How to Play Marvel Rivals
The three roles
Vanguards have the largest health pools and are meant to hold space at the front, absorbing damage and creating room for their team. Duelists deal the damage and are the largest group on the roster. Strategists heal and enable — they are the role most likely to decide a close fight, and the one most teams are short of. A team with no Strategist almost always loses to one with two.
Team-up abilities
Certain hero pairings unlock a Team-Up ability: an extra power that only exists when both heroes are on the team. These are checked at hero select and shown in the lineup screen. Team-ups rotate between seasons — NetEase adds, changes and retires them in balance patches — so a combination that was strong last season may not exist this one.
What to play first
Start on a hero whose value does not depend on precise aim, so you can learn the maps and the flow of a fight without being punished for it. Any Strategist teaches you positioning quickly, because you have to stay alive while looking at your team rather than at the enemy. Avoid the high-mobility dive Duelists until you know the maps — their whole value is choosing the right moment to commit, and you cannot judge that yet.
Ranked play
Competitive unlocks after you have played enough Quick Match games. Ranks run from Bronze to One Above All and reset partially at the start of each season, so climbing is a per-season exercise rather than a permanent record.
FAQ
- Is Marvel Rivals 6v6?
- Yes. Matches are 6v6 with no role queue.
- What are the roles in Marvel Rivals?
- Vanguard (frontline), Duelist (damage) and Strategist (healing and support).
- Is Marvel Rivals hard for beginners?
- It is approachable, but there is no role queue, so games are decided by team composition more than in most hero shooters. Learning one hero per role makes you far more useful than mastering a single one.