Every Vanguard In Marvel Rivals, Ranked By Difficulty

Vanguard is a difficult but necessary role for any Marvel Rivals team. As the Vanguard, you are your squad’s tank, protecting your teammates from taking as much damage as possible. You are also in charge of controlling space, allowing them to escort the convoy or capture the mission area successfully.

As Vanguards lead the team, being one can be daunting. Luckily, there are some Vanguard characters that are easier to learn than others. Whether you are a seasoned third-person shooter player or a total newbie, there is a Vanguard character perfect for you.

9

Easy Clobberin’ With The Thing

• Best Paired With: Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Wolverine, and The Hulk.

The latest Vanguard to join the Marvel Rivals roster is also the easiest one to play. As The Thing, you are immune to all forms of knockback, launches, and displacements, allowing you to storm onto the map. When The Thing uses Embattled Leap, he is able to leap from a distance and grant his teammates a shield for a few seconds, allowing them to dodge major damage from the enemy team.

One thing to note about using The Thing is that he is most effective when close to enemies, as his primary attack, Rocky Jab, utilizes melee punches. However, this is no problem when paired with his Ultimate, Clobberin’ Time. When used, The Thing smashes the ground, launching his enemies up in the air and stunning them.

8

Be A Lethal Protector With Venom

• Best Paired With: Peni Parker and Spider-Man.

Looking for an easy Vanguard for crowd control? Then consider using Venom. He is able to dive at enemies to create space for your team, as well as crawl on walls and sling `webs. He is one of the hardest Vanguards to take down thanks to his Symbiotic Resilience, which provides him with bonus health when he takes damage. When he hits with his primary attack, Dark Predation, he is able to deal consistent damage to enemies. With each tendril dealing delayed damage, he is able to break down duelists of the enemy team.

Additionally, his secondary attack, Cellular Corrosion, allows Venom to latch tentacles on his foes, slowing them down and inflicting major damage. His Ultimate, Feast of the Abyss, has Venom burrowing underground and devouring enemies above. He does have one major drawback, however; all of his attacks can easily be dodged. It’s better to be sneaky when playing Venom.

7

Groot, The Reliable Pathfinder

• Best Paired With: Jeff the Land Shark and Rocket Raccoon.

One of Groot’s greatest strengths is his ability to grow walls, which effectively block enemy fire and create obstacles to protect allies. In fact, the walls can even be used to create paths for his teammates. Groot can create two types of walls: Ironwood Walls, which are longer in width, and Thornlash Walls, which are shorter. Ironwood Walls can provide Groot with health, while Thornlash Walls can deal damage to enemies. He requires some practice to perfect, as some walls can actually hurt your team rather than help them.

Moving objects, such as the convoy, can break Groot’s walls. Without his walls, Groot is vulnerable thanks to his slow speed and large size.

Groot can also deal damage to enemies who are far away. His primary attack, Vine Strike, has Groot extending his arm to attack enemies. Meanwhile, his secondary, Spore Bomb, launched projectiles that split into six shards. But what really does damage is his Ultimate, Strangling Prison, which pulls enemies in and imprisons them while causing damage.

6

Doctor Strange Is Any Team’s Mighty Sorcerer

• Best Paired With: The Hulk and Iron Man.

If you’re looking to play a mighty defender, then Doctor Strange might be your best choice. With his Cloak of Levitation, Doctor Strange can fly, allowing him to evade attacks. His secondary, Shield of Seraphim, allows him to use a radial shield to absorb all projectile damage. This can be paired with his Cloak of Levitation, making him a Vanguard that can rush to your defense. His primary, Daggers of Denak, shoots a slow projectile that causes delayed damage to enemies.

His Ultimate, Eye of Agamotto, is perfect for crowd control. When used, Doctor Strange releases a blast that stuns all nearby enemies. This allows duelists the perfect time to take down the enemy team. Another useful ability is his Pentagram of Farallah, which allows Doctor Strange to open two portals leading to anywhere on the map. However, note that enemies can also use the portal, which means you need to be strategic with its placement. The portals last for 20 seconds and have a cooldown of 180 seconds.

5

Shield Your Allies While Causing Major Damage With Magneto

• Best Paired With: Scarlet Witch.

Magneto is a great Vanguard choice if you want to protect your team while also dishing out major damage to your enemies. His primary attack, Iron Volley, shoots slow-moving projectiles that explode on impact, causing damage to those in its radius. His secondary, Mag-Cannon, also launches projectiles which damage scale based on the rings on his back. If maxed, it can knockback enemies.

Magneto uses his Metal Bulwark and Iron Bulwark to shield his enemies and himself. He also has another shield, Metallic Curtain, which is similar to Doctor Strange’s. With this, he projects a shield that absorbs projectile damage and blocks Ultimates. His Ultimate, Meteor M, allows Magneto to smash a meteor down, causing major damage over a large radius. However, if his Ultimate is hit by too many projectiles, it can be canceled. Tne only major drawback to using Magneto is that he is relatively squishy for a Vanguard; without his shield, he can easily be defeated.

4

Storm The Battlefield With Captain America

• Best Paired With: Storm and Thor.

While other Vanguards are large or able to fly, Captain America stands out for his ability to storm onto the battlefield, hit his enemies, and shield his allies. With his primary Sentinel Strike, Captain America is able to launch his shield with every two punches against an enemy, saving him from death. When he uses Vibranium Energy Saw, Captain America can throw his shield, which bounces off enemies close to each other and stops them from using abilities.

Captain America is the fastest Vanguard thanks to his Leading Dash, which grants him 33 percent increased movement speed. He can also use his Fearless Leap to Super-Soldier Slam enemies from high up, knocking them down. When he uses his Ultimate, Freedom Charge, Captain America is able to grant bonus health and speed to him and nearby teammates, making it harder to take them down.

However, using Captain America has its cons; due to his smaller size, he is not as effective at blocking projectiles and damage. His shield is also much smaller than Doctor Strange’s or Magneto’s, so don’t expect him to always block incoming attacks from the enemy.

3

Wreak Havoc On Your Enemies As Thor

• Best Paired With: Hela, Loki, Captain America, and Storm.

Thor is the most Duelist-like Vanguard, meaning he thrives on causing damage to the enemy team. The best part about using Thor is his passive, Thorforce, which gives him bonus health depending on what skills you use. His primary attack, Mjolnir Bash, causes damage while recharging Thorforce. When paired with Awakening Rune, Mjolnir Bash turns into a ranged attack to hit enemies from far away and make space on the map. However, his secondary, Hammer Throw, costs one charge of Thorforce and allows Thor to throw his hammer and deal damage to enemies.

Thor is a selfish Vanguard, so if you plan on devoting the game to protecting your teammates, choose someone else.

As expected, Thor uses his hammer to deal damage. With Storm Surge, Thor is able to lunch on enemies with his hammer. When hit, the enemy is knocked back, allowing Thor or his allies to strike. This is slightly similar to his Ultimate, God of Thunder, which allows Thor to leap into the air while charging his hammer, creating a field that causes damage to anyone inside it. When he slams down, it deals a high amount of damage. As you can see, Thor is a Vanguard meant to attack enemies, which means it is difficult for him to protect his allies from projectiles or incoming damage.

2

Two Heroes In One With The Hulk

• Best Paired With: Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Wolverine, and The Thing.

You get not one but two heroes if you pick The Hulk. You initially enter the game as Bruce Banner, who is frail but is able to use a Gamma Ray Gun to hit enemies and use a Gamma Grenade to knockback enemies and retrieve Bruce’s Gamma Energy. However, you can instantly transform into the Hulk with your Ultimate, Puny Banner, which is available at the start of the game.

As Hulk, you can use Heavy Blow to deal punches to your enemies. Though you are much slower as the Hulk, you can use Incredible Leap to jump over long distances and even slam down on enemies. Protect your enemies with Indestructible Guard, which provides Hulk and nearby allies a shield that absorbs damage. You can also use Gamma Burst to pierce your enemies and Radioactive Lockdown to stun enemies. However, the best part about using Hulk is his Ultimate, Hulk Smash. With this, you transform into Monster Hulk and can use a new Ultimate, World Breaker. This allows you to grab an enemy and, well, beat the daylights out of them.

However, if you are taken down as Hulk, you revert to Bruce Banner. While transitioning back to Bruce Banner, enemies can easily gang up on you and take you down. If you don’t place strategically with your team, this can often happen, and it will be difficult to avoid dying when in Bruce Banner form.

1

Use Your Webs To Stop The Enemy As Peni Parker

• Best Paired With: Spider-Man and Venom.

Peni Parker can be complicated to use due to her Cyber-Webs, but when you get the hang of it, you’ll be invincible. Not only can Cyber-Webs heal Peni and give her bonus movement speed, it can also be detrimental to enemies who step on her webs. Her Cyber-Web Snare can immobilize targets and cancel out Ultimates, allowing your duelists to strike. Her Cyber-Web Cluster are projectiles and, with unlimited ammo, Peni Parker can continuously strike.

One thing to note is how large Peni Parker is thanks to her spider suit. While she can websling to an extent and can crawl on vertical surfaces, she is easy to spot. If enemies hone in on her, she can be taken down easily since she has defensive abilities.

Arachno-Mine can be deployed and lock-on enemies that step on it, causing major damage. The best part about it is that it becomes invisible after it is deployed, meaning it is likely enemies will walk into it. Bionic Spider-Nest can be deployed manually onto the map so that Arachno-Mines can continuously spawn onto the map. Her Ultimate, Spider-Sweeper, allows Peni Parker to run with increase speed, launching enemies upwards while constantly launching Arachno-Mines and Cyber-Webs. However, once her Ultimate ends, all things spawned from it will vanish.