Best Characters for Beginners in Marvel Rivals

There are currently 39 characters in Marvel Rivals, featuring iconic heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe. This can feel a bit overwhelming for beginners, especially if you’re unfamiliar with each character’s powers and playstyle.

If you’re just starting out, it’s best to choose characters that are versatile and easy to learn. Marvel Rivals divides its roster into three roles: Vanguard (tank), Duelist (damage dealer), and Strategist (support). You can pick the one that best fits your preferred playstyle.

Vanguard

If you enjoy leading the charge and soaking up enemy damage, choosing a Vanguard might be the best role for you. With their high health pool, they’re built to withstand heavy hits and hold the frontline as your team pushes forward.

Captain America

Captain America Overview

• Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
• Health: 575

Despite the three-star difficulty rating, Captain America is surprisingly easy to master. He’s a character who likes to keep moving and engage in hit-and-run tactics. Captain America is also quite tough and fast, thanks to his Leading Dash sprint and Liberty Rush charge abilities. He can also block attacks from the front using his shield, giving him a better chance to escape after jumping into or behind enemy lines.

When playing as Captain America, your goal is to distract and pressure the enemy’s Strategists, keeping them from helping their team. Focus on being a constant problem for them. Don’t waste time fighting enemy Vanguards; use your mobility to dodge them and go after the rest of the team.

Staying alive is key. Use your movement skills and Shield to avoid damage, and if your health gets low, grab a health pack or fall back to get healed.

Groot

Groot Overview

• Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
• Health: 850

Groot is likely the most defensive Vanguard hero, using his plant-based barriers to block damage and control enemy movement, giving him control over the battlefield. When enemies get too close, he can fight back with his Vine Strike and Spore Bomb, or trap them with his Strangling Prison Ultimate, leaving them open to stronger follow-up attacks.

Groot is most effective when teamed up with Rocket or Jeff, as they can ride on him during battle. While he’s not the strongest tank in terms of damage, he can take a lot of hits. His main weaknesses are low mobility and limited ways to directly shield teammates, but he still fits well into most team setups.

Venom

Venom Overview

• Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
• Health: 800

Venom is a strong pick for beginners in Marvel Rivals. He has the highest health in the game, and his Symbiotic Resilience ability gives him bonus health when he takes damage, making him hard to deal with. Many players struggle to find an effective counter to Venom in Marvel Rivals; that’s why it’s one of the best picks for beginners.

His ultimate lets him go underground to heal or surprise enemies from below. As a tank, your role is to lead the charge, take most of the damage, and target enemy damage dealers. But if your team already has a main tank, you can play off-tank, either by disrupting enemies or protecting your healers in the back.

Strategist

In every team, you need someone to support you while you take on the enemies. That’s where the Strategist comes in, healing teammates and providing powerful buffs like increased damage, bonus health, and enhanced movement speed. They typically stay at the backline, ensuring they can assist the entire team without being directly targeted.

Mantis

Mantis Overview

• Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
• Health: 250

Mantis is a highly effective support character for team-based play in Marvel Rivals. She’s great at healing and boosting damage for her teammates, making her a strong strategic pick. Her ultimate ability increases her team’s mobility, which adds even more value to her support role. One big advantage is that her healing doesn’t require precise aim; you don’t have to land a shot to heal, so it’s easy to keep teammates alive.

Mantis is perfect for players who prefer a calm, strategic approach. The best way to play her is from a distance, tossing Life Orbs to heal allies. Her simple and easy-to-use abilities make her very beginner-friendly.

Luna Snow

Luna Snow Overview

• Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
• Health: 275

Luna Snow is a great choice for new players who prefer to stay back from the action but still want to help in fights. Her basic attack, Light & Dark Ice, damages enemies while healing teammates at the same time. She’s especially useful for healing flying heroes, who often don’t get much support from ground-based allies.

Luna is one of the top support characters and also deals solid damage, making her perfect for beginners in Marvel Rivals. Her Absolute Zero ability is great for crowd control, as it can freeze enemies. With Luna Snow, you won’t need to rely heavily on outside resources to survive in battles.

Jeff The Land Shark

Jeff The Land Shark Overview

• Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
• Health: 250

Jeff the Land Shark might look cute and harmless, but he’s a powerful and helpful support character. He has two main attacks: Joyful Splash, which lets him spray healing water at teammates, even those in the air or far away, and Aqua Burst, which shoots out water spheres that damage enemies within their range.

Jeff can also leave healing bubbles on the ground that restore health to any ally who steps on them, including himself. His ultimate ability lets him swallow everyone, both friends and enemies, in a certain area. Enemies take damage inside, and Jeff can spit allies to safety or spit enemies off the map.

The only drawback is that, unlike other support characters, Jeff doesn’t boost or buff his teammates; he only heals and protects.

Duelist

If you’re looking for constant action, Duelists are your go-to choice. They deal high damage and are often the ones to take down opponents. They possess heavily offensive abilities. Many Duelists have different playstyles; some deal damage from a distance, while others charge straight into the fight. Moreover, this role includes the most characters, 20 out of 39, so there’s a good chance you’ll find someone who fits your playstyle.

Iron Man

Iron Man Overview

• Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
• Health: 250

Iron Man’s ability to fly fast and high makes him great at avoiding damage. If you like playing as a damage dealer with strong mobility, he’s a solid choice for your matches.

His main attacks, Repulsor Blast and Unibeam, are strong on their own, but they become even more powerful when you activate his Armor Overdrive ability. Unibeam, in particular, can deal heavy damage and is very effective against Vanguard-class enemies.

His Hyper-Velocity ability lets him fly at high speed for a short time while firing a wave of missiles. It’s perfect for escaping tight spots, just hit your enemies with missiles and dash toward a nearby Strategist or health pack to recover.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch Overview

• Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
• Health: 250

Scarlet Witch might initially seem unimpressive; she has low health, just one basic attack, and slow movement. However, she can deal huge damage and quickly escape if things get too dangerous.

Her main attack, Chaos Control, drains enemy health while recharging her chaos energy. Her secondary move, Chthonian Burst, uses that energy to launch explosive shots that deal heavy damage. Her abilities are simple to learn in Marvel Rivals, making her a strong and easy pick for high damage output.

The Punisher

The Punisher Overview

• Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
• Health: 300

If you prefer aiming and shooting, then Punisher is your go-to. He’s one of the strongest Duelists in Marvel Rivals and has a beginner-friendly playstyle. Punisher can switch between two weapons: the Adjudication (an automatic rifle that fires multiple bullets) and the Deliverance (a powerful weapon that can take out most enemies in 3–4 shots, depending on their health and damage taken).

He can also place a turret that deals heavy damage, but locks him in place while using it. His ultimate brings out two Gatling Guns and a Missile Launcher, letting him deal massive area damage and hit multiple targets. While Punisher has low health, his long-range damage makes him deadly from a safe distance.

What did you think of our list for the best characters for beginners in Marvel Rivals? Did these characters help with your origin story in becoming a Marvel Rivals aficionado? Let us know in the comments.