Marvel Rivals – The Top 10 Best Heroes, Ranked

The first official season of Marvel Rivals, ‘Eternal Night Falls’, has a couple of weeks to settle since its debut on January 10, and as with any new season of a PvP shooter, there’s been plenty of shake-ups to the typical hero meta since Season 0 hit the world. Marvel Rivals has proven to be an absolute hit amongst gamers and comic book fans alike, and so, of course, it has also taken over the life of yours truly over the past few months. Marvel Rivals has only been with the world for a mere few months, and yet, it feels like we’ve seen the game evolve into a completely new meta already. Gone are the regular appearances of the ever-irritating Jeff the Land Shark, replaced instead by the frequent picks of characters that were practically write-offs in Season 0.

Today, while Season 1 is in full-motion, we’ve decided to list our picks for the Top 10 heroes in Marvel Rivals. As I write this article, I’m sitting right in the middle of the Platinum rank on competitive, so while I’m not looking down, observing proudly from the peaks of the ranking system, I do have enough experience with all sorts of lobbies to be able to get a solid idea on what characters work well for a team-comp right now, and what ones do not. There are also some characters who don’t quite make this list, but definitely work as solid picks for your team, so don’t be afraid to branch out beyond the heroes we list here – there’s endless compositions for your team to choose from! With that being said, let’s get into the list!

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10. Hela

Image by NetEase Games

In the early days of Season 0, Hela would have easily made it to the top three on this, and just about any other, Marvel Rivals hero ranking. However, Season 1 smacked the Goddess of Death with a nerf to both her health and damage, knocking her down a few pegs. Her still making this list though, despite these nerfs, should be a testament to how much of a menace this character was in Season 0. Unlike Hawkeye, who’s Season 1 nerfs really affected his pick-rate, Hela still manages to be a huge problem for enemy teams, especially if the player stays well-hidden in the backline, and has good aim.

Hela has a number of great abilities in her arsenal, to help her steer clear of enemies while dishing out constant damage on the opposing team. Her ‘Astral Flock’ dash lets her escape inevitable backline divers, enhancing her survivability, while ‘Piercing Night’ and ‘’Soul Drainer’ let her control the enemy team from a distance, pumping out damage while staying far away from the line-of-fire. While Hela needs some good healers behind her to stay effective (a diver can easily take her out while ‘Astral Flock’ is on cooldown), she’s a solid pick for just about any team-comp in need of an effective duelist.

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9. Mantis

Image by NetEase Games

Season 1 hit Mantis with a nerf to her passive movement speed which, while one of her major strengths, was only one of the many qualities that this character has keeping her at the top of just about any Marvel Rivals leaderboard. If you’re looking for an effective healer, that can also dish out a huge amount of damage by herself, Mantis is the hero for you. Not only can Mantis heal her allies, she can also award them damage boosting orbs to help them dominate the enemy team on their own accord. For the Overwatch players out there, think Zenyatta, but perhaps even more effective.

Mantis’ ultimate, ‘Soul Resurgence’, is also one of two healing ultimates (the other of which will be talked about later on this list) that essentially acts as an invincibility period for her entire team. If you try to damage the enemy team while Mantis’ ultimate is in motion, nothing will happen to their health bars – it is a complete game-changer in a team fight. ‘Spore Slumber’ also allows Mantis to put enemies to sleep, allowing her to set allies up for kills on defenceless opponents, or simply letting her escape while her opponent thinks about the kill that could have been. Much like Hela, Mantis would have made it a lot higher on this list last season, but her movement nerf has left her feeling a little fragile, and her passive healing over time can sometimes fail to satisfy the needs of your allies in an intense team fight. Still, when paired with another effective strategist, Mantis is one of the best heroes to have supporting your team, and a fairly easy character to pick up for new players.

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8. Namor

Image by NetEase Games

Namor falls into a category, along with Moon Knight, of heroes that can be rendered fairly ineffective by a very attentive enemy team, but when played correctly, can devastate less aware foes. I am, of course, referring to Namor’s ‘Monstro Spawns’, octopus-like turrets that he can place around the map to deal out constant, devastating damage to enemies who fail to take them out. Much like Moon Knight’s ankhs, ‘Monstro Spawns’ have very small health-bars, and can be easily disarmed by anyone who notices them, but you’d be surprised how often they go unnoticed, and end up quickly taking out enemy heroes, particularly airborne ones like Storm or Iron Man.

To make this facet of Namor’s character even more devastating, when paired with a Luna Snow on his team, a ‘Frozen Spawn’ can be summoned by Namor, a turret with double health, extra damage, and a longer duration. His turrets are far from his only strength though. Namor deals out vicious damage with his standard projectiles, and can use his ‘Wrath of the Seven Seas’ ability to deal out even more projectile damage when need be. Much like Hela, if left unprotected, Namor can be fairly defenceless against divers. However, when he falls into a well-armed composition, Namor is a real pain to deal with. Make sure you shoot the octopi when going against this Sub-Mariner. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

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7. Invisible Woman

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Marvel Rivals Season 1 saw the arrival of two new heroes to the roster. While Mr. Fantastic didn’t quite make our list, his Fantastic Four counterpart certainly did, and for good reason. Much like Mantis, when played in the right hands, Invisible Woman acts as not only an effective healer, but a fairly devastating damage-machine. While her main strengths lie in her ability to shield and heal her allies, abilities like ‘Psionic Vortex’ let Invisible Woman deal out unsuspecting damage to the enemy team, damage that can hit you like a truck if you’re not expecting it – and given her ability to turn invisible, you are rarely expecting it.

Her ‘Invisible Boundary’ ultimate also lets her keep allies alive and healed inside a giant, force-field vortex, slowing enemies who dare to enter it. This ultimate is an excellent way to claim points in a Domination match, and finds itself up there with the likes of Mantis’ ‘Soul Resurgence’ as far as healing ultimates go. Invisible Woman’s ‘Force Physics’ abilities also let her push or pull enemies, allowing her to draw them in towards an onslaught of damage, or shove them off map boundaries. The only real downside to Invisible Woman is her vulnerability, given that she can only heal herself while invisible. You’ll be relying on your team to keep you safe, but if they can pull that off, Invisible Woman has endless possibilities at her fingertips to mix-up the enemy team, and keep them guessing your every move. A complicated character to learn at first, but a real powerhouse once mastered.

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6. Doctor Strange

Image by NetEase Games

We’ve talked about some strategists, and some duelists so far – but what about the vanguards? Ah, the tank role – a role that never seems to get much love from PvP players, and I do get it. There isn’t much excitement in the idea of taking a ton of damage on the frontlines, while your teammates secure all those juicy eliminations. However, its characters like Doctor Strange that prove that tanks can be both fun and effective when used to their full capability. Strange’s most infamous ability in Marvel Rivals is his ‘Pentagram of Farallah’, an ability that lets him open a portal between two locations, leading to plenty of incredible flank plays, and plenty of hilarious clips on social media.

However, there’s a lot more to Doctor Strange than just his portal creation. Strange can summon a giant ‘Shield of the Seraphim’ to block all incoming damage, acting as a huge defensive barrier for his team, and even a direct counter to many enemy ultimates. In particular, a well-timed shield deployment can completely negate Hela’s ultimate ability ‘Goddess of Death’. He’s also no push-over when it comes to damage output, and his ultimate ability, ‘Eye of Agamotto’ is a real game-changer when deployed in the middle of a team-fight. Strange is afflicted with a negative passive, the ‘Price of Magic’ passive, which inflicts him with anti-heal if he doesn’t scourge dark magic build-up from his body often enough, but if players keep on top of this build-up, Doctor Strange is a beast of a hero, and an asset to just about any team that has him.

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5. The Hulk

Image by NetEase Games

The Hulk is yet another tank that proves you don’t need to be a duelist to secure kills in Marvel Rivals. Overall, the Hulk is potentially the most difficult hero to master in this game. There are so many layers to his abilities, given that he has three different forms – Bruce Banner, Hero Hulk, and Monster Hulk – all of which have differing abilities to them. Bruce Banner, as a form, is a complete write-off, and should be avoided as much as possible. Again, for any Overwatch players out there, think D.Va when she was expelled from her mech. In many ways, the Banner form is one of Hulk’s greatest weaknesses as a hero. In higher ranks, death is pretty much guaranteed once Bruce is knocked out of his Hulk form, and so, the existence of the Bruce Banner form is essentially a drawn-out death sentence.

However, this weakness is balanced out by the Hulk’s capabilities in his other forms. With a whopping 800 health-bar, and the ability to completely shield himself and nearby allies from damage, the Hulk is a frontline machine, able to rush down solo duelists and healers and take them out, while shrugging off much of the damage they deal out against him. His ‘Radioactive Lockdown’ and ‘Gamma Burst’ abilities also allow him to hinder enemies from a distance, as if his devastation at close-range weren’t enough. Hulk also has an ‘Incredible Leap’ ability, allowing him to traverse distances fast, and jump headfirst into the enemy lines, creating openings for his team. You’ll be relying on your team to secure kills for you, but is that not the true job of any effective vanguard? When it comes to creating openings for your team, while being a menace to the enemy team in your own right, there’s no better tank than Hulk, especially after some practice with his kit.

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4. Cloak & Dagger

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Cloak & Dagger are essentially a constant pick in Marvel Rivals as of the writing of this article. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve played a single game in the past two weeks that hasn’t featured these guys on at least one team, if not both. But why is this? Well, to put it bluntly, Cloak & Dagger are incredibly easy to pick up, and are insanely effective at what they do. You can master control over this duo quickly, and easily become a top-tier healer for your team, regardless of rank. While you are essentially playing two characters at once, which can take some getting used to, Cloak & Dagger become completely manageable when you keep two things in mind – Cloak deals damage, Dagger heals.

There is a certain responsibility on players to use both Cloak and Dagger to maximize the effectiveness of the character, but all in all, particularly at lower ranks, very few people will complain if you stay on Dagger the whole time and pump out constant heals to your teammates. Dagger is blessed with an auto-lock base projectile that heals allies and damages enemies, while her ‘Dagger Storm’ and ‘Veil of Lightforce’ abilities further enhance her healing. Cloak, on the other hand, has an auto-lock damage drain as his normal attack, with abilities that shroud your allies and enemies in darkness, both to protect your team, and limit the visibility of the opposition. Their ultimate, ‘Eternal Bond’, also allows Cloak & Dagger to section off an area of the map, providing constant healing to teammates and constant damage to enemies who step within it. While not the most effective healer in Marvel Rivals, Cloak & Dagger is an easy runner-up to that throne, and a perfect starter character for anyone looking to play the strategist role and support their team.

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3. Magneto

Image by NetEase Games

Truly, when it comes to tanks in Marvel Rivals, Magneto has it all. High damage output, durability, a game-changing ultimate, and the ability to directly shield his allies. In other words, Magneto is a jack of all trades in the vanguard role, and while other tanks have him beat in certain areas, no other tank shares his range when it comes to gameplay. Magneto’s ‘Metallic Curtain’ allows him to summon a wide shield in front of him, allowing him to push forward into enemy lines ahead of his team, while his ‘Metal Bulwark’ and ‘Iron Bulwark’ abilities allow him to completely shield either himself or a chosen ally from all incoming damage for a period of time. Beyond all of these defensive capabilities, Magneto also possesses a 650 base health-bar, making him truly indestructible if paired with a competent healer.

On the damage side of things, Magneto also has many of his fellow vanguards beat. His ‘Mag-Cannon’ launches a metallic projectile towards his target, and deals truly unarming damage, capable of finishing off many enemies that have already been damaged, while also knocking enemies backwards upon impact. His ultimate ability, ‘Meteor M’, however, is potentially his greatest strength. ‘Meteor M’ sees Magneto fly into the air, absorbing all enemy projectiles into a giant meteor that he can then launch at the enemy team, wiping out anyone hit by it. Especially when played in direct opposition to an enemy ultimate, such as Star-Lord’s ‘Galactic Barrage’, Magneto’s ultimate is genuinely one of the most devastating in Marvel Rivals, and deals almost unreasonable damage for a vanguard hero. Overall, Magneto is an excellent choice for tanks of any ranking, and given the simplicity of his kit, is a great beginner character for new players.

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2. Storm

Image by NetEase Games

Storm was practically a write-off in Season 0 of Marvel Rivals, which was a real disappointment for fans of the character, like myself. Now, with buffs provided courtesy of Season 1, Storm has taken over this game in glorious fashion, and is definitely one of, if not the, strongest choices for the duelist role, and officially, my new main for Season 1. With buffs to her projectile speed, ability damage, and health shield following her ultimate, Storm is now a real force to be reckoned with. Let’s get her weaknesses out of the way. Despite being able to constantly fly, you’ll want to play Storm close to the ground, as she can be very easily taken out by enemy duelists who spot her in mid-air. A majority of her attacks also require accurate aiming to deal any damage, notably her normal attacks and ‘Bolt Rush’ ability. They deal incredible damage if you can land them, but if aiming is not your strong suit, Storm can pose a real challenge to you, and potentially undermine the damage output of your team.

Now, for her strengths – Storm’s ‘Goddess Boost’ is all-round an incredible ability. When in ‘Tornado’ mode, Storm will grant a movement boost to herself and her allies, allowing them to get to point quickly, while in ‘Thunder’ mode, Storm grants damage boosts to herself and her allies, while also passively raining down lightning strikes on enemies who enter her range. These passive lightning strikes have secured me plenty of kills, while I’m not even looking at the enemy I’ve defeated. Her ultimate, ‘Omega Hurricane’, is a ridiculously strong attack, which allows Storm to transform into a hurricane and dive into enemy lines, dealing damage to anyone she comes across. This is an incredible move for taking out the enemy team’s healers, leaving the rest of the team open to succumb to your allies’ attacks. Overall, Season 1 will likely be remembered for the rise of Storm, as I can see a nerf coming her way in the near future. However, as of right now, she’s the perfect choice for any duelist player with capable aim.

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1. Luna Snow

Image by NetEase Games

Here, at the top of our list, we have undoubtedly the strongest character in Marvel Rivals since the game launched – a character so strong, that fans have practically been begging for the team at NetEase Games to nerf her, but her time just hasn’t come yet. Funnily enough, it’s a character that went relatively unknown before her appearance in Marvel Rivals, superhero/pop-star, Luna Snow. So, what makes this character so ridiculous? Well, aside from damage boosting, Luna Snow has essentially every positive that Mantis has going for her, while being better in nearly all of those areas, and her healing is instantaneous rather than passive over time. She can freeze enemies in place with ‘Absolute Zero’, restore health to allies without directly healing them using ‘Share the Stage’, and enhance both her own damage and healing capabilities for a period of time using ‘Ice Arts’.

You will need to have solid aiming ability to be effective as Luna Snow, but if you can hit your mark, there’s really no healer in Marvel Rivals that comes close to her level of effectiveness – and to be honest, a lot of duelists are less effective than her on the damage side of things. Her ‘Smooth Skate’ passive also delivers her a movement speed boost, and if that all weren’t enough, you have her ultimate. Remember earlier I mentioned that there were two healing ultimates that essentially rendered your team invincible? Well, Luna Snow’s ‘Fate of Both Worlds’ is the very ultimate in question, but aside from granting infinite healing like Mantis’ ‘Soul Resurgence’, ‘Fate of Both Worlds’ also allows Luna Snow to toggle between healing her allies, or granting them a damage boost. Once you hear this ultimate trigger from the enemy team, it’s best to just fall back and let them push forward while it passes – which isn’t easy, considering this thing lasts 12 seconds. All around, Luna Snow is an overpowered character. It’s inevitable that she’ll soon be hit with some sort of nerf, lest NetEase want to face the wrath of players for yet another season, but until that day comes, she is, in our mind, the strongest healer, and strongest hero, in all of Marvel Rivals.

See also: Best PlayStation Games of All Time

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Conclusion

That’s all for our Top 10 list of the best heroes in Marvel Rivals Season 1! What do you think of our list? Did your main hero on Marvel Rivals make it to the Top 10, or do you go for a more underrated choice in your games? Be sure to let us know what you think of our ranking, as well as your main hero of choice, in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

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