All hitscan characters in Marvel Rivals (ranked)

Marvel Rivals ^[1] has an ever-expanding roster of playable heroes and villains players can control. From the beloved Spider-Man to the enigmatic Moon Knight, there's no shortage of different types of characters supporting differing playing styles. However, those who played games like Overwatch 2 will likely be more familiar with hitscan characters.

Today, we want to highlight every hitscan character in Marvel RIvals currently before ranking them. While every character can shine depending on how the player uses their abilities, we ensured every ranking was based on individual strengths and weaknesses. Since this is purely about hitscan heroes, we won’t consider abilities and strengths unrelated to their hitscane basic attack. For example, while Adam Warlock is an amazing individual healer, his hitscan basic attacks can use some work.

So, without further ado, here is every hitscan character in Marvel Rivals ranked based on their strengths and weaknesses.

7. Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock is one of the only two strategists in the game who is classified as a hitscan, alongside Luna Snow. He boasts a well-rounded kit, offering solid utility despite having a lower healing output than other strategists. What sets him apart is his synergy with Star-Lord and Mantis, enabling him to revive after death. Additionally, Adam can self-revive, and his ultimate ability can bring his entire team back to life. With his unique revival mechanics and overall versatility, he stands out as a strong support choice.

However, Adam Warlock’s damage output is underwhelming, especially compared to other hitscan characters. His primary fire, Quantum Magic, deals hitscan damage, but his alternate fire, Cosmic Cluster, is a charged projectile attack that takes time to reach its target. This shift between hitscan and projectile damage is a significant drawback, as it disrupts consistency in combat. Players accustomed to hitscan may struggle to land shots with his alternative fire, making his overall damage potential feel less reliable.

6. Black Widow

Black Widow serves as Marvel Rivals’ primary sniper, capable of dealing massive damage with a single shot. However, unlike similar characters in other games, her damage falls short of securing one-shot kills. While this design choice helps maintain game balance by preventing the frustration of one-shot eliminations, it also leaves Black Widow feeling less impactful sometimes.

Black Widow wields the Red Room Rifle, allowing her to deal hitscan damage in long range. However, she is highly dependent on precision- without consistent headshots, her ability to apply pressure drops significantly. Repeated body shots not only reduce her effectiveness but also risk revealing her position to the enemy. In the hands of a skilled player, she can be a nightmare for opponents. However, her high skill ceiling means mastering her requires great dedication and practice.

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5. The Punisher

At the time of Marvel Rivals’ release, The Punisher felt overwhelmingly dominant as a Duelist. His powerful turret, which both shields him from frontal attacks and dishes out continuous high damage, was just one of several factors that made him a nightmare to face. However, players have adapted and found ways to counter him. Hence, his standing in the meta has dropped significantly.

The punisher’s primary fire offers two modes: the Adjudication assault rifle for long-range engagements and the Deliverance shotgun for close-quarters combat. These two modes give him solid versatility in different situations. However, his design caters primarily to new players, helping them adjust to Marvel Rivals’ fast-paced and high-pressure gameplay.

As players grow more familiar with the game, they can learn to counter Frank Castle effectively. Mastering the Punisher requires a surprisingly high skill ceiling, demanding strong positioning, cooldown management, and quick enemy predictions to stay alive.

4. Star-Lord

Star-Lord is a beginner-friendly Duelist who offers better mobility and damage evasion. His high survivability makes him a reliable pick, and when other Duelists fall short, he’s often the best alternative.

His Element Guns shed through enemies, even melting Vanguards quickly. His real strength, however, lies in mobility. With Stellar Shift, he can dodge attacks and even survive one-shot ultimates like Scarlet Witch’s with precise timing.

3. Psylocke

Psylocke is one of the hardest characters to master in Marvel Rivals, ranking among the few 5-star difficulty heroes like Spider-Man and Iron Fist. Her damage relies heavily on mastering complex combos, making it challenging to play her effectively. However, she can dominate enemy teams from the backline in the right hands.

Psylocke can dash forward to inflict heavy damage on enemies and go invisible, letting her escape, grab health packs, or reposition. Her powerful team-up with Magik rewinds time briefly, offering a strategic advantage. Additionally, as a self-sustaining Duelist, Psylocke restores health by attaching Wing Shurikens to enemies.

2. Luna Snow

When Luna Snow was added to Marvel Rivals, many fans were puzzled due to her niche status in Marvel media. However, she quickly proved herself as one of the game’s top Strategists. Luna can heal allies and deal damage with her basic shots. However, her kit’s versatility is what makes her truly shine, including a team-saving ultimate that shields allies from most enemy attacks.

Luna’s Ice Arts ability lets her shoot ice shards by clapping her hands. These shards can damage enemies and heal allies, which has a much higher output than her primary fire. Her Absolutely Zero ability can freeze enemies for 2.7 seconds. She can also attach her ice powers to a teammate, healing both that ally and another at the same time.

Now, some may say that using Luna Snow’s hitscan abilities that also heal but not considering Adam Warlck’s attacks is unfair, but that isn’t the case. 

1. Hela

Most players agree that Hela is the top hitscan hero in Marvel Rivals. In Season 0, she dominated easily, taking down enemies in just two shots thanks to the season bonus. In Season 1, while slightly less dominant, she remains powerful, with each base shot dealing 70 damage, not including critical hits. This damage output is higher than nearly every other Duelist.

Beyond her powerful base attacks, Hela can fire five Nightsword Thorns at once, which explode on impact. When she defeats an enemy, their body summons a Nastrond Crow that detonates, damaging nearby foes. In addition, Hela’s Soul Drainer ability creates a damaging AoE spell that harms anyone who enters or moves through it.

Hela can transform into a Nastrond Crow to escape combat, and her ultimate is powerful enough to wipe out an entire team. Taking her down while her ultimate is active is a challenge, forcing the enemy to hide if they hope to survive.

FAQs

What does it mean to be a hitscan hero?

"Hitscan" refers to a type of weapon or ability mechanics that instantly calculate whether a shot fired by a player has hit its target. This is in contrast to other types of weapon mechanics, such as projectile-based weapons, where there is a travel time for the projectile before it reaches its target.

Hitscan weapons work by determining whether the crosshair of a player is over an enemy target at the moment the player fires. If the crosshair is on the target, a hit is registered immediately, without any delay for the bullet or projectile to travel. This makes hitscan weapons highly accurate and effective at hitting fast-moving or distant targets, as there's no need to lead the target or account for bullet travel time

Basically, think of a hero like Spider-Man. While he can shoot you from a distance, his webs must visibly travel before it hits the target. In contrast, someone like Hela only needs to aim and shoot the enemy and the attack will almost instantly hit where the crosshair was. This can make things much easier for players while ensuring accuracy is maximized.

References

1. [1] "Official Marvel Rivals website". www.marvelrivals.com. Retrieved February 05, 2025