Marvel Rivals is a captivating hero-based shooter that presents players with an extensive roster of 33 distinct characters, each tailored to diverse playstyles. This variety allows players to select heroes that align with their personal preferences and tactics.
The character designs aim to embody the power fantasy tied to the respective heroes, with each character’s abilities crafted for specific gameplay roles. The effectiveness of these roles significantly influences their standing within the game’s evolving meta.
However, it’s important to note that certain heroes struggle to find their footing, often leaving players feeling underwhelmed. While they may theoretically have engaging abilities, in practice, they can be easily outmatched by stronger characters or fail to contribute effectively in team dynamics.
8 Black Panther
Bad Kitty!
Black Panther embodies the concept of high risk versus high reward. Engaging head-on demands exceptional survivability, yet his kit presents challenges that hinder his performance in combat.
T’Challa’s ability to make a meaningful impact hinges on his success with landing the Vibranium Mark and executing intricate combos, making it difficult for him to penetrate enemy lines without facing significant risks.
His combat style leans heavily on melee attacks, and apart from his spear toss, he lacks effective ranged options. Although his passive ability grants a 20% damage boost when health is low, this benefit is not particularly noticeable during gameplay.
In my experience, Black Panther players rarely secured kills against me, especially when supported by teammates. A greater attack radius or enhanced range could elevate his threat level in battle.
7 Rocket Raccoon
A True Trash Panda
Rocket Raccoon stands out as a supportive character, adept at bombarding foes with relentless firepower, reviving allies using the B.R.B. machine, and maintaining agility to avoid attacks. His mobility is among the best in the game.
However, his healing capabilities are inconsistent, making it challenging for players to rely on him for effective support. Compared to off-healer Adam, Rocket inflicts less damage, which makes his low healing even more problematic.
The benefits provided by the armor packs and rocket boosts from the B.R.B. machine leave much to be desired, offering a minimal 25 bonus health and an underwhelming jump animation.
If the developers choose to maintain Rocket’s low healing, they could enhance the armor packs to provide at least 50 bonus health along with a small damage reduction. This adjustment would significantly improve his utility in combat.
6 Thor
Blocking With His Face
Thor’s enemies can rejoice, as Mjölnir has limited range, forcing him to either launch his hammer or engage closely for effective damage.
Thor’s significant drawbacks include a lack of mobility and insufficient damage mitigation. While Thorforce grants bonus health, he has few options for blocking and health regeneration.
Though he deals respectable damage, he struggles to fulfill his tank role effectively, requiring him to engage dangerously close to foes. Improving his attack range could greatly enhance his combat capabilities.
5 Captain America
Avengers Disassembled
As a Super Soldier, Captain America embodies the relentless fighting spirit of humanity and the ideals of unity and prosperity. Despite this, Rogers lacks both lethality and durability, placing him uncomfortably between a bruiser and a tank.
His optimal strategy involves coordinating with his team to serve as a mobile defender, but his shield offers limited protection compared to heroes like Doctor Strange. His abilities, Liberty Rush and Super-Soldier Slam, function more as nuisance knockbacks than genuine threats.
Captain America requires enhancements, especially in his attack potency and perhaps a modest damage boost, to truly feel formidable on the battlefield.
4 Hulk
Puny Hulk
Ideally, Hulk should convey an overwhelming presence during team fights; however, his unimpressive melee attacks feel ineffective against opponents, and his charged jump lacks adequate knockback or AOE damage.
Currently, Hulk appears more as an inconvenience than a formidable force. The Monster Hulk variant, while featuring 1400 health, struggles to retaliate effectively against foes.
Although his abilities are decent, he lacks sufficient damage potential compared to his Vanguard counterparts. The powerful appearance of Monster Hulk’s slamming attack fails to pose a threat to even lower-health enemies.
To enhance his gameplay, Hulk could benefit from improved damage on his basic attacks and a more impactful World Breaker Ultimate, creating a more threatening presence against fragile opponents.
3 Black Widow
Done Dirty Again
Unfortunately, Black Widow fails to deliver a satisfying gameplay experience. As a character designed as a sniper, she struggles to eliminate heroes with 250 health, even landing headshots, and her Ultimate deals minimal damage in a radial slow-down effect.
She presents a steep learning curve but lacks incentives to sustain interest; her mobility is also limited to basic sprinting and enhanced jumping. Furthermore, her batons prove to be weak and sluggish in execution.
2 Wolverine
Moonlights As A Back Scratcher
Players often miss out on the exhilarating fantasy of commanding the indestructible Wolverine due to his regenerative passive not reliably enabling him to survive intense confrontations.
In terms of gameplay, Wolverine’s kit resembles his comic persona, yet he fails to inflict sufficient damage, even with a full rage meter. The hit detection during his Feral Leap ability can feel awkward, making successful engages frustratingly rare.
Additionally, Wolverine’s regeneration cooldown appears excessive, hindering his survivability throughout matches. A reduction from 90 seconds to 60 seconds would encourage bolder plays from Wolverine enthusiasts.
At present, Wolverine feels underpowered as a melee-focused DPS character, lacking the impact fans expect from this iconic hero.
1 Storm
Must’ve Been The Wind
Though Storm is widely regarded as one of the most powerful members of the X-Men, her in-game performance in Marvel Rivals is surprisingly unsatisfactory, positioning her as the weakest Duelist and, arguably, the weakest Hero overall.
As one of the few flying characters, Storm shares Iron Man’s vulnerabilities while lacking his attack strengths. When airborne, she becomes an easy target, and the buffs she grants to teammates are hardly impactful.
Unlike Iron Man, who can utilize splash damage to his advantage, Storm’s wind attacks lack noticeable effectiveness when targeting foes mid-flight.
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