Looking for the easiest heroes to play first in Marvel Rivals? The popular hero shooter launched with over 30 Marvel characters, with a big variety in playstyles, from snipers to bruisers to an adorable land shark.
Thankfully, Rivals features a helpful practice range to try movement and abilities, and bot-only Practice Versus AI matches if you really want to fine-tune those newbie skills.
Before trying to swing around with Spider-Man, use our list below to ease into the fast-paced hero shooter with some of these straightforward, but still highly effective, heroes.
Hawkeye
The bane of many a match (and often banned in high-level play) the purple archer is an absolute menace in the right hands. In your hands you should still be fine — just aim, draw, and fire into the crowds. His incredible damage output and lack of reloading make him a long-range terror. And if enemy heroes such as Spider-Man try to flank you, Hawkeye also has several escape tools, including a handy double jump.
Jeff the Land Shark
The adorable, meme-worthy Jeff has quickly grown into a fan-favorite in Rivals. Though he’s still feared for his room-clearing Ultimate attack, which sucks up everyone in range for Jeff to deposit wherever he wants (protip: off the edge of the map, if you’re nearby). Jeff’s primary fire is a healing stream to douse your allies, and he can also plop healing bubbles that anyone can use. Learn to dive underground with his special shark-swimming movement boost to become nearly untargetable. So small, much adorbs.
Namor
Namor is the unlikely turret-master of Rivals, spawning Monstro Spawn that auto-target and attack enemies in range. Like Hawkeye, Namor also doesn’t have to reload his primary attack, making it easy to blanket the team with tridents and turrets. Aside from his big Ultimate whale-drop, Namor’s only other ability is a literal life-saving bubble, making it easy to escape otherwise deadly assaults (or other room-clearing Ultimate attacks).
Punisher
Punisher is the de facto first-pick for many brand new players. With multiple guns, Punisher provides a familiar playstyle to other third-person shooters. Frank Castle has some nice mobility thanks to a zipline that works similar to a grappling hook, and better targeting that spots enemies who move out of sight. His powerful turret isn’t even his Ultimate ability, the latter of which absolutely wrecks anyone in sight.
Rocket Racoon
Don’t let that oversize gun fool you, Rocket is actually a great healer. His alternate fire blasts healing-spheres across the team, and his Battle Rebirth Beacon generates shields, and revives the next fallen teammate. Rocket is also a great hero to practice escaping and evading. His Jetpack Dash, wall running, and small stature make him an expert at keeping him in the fight to support his teammates (and occasionally fire his gun!).
Scarlet Witch
Like killing things but aiming with Punisher, Hawkeye, or Namor is a bit tricky? Wanda is your girl. The Scarlet Witch has a powerful life-draining primary fire that auto-targets the closest enemy — no reloading needed! You can still get kills if all you do is fire off the normal attack, but what makes Wanda truly powerful is her excellent mobility with Mystic Projection, granting her near-invisibility and flight. Her Ultimate is hilariously powerful, but also takes some tricky timing to unleash, making her quite vulnerable until she unleashes her PYOOORR KAAAOOOSSSS!
Squirrel Girl
Once you realize Squirrel Girl’s slingshot is a grenade launcher, you’ll quickly master the art of lobbing deadly acorn explosions all over the battlefield. Her Tail Bounce helps reach higher ground, while Mammal Bond quickly reloads her slingshot. Use Squirrel Blockade to trap opponents in place, making them easy targets for your acorn blasts, as well as your teammates’ attacks. Finally, her Ultimate is extremely easy — just point those squirrels in the right direction and let them do all the work!
Venom
Vanguards aren’t particularly new player friendly, but Venom is the one we’d recommend thanks to his incredible mobility and easy-to-pop self-shielding. Venom can drop in the middle of the enemy team using Frenzied Arrival, pop his shield Symbiotic Resilience when he gets low, and swing away if things get really heated. All the while your teammates are (hopefully) backing you up and laying waste while you’re distracting them.
Marvel Rivals is free to play on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. It’s rated T for Teen.