Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Characters in Each Role

With a roster of 33 characters at launch, Marvel Rivals offers a diverse selection of heroes and villains to choose from. This tier list breaks down the best characters in each role (Duelist, Vanguard, Strategist) to help you dominate the competition.

Almost all characters are well-balanced and fun to play. Choose the role you enjoy most and experiment to find your favorites.

Character Details (S-Tier Examples)

Adam Warlock (Strategist)

Adam Warlock excels as a support character with strong healing and damage mitigation capabilities. His Soul Bond ability heals allies over time while sharing damage, making him incredibly valuable for team survivability. His ultimate ability allows him to revive fallen allies, turning the tide of battle. Despite being primarily a support, his offensive capabilities are not to be underestimated; he can deal significant damage with Cosmic Cluster and his primary fire.

Captain America (Vanguard)

Captain America is a powerful frontline tank, excelling at disrupting enemy advances with his mobility and crowd control. His abilities like Leading Dash, Liberty Rush, and Super-Soldier Slam allow him to quickly engage enemies, while his shield bounces between foes dealing significant damage. Synergizes well with Thor's Charged Aegis team-up ability which boosts his speed and adds an electric effect to his shield.

Cloak & Dagger (Strategist)

Cloak & Dagger functions as a dual-character support, with Dagger providing healing and Cloak applying debuffs. They have separate cooldowns, allowing for flexible support strategies. Dagger's Veil of Lightforce creates a healing zone that amplifies ally healing, while Cloak's Terror Cape blinds and weakens enemies. Their synergy is crucial, requiring good ability management and map awareness.

Doctor Strange (Vanguard)

Doctor Strange combines powerful burst damage with protective abilities and crowd control. His teleport allows for quick repositioning and escapes. His Maelstrom of Madness is a high-damage area-of-effect ability, but mismanaging his Dark Magic can hurt him. His shield provides protection, and his ultimate offers effective crowd control, making him an excellent choice for a coordinated team.

Hawkeye (Duelist)

Hawkeye is a high-skill, high-reward damage dealer who relies on precision and aim. His fully charged shots can one-shot many enemies, making headshots crucial. His Blast Arrows and Hypersonic Arrows provide needed area-of-effect damage. Mastering his charge mechanic is key to unlocking his full potential, although his difficulty comes down more to skill than kit mastery.

Iron Man (Duelist)

Iron Man is a powerful high-damage Duelist who excels at dealing area-of-effect (AoE) damage. His primary fire, micro-missiles, and devastating ultimate are all excellent for dealing with grouped-up enemies. He also has a burst damage option with Unibeam, especially when combined with Armor Overdrive. However, his lack of mobility makes him vulnerable to close-range characters without his dash ability.

Moon Knight (Duelist)

Moon Knight combines high mobility with powerful area-of-effect damage. His primary fire and Moon Blade both bounce between enemies, making him incredibly efficient. Ancient Ankh is both a great grouping tool and a significant damage source, even allowing him to damage enemies behind cover. This high damage and mobility make him very strong and fun to play.

Squirrel Girl (Duelist)

Squirrel Girl is a high-mobility, high-damage Duelist whose acorn attacks act like grenade launchers. Her high damage per shot and area-of-effect damage make her exceptionally effective against tanks. Squirrel Blockage provides an on-demand stun, enhancing her survivability and offensive potential, making her very effective.

Wolverine (Duelist)

Wolverine is a unique Duelist that combines high damage and mobility with survivability. While his small stature restricts his melee range, he makes up for it with Undying Animal, providing damage resistance, and passive health boosts. His Vicious Rampage and Feral Leap allow him to isolate targets and deal significant burst damage before retreating safely.