Who are the best Marvel Rivals characters? Marvel and NetEase’s star-studded hero (and villain) shooter is filled with fan-favorite characters from across the multiverse. While each character brings their unique gameplay flair to the game, some are far mightier than others.
Our Marvel Rivals tier list divides the multiplayer game’s cast into multiple bands of viability, taking into account their innate power and ability to define the meta. Once you’ve found a top-tier Marvel Rivals hero to climb the ranked ladder with, learn all about them in our Marvel Rivals characters guide.
Marvel Rivals tier list
The best Marvel Rivals characters in December 2024 are:
| Rank | Character |
| S | Venom, Magneto, Luna Snow, Adam Warlock, Spider-Man |
| A | Doctor Strange, The Punisher, Iron Man, Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Magik, Groot |
| B | Storm, Scarlet Witch, Loki, Mantis |
| C | Bruce Banner/Hulk, Black Panther, Peni Parker |
| D | Namor |
S-Tier
Venom
Standing tall with 800 base health, Venom is incredibly sturdy already, and Symbiotic Resilience takes this further when used in a tight spot, effectively giving him a second wind. His ultimate, Feast of the Abyss, may be easy to avoid, but it also generates bonus health. Paired with Venom Swing to quickly get in and out of fights, he’s remarkably difficult to kill.
Venom also deals heavy damage with his tentacles, making him lethal up close. When combined with Cellular Corrosion to slow down enemies and Frenzied Arrival to close the gap between damaged targets, he’s an absolute menace. Pair him with a strong close-range DPS hero like Magic and you’ll dominate the match with ease.
Magneto
Magneto may be slow and challenging to use, but he has everything a tank could want: defensive capabilities, crowd control, and damage. His primary attack fires slow projectiles with limited range, but they hit like a truck and can quickly take out DPS and supports.
His Bulwark abilities provide a shield to either himself or an ally, which protects from damage and generates rings that Magneto can use to increase Mag-Cannon’s damage. This further builds upon his strong burst-damage potential. However, Magneto does feel like he’s missing something when he doesn’t have access to Metallic Fusion, the team-up ability provided by Scarlet Witch. This almost feels like an ultimate ability, dealing heavy damage in a wider area than his primary attack.
Luna Snow
Luna Snow is the perfect support hero, able to dish out damage and quickly heal allies back to full health. Her primary attack offers on-demand healing when fired at allies, and great damage against enemies if you can land precision hits. This is improved during the Ice Arts stage, replacing her basic attack with an amped-up icicle while also healing herself while the buff is active.
Share the Stage lets Luna Snow heal two allies at once, making it easier to keep your team alive. It’s best to place this on a tank or aerial DPS so you don’t have to chase them to keep their health topped up. Absolute Zero freezes enemies for a short duration and heal her, which is great against advancing enemies and flankers alike. Her ultimate, Fate of Both Worlds, is arguably the best in the game. With both a healing mode and a damage boost setting, Luna Snow can support the team, regardless of what the situation calls for.
Adam Warlock
Like Luna Snow, Adam Warlock is a versatile support hero. Soul Bond and Avatar Life Stream help keep allies fully stocked, while his basic attack and Cosmic Cluster dish out surprisingly strong damage.
However, Adam Warlock’s greatest strength is his ultimate and passive. His ultimate ability, Karmic Revival, can revive your entire team. He really can turn the tide of a fight with one press of a button. Likewise, his passive gives him a second life. Though it’s not necessary, his team-up with Mantis and Star-Lord also gives them a second life. What’s not to love about that?
Spider-Man
Spider-Man isn’t just an S-tier hero because he’s everyone’s favorite. No, this friendly neighborhood hero also brings the pain with incredible burst damage and mobility. Naturally, being a combo-driven character reliant on web-slinging around to stay alive, Spider-Man is difficult to master. However, once you do, he can easily take out healers and other DPS characters in a blitz.
Web enemies to mark them with a Spider-Tracer then use Get Over Here! to close the gap before smacking them with the Amazing Combo uppercut. This is typically enough for standard health enemies, giving you enough time to run away before swinging into the backline once again.
Hela
Befitting her name as the Goddess of Death, Hela is a terrifying damage dealer, though her precision-based playstyle does make her tricky to use in close range.
Her primary attack, paired with Piercing Night, is capable of decimating enemy health bars, and you’re incentivized to aim for the head for massive damage. This is what results in her struggling in close range against the likes of Spider-Man if you don’t have Astral Flock available to quickly reposition. Likewise, her ultimate can be disorienting to use at first, but it’s a great way to clear an objective and save your skin.
A-Tier
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is an aggressive tank thanks to his team-wide teleport, making him perfect in coordinated teams. His large shield will also help you push an objective or hold your ground.
Although it feels like you’re constantly reloading, his basic attack is deadly in the right hands. Plus, dealing damage charges Dark Magic which is both a blessing and a curse. If you don’t release it before it fills up using Maelstrom of Madness for massive AoE damage, then you’ll enter an anti-heal state. As a tank, this can be a death sentence. Nevertheless, play Doctor Strange well and he can carry a team.
The Punisher
As the Soldier 76, Call of Duty character stand-in, The Punisher is simple but effective. Equipped with an assault rifle for mid-range and a shotgun for when things get up close and personal, The Punisher can put just about anyone in their place. Iron Man picking you off from above? No problem. Spider-Man flanking you? Blast him with a shotgun.
His deployable turret and mech ultimate are great ways to rapidly increase your damage output, whether you’re pushing an objective or the enemy is getting into position to push you.
Iron Man
Iron Man might not be as agile as you’d expect, but he’s a superb ranged, aerial, AoE DPS character. Being able to hover above the battlefield puts him out of reach of most of the roster, though The Punisher counters him easily, especially due to the lack of a dodge.
When you’re not being countered, though, Iron Man is a consistently strong damage dealer that can soften up groups of enemies. However, Iron Man’s lack of burst damage outside his amazing ultimate holds him back from the top of the pack.
Rocket Raccoon
While healing isn’t Rocket’s greatest strength, he’s a handy and versatile support character. Like Adam Warlock, Rocket Raccoon can also bring an ally back from the dead using Battle Rebirth Beacon, which will also periodically provide armor packs. Otherwise, Rocket is reliant on his repair mode secondary fire to heal allies, which isn’t as effective as the likes of Luna Snow or Adam Warlock when it comes to saving allies from near death.
His synergy with the popular Punisher also helps Rocket shine. Well, at least when The Punisher remembers to take advantage of your pylon, that is.
Star-Lord
Although Star-Lord feels like he’s missing an ability or two, his agile nature and high damage make him a strong DPS character in the right hands. Star Lord is at his most powerful when played aggressively. Dash in and dodge damage while bursting down weaker enemies, especially healers. His Blaster Barrage is great for softening up groups of enemies, just make sure you’ve got teammates with you, as you’re an easy target.
Magik
Magik is a melee DPS that’s difficult to master but can be powerful when played well, especially with allies like Venom or Magneto to soak up much of the damage. Able to teleport in and dish out various melee attacks, all of which grant her bonus health, Magik has survivability that other melee DPS heroes like Black Panther simply don’t have without sacrificing damage.
Groot
A tree of very few words, Groot is a stalwart tank that stands out in certain team compositions and modes. With his playstyle being all about blockading the enemies and standing near these barriers to buff himself, Groot needs to be up close to succeed. This, paired with his large stature, makes Groot an easy target. However, if you can assemble an equally in-your-face team, like Venom, Star-Lord, and Magik, then Groot is key to overwhelming your enemy.
B-Tier
Storm
Storm is a support-damage hybrid, giving her a unique, albeit limited role. Firstly, her basic attacks, Bolt Rush, and Goddess Boost deal good damage and let Storm strategically go on the offensive, particularly since she can fly. However, her main feature is her ability to switch between two different buffs using Weather Control. From buffing movement speed to increased damage, Storm works wonders in tight-knit teams that take advantage of these powerful effects. With random players, though, that’s sadly all too rare.
Scarlet Witch
While Scarlet Witch is dominating matches during the playtest, her kit is rather limited and will no doubt see her effectiveness fall off as players improve. Scarlet Witch’s basic attack is annoying, no doubt about that, but its low, constant damage can be canceled with healing from the likes of Mantis, Adam Warlock, or Luna Snow. However, it’s more of a means to an end as it generates Chaos Energy used for Chthonian Blast, a much more deadly attack.
Scarlet Witch’s biggest strength is in her crowd control abilities. Dark Seal can repeatedly stun enemies caught in its blast. When placed in choke points or against tank characters, Scarlet Witch can shut teams down very effectively.
Loki
Living up to his pedigree as the god of trickery, Loki is a slippery support that excels when he’s on the move and healing allies. His decoys won’t fool anyone, but they are great at causing a temporary distraction. Likewise, his invisibility powers and deadly backstab make him lethal in the right hands, capable of assassinating players by weaving in and out of combat.
Since he’s not a dedicated healer, he’s best played alongside a hero like Adam Warlock or Luna Snow who can help keep enemies alive while he’s fooling the enemy.
Mantis
Mantis is the support character with the biggest focus on healing, though this is largely healing over time rather than burst heals. This means you will want a strong healer like Adam Warlock or Luna Snow to who can quickly heal an ally. Nevertheless, this constant healing makes Mantis a pest for the enemy, so its lucky Mantis has self-healing.
Due to her focus on healing over time and lack of damage, Mantis is less versatile than her competition but makes the perfect second support. Plus, a stun ability and damage boost effect do help make up for her shortcomings.
C-Tier
Bruce Banner/Hulk
Though Hulk has three forms, each with different abilities, he isn’t nearly as complex as it sounds at first. Most of your time will be spent as Hero Hulk, unfortunately, he simply isn’t that powerful. From heavy punches and gamma-ray blasts to an immobilizing effect, Hulk has a varied kit focused on damage, though these abilities lack impact. Plus, as a raging green beast, Hulk is an incredibly easy target to hit, and one that largely lacks defensive options.
Hulk is best played like Winston from Overwatch, diving in and out of the action while trying to cause as much chaos as possible. Killing enemies is secondary, so it’s best to only pick Hulk if you have another strong tank or damage dealers on your team.
Black Panther
Unfortunately, Black Panther can’t quite keep up with competition like Magik and Spider-Man. Boasting a similar, close-range, combo-based kit Black Panther needs to land his attacks in a specific order to deal optimal damage. Missing any of these attacks then leaves you in a very vulnerable position. Even when you nail the combo, Black Panther simply deals less damage than his rivals.
Peni Parker
The happy-go-lucky super-scientist spider-woman, Peni Parker is undeniably a fun hero, though her trap-based abilities make her cumbersome. These traps can deal great damage, but she’s easily countered traps are lurking whenever Peni is around. Moreover, she struggles to push objectives given this more defensive approach, though her webs do offer her added survivability across the board.
D-Tier
Namor
All alone at the bottom of the Marvel Rivals tier list is Namor. This half-human and half-Atlantean is a damage dealer in name only since he relies on turrets that can be easily destroyed, quickly nullifying his unique feature. While he’s better with Luna Snow thanks to the ice-imbued effect, it doesn’t make his turrets more durable.
And that’s the full Marvel Rivals tier list as it stands right now. Now you’re ready to dominate the opposition, make sure your Marvel Rivals settings are up to scratch so your PC performance matches your in-game performance.