Finding Your Main

NetEase says they optimize Marvel Rivals around fun, not around competitiveness. If you play the game for a while, you will find out that actually every hero is fun to play. Most of them, though, have counter-plays that makes them unfun. E.g. T’Challa is hella fun unless the enemy team picks Officer Grimm. This guide tries to summarize the ways to find your next main which will be fun for you to play. But remember: if you want to win, sometimes you need to sacrifice the fun.

Disclaimer: Casual Gaming

If you prefer Quick Play and 18 vs. 18 modes, you probably should not think about picking your main too much. Just choose the hero you like the most. Nobody cares about balance in those modes, you should be fine.

Finding a Role

There are three roles in Marvel Rivals: vanguards, duelists, and strategiests.

When trying to find your next main it’s important to remember that the ratio of the heroes is skewed towards duelists. It means that statistically most of the people prefer to play duelists, because most likely their favorite hero is a duelist. If you want to be able to play your hero and win, you want to have more balanced team comp. As a result, you probably do not want to main duelist, because in this case nobody will play vanguard or strategist.

Does it mean that you’re required to play tanks or supports? No. But statistically you will probably have more chances to win if you’re a good tank or a good support rather then a good duelist. However, it also depends on the ranks.

On lower ranks — below Diamond — there are plenty of duelist players, not enough good supports, and not enough tanks (not even talking about them being good). The reasons are described above. Plus, a lot of people create alt accounts to smurf on lower ranks, and most of those people play duelists. They make the comp balancing even harder.

A bit higher — above Diamond, but below Celestial — teams usually struggle to find a good versatile duelist, because the game on that ranks requires you to counter-switch, but duelists one-tricks can not do it. There are many supports on these ranks though, but still no enough good tanks.

At the end of the ranks — above Celestial — the game becomes more strategy- and communication-oriented rather than being about solo carrying, and it usually does not matter what role you’re playing, you should be able to switch to any role if required. This guide does not cover Celestial+ ranks though.

What all this analysis means is that if you want to be able to play your hero almost every game, this hero should probably be a vanguard. You will be highly welcomed by the teammates, but your life will depend on their playing.

If you prefer less intensive gameplay, but still want to be welcomed, pick a strategist. At some point on the Competitive ladder there will be too many strategists and you will need to adapt (e.g. play tripple supp comp, or switch to dps), but it’s not the case of the low ranks. There are none good strategists at the low ranks, because all the good ones are ranking very quickly.

Finally, if you believe that you’re the one and the only carry who can save this game, play duelist. But beware, you will be flamed every game if you do not carry the whole team on your back.

Finding a Playstyle

There are three playstyles in the game: poke, dive, and brawl. And they work like rock-paper-scissors game. Poke counters brawl, brawl counters dive, dive counters poke.

The most common way for newcomers to start playing Marvel Rivals is by picking one of the poke heroes, because shooting from a mid- or long-range is natural to most of the... well, shooters. If you are good at aiming, you should probably go this way too.

If aiming is not your strong side, you have two choices to pick from: brawl or dive.

Pick brawl if you like close-range combat, usually melee, which requires you to play around walls and other natual covers more frequently. But also be ready to countered by poke heroes from the other side of the map.

Pick dive if you prefer fast-paced combat that requires you to scare the opponents and control their behavior. Most of the dive heroes leave no room for error and you will be punished for every mistake. But the core gameplay is usually much more fun than poke or brawl heroes can offer.

Speaking of ranks:

• Below Diamond you’re free to play any playstyle you like, because even though people know how to counter-switch, they won’t do it, because they are sure that other teammates have to.

• Between Diamond and Celestial you will need to adapt. Most of the players know at least one counter hero to dive, most of them know how to aim, so they can counter brawl, and so on. At some point game becomes a poke-slop with tripple support. To prevent it, ban the most annoying heroes and communicate your intentions with the team.

• Celestial+: If you want to play in the certain style and do not counter-switch, prefer to play in duo. It’s easy to counter one diver, it’s harder to counter two. Same goes for two long-range poke heroes attacking from different angles, or for two brawl bros like Hulk and The Thing who support each other.

Best Heroes to Start With

It is important to note here, that about half of the roster is hard to put into one play style basket. Usually heroes are combining at least two play styles in their kits, with different proportions. So, when we say that Magneto is poke and Groot is brawl, it does not mean that they are only poke and brawl.

Also note, since strategists are usually not used in the poke-brawl-dive game because they heal their team, it’s hard to split them among these tree groups.

Vanguard + Poke

• Magneto
  It’s hard to call Erik a pure-poke hero, because the range of his attacks is not that long. However, with the Wanda team-up he can be played as poke. But what’s more important about Magneto is his ability to use many shields and counter many ultimates. As bogur once said: “Magneto mainers are probably good husbands, because he requires you to be patient”.

• The Hood
  Probably the most poke-oriented vanguard in the roster right now. He can shoot, he can shield, he can fade away when in danger. The ultimate sucks though.

• Tankpool
  This version of Deadpool is mostly poke-oriented, that’s why he is in this list. He is definitely not the best hero to start to play Marvel Rivals. But if you’re switching from other role, think about Tankpool. He is very dynamic in terms of playstyle, and you also will be able to switch to duelist or strategist at some day, because that versions of Deadpool have very similar mechanics.

• Peni Parker
  Probably the least obvious choice for a poke vanguard, but technically Peni’s primary is poke. You will have tons of fun if you like setting traps for enemies. You won’t have any fun otherwise.

Vanguard + Brawl

• Doctor Strange
  Stephen has a very rewarding game-loop. He is not hard in terms of combat. The main things you will struggle with are: pickking a time for your ultimate, switching between offensive and defensive play, portal placement. Even though his primary shoots daggers, his gameplay is based around Maelstrom of Madness which is close-range.

• The Thing
  The definition of the vanguard brawler. The most scary thing (pun intended!) for pussy duelists Black Panther mainers. Very easy to play. It’s also not that hard to counter him though.

• Emma Frost
  One of the tanks that are usually called “mains”. Can play solo, can counter dive, can counter Groot, can somewhat live against poke-heavvy comps. Queen, mother, perfection.

• Groot
  The vanguard that can solo carry every other game if he gets enough healing. Can be played offensively, can be played defensively. But it has a very stepping learning curve. You need to place their walls right, or your team will lose. Do not pick him if you’re starting to play Marvel Rivals. Pick him if you want to find the vanguard who is always S-tier.

Vanguard + Dive

• Venom
  Very fun to play, easy to learn, gives a plenty room for mistakes. Pick him if you want to learn how to play dive.

• Angela
  She has easy to learn combos, but she struggles on certain maps and against certain heroes. Can not be played as the only tank. Pick her if it’s not your first main in Marvel Rivals.

• Captain America
  The most annoying vanguard who can live forever, stall the point all day, and distract the enemy backline. He is hard to learn, because you need to time his attacks well, need to know maps, need to know your enemies and their weaknesses. But if you know all of these, you can control the gameplay. You team will struggle if you’re solo tank though.

• Hulk
  Very versatile vanguard that can be played very good or very bad, with nothing in between. He has several unique mechanics: long jumps, three forms, exiling, and team shields. He is not the best pick for your first vanguard. He is very interesting to play if you like dive though.

Duelist + Poke

• The Punisher
  The coolest super-hero of Marvel Rivals — the man with a shotgun. Easy to learn, not that easy to master though. Very good choice of those who just came to the game.

• Namor
  The poke hero who can counter dive. He does not have cool ultimate like The Punisher does, but he does not have damage falloff either. He is easy to learn, not that much to master.

• Hela
  The definition of the poke duelist of Marvel Rivals. If you can aim, you can double-tap most of your enemies. If you can not aim though, you’d better not to play her at all.

• Black Widow
  The red Hela. She occupies the similar role as Hela does, but also has higher mobility. If you prefer shooting from off-angles and running over the maps, pick Black Widow. If you does not like moving much, pick Hela.

Duelist + Brawl

• Winter Soldier
  Bucky is known as a server admin, because if you have gamesense he is easy to play, he has enough mobility to outplay vanguards and divers, his attacks generate bonus health, he has CC abilities, and his ultimate as cool as hell. Learn Bucky if you want that girl you think about to like you.

• Magik
  She is like Bucky, but melee-oriented. Her combos are not that hard to use, she also has dash, bonus health, CC, and cool ultimates. Great Magik, like Bucky, has carry the whole team alone.

• Elsa Bloodstone
  The nemesis of divers on high elo. Her playstyle is a combination of Bucky, Magik, and... eh... Peni? Nevertheless, she is fun to play, her kit is easy to learn, and she also can carry the game. Although, be ready to be banned on Diamond+.

• Iron Fist
  The most balanced braw/dive hero. He has combos, he has kind of high mobility, he has his unique features like multime jumpes and pull-in. But the most important part of his kit is his parry — Dragon’s Defense. To play Iron First right you need to learn when to use it, to do this you need to learn your enemies. In other words, Iron First is a great choice if you want to learn more about heroes and understand the game better.

Duelist + Dive

• Black Panther
  The definition of a dive duelist. You either carry as Black Panther, or you feed. To master him, you need to learn to be patient in any situation. You have hard counters though, so you also need to learn when to switch to stop feeding.

• Daredevil
  He is Black Panther for those who are not cool enough to play BP right. He has combos with high damage too, but he also has Objection! that allows him to live longer. He also one of the best heroes to counter divers due to his wall hack passive. (But be prepared to be banned in every competitive game.)

• Spider-Man
  A hero for those who have infinite amount of time to play Marvel Rivals. He has dozens of ways to play, but even his basic playstyle is hard to master, because you need to learn how to do everything: aiming, movement, cooldown management, combo-ing. If you’re picking your first hero and you want to play Marvel Rivals on “Nightmare” level — pick Peter Parker. The first 100 hours your team will be losing every game only because of you. (Well, the next 100 hours won’t be much of a difference.)

• Psylocke
  Arguably the most balanced diver duelist. If you know how to aim and you want to be a diver, pick Psylocke. She does not have flashy combos, but she also does not have a 10 second downtime in between her dives like BP has. The ultimate is great for starters and not bad even on higher levels of play.

Strategists

• Luna Snow
  The beloved NetEase child who has never been truly nerfed. And probably she will never be. If you know how to aim, you can not only play as a healer, but also play as a damage dealer, since she heals and damages with primary. If you do not know how to aim though, don’t pick her.

• Mantis
  The best support in tripple support comp. However, good Mantis players are terrifying, because since they do not need to heal their teammates all the time due to healing-over-time abilities they spend this time on killing their enemies. If you want a support who can does everything, Mantis is a not bad choice. (The higher you go on competitive ladder, the better she becomes as a pick.)

• Gambit
  Utility-based support. He can heal, he can boost healing, he can purify, he can reduce healing, he can launch enemies, he can even boost movement and jumps. His healing also great, and when one team has a good Gambit, the other has nothing to do but match, because Gambit’s ultimate is a game changer when timed well.

• Jeff The Land Shark
  Jeffrey is not the favorite hero of your favorite streamer, but he can deliver. He has not bad healing, he can attack from long range, he can displace enemies, and he can outlive divers by himself when played well. He is really easy to start playing, that’s why he is one of the most common picks for newcomers.

• Cloak & Dagger
  Easy to start, hard to master. CD have plenty of tools in their kit, and you need to know when to use each ability, otherwise you’re just healbotting. Which is also not bad, because sometimes support players can not do even this. The game loop is boring though.

• Rocket Raccoon
  Furry little demon who can heal the whole team from an unexpected angle, can survive dive by running on the walls, and can revive teammates. The catch is the same with CD though — you either healbotting or playing full strategist mode, nothing in between (OK, in between your team constantly dies.)