Who are the best Duelists in Marvel Rivals?

Marel Rivals ^[1] is one of the most successful free-to-play games of 2024. Even though it’s a new release, the game is being compared to the much older Overwatch 2, with some even claiming it’s better in some regards, though that’s fairly subjective. Like other games in the genre, Marvel Rivals has various roles players must cover to form a complete team composition.

Today, we want to take a close look at the Duelists in Marvel Rivals. To be more specific, we want to answer which Duelists in Marvel Rivals are the best to play. In addition to highlighting the best Duelists, we’ll also summarize what makes every character worthy to be on this list before wrapping things up with their pros and cons.

So, without any more dillydallying, here are the eight best Duelists to play in Marvel Rivals.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch is one of the most popular Duelists in the game for her ultimate attack, ease of use, and survivability. Her primary attack latches onto opponents so players don’t have to aim perfectly, and it charges the character’s Chaos Energy, which they can use to launch explosive alternate fire. 

She has one of the strongest ultimates, where she starts flying and deals so much damage that she can instantly kill almost anyone in the game, assuming they’re not being shielded. Her phasing ability allows her to be invulnerable for a short period while increasing her mobility, letting her escape dangerous situations. 

• Pros: Devastating ultimate, Easy to use, Awesome survivability.
• Cons: Relatively squishy, Her ultimate leaves her vulnerable.

The Punisher

Frank Castle, better known as the Punisher, is like the generic soldier character of Marvel Rivals. He has multiple weapons, like an automatic rifle and a shotgun, making him versatile depending on different situations. 

What’s marvelous about the Punisher is that his ultimate transforms his weapon into a gatling gun with missile launchers, shredding any squishy character that tries to cross him. Although he’s simple to play, he doesn’t have a lot of mobility, so players need to focus on being offensive to survive.

• Pros: Huge damage, Can set up a turret
• Cons: Bad mobility

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is arguably one of the toughest characters to play in Marvel Rivals, but he can be deadly in the right hands. What makes him powerful is his agility and versatility. He’s a spectacular hit-and-run specialist who can use web-swinging, web-zipping, wall-crawling, and double jumps to flank enemies and target squishies. Although his primary attack is weak, he can quickly kill ill-positioned opponents with a combo.

• Pros: Amazing mobility, High damage
• Cons: Difficult to use, Not good against organized teams

Hela

Marvel Rivals players consider Hela to be the best duelist in the game. Gamers with good aim and reflexes are rewarded with critical damage. When she’s paired up with Loki and Thor, her team-up ability activates, granting them more health and reviving them. 

Also, Hela’s ultimate is impossible to mess up since she can shoot multiple shots at enemies from above. Even though she is incredible, she doesn’t do well against opponents that rely on melee damage like Spider-man or Iron Fist, so players must stay in medium-range and avoid getting flanked.

• Pros: High damage, Team-up ability lets her revive allies
• Cons: Struggles in close-quarters combat

Hawkeye

Hawkeye is the personification of gameplay that rewards precise aim. His Archer Focus passive ability gives players bonus damage for well-aimed shots, letting him one-shot enemies with 200 HP. He works well against individual and grouped enemies thanks to his Blast Arrows and Hypersonic Arrows. 

Hawkeye’s Ronin Slash and Crescent Slash allow him to defend himself by deflecting projectiles or shoving enemies. Although he deals high damage, his low traversability makes him vulnerable to flanks.

• Pros: Versatile kit, Great at all ranges
• Cons: Can’t escape due to low mobility

Winter Soldier

The Winter Soldier’s explosive pistol and rapid-firing capabilities make him strong in close-to-mid-range combat. His abilities let him control the map by moving enemies while simultaneously dealing damage. 

Also, the Winter Soldier’s ultimate can be chained numerous times, allowing players to wipe out an entire team if they use it correctly. Unfortunately, even though he can move around opponents, he doesn’t have a lot of traversal options for himself.

• Pros: High burst damage, Ultimate that can chain multiple times
• Cons: Low mobility

Moon Knight

Moon Knight is a versatile character that can traverse the map quickly and dish out damage. His mobility options include grappling hooks, double jumps, and gliding. From a high-up area, Moon Knight can throw darts that can ricochet between enemies and deal damage to all of them simultaneously. 

When the player places an Ankh, those darts can bounce between them, letting gamers maximize damage. If the enemy team is together, Moon Knight can use his ultimate to wipe them all out.

• Pros: Good mobility, Great area-of-effect damage
• Cons: Difficult to master

Iron Man

Iron Man is an incredible Duelist because he’s effective in almost every scenario and easy to play. Unlike other characters, Iron Man is always in the air, so he can automatically avoid melee-dependent heroes like Iron Fist. His primary attack deals high area-of-effect damage, and his secondary can shred close opponents. 

Finally, Iron Man’s ultimate can insta-kill almost every character in the game, assuming they’re not shielded. The only thing that sets him back is that he’s weak against long-range opponents like Black Widow, so players must be mindful of their positioning.

• Pros: Easy to use, Great damage, High mobility
• Cons: Can’t engage in long-range combat

FAQs

Can you win with a team of just Duelists in Marvel Rivals?

This is a rather tough question to answer because, while players can technically win a Marvel Rivals match with a team of just Duelists, several factors determine whether that will happen. Things like character synergies and the skill plus selected characters of the enemy team all come into play.

References

1. [1] "Official Marvel Rivals website". www.marvelrivals.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024