The Best Heroes to Play in Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals recently kicked off season 1, introducing Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman as new playable heroes along with a new convoy map that takes you through the streets of a Dracula-controlled New York. It's been a strong start for the game that first launched in early December. 

As in every multiplayer game based around hero characters and their abilities, adding to the lineup always has the potential to shake up the metagame of whichever handful of heroes are considered the most optimal picks in a match. Rivals also made some balance adjustments in all three roles (DPS duelists, tank-like vanguards and healing strategists) as the game kicked off season 1, which further complicates how heroes compare against each other. 

So all of that considered, who are the best heroes in Marvel Rivals now? It's tough to say definitively, because things like player skill and hero familiarity factor into each person's results -- do you know the combos for melee heroes, have the aim skill required for point-and-click duelists or have the necessary resource management to get the most out of certain vanguards and strategists?

This guide is based on a combination of my own in-game experience and Rivals' official data on pick rates and win rates from season 0. While things have changed in the new season, some heroes have held onto most (or all) of their strengths from last season. (Note: DPS win rates trend lower than 50% on average while strategist win rates trend above 50%, likely reflecting the difference between teams with too many duelists versus teams that balance roles a little better. Vanguard win rates are more even.)

If you just want to win, here are some of Marvel Rivals' best heroes. Keep in mind that in competitive lobbies ranked diamond or higher, each team can ban two heroes, so it's a good idea to have a few capable heroes in your repertoire for each role. As the season progresses, I'll keep this list updated if (or likely when) I discover I've over- or underrated heroes, especially the two new heroes to start the season -- Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic, who didn't make this version of the list. Things will get shaken up again when the other half of the Fantastic Four, The Thing and Human Torch, get added later on.

Best Marvel Rivals vanguards

Doctor Strange: The most consistent, reliable frontline presence

The Sorcerer Supreme has been the biggest fixture in the vanguard metagame since launch. He has the most consistent shielding, his ultimate is a powerful area-of-effect stun and his teleport is a handy tool for last-second touches on objectives or skillful ambushes. The nerfs to his Maelstrom of Madness ability and shield regeneration don't change the fundamentally strong parts of his kit. Pick Doctor Strange if you think you can win by managing your team's space and relentlessly pushing your opponents back. 

Hulk: A powerful team-up anchor and effective dive initiator

Hulk can be a challenge to play, but he's a menace when played well, stealing backline attention and protecting ally divers with his bubble shields. At diamond ranks and above, Hulk's win rate was an impressive 54%. He also makes two already strong heroes -- Doctor Strange and Iron Man -- even stronger by increasing their damage with team-up abilities. Pick Hulk if you think you have Bruce Banner's gigabrain and can outmaneuver your opponents. 

Peni Parker: A ruthless dive deterrent and stun factory

Peni sported the highest vanguard win rate in season 0 and walked away without a single adjustment for the new season. Especially powerful on defense, Peni effectively creates a no-walk zone by setting up a nest that spawns drones who crawl across webs and damage anyone who steps on those webs. And you have a stun ability on a three-second cooldown that will lock down dive heroes or stun some out ultimates. Pick Peni if you can find clever hiding spots for your nest and want to lock down entire areas of the map. 

Best Marvel Rivals duelists

Hela: A damage-dealing nightmare with safety nets

Hela was both the most-played duelist and the one with the highest win rate. She received a couple of nerfs for the new season, lowering her seasonal damage bonus and reducing her health slightly -- changing important breakpoints in her ability to deal and receive damage. What wasn't changed was the safety she has between her Astral Flock ability giving her an invincible repositioning tool and her ultimate ability that resets her HP to 1,000. Pick Hela if you think you can out-aim your opponents -- she might not be as dominant as she was last season, but she should still be a menace in the right hands.

Psylocke: Pressure from all angles

Psylocke's ability to deal reasonable damage from range makes her a versatile threat, pressuring frontlines or assassinating backlines depending on what is available to her. Good Psylocke players feel like they're always threatening the enemy team from somewhere while never being close enough to actually deal with -- even if they dash in to secure a kill, they're invisible and dashing out to safety before you can trade back. Pick Psylocke if you're confident in your ability to prowl around the map, looking for opportunities to quickly burst someone down before they can get help.

Iron Man: The flying deathray 

Marvel's most famous billionaire emerged as a late-season menace, especially in higher-rank lobbies where two of his biggest counters (Hawkeye and Hela) were frequently banned. Iron Man can fly freely around the map, and good players know how to find creative angles near cover that allow them to quickly beam down unsuspecting targets. He has a powerful team-up with Hulk, who naturally sows chaos and draws attention away. And he has an ultimate that can kill strategists like Luna Snow out of their own powerful ults. Pick Iron Man if you think you can outflank enemies and catch them by surprise while also keeping yourself alive.

Storm: The biggest buff beneficiary

Storm was the least-picked hero in quickplay and competitive last season, but she received buffs to her damage and the speed of her (piercing) projectile, which has taken her from least-picked to must-pick. Storm creates an aura where she can boost either the speed or damage of her allies and amplify that boost for several seconds. Because that aura is a sphere, Storm generally wants to be level with her teammates to get maximum range -- the same positioning that gets better value out of her hero-piercing projectiles -- so don't wander too far from your teammates. On top of that, her ultimate damages enemies in a broad swath and demands quick response from enemy strategists. Pick Storm if you feel comfortable aiming projectiles and want to control the tempo of the game from the duelist role.

Honorable mentions: Black Panther and Magik

Both these heroes were in the top three for win rates, but with very low pick rates. These are combo-heavy melee characters that I would guess appeal to a smaller percentage of the population, so I think people who play these heroes are more likely to be specialists who know the ins and outs of the heroes very deeply. Perhaps more importantly, Panther's high mobility and Magik's combination of dash abilities and generating overhealth make the two of them more self-sufficient than other duelists and less reliant on their team, thus reducing some of the variance in matchmaking. If you want to sink in the hours to master these heroes, there might be a bigger payoff, but I don't recommend them unless you're eager to dedicate that kind of playtime to one hero. 

Best Marvel Rivals strategists

Mantis: The duelist in strategist's clothes

Mantis had the highest win rate of any hero in Marvel Rivals, regardless of platform. Hulk and Magik overtake her at high ranks, but only barely and on much lower pick rates. Despite a movement speed nerf, Mantis has a lot of the tools you need to carry a lobby: high damage potential, crowd control for enemy threats and a powerful ultimate that can turn team fights. And if you have another player on your team outperforming the lobby, Mantis is an excellent choice for keeping them alive while also boosting their damage. Pick Mantis if you want to play the backline puppetmaster of your team, dishing out damage and healing and clutching fights with your abilities. 

Luna Snow: Powerful healing and sustain

While Luna's win rate isn't that exciting, she's a frequent ban in high-ranked lobbies because of her ability to keep allies up through major damage and quickly farm her ultimate, which makes nearby allies nigh-unkillable for 12 seconds. (Her ultimate received a nerf to the ability to switch quickly between healing and damage-boosting modes, but the core value remains.) Throwing her Share the Stage ability on a low-health ally lets you quickly bring them back to full HP, and like Mantis, she also has the ability to stun enemies attempting to jump you or cast their ultimates on your team. Pick Luna if you think your team has the firepower to win an extended fight and you have the aim skill to keep them healed up.

Loki: Mischievous master of manipulation

The god of mischief has a relatively low pick rate compared with other strategists, but his win rate was higher than 50% at all ranks on both PC and console, and he received no changes for season 1. Loki's doppelgangers allow him to deal large bursts of healing and damage when set up correctly, and his three escape abilities make him more resilient to enemies who want to jump you. His copy-any-hero ultimate ability also makes him a uniquely versatile hero. Pick Loki if you think can outthink your opponents, setting up clever doppelganger placements and use quick-thinking ultimates to catch the other team off-guard.

For more on Marvel Rivals, check out our season 1 overview and guide to choosing your role and heroes.