News
How to master Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist in Marvel Rivals
D
Diego Perez
Knowing the difference between Vanguards, Duelists, and Strategists is incredibly important. Your favorite hero may not fall into the category you'd think, so you may have to adjust your playstyle accordingly. With these tips, however, you'll be able to handle anything Marvel Rivals throws at you.
Lead the team to victory as a Vanguard
Vanguards are the backbone of every team. If you're played other hero shooters or MMOs, these are your tanks. Being a Vanguard is about much more than just absorbing damage on the front lines, however.
These are some examples of the best Marvel Rivals Vanguards:
- Doctor Strange
- Magneto
- Venom
- Angela
- Emma Frost
If you're playing as a Vanguard, you set the pace of the match. Generally, your team can only push up as far as you do. If you're playing a tanky Vanguard like Doctor Strange or Magneto—both of whom have massive shields to absorb incoming damage—stand your ground on the front lines and help your allies reach the objective.
Of course, not every Vanguard has a big shield or a huge HP bar. Some Vanguards (like Venom or Captain America) excel at diving in and harassing enemy frontliners so your team can advance.
Venom has a huge self-heal with a relatively short cooldown, so he can swing in with his tendrils, snag a kill or two, and then swing away with a full health bar as if nothing happened. Captain America, on the other hand, has great mobility for a Vanguard. He can jump in, beat up the enemy team, and protect himself with his trusty shield if things get too heated.
The most important thing to realize is that Vanguards are designed to create space for your team. Learning this will catapult you leagues above casual players.
Use Groot's walls not only to provide cover for your team while they advance, but also to punish overextending enemies by cutting off their retreat. Spam Peni's mines to create safe zones for your allies and make it nearly impossible for enemies to capture objectives. Place Doctor Strange's portal to direct your team toward a game-winning flank or even create an unkillable sniping spot for your deadly Hawkeye or Punisher.
It's also crucial to recognize when it's time to switch. If your team has two Vanguards, but they're Captain America and Emma Frost, you may have to bite the bullet and swap to Doctor Strange or another Vanguard who can serve as a stronger backbone. Adjusting to incoming pressure on the fly is the hallmark of a strong Vanguard player.
Top the leaderboard as a Duelist
Selecting a Duelist is a big responsibility in Marvel Rivals. You'll have to get the majority of your team's kills, and even the best Vanguards and Strategists can't carry a team to victory if their Duelists can't secure eliminations.
These are some of the best Duelists in Marvel Rivals:
- Spider-Man
- Punisher
- Hela
- Squirrel Girl
- Psylocke
- Star Lord
For example, characters like Spider-Man and Psylocke are designed to flank enemies and pick off lone snipers and Strategists by using their movement abilities and burst damage potential to score easy kills. On the other hand, characters like Hela and Punisher are at their best when they hang behind their Vanguards and eliminate foes from a distance.
It's crucial to master multiple Duelists if you're planning on being a DPS main, since some characters are hard counters to others. If the enemy team has a skilled Iron Man, for example, you're going to have to swap to a long-range hero like Punisher or Hawkeye to deal with them. Otherwise, they'll be able to maintain air superiority for the entire match.
Duelists also have some of the most impactful team-ups in the entire game, so practicing with the current set of featured heroes will make you an essential asset to your team. Hero team-ups change every season in Marvel Rivals, however, so your favorite strategy might not be available for long.
Speaking of teaming up, combining your ultimate ability with other players' powers is an easy way to win fights and take objectives. These abilities are already strong on their own, but several ultimates get even stronger when used alongside an allies' ultimate. Emma Frost's hypnotizing ultimate can force enemies out in the open and make them vulnerable to Iron Man's Pulse Cannon or Scarlet Witch's explosive Reality Erasure, for example.
Finally, good Duelist players need to protect their Strategists. It's easy to get tunnel vision and keep your eyes forward at all times so you can watch for enemies and easy picks, but don't forget to turn around and check on your healers from time to time. Losing a Strategist is a huge blow in team fights, so listen to your supports if they call for help!
Keep your team safe as a Strategist
Being a Strategist is a largely thankless role in Marvel Rivals, but supports are easily the most important players on the field. Strategists aren't just healing machines, however, and some of them can score just as many kills as other heroes.
These are some of the best Strategists in Marvel Rivals:
- Cloak and Dagger
- Luna Snow
- Mantis
- Loki
- Invisible Woman
- Jeff the Land Shark
Look at Loki, for example. His Regeneration Domain ability not only heals allies in the small green circles surrounding his clones, but it also converts incoming damage into healing on top of that. Because of this, Loki can completely negate several ultimates from characters like Magneto, Spider-Man, and Iron Man. It has a really long cooldown, however, so holding it for the right moment is the key to victory.
Mantis and Invisible Woman are two healers who may not have as much raw healing output as the best Strategists, but they're still at the top of most tier lists because of their remarkable utility. Mantis can boost allies' attack damage and shut down enemy ultimates with her sleep ability, and Invisible Woman can deal as much damage as most Duelists while also having crazy survivability thanks to her passive invisibility.
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each Strategist is the fastest way to climb the ranks. As a Strategist player, you really have to know how to play most of the Strategist roster.
Just like with Vanguards, you're going to have to swap more often than you'd probably like. If your team has two Strategists, but they're Loki and Adam Warlock, you're just not going to have enough healing to keep up with the enemies' damage output. That's where heroes like Luna Snow come in. If your allies need a little extra help during team fights, however, you may need to pick up Invisible Woman or Ultron.
Finally, the most important thing for a Strategist player to understand is the ultimate economy. An ultimate isn't just for damaging or healing. Ultimates win team fights and hold objectives, so knowing when to deploy yours is crucial.
Don't pop your ult as soon as you get it. Most Strategist ultimates are designed to counter other ultimate abilities. Luna Snow's ultimate can help your team survive just about anything, so you should save it to shut down an offensive enemy ult. Also, if you see an enemy Strategist use their ultimate, you should probably use yours too. Otherwise, your team will just get steamrolled by the boosted enemies.
There are exceptions to this rule, however. If you have Luna Snow's ultimate but your team has already lost the team fight, save it and use it to recover on the next push. It's a delicate balance that you can really only learn with practice, so jump in there and pay close attention to when and how you're deploying your ultimate abilities.
Marvel Rivals is free-to-play and available now on Epic Games Store.