How to Play Doctor Strange

Marvel Rivals, the newest PVP hero-shooter by NetEase Games, boasts an iconic cast of over 30 heroes from childhood, all with distinct powers and abilities. Doctor Strange is a Vanguard hero in the game who likes to stay in the thick of the battle and deal massive AOE damage to foes all around him. His abilities let him play as a protector, saving his allies from projectile attacks while also dealing massive damage with his primary attack and other skills.

With a difficulty rating of 2 stars, Doctor Strange isn’t necessarily the most complicated hero in the game for players to master. However, cooldown management and knowing when to switch between offense and defense are essential to securing wins with the Sorcerer Supreme. In this guide, we’ll showcase Doctor Strange’s abilities and drop some tips to help you master the hero in Marvel Rivals.

Doctor Strange Abilities in Marvel Rivals

• Base Health: 650
• Difficulty Rating: 2 Stars
• Team Role: Vanguard

Doctor Strange is a Vanguard hero who can deal massive damage from a distance. Unlike Thor or Venom, who need to get close to the opponent before they deal damage, Doctor Strange can stay back with the team’s support, protecting the backline while keeping the enemy Duelists at bay.

Here’s a quick overview of all of Doctor Strange’s abilities and attacks in Marvel Rivals:

Doctor Strange has a lower maximum health than other Vanguard heroes in the game. However, combined with his Shield of the Seraphim ability, his effective HP goes up to 1450 against enemy projectile attacks.

His Pentagram of Farallah has a long cooldown, but it’s also one of the most broken abilities in the game. The two portals you create on the map cannot only be used as a shortcut, but you can also attack enemies you see on the other side of the portal without putting yourself in a bad spot. This ability lets you make a lot of plays, including throwing unsuspecting enemies off the map.

The enemies can also use the Portals that you create using the ability.

How to Play Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals

Doctor Strange’s main kit revolves around utilizing the Dark Energy build-up from his passive, Price of Magic. Any time Doctor Strange hits an enemy target with his primary attack, Daggers of Danek, or melee, he will build up Dark Energy. If the Dark Energy build-up exceeds a certain threshold, he will enter a state of anti-healing where he will take damage from any source of healing.

However, you can cast your Maelstrom of Madness Ability to release the built-up Dark Energy in an AOE around you to damage nearby enemies. The damage you deal depends on the amount of Dark Energy you accumulate before release. Using this ability removes all Dark Energy and puts the ability on an 8-second cooldown. Using this combo, Doctor Strange can dish out insane bursts of damage during skirmishes.

You can pull off a couple of different combos when you’re playing Doctor Strange. In most situations, you’ll use the Cloak of Levitation to soar above the battlefield and target enemies with your primary attack to build up Dark Energy. After the Cloak of Levitation ends, you’ll drop near the opponent and hit Maelstrom of Madness to take them out and damage nearby enemies. Quickly pop your Shield of the Seraphim ability to run back toward your support while absorbing all your enemies’ projectile attacks.

Doctor Strange’s Ultimate takes longer to charge up compared to other ultimates in the game. But it’s also one of the strongest, capable of winning the entire game if you use it properly. It’s a strong AOE disable that stuns nearby enemies and knocks out the souls of enemies that get hit with it. This ultimate combos well with other AOE damage-dealing abilities like Moon Knight’s Hand Of Khonshuor Venom’s Frenzied Arrival.

Attacking the Soul of the enemy hero causes them to take increased damage.

However, this ultimate doesn’t target enemies through the wall and has a long windup. So you’ll have to be smart about how you use it. If an enemy spots you casting your ultimate, they can use any of their stun abilities to break you out of it. On top of that, you still take damage while casting, so the enemies can focus on you before the ultimate goes off. It takes some practice to get the timing right, but once you master it, you can use it to set up plays for your team or contest objectives.

You can move while casting Eye of Agamoto. So use the map cover and peek out as the cast ends to execute it safely.

Marvel Rivals Doctor Strange Tips & Tricks

Here are a few essential tips to keep in mind when you’re playing Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals:

• You always want to keep an eye on your Dark Energy bar. Going into the anti-healing state can be problematic when contesting an objective.
• Doctor Strange’s abilities require a bit of planning to execute perfectly. Communicate with your teammates to let them know when you’re going in and when you want them to play defensive.
• Doctor Strange’s Team-Up Power with Hulk is quite good and will let you dish out more damage during the fight.
• The Pentagram of Farallah ability has a long cooldown. To get the most value out of it, you’ll want to use it to flank the opponent’s backline.
• Doctor Strange’s Dash ability Cloak of Levitation also has a long cooldown. While it might be tempting to do so, don’t spam it unnecessarily. Instead, save it for when you want to close distance or get out of a tricky spot during a fight.

Doctor Strange is one of the easier heroes to learn in Marvel Rivals. Mastering the hero is about managing your cooldowns and figuring out when to get aggressive. Once you get that covered, you will start to dominate your ranked games as the Sorcerer Supreme.