With Marvel Rivals now live globally, we finally have answers to the burning question: Who are the best characters in the game? In this guide, week will break down our tier list for every character. You can't fairly compare characters to each other from different classes, so in this tier list, we are focusing on the Duelist class. If you want see more characters, check out our Strategist Meta Tier List and Vanguard Meta Tier List!
For any tier list to make sense in this style of game, you need to understand the kind of players this list is designed for. Pro players and casual players will play characters very differently, so their rankings can vastly differ. In these tier lists, we are ranking for high ranking and competitive players. This means a less experienced or new player may have a very different experience playing these higher tier characters, or lower tier might be really good for you.
Any low tier ratings for characters doesn't mean the character is outright bad. You can play any character in this game, practice them a bunch, and perform well in a match despite a tier rating.
S Tier
A Tier
B Tier
C Tier
C-Tier
In our lowest ranking, the C-Tier, we have Scarlet Witch, Storm, Black Widow, and Wolverine. Each of these characters are basically bad picks for competitive matches. You can still use them and not be throwing the match, but there isn't much need to play any of them in their current state while so many better options are available.
Scarlet Witch is a terror to face against for casual players. She auto aims, she can seemingly vanish into thin air, and her ultimate will team wipe every time. For a competitive player, these factors are not nearly as effective. Her auto aim still works of course, but higher ranking players typically have better aim, so they will kill you faster than your auto aim will kill them. Her vanishing is actually fairly easy to track if you follow the red orb, so it's not as easy to sneak away. Her ultimate basically screams "look out I'm about to kill you!" Most competitive players will either quickly kill her before she can finish her animation, or they will know to safely retreat. The character simply gets worse the higher up the ranks you climb, making her a clear bottom tier character.
Storm is another "why should I play this" kind of character. Her movement is way too slow, making her a liability always being in the air. The speed and damage buff auras she emits don't seem very effective most of the time, especially when you need to be close to the ground for them to be usable by your team. Her attacks often feel like you are throwing darts at opponents. With such low health, you can't afford to be slow, vulnerable, and low DPS at the same time.
Black Widow is actually an okay character, but she gets outclassed by Hawkeye in every way. Everything this character does can be outdone by another character in general. Want to be a Sniper? Use Hawkeye. Want to use your assault rifle alternate fire? Use Punisher. Want to use your melee? Use Iron Fist. Black Widow doesn't excel at anything. Instead she is just a shotgun style character that is mediocre at multiple things.
Wolverine is a fun character that continues the C-Tier theme of "why should I pick them". As a melee character, you have better options available to you. He has no good team ups, his abilities aren't remarkable, and his ultimate is lackluster. You can play any other duelist melee character in competitive and produce better results. Even Iron Fist has a better healing factor than Wolverine, which makes no sense.
B-Tier
Moving on up to the B-Tier is Iron Man, Star Lord, Black Panther, and Namor. These characters have utility that can be useful in certain situations, but they are more niche than usable every match. The dps on these characters are also lower than your higher-tier options, but they still outperform the C-tier characters consistently.
Iron Man is great for casual players, but competitive players will quickly counter pick you and make him impossible to play. While you can fly around quickly and attack the back line easily, you are still exposed to Hawkeye and other high dps characters. He does have a solid ultimate, but you have to survive getting into position for that to matter. You also have to contribute enough to get that ultimate, which becomes hard to do when you get counter picked. This is one character I think will move up the ranks once a few S-Tier characters get toned down a bit.
Star Lord is another great example of a character that becomes less effective the higher the ranks you climb, though he remains usable unlike Scarlet Witch. His causal player appeal is his faster speed and auto-aim ultimate. His issue is simply not doing enough damage versus other characters. Shooting 100 bullets means you have to land a lot more than a character that shoots 3 or 4. In higher ranks, players are much more mobile and bouncy, making it harder to land enough bullets to secure a kill quickly. His ultimate can still be effective if you get a good position, but he still suffers from the flying, low health vulnerability during the ultimate.
Namor can be a fun trapper option when you set up his turrets well. His biggest issue is getting enough value from those turrets. Competitive players are more likely to call those out and destroy them than the casual players. The rest of Namor's kit is a bit too weak. His attack is too slow for good dps, his other ability simply makes him a barrier, and his ultimate is incredibly weak. I would consider Namor for C-Tier, but I have seen too many players make effective use of those turrets to warrant a lower tier ranking.
A-Tier
For our largest tier size, we have Punisher, Winter Soldier, Spider-Man, Squirrel Girl, and Iron Fist. These characters consistently provide good dps and have solid abilities that contribute uniquely to the team. They don't quite make the cut for A-Tier due to some limitations or downsides.
The Punisher is a S-Tier character for casual players, but he drops down a tier when you compare him at a competitive level. Nothing about him gets outright worse, he just loses some effectiveness in fast dps. His Zipline is great for establishing a fast return route from spawn or accessing better positioning. His smoke bomb can allow you to safely retreat or push, as well as finish off an enemy behind cover. His turret mount is his greatest strength, offering a way to put immense pressure while giving yourself a shield to protect yourself with. If we see some S-Tier characters get dialed back a bit, Punisher will likely be S-Tier for both casual and competitive players.
Winter Soldier is a sort of Punisher-brawler hybrid. You get the potent ranged attack, but you also have some close quarters abilities that let you win those close encounters without needing to slowly swap weapons. His ultimate is what really bumps him from B-Tier to A-Tier. A competitive players should be able to make consistent use of his repeatable ultimate, letting you do repeated area damage to pressure your opponent.
Spider-Man is a very tricky character to play, but with enough practice, he can be very annoying to play against. His best usage is to quickly and effectively attack the back line and remove those healers from play. He is more effective than Iron Fist purely for his movement speed. His launch ability also lets you single out an opponent into the air, which can help your team to separate a tough defense. If Spider-Man had more damage output, he would fit right into the S-Tier. Unfortunately though, he is too weak to effectively fight a lot of other characters.
Iron Fist is your other A-Tier brawler. When you effectively use his deflection, you can easily go ahead to head against multiple opponents at a time. Since he can self heal so easily, the character can be very difficult to kill. His triple jump lets him put pressure on any opponent he wants, even Iron Man. It also allows him to remain evasive constantly, furthering his ability to survive combat. He doesn't quite make it into S-Tier mainly because competitive players have a much easier time tracking his sporadic movements, allowing them to eliminate him easier than casual players. His ultimate can help you to rinse through the enemy backline one by one, allowing you and your team to secure the objective.
Squirrel Girl is the last of the A-Tier, and she continues the theme of mobility. Her super jump let her be super evasive and get unique angles of attack on a consistent basis. She can often shoot over Vanguard defenses, allowing you to finish off retreating opponents or kill their healers. Competitive players should be able to utilize her stun ability well, which can really lock in kills for the team. Her ultimate can be devastating if you have good map knowledge. Getting it to bounce over a specific point can maximize the number of successful passes the squirrels have at doing damage. Her biggest drawback is a lack of strength compared to the S-Tier characters.
S-Tier
Speaking of S-Tier characters, Hela, Hawkeye, Magik, and Psylocke are our top character picks for competitive players. Each of these characters are the masters at damage output and evasiveness, allowing you to capitalize on offence, and successfully retreat when you need to.
Hela is the highest regarded S-Tier character, often seeing the most ban picks in the high ranks. She has a number of strong attributes. Her attack speed and damage output are very strong, making her one of the most effective ranged fighters. Her ability to disappear into a crow and fly out of combat quickly lets her reposition and stay alive for long stretches of time. Her ultimate lets her teleport to a vantage point with a bunch of extra health. You can then shower your opponents with a volley of high damage projectiles. It's one of the best ults in the game by a long shot, and it helps solidify her position in the S-Tier.
Hawkeye is the most consistent option for one-shotting the enemy team. A well placed headshot will instantly kill a large number of characters. His melee ability can put a good amount of space between him and a close quarters opponent, or let you finish off a close wounded opponent. His double jump ability not only lets you get to vantage points easily, but it also lets you get unique angles like Squirrel Girl to pressure their back line. His ultimate is also one of the best in the game, letting you target opponents who aren't even on screen anymore. It is perfect for eliminating tanks or healers who are tricky to shoot at.
Magik is your most effective and evasive brawler. Her teleport gives her options to both be aggressive going in and evasive going out. The demons you can summon offer some extra pressure when you attack as well. Her launching dash is similar to Spider-Man in separating your target from their team, making it harder to heal them as you pick them off. She is incredibly effective at picking off stray players, as well as putting a constant pressure to watch their flank. Her ultimate is simple, but it enhances an already strong move set to allow you to quickly rinse your way through targets with just a few hits.
Similar to Magik, Psylocke is a great option for aggressively pushing in and being evasive on the way out. A good Psylocke player can burst their shuriken and primary attack at the same time, allowing a massive output of Power rapidly. She requires a high amount of skill to play well, as you have to constantly know when to take advantage of an opportunity and rush in. Poor timing will often kill you, which is why she makes for a great competitive character and not a casual one. Her ultimate is also very easy to use and can help you to quickly eliminate squishy characters who are stacked up together, or attack a healer who is hiding well behind her tanks.
Wrap Up
That's all for this Duelist Meta Tier List for competitive players! As new characters are added and balance changes are made, we will release updated tier lists for these characters. If you haven't already, be sure to check out our tier lists for Strategist and Vanguard!
