The best Duelists inMarvel Rivalscan provide plenty of opportunity for clutch plays, brilliant defense, and of course, an ace of attack. Duelists are the most varied characters inMarvel Rivals, and with 19 Duelists at the start ofMarvel RivalsSeason 1, players are going to have quite the selection of heroes and villains to pick between.
Understanding what makes a Duelist good, and how to become the best hero inMarvel Rivals, is going to aid players plenty as they head into Quickplay or Competitive. However, it is worth noting that every player has their own preferred style of play, so while this ranking might not be to everyone’s taste, every Duelist featured isviable with the potential to be the top dogin an ever-evolving meta.
3/5
Team-Up Abilities
Brainiac Bounce
Mister Fantastic joins theMarvel Rivalsroster in Season 1 and provides players with an incredibly varied but somewhat hard-to-learn Duelist. Mister Fantastic is an interesting one, as he plays like the perfect blend of a Duelist and a Vanguard, allowing players to maximize both DPs and their tank-like nature to negate enemy damage, eat certain Ultimates, and stretch to save the day.
Mister Fantastic is all aboutgetting the enemy’s attention, and his ability to pull and push enemies, use stretchy arms to swipe at them, and deflect their damage with a tank form, proves that a Mister Fantastic on the team can be a fun time as well as a winning time, provided players know how to use him effectively.
2/5
Frozen Spawn
The King of the Seas might underwhelm some, but those who know how to use this Duelist effectively will know of his importance on the battlefield. Namor uses long-range to be efficient, as his infinite-firing Trident of Neptune allows players to constantly throw damage at enemies from afar, even if the attack speed is pretty slow. Namor is also a great counter to dive-Duelists thanks to his protective barrier of Blessing of the Deep and his efficient use of Monstro Spawn with Aquatic Dominion.
The fact that Namor can set up defenses with slow-firing sea creatures, that may be easy to kill, but hard to detect when stuck to walls and in the backline, makes Namor an efficient anti-dive character and someone who can help take care of Duelists, but Namor isn’t one to pick for lone wolf plays.
5/5
Dance of the Butterfly
Psionic Disc
As an assassin, it’s no surprise that Psylocke’s abilities allow her to have high mobility, with swift attacks that will provide her with lethal flanking opportunities to dive on the enemy from mid-range and long-range with quick and safe burst damage, while also becoming invisible if she ever gets in danger. Massive damage is provided thanks to her Psyionic Crossbow, and her Wing Shurikens are also equally asfast and deadly.
With her stealth abilities at the play, Psylocke can sneak into the backline to disrupt the team-ups found within the enemies, and then sneak away to come back and do it all again. Psylocke shines as a flanker, but she can destroy teams with her Dance of the Butterfly Ultimate which will have her slash enemies with a Psionic Katana for 4 seconds, slashing anyone in the area with near-instant death.
4/5
Supersensory Vision
A few nerfs in Season 1 haven’t stopped Hawkeye from being a dominator, despite his lack of superpowers. Hawkeye’sexpert marksman abilitiesmake him deadly and annoying for the enemy team, especially when they themselves are picking anti-dive characters, as Hawkeye can quickly charge a shot and plink away at their health with body shots and headshots alike that will be hard to come back from with true aim.
Hawkeye is easier to use than one might think, as his projectiles feel like hitscan, and his long-distance firing ability means he can stay safe from the backline while still dealing with the more squishy enemies on the opposing team. His arsenal of Crescent Slash and Skyward Leap lets him escape close-range engagements, but more often than not, players will remain behind to shoot all sorts of arrows to quietly and efficiently delete the enemy team from afar.
Full Moon
Moon Knight’s exceptional ability to get away from danger and provide it to his enemies from afar makes him a useful addition to objective modes with a payload to protect. Moon Knight can put pressure on enemies with his Ankhs, which will periodically damage enemies if they fail to destroy them, especially when they are too focused on his lethal Crescent Darts that can be thrown and bounced between enemies.
Where Moon Knight really shines is by staying away from the enemies and overwhelming them with his abilities. Those who get too close will fear Moon Knight, for his glider, double jump, and grappling hook allow him to get away or focus on some lethal shots. Firing out the Hand of Khonshu Ultimate also lets Moon Knight control a point by engulfing a small circle radius in a portal that will kill anyone who steps within.
Look out, here comes the Spider-Man, a Duelist who isall about flankingand catching enemies by surprise, disrupting their flow of teamwork by being caught up in Spider-Man’s webs and uppercuts that will send them back to their respawn point with ease. Now, Spider-Man isn’t an easy character to learn, nor is he easy to master, as his swinging takes some skill, as does the efficient combo of punches and webbing.
Spider-Man is a great character for punishing the enemy backline by singling out Strategists, then returning to the team while staying high above with efficient swings. While Spider-Man can get close and engage with his Spectacular Spin Ultimate to damage and stun all enemies around him, he’s mainly used for causing a bit of chaos in the enemy lines with his acrobatic aerial agility.
1/5
Infinite Punishment
A living weapon that walks around with long-range, mid-range, and short-range weapons, the Punisher can be truly unstoppable to those who know how to use him. The Punisher can attack enemies from afar with his automatic rifle, the Adjudication, or they can switch to his totally lethal up-close-and-personal shotgun with Deliverance. Punisher has the tools for every job, allowing him to be efficient at long-range and close-range alike.
Even better for Punisher is his ability to stand his ground with the Culling Turret, which sees him basically sit on an objective with a near-unstoppable fast-firing turret he can sit in. If that’s not enough, Final Judgement, his Ultimate, allows him to walk the battlefield as a slowing and unstoppable killing machine with two Gatling guns and missiles to remove enemies from this existence withbarely anything that can counter it.
Gamma Overdrive
Iron Man is a frustrating character to learn due to his varied arsenal of warfare, but he’s equally frustrating to fight against. Iron Man is the perfect flanker and zoner character who can deal damage from afar and from behind. Paired with his Invincible Pulse Cannon Ultimate, Iron Man can quickly and efficiently get an Ace by wiping out the enemy team due to his unstoppable and quick-firing bomb.
Iron Man’s abilities allow him to stay in the air to launch missiles, fire deadly beams, and just annoy the enemy team further who can’t seem to hit him or have too many melee-focused characters to be efficient. Where Iron Man really shines is in his Team-Up with Hulk: Gamma Charge, which gives Iron Man more damage thanks to the Hulk’s gamma radiation.
Disc Master
There’s a reason that Magik has one of the highest win rates in Competitive. Magik is a great Duelist who can both keep herself alive with her abilities and deal some brutal damage. Magik’s huge sword can swipe at enemies, and the fact that she can teleport means she will constantly be aggressive against opponents who are trying to return to their Strategists or escape Magik’s blade, while also watching out for her lethal and pesky demon that she can summon after a quick teleport.
Magik’s melee focus is great for controlling zones and really putting the pressure on Strategists and other Duelists, especially if players can’t exactly shoot her because she is constantly teleporting. With the buff to her Ultimate, The Queen of Limbo, she deals even further damage and hastank-like health to make her a monsterwho refuses to die and get off the objective.
Metal Cannonball
Wolverine’s the best he is at what he does, but what he does isn’t very nice. While some might think Wolverine isunderpowered, or even view him as more of a nuisance than a viable Duelist, they simply haven’t come up against or had a good Wolverine on the team. Wolverine is all about flanking and playing the lone wolf until things get dangerous and a Strategist is needed for some pocket heals.
Wolverine can easily kidnap enemies with his Feral Leap ability, allowing him to bring an enemy into his team’s backlines to quickly kill them, aided further by his hot claws that build up damage the more damage he deals and the damage he takes. The fact that his move set is so reliant on melee damage, and his healing factor essentially allows him to have an extra life, as well as a 40% damage reduction with Undying Animal, Wolverine becomes a viable strategy to throw at any Vanguard on the opposing team.
