Marvel Rivals, a team-based hero shooter from NetEase Games, has taken the world by storm. Featuring 33 heroes (and villains) with unique playstyles and abilities, the game has a lot of mechanics that you need to master.

Our latest Marvel Rivals guide has several tips to help you win matches, whether you're prepping for your first match or even new to this type of objective-based hero shooter entirely. Below, we discuss which role each hero works best for, how to execute Team-Up Abilities, difficulty ratings, and some overall tactics.

 

Familiarize yourself with hero roles: Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist

The 33 heroes in Marvel Rivals all belong to one of three classes, which largely fit the standard tank, DPS, and support trinity. While you might have a favorite character in mind already, you should understand their ideal role in Marvel Rivals and play with their strengths in mind.

Below we've given you a quick summary of each role along with the characters that fall into each category, but check out our guide to all 33 heroes in Marvel Rivals to dive deeper on what makes each character unique.

Vanguard

These characters are strong, sturdy, and have a high degree of survivability. You should be on the frontlines of all engagements, distracting opponents and taking the brunt of the damage. Vanguard characters include:

• Bruce Banner
• Captain America
• Doctor Strange
• Groot
• Magneto
• Peni Parker
• Thor
• Venom

Duelists

There are a lot of Duelists in Marvel Rivals. These fighters specialize in dealing damage, advancing aggressively, and beelining for Strategists. Duelists include:

• Black Panther
• Black Widow
• Hawkeye
• Hela
• Iron Fist
• Iron Man
• Magik
• Moon Knight
• Namor
• Psylocke
• Scarlet Witch
• Spider-Man
• Squirrel Girl
• Star-Lord
• Storm
• The Punisher
• Winter Soldier
• Wolverine

Strategists

Strategist heroes play a support role and offer amazing boons to the team as a whole, such as healing, revival, or extra defense. Ideally, you should have one or two on your team. Strategists include:

• Adam Warlock
• Cloak & Dagger
• Jeff the Land Shark
• Loki
• Luna Snow
• Mantis
• Rocket Raccoon

Choose heroes that can activate Team-Up Abilities

To win in Marvel Rivals, you need to learn which character pairs can execute Team-Up Abilities, one of the most unique additions to the game.

Team-Up Abilities are in play as long as you have an “anchor” (a character that grants a bonus perk) and another hero that benefits from that bonus. Depending on your team's character picks, you might even end up with more than one Team-Up Ability, which can be activated by pressing the “Z”, “X,” or “C” keys.

You should also check an anchor’s seasonal bonus by clicking on the Team-Up icon during character selection. Seasonal bonuses include extra health, healing/restoration, and damage.

These are currently the best Team-Up Abilities in Marvel Rivals:

• Ammo Overload - Rocket Raccoon + The Punisher and/or Winter Soldier: Rocket Raccoon’s Ammo Overload Device grants The Punisher and Winter Soldier unlimited ammo and faster rate-of-fire, making them more formidable on the battlefield.
• Planet X Pals - Groot + Rocket Raccoon and/or Jeff the Land Shark: Groot lets Rocket Raccoon and Jeff the Land Shark ride on his shoulders, reducing their incoming damage. Jeff and Rocket can still use their skills, so they can continue to support teammates by healing them.
• Chilling Charisma - Luna Snow + Namor and/or Jeff the Land Shark: Luna Snow empowers Namor and Jeff’s abilities with ice powers. This is a decent boost for either character, thanks to the slowing effect—but more notably, it also allows Namor to throw down an extra turret.
• Gamma Charge - Bruce Banner/Hulk + Doctor Strange and/or Iron Man: Doctor Strange’s Maelstrom of Madness skill and Iron Man’s Armor Overdrive skill become charged with gamma radiation. Iron Man gains an even bigger benefit from this due to improved area-of-effect damage.
• Metallic Chaos - Scarlet Witch + Magneto: Allows Magneto to wield a greatsword that can hit multiple enemies from afar. Magneto is already a defensive powerhouse, but this team-up makes him a major threat on offense as well.
• Ragnarok Rebirth - Hela + Loki and/or Thor: Hela can either revive or heal Thor and Loki if she lands the final blow on an opponent. Since Hela can easily dispatch most foes, this greatly improves the survivability of her siblings.

Choose heroes with 1- and 2-star difficulty ratings to learn the game

Heroes in Marvel Rivals are rated from 1-5 stars depending on how hard they are to use. For newcomers, we suggest picking 1-star or 2-star characters to learn the basics. That said, you'll eventually want to try out (and maybe master) some of the more complex characters as well so you can adapt based on your team’s needs.

1-star difficulty characters

• Jeff the Land Shark
• Mantis
• Rocket Raccoon
• Scarlet Witch
• Squirrel Girl
• The Punisher

2-star difficulty characters:

• Doctor Strange
• Groot
• Iron Man
• Luna Snow
• Magneto
• Namor
• Star-Lord
• Venom

Tactics and specialized perks can turn the tide of battle

If you want to win matches in Marvel Rivals, then you can try some cheesy tactics. Although these will annoy your opponents, they're fair game and can certainly benefit your team:

• Doctor Strange can create a portal in front of the enemy team’s spawn area, with the exit portal situated at the edge of a platform. Opponents rushing to get into the fray might end up falling to their doom.
• Jeff the Land Shark’s ultimate allows him to swallow friends and foes alike. He can then swim to the edge of cliffs to belch out everyone or jump off for multiple eliminations.

Certain heroes also have unique quirks that you need to be aware of to play effectively:

• Scarlet Witch’s Chaos Control deals damage based on a percentage of a target’s maximum health. This makes her more viable against Vanguards that have higher base HP.
• Iron Fist’s Dragon’s Defense and Magneto’s Metallic Curtain, Metal Bulwark, and Iron Bulwark all block projectiles, while also powering up their offensive moves. Since new players are likely to keep shooting you while you're blocking, you'll gain a boost that will make it easier to strike down your adversaries.
• Characters like Hela and Mantis have abilities that can stun enemies or put them to sleep, respectively. You should hold onto these for emergencies, especially when certain hostiles attempt to “dive” (i.e. aggressively advance) toward your location.
• Winter Soldier’s Kraken Impact ultimate is instantly refreshed if you eliminate foes with it, or if the enemy’s HP drops below a certain threshold. This effectively lets you chain his ultimate again and again, potentially wiping the entire opposing team.

Be knowledgeable when it comes to maps and mission objectives

Maps in Marvel Rivals aren't simply a free-for-all. Though chaotic at times, you and your team will need to play the objective if you want to win. Modes include:

• Domination: Both teams must capture a point on the map. The first team to get two points wins.
• Convergence: The team on offense needs to capture points, similar to Domination. Three points wins the game. The defending team tries to stop them.
• Convoy: This is akin to delivering a payload. To achieve victory, the offense must escort the object or vehicle to the destination while the defense tries to halt their progress.

Make custom games with friends or practice against AI bots

If you’re not sure how to play certain heroes, don't worry—Marvel Rivals offers multiple modes where you can familiarize yourself with the basic mechanics. Simply click on the Play tab and then look for the Change Mode button:

• Practice - Tutorials: The Practice tab lets you choose from various tutorials, including ones that focus on particular heroes or game modes.
• Rivalry - Practice vs. AI: You’ll join a match as part of a team fighting AI-controlled bots.
• Rivalry - Custom Game: Create your own lobby so that your friends can join. You can also add AI-controlled bots and control their difficulty levels.

Grab cosmetics with in-game currencies and the Battle Pass

As you continue to win matches in Marvel Rivals, don’t forget to take a look at the currencies you’ve earned in case you plan on purchasing cosmetics:

• Lattice: This premium currency is usually purchased using real-world money. At launch, 500 Lattice costs $4.99.
• Units: This in-game currency is gained by exchanging Lattice—there’s a 1:1 conversion rate. You can also obtain Units by completing tasks in the Season: Events panel. Units are predominantly exchanged for cosmetics from the Store.
• Chrono Tokens: This in-game currency normally comes from Season: Mission objectives and Season: Event tasks—though like Units, you can also top up by exchanging Lattice. Chrono Tokens are used to purchase goodies from the seasonal Battle Pass.

Marvel Rivals is free-to-play on the Epic Games Store—don't forget to take a look at our guide to all 33 heroes in Marvel Rivals to learn more about the playable characters and their powers!