Marvel Rivals Season 1 tier list: Best and worst characters, ranked

With Season 1 well underway in Marvel Rivals, we have a good idea of where each character would be in a tier list. While a lot has changed in terms of updates, there has been somewhat of a meta-shakeup.

Marvel Rivals Season 1 tier list

That said, here is a tier list of all the heroes currently in Marvel Rivals. It will start with the best characters at S-Tier and move all the way to the lowest, B-tier.

S-Tier characters

The following S-Tier characters are listed below in no particular order. These are the best or most consistent-performing currently in the game. 

Dr. Strange - Despite receiving nerfs in the midseason patch, the Sorcerer Supreme still reigns as one of the best tanks. He’s just more honest with 50 less health. His portal tech is unmatched as well as his ability to out-DPS duelists with his primary fire and melee frame-cancelling tech.

Storm - Another character who has received some significant nerfs; Storm is still very strong in the meta, only being hard-countered against ranged, hitscan heroes. She also has some of the best team-ups in the game, making her so much more deadly.

Hawkeye - I’m going to agree with the Subreddit of this game and say that Hawkeye did not need a buff. He can one-shot any hero with a base HP below 350 with a headshot (which is fairly easy to do). Think of him like Hanzo from the first Overwatch without nerfs. The damage output is crazy.

Hela - Another character who saw some nerfs and became slightly more honest. That decrease to her base health and slight season bonus nerf didn’t really do much. The Goddess of Death is still the best of the best in the DPS department.

Black Panther - The dark horse from the last season who is really making a mark currently. Black Panther is one of those characters who you won’t see that often in earlier ranks, but once you hit Plat III and higher, he’s picked a lot more and an even bigger headache than characters like Spider-Man.

Loki - Almost every strategist got some kind of nerf to the rate at which they gain ult charge, which was fair. Even then, Loki is still one of the best support roles in Marvel Rivals. Sure, his ult charge was increased, but the two extra shots for his primary fire magazine made him not completely toned down.

Thor - The mid-season update just made the God of Thunder so much better. His best ability, Awakening Rune, had its cooldown removed. Your only constraint now is to gain another three Thorforces. Thor was already a strong pick in the meta, but now his DPS numbers are going to rise.

Luna Snow - Being another victim of the support ult charge nerfs, Luna Snow remains mostly unscathed. She gets her ult just a bit slower, which doesn’t really kill her play style.

Wolverine - This guy is banned in so many high-level competitive matches because he’s basically the tank killer. Wolverine’s single-target damage output is unmatched. In the hands of a skilled player, he will be your worst nightmare.

Spider-Man - Once you get past Gold ranks in competitive play, Spider-Man can quite literally ruin your match. He’s a popular ban in Diamond lobbies and up because he’s just way too hard to kill. He can go in for his web shot, sling, and uppercut combo, then whizz out of sight in a split second, being so hard to hit.

Mantis - The same goes for what is considered one of the meta healers in Rivals. Mantis’ ult charges slower, which doesn’t do a lot since most other mass-healing Strategist counterparts have received the same.

Cloak and Dagger - While the popular duo received more nerfs compared to other Strategists in Marvel Rivals, they’re still a top-tier pick. Cloak and Dagger can provide exceptional healing and damage output, with a very skilled player being able to sometimes out-DPS dedicated Duelists while still having great healing numbers.

The Hulk - Despite being another one to get nerfs at the start of the Season, the Hulk is one of the strongest tanks in Marvel Rivals. He has really good damage output, great mobility for escaping dicey situations, and survivability. If you’re quick enough after being taken out of the Hulk, Bruce Banner can run away to regain his form.

Star-Lord - He’s an interesting one because he’s top-tier, but not an annoying top-tier. Star-Lord has an answer for everything, being able to single-burst enemies out in the front lines or as a flanker. Now with more Rocket Propulsion energy, he’s an aerial nightmare.

A-Tier characters

The following characters are A-Tier. In the same fashion as the S-tiers, they are not listed in any particular order. These characters are consistent and strong in their own regard with some faults.

Rocket Raccoon - Rocket has been a point of contention right now in the meta. On one hand, he provides the longest ranged healing in the game, the best getaway tools for survivability, and the ability to revive a dead ally every 45 seconds, but suffers quite drastically in the damage department. On both PC and console Competitive play, he has the third-highest win rate. Take what you want out of that.

The Punisher - He has consistent damage and can kill Vanguards very easily with a properly placed turret. The Punisher is also a solid counter to any enemies who can be a nuisance in the air, like Iron Man, Storm, and Star-Lord.

Moon Knight - This is a character who performs consistently, but struggles a bit in higher ranked play. Once a competent team knows how to deal with Ankhs, he just becomes another hero similar to The Punisher. However, don’t write that off as he has really good movement options to get out of a dicey situation.

The Thing - The Thing plays very similar to The Hulk, but with just a bit more damage and immunity to crowd-control effects. He’s great in the front lines but is a huge target with few mobility options to get him out of harm's way. Still, he can put in some work to snag a few kills.

Magik - She is what we’d consider a sleeper hit character. Magik has incredible close-quarters damage, being able to effectively wipe another team with ranged support. Her only real weakness is her mobility.

Venom - This character starts off quite well in lower-level play but falls off as you climb up the ranks. He’s good for stalling and absorbing tons of damage, but his killing potential is lacking compared to other tanks in the game.

Peni Parker - If you know, you know. Peni Parker is a tank that plays more of a role of a trapper and defender. Her SP//dr mech has good survivability, especially when playing around her Cyber Webs. As an attacker, she is a bit weaker, but on anything where she needs to defend, she racks up so much damage and can even shut down most of the cast’s ultimate abilities.

Iron Man - Tony Stark is a consistent DPS character who has really good flanking and burst potential. A good Iron Man can destroy enemy backlines with ease, but a good team can foil that plan. He will either need a pocket healer or a distracted team to inflict some serious damage. 

Groot - Groot is a bit of a flexible Vanguard who can play a tank role and push forward with his walls or act as a trapper to deal with flankers and melee characters. His damage output is quite scary up close. The only issue with him is that without proper team coordination, his walls can mess up an attack or even block ults.

Winter Soldier - The “AGAIN!” memes are hilarious, but this spectacle doesn’t happen too much. Winter Soldier is a very strong hero, having some of the best DPS potential in the game (if you can land your hits), and good isolating potential. With a proper setup, his Kraken Impact is one of the best abilities in the game, giving him multiple charges with each successful kill.

Psylocke - Psylocke is one of the better flankers of the game with a straightforward kit (despite being a 5-star difficulty hero). Her ult is one of the best in the game, having a huge radius and being nearly impossible to get out of once in it, but her solo potential is a bit lacking. Still, with the rest of her kit, she’s very viable.

Namor - Just place a bunch of his Monstros down and throw his tridents nonstop. Namor is a character you can just sort of “unga bunga” with and get some pretty good results. His projectiles have travel time, so you’ll need some aim or good anticipation of enemy movements.

Adam Warlock - His kit was improved overall, which wasn’t really the issue. The qualms we have with this character is that he has no mobility compared to all the other characters other than slow-falling. Still, his burst healing and rez ult are consistent and never a bad pick.

Magneto - One of his biggest weaknesses was his damage output, and with a bit of a nerf to his Metallic Curtain, the tradeoff made him better to use. Still not quite top-tier, but a solid Vanguard all around.

Invisible Woman - Sue Storm assumes a support role that prevents a lot of damage and has good crowd control on top of her strong healing. She can kind of do it all. Although not as potent as a Luna Snow or Mantis, the invisibility can really throw enemy attack plans off.

Captain America - After receiving some considerable buffs since the Season 1 and midseason patches, this guy is now up a tier. His damage output isn’t great, but he’s a really annoying dive tank in the right hands. Not as annoying as The Hulk, but he’s got the ability to be.

B-Tier characters

The lowest tier of the bunch. Before you revolt about some choices, there are just some consistency issues that go on with each in this tier.

Mister Fantastic - What should have been a balance change to make Mister Fantastic’s “nuisance factor” better made him slightly worse. His killing potential got nerfed, which came with the playstyle.

Squirrel Girl - Yes, Squirrel Girl can rack up incredible damage because she’s essentially a noob-tuber character, but that’s the issue. She’s a good solo carry in early ranks, but in higher-level play, where players know how to maneuver their characters better and people land their shots more often, her damage output becomes inconsistent. She’s also not really good against airborne targets.

Jeff the Land Shark - Yet another noob-friendly character. Jeff has his tricks, namely that pesky ult. His healing potential and escape potential aren’t half bad either, but he doesn’t perform consistently at higher ranks. 

Scarlet Witch - Scarlet Witch is what we call a “noob stomper.” Once you get past fighting low-level players, she struggles as a proper flanker. Even with the extra health during her ult, it still doesn’t do much to bring her up to speed with other Duelists.

Human Torch - Johnny Storm is the weakest of the three flying characters in Rivals right now. He has some good area-of-denial setups with Blazing Blast and Pyro-Prison, but his consistent damage output is lacking. He only really shines with Storm, as they can just create even bigger areas of denial with the fire tornado stuff.

Black Widow - While high-precision characters like Hawkeye and Hela are the best of the best, Black Widow falters. Sniper characters are only good with proper setups or if the person using them lands headshots consistently. There are better options out there.

Iron Fist - Another DPS character who has the potential to be the biggest headache to fight or a pushover. Iron Fist is one of the better melee-ranged characters with exceptional movement, but he can easily be picked off by any character who can immobilize foes.

How different this list will look once we start getting more consistent balance changes is to be determined. For now, don’t let this dictate who you play just because one character seems more honest than others.

The post Marvel Rivals Season 1 tier list: Best and worst characters, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.