Summary
Marvel’s Hero shooter,Marvel Rivals, has taken fans by storm since its release, surpassing a whopping10 million players in its first 72 hoursacross all platforms. With the ability for fans to pick their favorite Marvel characters from various teams, such as the Avengers and X-Men, players have been working out which heroes are their favorites to use in the game and which characters combine to make the best team-ups.
One of the most powerful characters in the game and the most powerful in-game Avenger,Doctor Strange has become a must-use characterforMarvel Rivalsplayers. Strange’s varied list of abilities includes the Pentagram of Farallah, which creates a portal between two locations, the Shield of Seraphim blocking up to 800 damage, and the Eye of Agamoto, which pushes opposing players into their astral form, allowing for extra damage. The Master of the Mystic Arts is the backbone of any strongMarvel Rivalssquad with his abilities providing a highly versatile character capable of influencing matches, but which characters are the best to pair with the heroic sorcerer supreme?
1The Hulk
The Angry Green Vanguard
Thebig green fighting machineis a great companion to the sorcerer supreme. The character spawns as Bruce Banner with a base health of 200. While not being the strongest, the Gamma Grenade can be useful for dealing damage to enemies in the Banner form. Players can Hulk out and become the Hero Hulk, with a skill set befitting the monstrous nature of Banner’s alter ego.The Hero Hulk variationoperates as a tank with a huge 800 health points, complemented by abilities like the Indestructible Guard, giving both the Hulk and nearby allies a gamma shield converted into power for the Hulk Smash.
The final form of the Hulk can be gained by charging Hero Hulk’s Ultimate ability, transforming into Monster Hulk, increasing to 1550 health points, adding extra damage to the Hero Hulk’s moveset and adding the World Breaker move, smashing an enemy to the floor for 200 damage.
That said, the reason for pairing Hulk with Doctor Strange inMarvel Rivalscomes from the team-up abilities. When paired with Doctor Strange and/or Iron Man, the characters receive a passive Gamma Boost, charging both the Sorcerer Supreme and Iron Man with Gamma abilities. For the player using Doctor Strange, this adds Gamma radiation to the Maelstrom of Madness attack, enhancing the amount of damage dealt.
Doctor Strange’s Shield of Seraphim can also be used to protect Hulk when in his Bruce Banner form, while the ability to teleport Hulk close to enemies proves crucial to winning tightly fought matches. Overall, the pairing can provide the perfect platform for a winning team inMarvel Rivals.
2Hawkeye
High Damage Arrow-Wielding Duelist
One of the MCU’s founding Avengers, Hawkeye is often found to be one of the weakest. In the hands of a skilled player, he is a very powerfulMarvel Rivalsduelist and can add some firepower to a team with Doctor Strange. Hawkeye’s base abilities come from his trusty bow and arrow, allowing him to fire powerful shots with the Piercing and Blast Arrows in the primary and secondary attack slots. Also, when backed into a corner, players can rely on theRonin Slash and Crescent Slashmelee abilities to deal damage up close and personal.
When paired with Doctor Strange, Hawkeye becomes an even more formidable foe. With the use of Strange’s Pentagram of Farallah, unique angles can be found for Hawkeye to perform headshots and take down members of the enemy team while remaining out of sight. When pressing forward for the objective, Strange’s Shield of Seraphim can be used to protect Hawkeye, allowing for extra damage to be taken while dealing the most damage to the enemy. The sharpshooter and Sorcerer Supreme being paired up offers a challenge to enemy teams inMarvel Rivals.
3The Punisher
Shotgun Wielding Duelist Dealing Massive Damage
Similar to Hawkeye, The Punisher also provides a perfect pairing with Doctor Strange,with the anti-hero’s skill setcomplementing the Sorcerer Supreme. With high damage-dealing abilities from the Adjudication, the Punisher’s automatic rifle, and Deliverance, his shotgun, with Deliverance dealing between 125 and 250 damage per hit. The Punisher additionally has his Culling Turret, with 200 rounds dealing high damage from range and an ultimate ability that can unleash 750 damage per second with its two gatling guns and missiles.
When paired with Doctor Strange, the Punisher becomes an even stronger force to be reckoned with inMarvel Rivals. The Punisher’s turret can be used from behind Stange’s Shield of Seraphim, allowing for 800 additional damage to be taken before reaching the turret, which itself can take 600 damage. When paired with Strange, the sharpshooting Punisher can become a handful for enemy teams.
4Spider-Man
Web-Slinging Stunner
Theworld-famous wall-crawling superhero, or menace if you ask J. Jonah Jameson, is a great companion for his fellow New York native, Doctor Strange. Spidey’s main abilities come from his traversal of the map, being able to attack from almost any angle due to his wall-crawling and web-swinging abilities. Spider-Man can also pull enemies into melee range to deal damage before swinging away to safety.
Spider-Man and Doctor Strange work well together when their ultimate abilities are combined. Spider-Man’s ultimate ability launches web-clusters around the player, stunning and damaging surrounding enemies. Once the enemies are stunned and localized, then activating Doctor Strange’s ultimate ability can cause mass damage and claim KOs and a victory by pushing enemies into their astral form for increased damage. The two New Yorkers offer a great pairing inMarvel Rivals.
5Hela
The Goddess Of Death
Finally,the Goddess of Death, Hela, is a great companion to Doctor Strange to get the win inMarvel Rivals. Players using Hela can take advantage of her Astral Flock ability to traverse maps with ease and gain high ground to eliminate enemies. Hela’s attacks deal a hefty amount of damage, which can be lethal in mid-range scenarios. Accuracy is the key with Hela dealing as much damage as possible.
When paired with Doctor Strange, Hela’s abilities are further amplified. Given the opportunity to stand behind the Shield of Seraphim, Hela can deal damage from mid-range without the risk of being KO’d. When paired with Strange’s Pentagram of Farallah, she can rain fire from angles that enemies won’t expect. With abilities that complement each other, Doctor Strange and Hela teaming up can be devastating for the enemy team inMarvel Rivals.
