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Marvel Rival's newest limited time game mode has officially released! Now that we have gotten hands on with the wildly unique mode, there is quite a lot to learn. This guide will break down different team comps, board placement strategies, module priorities, and more to help you secure those wins! We assume you know how to play the mode by now if you are looking for strategy guides, but if you are actually looking for a guide through the basics, we cover that as well in our beginner's guide!
Team Comps
When picking your team comp, you can follow the standard 2-2-2 format from the regular game. With that said, this mode does let you break the rules and go for more unique approaches. You can also be more specific with comps since you have full control over your team. This mode also keeps team-ups from the base game, so picking based on synergies can give you an edge. This won't cover ALL comps, but it will highlight some of the top performers so far.
1 Tank, 1 Ranged DPS, 1 Brawler DPS, 2 Healers, 1 Flex
This comp gives you a nice spread of capabilities. You don't specialize in any specific tactic, but you are better prepared against a wider range of enemy tactics. Your tank and brawler let you get in close, while your ranged character provides constant damage from a distance next to your healers. Your flex is best to be a 3rd healer or a 2nd ranged DPS, which will help you to better adapt to your opponents tactics.
3 Healers, 3 Tanks, 0 DPS
If you want a more "survival" based tactic, this let's you focus on winning through pure endurance. You can withstand strategies that want to win really quickly with high damage at the start of the match. You are very weak to other late game strategies that focus on winning with ultimates.
6 DPS?!
This might sound crazy, but this might be the best comp in the game right now. You will lose the first several matches, but the advantage is you can pile every upgrade into Duelist perks. This let's you snowball very quickly into an unstoppable killing machine. You will often go down to 30 to 40 health while establishing your team, but you will rarely lose afterwards. Just place every character on the back row every round. Wolverine and 1 diver alongside 4 ranged DPS is seeing the most success so far.
Board Placement Strategies
If you are a veteran to this genre of game, you can probably skip this section. If you aren't as familiar, here's a few tips on character placement:
- Keep your healers in the back, typically hidden behind a tank to dodge ranged attacks. Once your healers die, you typically lose pretty soon after
- Divers are best along the sides at the front row. This let's them get close as quickly as possible, but without clustering together. If the divers prioritize the same target, grouping them together can be more effectively.
- If you have a ranged DPS, keep them next to your healers to give better protection
- The opponent's team will typically shoot at the closest target first, so make sure your most survivable character stays up front
- Try not to spread your team wide across the board. It makes it easier for opponents to focus on 1 target, especially if their layout is more directed to a specific side
Economy Management
Just like any other auto chess game, managing your economy well is important for winning. The key idea is to reach maximum interest before you start rerolling or buying modules a lot.
The Early Game Strategy:
The very first round is always a Galacta Bot, which you can easily win without buying any modules. Since you start with 10 tokens, you'll get 1 interest token plus the 15 passive income. By the time round 1 ends and you start fighting other players, you'll already have 26 tokens.
Your goal now is to hold back from rerolling and focus on reaching 50 tokens for maximum interest. This usually takes just two more rounds if you avoid spending too much. Once you cross the 50-token mark, this is when you can start buying what you need while keeping that interest going.
Keeping Maximum Interest:
Remember that 5 interest tokens per round adds up fast over a match. Even if you need to reroll for better modules or buy upgrades, always make sure you don't go below 50 tokens.
Getting maximum interest every round gives you way more buying power in the mid and late game, letting you get the exact modules and upgrades you need.
Module Priorities
Don't rush to buy modules in the early rounds just to reach protocol bonuses quickly - it's not worth breaking your economy for. Focus on building your team composition first, then worry about modules that actually support your strategy.
Early Game Module Strategy
Avoid buying modules until around round 4, also because they will all be common, and you can easily find them in rerolls. Protocol bonuses look tempting, but buying random modules just to hit those thresholds will hurt you later. You'll end up selling these poorly chosen modules anyway, and while the game only charges a -1 token penalty on the base value, it's still wasted time and resources.
Team Building First, Modules Second
Focus on replacement modules as soon as possible. You rarely land your ideal team comp on the initial selection, so swap out weak characters quickly. The faster you get your dream team together, the faster you can start winning consistently.
Once you have your core team ready, identify who your most important characters are and buy modules based on that. If you're running a DPS-focused team but only have one strategist, don't invest heavily on strategist modules that won't impact your overall strategy.
Quality Over Quantity
When selecting modules, make sure you're leveling them up properly. Six different common modules will give you less value than one properly upgraded module. Focus on upgrading the modules that directly support your team's win condition.
Protocol Management
Try to reach multiple protocol levels if they align with your comp. If certain protocols don't fit your strategy, ignore them completely and focus on the ones that do. After you get tier 1 protocols that work with your team, start hunting for rare modules as well - they can significantly boost your team's performance.
Top Performing Character Picks
This mode has some clear standout characters that give really consistent results across most comps. Here are some of the top performing picks so far:
- Jeff- His ultimate is top tier in this mode since the bots are very often grouped together and standing still. This let's you grab most of the enemy team, letting your team heal and focus fire any unlucky opponent who wasn't eaten. Jeff also has some really good strengthen modules!
- Storm- This character isn't incredible by herself, but her ultimate team-up with Jeff is a bit broken. It's basically a guaranteed team wipe each time since you remove all healing abilities they have while doing massive damage. If you have a Jeff, Storm is a great sidekick.
- Punisher- His damage output is very consistent and scales well with lots of modules. His ultimate is also incredibly strong for singling out 1 or 2 targets that can't seem to die, letting your team can wipe out the rest easier.
- Black Widow- This might be surprising considering her performance in the base game, but she has a huge advantage in this mode. She is the only ranged character that prioritizes low max hp characters. She has a strengthen module that increases her fire rate, and another one that permenantly increases her base damage with every final hit she gets. If you combo her with Punisher for their team-up, she can use the added rapid-fire ability for even more effectiveness.
- Venom- The bots make really good use of his bonus health ability, giving him an incredibly high survivability. He is also one of the two tank options that prioritizes low max hp targets. This lets him target the healers quickly without needing to take out their protection first.
General Tips
During rounds 1, 6, 11, 16, 21 (ect.), you will always get a Galacta Bot round that gives you strengthen module(s) as a reward. These are pretty easy to win, so don't bother buying or upgrading modules on these rounds. Let that balance give you a little interest for the next round. This can either give you a buffer for constant interest if you manage your spending, or you can get extra reroll opportunities to find better modules early.
Swap characters out as soon as you can. If you notice one of your characters tends to die quickly or offer very small benefits, go ahead and look for a replacement quickly. Early swaps can net you a few more wins, which means longer runs and more interest. Pay attention to your opponents teams as well. You may have good characters that simply won't perform well against them, like if you are running The Thing versus Groot and Peni in several matches.
Sell modules that give you mild benifit. Sure, you do lose an ability in the process, but that refund can let you upgrade a better module quicker than waiting a round or two. If you're winning consistently, you can probably afford to wait for another round. If not though, a couple of good module swaps can make enough of a difference to turn the tables on a match.
You can spectate opponents in your lobby by selecting their name on the leaderboard. You won't know who you're facing until the round is starting, but you can take a good guess when you haven't been matched against someone in a while. Knowing their placement ahead of time can give you a chance to reposition your team to better counter them. If they have a diver on the front, for example, prepping for it could mean putting a tank directly in front of it, or moving the whole team away from that area so ranged dps can take them down.
Similarly, a good time to spectate your opponents is in that waiting period between matches. Your battle may be over, but spectating can give you way more benifit than just sitting there waiting for the next round.
While the weapon you get as the Ultron Bot is cool, it has very low impact. Your shots do very little damage to opponents, BUT you can make better use of it. Look out for Peni's Spider-Nests or a Rocket revive station. You can actually destroy those fairly easily on your own, which can make an actual impact on the round.
The Future of Ultron's Matrix
While this mode is only playable for a limited time, we could see it returns if players enjoy it. If changes are made to this release or future releases, we will keep an eye on this pocket meta and update this guide as meta shifts appear. If you have any tips you have found that are not mentioned in this guide, let us know in the comments!
