9 Best Characters For Beginners

Marvel Rivals has exploded onto the hero shooter scene since it was suddenly announced in the summer of 2024. It has already surpassed long-time popular hero shooter Overwatch 2 in player count, proving to be quite promising (and forcing Overwatch 2 to consider some big changes to keep up). And it’s not even on its first season yet.

Right now, Marvel Rivals is still in Season 0. During this time, players have already become pretty competitive. One gamer even studied the Top 500 to figure out which characters were meta based on the number of times top players used them and their win rate from those matches. If you’re looking to climb up the ranks and compete with top players, you’ll need to start with characters that are easy to master. These are characters that are considered easier to learn, so players can take more time to focus on teamwork, communication, strategy, and map locations.

9

Rocket Raccoon Supports In Every Situation

Role: Strategist

Rocket Raccoon is a versatile support who has an answer for all his team’s problems. Need healing? Rocket Raccoon can shoot spheres that bounce off walls and heal enemies they encounter. Need to win a team fight? He can use Cosmic Yarn Amplifier to increase nearby teammates’ damage output. Died during the fight? Rocket Raccoon even has a way to resurrect players to keep team fights equal. Wildly enough, the Battle Rebirth Beacon also produces armor packs and jetpacks.

Rocket Raccoon is a great support in a wide range of situations, but he’s also great for beginners specifically due to his mobility. He has two passives that allow him to run up walls and fall slowly, providing some impressive mobility options around the map. Old Friends is a Team Up ability that also allows Rocket to ride on Groot’s shoulder if he’s also on the team. This lets Rocket Racoon move faster and avoid getting hit as easily as he fights up close.

8

Luna Snow Controls the Crowd With Cold

Role: Strategist

Some gamers may not recognize Luna Snow but the newly added comic character has been getting a lot of attention in Marvel Rivals. Able to manipulate cold weather, Luna Snow has a very simple kit that heals incredibly well while also dealing a good amount of damage. Light & Dark Ice is a piercing projectile that either heals teammates or damages enemies. Absolute Zero freezes enemies for a few seconds, giving Luna and her team plenty of time to wipe them out. Her biggest strength, however, is her ultimate Fate of Both Worlds — this can heal allies or boost the damage they do to enemies.

With all these dual attacks, Luna Snow is great to have in a wide range of situations. She’s versatile and thrives in a wide range of team comps since her playstyle can change depending on the strategy at hand. To help beginners even more, Luna Snow has the Smooth Skate passive that allows her to pick up her movement speed and jump higher.

7

Nobody is Safe From Scarlet Witch

Role: Duelist

Scarlet Witch has a very straightforward strategy that’s focused on aggression and damage dealing. Chaos Control restores Chaos Energy while simultaneously draining the targeted enemy’s HP. Then, she uses Chthonian Burst to fire explosive projectiles from that collected Chaos Energy. To make it even easier to get in close and get the Chaos Energy she needs, Scarlet Witch is equipped with an airborne ultimate and Mystic Projection allows her to invisibly fly through the air for a short duration. This makes Scarlet Witch great for flanking enemies or taunting the front line depending on your team’s strategy.

As you play Marvel Rivals, you’ll find which characters fit better with your specific playstyle and are the most comfortable to play. This could even mean picking up characters that are considered highly difficult to play and master. However, if you’re not sure where to start, the characters on this list have straightforward abilities and simple strategies that will ensure you’re making the most of your matches every

6

Mantis Makes Healing Easy At All Times

Role: Strategist

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Mantis has a lot of great support options, including healing, damage boosting, and even enhanced mobility. While new players will have to learn which type of support is needed at which time, she is great for beginners due to how easy it is to use her abilities.

Her moves utilize a bunch of orbs and fields, so players don’t need to aim at all to get teammates healed up and ready to fight. Mantis is a great choice for players who want to stay on the back lines and make an impact without damaging enemies.

5

The Punisher Sets Up and Starts Shooting

Role: Duelist

Any gamers who have played a shooter before will have an easy time transitioning to Marvel Rivals if they start with Punisher. This gun-focused character has a very straightforward kit that’s great for any range and doesn’t take a lot of teamwork-related strategy or specific tactics.

Armed with Gatling guns, missiles, and smoke bombs, Punisher has every type of weapon players need to deal damage from a safe distance, rotating in a cloud of smoke whenever needed. What really makes Punisher’s arsenal OP, however, is his Culling Turret, which is a stationary turret that releases a massive wave of bullets. This makes Punisher ideal for holding down angles and objectives — and all you need to do is stand and spray.

4

Foes Will Want to Keep Their Distance From Iron Man

Role: Duelist

New players can sometimes be intimidated by getting up close and personal with players or have a tough time knowing when to dive. They can often end up getting more than they bargained for when surrounded by enemies. Iron Man is a great choice for new players who want to avoid this pressure while also dealing impactful damage.

Iron Man has a lot of options that keep him in the air, ensuring that players are at a safe distance from most enemies. While flying around the map, Iron Man can use his Repulsor Blast primary fire to reign down damage on enemies. Follow this up with his Unibeam, which can target even the toughest-to-hit bad guys. Iron Man can also use Micro-Missle Barrage while flying, launching a group of missiles at enemies below. Altogether, Iron Man has what it takes to hit enemies hard from a distance or even escape when they get too close.

3

Who Needs Aim When You Have Nuts With Squirrel Girl?

Role: Duelist

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Squirrel Girl has quickly become one of the most popular Marvel Rivals characters despite being a bit of a “random” hero to pick in a sea of Iron Mans, Hulks, and Captain Americas. One of the reasons she’s popular probably shouldn’t be mentioned here (or anywhere), but the other is due to how powerful of a character she is. Squirrel Girl slingshots nuts at her enemies, sort of like a less clinically insane Junkrat from Overwatch — these nuts bounce off the ground and walls, hitting nearby enemies. These nuts — which don’t require super-accurate aiming — deal a ton of damage.

She also has a large nut that stuns enemies and a crowd of squirrels she can sick on her enemies. On top of her easy-to-use kit, Squirrel Girl is great for beginners due to her mobility option. One of her abilities is a high leap that can keep her away from enemies if they get too close or help her reposition a lot easier.

2

Groot Blocks Damage With Ease

Role: Vanguard

Groot is a popular tank to see on teams right now, and he’s luckily not very hard to learn. Groot’s primary focus is controlling areas, usually by blocking incoming enemies and their damage or disrupting them.

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All of his walls create frustrating situations for enemies, who often have to take alternate paths to get to the point (at which point, Groot’s team can predict where the enemies are going and take them down). While Groot has some damage-focused attacks, the main plan with Groot is to figure out the best wall placements and timings to better keep the team safe and outsmart the enemy.

1

Jeff the Land Shark is Cute, Controlled Chaos

Role: Strategist

After being relatively unknown to gamers, Jeff the Land Shark has instantly become a Marvel Rivals mascot thanks to his dog-like personality, his two rows of pointy teeth hidden by his giant, panting tongue, and his growly voice as he swims around the map. He’s become so hype that he’ll likely be added to the MCU. But he isn’t only popular due to his adorableness — Jeff is a powerful healer, even annoyingly so.

Jeff the Land Shark is one of the most consistent healers in the game, able to heal by blasting out a splash of water, spraying water, or popping out healing bubbles. On top of that, Jeff can dive under the surface of the map with just his fin showing as he heals himself. But he isn’t just a healer — Jeff’s ultimate has him circling a targeted area, spitting up allies and enemies in his path. Swallowed foes take damage and they can be spit out at any time, and he can even toss them over the edge of the map. Jeff is easy to learn because he’s so focused on healing, unlike some support characters that also have buffs to juggle.

Third-Person Shooter

Action

Multiplayer

Systems

Released

December 6, 2024

Developer(s)

NetEase Games

Publisher(s)

NetEase Games

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer
, Online Co-Op

Engine

Unreal Engine 5

ESRB

T For Teen // Violence

How Long To Beat

7.5 hours

PC Release Date

December 6, 2024

Xbox Series X|S Release Date

December 6, 2024

PS5 Release Date

December 6, 2024

X|S Optimized

Yes

File Size Xbox Series

20 GB

Number of Players

1-6

Steam Deck Compatibility

Unknown

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Cross Save

No

Cross-Platform Play

Limited – console crossplay, no PC crossplay

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