class: Vanguard Difficulty: 3/5 First Appearance: Strange Tales #110
Much like in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange is all about his sparkling portals, and they make him into a crafty Vanguard in the right player’s hands. Not only can Doctor Strange create a portal to transport teammates across the map, but teammates can use the portals like open windows to shoot out at enemies.
Then there are other Doctor Strange abilities, such as creating barriers that can take a large amount of damage before breaking or using his Cloak of Levitation to fly. He also has access to the Eye Of Agamotto, which figuratively and literally knocks the souls out of enemies for brief periods for teammates to do damage.
6 Groot
Prince Of The Floral Colossi
Class: Vanguard Difficulty: 1/5 First Appearance: Tales to Astonish #13
Akin to Mei from Overwatch, Groot can use his Floral Colossal biology to create massive walls of powerful vines for blocking the paths of enemies or shielding teammates who are near death. As a bonus, the wall can heal nearby teammates via damage dealt by Groot.
Groot can bind enemies in place via his vines and being a Floral Colossus grants him a large amount of health. Groot is arguably the closest to a fusion between a tank and a supporting character, which is usually the case in other Marvel games featuring the Guardians of the Galaxy with Groot.
7 Hela
The Goddess Of Death
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 3/5 First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #102
Since she is the Goddess Of Death, Hela is meant to charge forward and unleash as much damage to her opponents as possible. At the same time, though, Hela is effective from long range, able to snipe her opponents with her basic attacks using the Nightsword and her abilities.
Flanking the enemy team as Hela is also vital to her gameplay thanks to her Astral Flock ability that allows her to transform into a flock of ravens and quickly soar a distance before changing back. As a result, Hela has something for everybody.
8 Iron Man
Man On A Mission With Armor And High-Tech Ammunition
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 2/5 First Appearance: Tales Of Suspense #39
The genius billionaire playboy and philanthropist features all the staples that most versions of Iron Man are known for having. He can fly, fire his repulsors, unleash a powerful unibeam, and has access to an arsenal of missiles and lasers to throw at enemies from high above or down below.
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Iron Man is at his most effective while in the air, blasting every opponent possible while also distracting them. While they are focused on trying to take out Iron Man in his fancy suit of armor, his teammates can charge in to take the objective.
9 Jeff The Land Shark
Cutest Creature On Land And Sea
Class: Strategist Difficulty: 2/5 First Appearance: West Coast Avengers #6
A character that very few expected to join the Marvel Rivals roster, Jeff The Land Shark is cute and cuddly at first glance, but he matches that with plenty of damage for a Strategist class of character. His primary ability allows him to spray healing water at his friends and his secondary spits damaging water balls at foes.
When Jeff decides to become a real problem for enemies, he activates his Hide And Seek abilities, allowing him to go underneath the surface and swim at enhanced speeds. He can traverse floors and walls with this ability, allowing him to flank or retreat quickly from a fight. Finally, he has an ultimate attack with one of the widest areas of effect, allowing him to gulp up foes and carry them.
10 Loki
The God Of Mischief
Class: Strategist Difficulty: 4/5 First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #85
Given his status as the God of Mischief, it should be no surprise to anyone that Loki’s gameplay is all about trickery and illusions. He can turn invisible to sneak behind enemy lines or transform into a clone of an opponent down to even their abilities.
On top of that, Loki can heal his allies by creating a field of magic that transforms any damage dealt into healing energy. Like Jeff, he’s a supporting character but manages to deal a lot of damage, especially when he has Team-Up abilities with the likes of Thor or Hela.
11 Luna Snow
Superhero Work Never Looked This Cool
Class: Strategist Difficulty: 2/5 First Appearance: Marvel Future Fight
Part superhero, part K-Pop artist, Luna Snow is another surprising inclusion, but a welcome one. She can deal damage, but her main goal is to keep her teammates in full health using her abilities such as her aura, which can either increase the damage dealt by nearby enemies or gradually heal them, depending on the mode.
Combined with her freezing abilities, Luna can be described as a nearly perfect fusion of Mei and Lucio from Overwatch. While derivative, it makes sense to borrow from Overwatch since it is the grandfather of the hero shooter subgenre.
12 Magik
Mutant Guardian Of Limbo
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 3/5 First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1
Wielding mutant powers and demonic mystics together along with her trusty sword, Magik slashes her way through the battlefield. Magik is a troublesome opponent since she can teleport away at almost any given time and her sword also sends out blasts of energy.
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Already, Magik is one of the most lethal flanking characters in Marvel Rivals, but then she can transform into the Darkchild thus giving her more health, damage, and range all at once. She might be one of the better characters for beginners.
13 Magneto
Magnetic Protector Of Genosha
Class: Vanguard Difficulty: 2/5 First Appearance: X-Men #1
If Magneto is seen on the enemy team, it is wise to take him down as fast as humanly possible. Since he is the master of magnetism, Magneto features an ability that allows him to absorb any projectiles as well as pieces of the environment before turning them into a powerful meteor that can wipe out an entire team.
That’s not all, because Magneto can generate a massive shield a la Reinhardt from Overwatch, as well as generate personal shields for opponents. His abilities alone can shift the tide of any fight if a player knows how to control him.
14 Mantis
Empathic Guardian Of The Galaxy
Class: Strategist Difficulty: 1/5 First Appearance: The Avengers #112
Another Guardian of the Galaxy and one all about inflicting other statuses on her enemies while healing teammates. With a simple throw of a spore, Mantis will tranquilize the opponent for just a few seconds, but that is enough to allow a damage-based character to majorly wound or knock them out.
Mantis is also one of the more effective healers since she can simply let out a healing aura, or target an ally to heal them over time thanks to her Healing Flower. Her damage is also effective in the right situation, able to attack enemies from nearly any range.
15 Namor
King Of The Seven Seas
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 2/5 First Appearance: Marvel Comics #1
Being outside the ocean means nothing to the Sub-Mariner in Marvel Rivals since he can still summon a massive whale to attack his foes and cephalopods that act like turrets to keep his enemies from approaching. Namor’s inclusion may seem odd to some, but he is technically Marvel’s first superhero.
Even when there isn’t even a pond nearby, Namor can create a barrier comprised of water to absorb any damage. Combined with his trident, Namor is a simple yet effective Duelist in the game that was often overlooked in the beta.
16 Peni Parker
Mechanized Spider-Hero Of Earth-14512
Class: Vanguard Difficulty: 3/5 First Appearance: Edge of Spider-Verse #5
In many ways, Peni Parker is the Marvel Rivals’ answer to D. Va; a young woman wearing a mechanized suit to go into battle while wielding powerful Gatling guns to deal major damage. However, unlike D. Va, Peni can trap adversaries using Cyber Webs that can tangle them but also provide an anchor point for Peni to tether herself to for easy climbs or escapes.
While she is mainly about pushing for the objective, she can also unleash a Bionic Spider-Nest that buffs allies while healing them. However, her most useful ability is trapping areas using Arachno-Mines that deal a lot of damage when triggered.
17 Punisher
Scourge Of The Underworld
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 1/5 First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #129
Most hero shooters like Marvel Rivals feature at least one character that the community finds to be a little overpowered, and that is the case with The Punisher. Frank Castle wields an assault rifle as expected with his character, but he’s the first and only character so far who can change to another weapon with his shotgun.
Both Punisher’s weapons deal ludicrous damage that can mow through enemies in seconds. On top of that, he features a deployable turret as an ability and an exo-suit armed to the teeth with weapons as an ultimate ability that is so powerful that the other team is essentially forced to run and hide.
18 Rocket Raccoon
Gun-Toting Guardian Of The Galaxy
Class: Strategist Difficulty: 1/5 First Appearance: Marvel Preview #7
Even though he is a Strategist class with the ability to fire ricocheting healing orbs at his friends to keep them healed, it is still Rocket Raccoon. It would be sacrilege for Rocket to not be wielding some kind of weapon that is too big for his tiny furry body and, in this case, it’s a massive machine gun that can swap between damage and healing in an instant.
Akin to a Vanguard, Rocket can also grant shielding to his fellow teammates by setting up a Battle Rebirth Beacon that spawns armor pick-ups. With an effective rocket dash and a damage-enhancing ultimate ability, Rocket is another character with something for most players.
19 Scarlet Witch
Queen Of Chaos Magic
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 1/5 First Appearance: X-Men #4
Wanda is already known for being one of the most overpowered Marvel characters thanks to her chaos magic, which continues Marvel Rivals. As the Scarlet Witch, the player hovers over the battle, sending out powerful magic that constantly damages any foe within range, with little need for aiming.
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From stunning with grenade-like blasts to turning ethereal, Scarlet Witch immediately makes a match terrifying for her opponents. However, her ultimate ability is the icing on the cake because she unleashes all of her chaos magic to wipe out any enemy in sight, and it’s rather difficult to get out of her range.
20 Spider-Man
Wall-Crawling, Web-Slinging, New York Hero
Class: Duelist Difficulty: 5/5 First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15
If anybody is expecting Spider-Man to play the way he does in the Insomniac games, they are sadly mistaken. The only similarity is Yuri Lowenthal reprising the role with fantastic voice-acting like in those games. In Marvel Rivals, Spider-Man plays in a far more complicated manner due to having low health and a complex combat system.
The player must constantly mix and follow-up Spider-Man’s web-based abilities and traversal attacks together to be effective. Even then, Spider-Man is a weaker character, so, similar to Black Panther, players need to escape fights as soon as possible.
“}]] Marvel Rivals is arriving in December 2024, with 25 confirmed characters at launch ranging from Captain America to Peni Parker. Read More