Summary
Marvel Rivalsbrings with it a roster of 33 heroes for gamers to pick up and play. With three distinct “classes” of hero; Duelist, Vanguard, and Strategist, there is a hero here for everyone. Duelists are the typical DPS class, with most heroes focusing on outputting consistent damage, Vanguard is the tank, with larger health pools and more utility abilities, and Strategist is the support, focused on healing allies and controlling enemy movement.
Whether a gamer isa complete newcomer to hero shootersor has been playingOverwatch, Team Fortress 2,andValorantfor years, starting out in a new release from the genre isn’t always easy. For those struggling to pick astarting hero inMarvel Rivals, here’s a rundown on three from each class that areperfect for beginners.
Updated on June 19, 2025, by Luke Brown:With the introduction of new heroes and the adjusting of others through season 1, some have fallen behind in terms of their popularity for beginners, while others have risen to the occasion. Whether a player wants to pick up a new Vanguard without needing to think too hard or wants to learn how to use a slightly more mobile Duelist, the addition of the members of The Fantastic Four has shaken up this list and given players a host of powerful new options that are easy to pick up and rewarding to master.
11Star-Lord
An Introduction To Mobile Duelists
Star-Lord is not the easiest hero to pick up and play, requiring the player to manage their cooldowns well, time their abilities to maximize their free reload effectiveness, and dart in and out of combat without being locked down by a Vanguard that can quickly beat him down. Despite these factors, Star-Lord is by far the easiest of the hypermobile Duelists that populate the game’s roster. Is Spider-Man too difficult? Is Winter Soldier too much to handle? Star-Lord sits as the perfect hopping-on point to this more aggressive play style.
With his dual pistols doing decent damage, his abilities allowing for an easy dive-in and escape play style, and his ultimate giving him auto-aimed shots in a similar vein toOverwatch’s Soldier 76, Star-Lord is well worth putting in the time to get good with. A good Star-Lord can be a real asset to any team, and he isn’t overly difficult to begin learning.
10Rocket Raccoon
Revive Allies And Provide Armor
Rocket Raccoon provides is a great way to begin learning the ins and outs of Strategist gameplay inMarvel Rivals, bolstering a pretty standard primary weapon, an easy-to-use heal, and abilities that can revive allies, provide armor, and get Rocket out of trouble if players finds themselves surrounded.
The main thing to note about Rocket Raccoon is that he doesn’t have a lot of health, which means that if the player is caught out, it is easy to get overwhelmed and die. It’s vital to keep an eye on Rocket’s health, stick with teammates, and use his abilities whenever they are off cooldown, and success should be simple.
9Doctor Strange
Teleport Across The Battlefield
Doctor Strange is a Vanguard character,sporting much more health than the previous entry. His primary fire is a cluster of projectiles, and he has abilities that let him fly, create teleporters around the battlefield, shield himself, and create a bursting area of damage.
Doctor Strange’s ultimate ability allows him to knock the souls out of enemies, which can be damaged to hurt their respective heroes. This can be a powerful ability but requires Doctor Strange to be in the middle of the action, so the player should make sure their team is ready for it before unleashing the ability for maximum effectiveness.
8Squirrel Girl
Control An Army Of Squirrels
Squirrel Girl is one of the most fun Duelists in the game, and she truly feels likeMarvel simply plucked her out of the pages of a comic. Her primary fire can ricochet off walls and deal area-of-effect damage. Her abilities let her control an army of squirrels to root enemies in place, deal damage, and flood the battlefield with adorable critters.
Squirrel Girl can use her tail to maneuver around the battlefield, bouncing high off the ground, and she can also instantly refresh her abilities to be a real menace to the enemy team. As a Squirrel Girl player, getting used to the ricochet of her primary fire will be key to success.
7Venom
Harness The Power Of The Symbiote
Venom is a stereotypical tank, being a beefy character with lots of melee range abilities and ways to get in and out of combat.Venom’s primary fire uses tendrilsto attack enemies within point-blank range, and his abilities enable him to remain in combat for longer by providing temporary health and slowing nearby enemies.
Venom’s ultimate ability is a power area denial tool, creating a huge area of effect before Venom bites enemies within it, and he gains extra health based on the damage dealt. While not the strongest Vanguard hero inMarvel Rivals, Venom is a great starting point for any new player.
6Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch is another powerful Duelist who will draw the attention of many players. Her primary fire isa beam of energy that automatically locks onto targetsand refills a meter that allows her to cast certain abilities. Scarlet Witch can also create an area that periodically stuns enemies inside it, and her ultimate charges up before unleashing a devastating burst of energy.
While Scarlet Witch feels great to play and is easily one of thebest heroes for beginnersto start with, she is quite low on health and can easily get caught out without the support of her team, leading to her getting taken out if the player doesn’t position correctly.
5Mantis
Put Enemies To Sleep And Buff Ally Damage
Mantis isa Strategist who truly focuses on healing. Her primary fire is a decently strong projectile that refills the charges of her abilities. These abilities can either heal an ally, increase an ally’s damage output, increase her damage output, or put an enemy to sleep. Mantis' ultimate ability creates an area around her that gives constant healing and a speed boost to her allies.
Mantis is possibly the closest hero to a standard “healer” class, and players familiar with Mercy fromOverwatchor Sage fromValorantwill most likely drift toward her. The key to success with Mantis is playing with the team; if she is caught on her own, she can struggle to 1v1 more damage-focused heroes.
4Groot
Build Walls And Trap Enemies
Groot is an incredibly fun tank who focuses less on directly shielding the team with his body and more so on manipulating the battlefield with walls that hinder the opposing team. Groot has slightly more health than the other beginner Vanguards, which he can further increase by using his Ironwood Wall ability.
Groot can also use his ultimate ability to root enemies in a thorny prison, which can be a very powerful way to drag enemies away from an objective. Groot is a great character to get started with, but his wall abilities do take some practice to fully utilize. That said, putting the time in to learn this hero is most definitely worth it.
3The Punisher
Unrivaled Firepower
The Punisher is the closest thing to a bog-standard shooter character inMarvel Rivals. He uses guns, grenades, turrets, and a grappling hook to simply do what he does best: slay enemies. The Punisher has two main guns, a standard assault rifle, and a close-range shotgun, both of which do good, consistent damage andhandle similarly to any third-person shooter.
The Punisher is the perfect hero for anyone not familiar with the hero shooter genre, with his penchant for unconventional weapons. With simple hit-scan guns, a manned turret, and an ultimate that is simply bigger guns, The Punisher is one of theeasiestMarvel Rivalsheroes for beginnersto learn the game with. There is a reason Marvel used him as the character in the tutorial.
2The Thing
Punch Everyone And Everything
The Thing is by far the easiest Vanguard for any player to pick up and prosper with. His whole ability kit revolves around getting into a fight, punching the enemy really hard, and simply out-surviving them. With his charge ability both knocking enemies up and giving The Thing bonus health, he can easily engage on any team with ease, following up with a blindingly strong punch thanks to his secondary attack allowing him to charge up and release a devastating blow.
He is also a fantastic front-line tank, thanks to his immunity to being knocked up, knocked back, or otherwise pushed around, making him both an unstoppable forceandan immovable object. The Thing can also provide himself and an ally a 30% damage reduction, rounding out his kit as the perfect front-line Vanguard as well as playing a supporting role, making him perfect for any new player to gravitate towards.
