Mastering Quick Melee Combat in Marvel Rivals

Melee attacks serve as a formidable weapon in Marvel Rivals, offering strategic advantages for players, whether they are playing as ranged Duelists or Strategists. By opting for melee combat, players can conserve their ammunition while dealing with persistent enemies effectively. Even characters primarily designed for melee, such as Magick or Black Panther, benefit from quick melee strikes, which can be much swifter than their standard abilities. This speed gives players a crucial edge when engaging foes who have already entered the fray.

For each player, executing a quick melee attack is straightforward: on PC, press the V key, while PlayStation and Xbox users simply click the right analog stick. However, customizing your control scheme could substantially enhance your gameplay experience in Marvel Rivals. It’s also important to remember that while quick melee attacks are effective, higher-damage skills with extended cooldowns often prove to be the most potent. Adjusting your key bindings must be done carefully to avoid unbinding these crucial abilities.

Character Melee Combos and Hidden Effects

Not Every Hero Behaves the Same

Hawkeye can destroy shots in Marvel Rivals

Groot has a three-hit combo in Marvel Rivals

It’s essential to note that there is no definitive link between a character’s role and their melee attack capabilities in Marvel Rivals. Whether Vanguards, Duelists, or Strategists, characters may execute single hits or elaborate combos. The developers at NetEase have enjoyed blending quick melee mechanics into the heroes’ backgrounds, even though not every detail aligns precisely with comic lore. For instance, Mantis, an adept martial artist from Earth-616, showcases an impressive melee combo for a healer role.

However, not every hero boasts unique special attacks when executing melee commands. Some melee-focused characters, like Wolverine and Thor, employ their standard abilities with the melee button. Their strikes may be exceptionally swift or devastating, but lack special animations.

Quick Melee	Heroes	Effect
Standard melee ability	Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Black Widow (Widow’s Bite Batons)	Characters exhibit no unique animation for their melee attacks.
Single-Hit	Bruce Banner, Dr. Strange, Magneto, Magick, Black Panther, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow (Red Room Rifle), Dagger, Jeff the Land Shark, Rocket Raccoon	Delivers a single strike, potentially faster than standard attacks.
Two-Hits	Peni Parker, Punisher, Hela, Iron Man, Winter Soldier, Psylocke, Star-Lord, Cloak, Luna Snow, Adam Warlock	Allows for two sequential hits.
Three-Hits	Venom, Groot, Moon Knight, Squirrel Girl, Namor, Mantis	Enables three consecutive hits.
Deflection	Hawkeye	Can negate projectiles, excluding instant hit-scan attacks.
Backstab	Loki	Inflicts double damage when attacking from behind.

In combat, utilizing quick melee in conjunction with other close-range moves can be particularly effective. For example, playing as the Punisher, you might shoot an enemy with your shotgun and then seamlessly transition into a two-hit knife combo to secure the kill. Characters like Venom and Groot, who thrive in proximity combat as Vanguards, should frequently engage in melee.

Melee strikes can also serve a strategic role in circumventing defensive shields employed by heroes such as Dr. Strange, Magneto, and Captain America. Approaching from close range may allow players to bypass or strike at an angle that acknowledges these shields, although this technique won’t work against full-body shields extended by Hulk to protect his allies.

Melee Reload Animation Canceling

Get Back in the Fight a Little Faster

Psylocke enters reload animation in Marvel Rivals

Dr. Strange shortens his reload with melee in Marvel Rivals

Winter Soldier only gets ammo when the animation is over in Marvel Rivals

Another fascinating aspect is the ability of melee attacks to take precedence over most other actions, thereby allowing players to cancel animation locks within Marvel Rivals. This is particularly useful for trimming down reload animations, regaining ammo significantly faster—often within half to two seconds. Characters such as Dr. Strange, who have longer reloading animations, particularly benefit from this tactic.

Additionally, players can cancel their reload entirely by executing a melee attack. While this won’t restore any ammo, it allows for continued defense or immediate follow-up attacks, which can be vital in high-pressure scenarios, especially when your ammo is depleted.

It’s important to note that this canceling trick is not universally applicable to all heroes. It varies based on their animation speeds and the timing of ammo replenishment within the HUD in Marvel Rivals. For instance, the Winter Soldier receives ammo only after his reload animation fully completes. Fortunately, heroes with infinite ammo—like Hawkeye and Peni Parker—avoid these reload concerns altogether, giving them significant operational advantages.

Source & Images