Marvel Rivals Season 1 Best Duelist Tier List

Winning a game in Marvel Rivals is always a team effort. Very rarely can one player be the difference between coming out victorious and losing. However, damage players don’t see it that way, wanting to focus on racking up stats. So, here’s the best Duelist tier list for Marvel Rivals.

Best Duelist Tier List for Marvel Rivals

D-Tier Duelists

Unless players take a trip to the training area, it’s hard to get a read on Black Widow and Storm because they rarely show up in online matches. The reason these heroes rarely get chosen is because they have similar skill sets to other characters but fail to stand out. Sure, Black Widow can hit hard from a distance, but she struggles in close-quarters combat, which makes her limited. Storm, meanwhile, has a nice ability that boosts her teammates, yet she rarely leaves an impact in the damage department unless someone with a lot of experience uses her.

The newest addition to the game, Human Torch, also struggles to make a major impact. His team-up move with Storm is formidable, but he’s a sitting duck the rest of the time, acting more as a nuisance than a legitimate problem.

C-Tier Duelists

While the Duelists in this tier struggle for a variety of reasons, they all have an upside. Iron Man, Star-Lord, and Squirrel Girl all focus on projectiles, which can be very hit or miss, but if a player’s aim is true, they can be very effective, especially with their Ultimate moves.

Scarlet Witch is sort of in that same category, and she can deal a lot of damage when she latches onto an enemy player. However, this playstyle leaves her vulnerable, especially when tanks are around. Finally, while Black Panther is a solid option for someone who understands his moveset, he’s not as useful as some of the other fighters in the game.

B-Tier Duelists

This is the first group of Duelists that are likely keeping players up at night during Marvel Rivals Season 1. Punisher, Winter Soldier, Namor, and Moon Knight aren’t all that different, using projections to dish out most of their damage. However, they all also become scary when backed into a corner. Sure, their mobility leaves a bit to be desired, but there are far worse damage choices.

Wolverine is another scrapper in Marvel Rivals, as he excels in close-quarters combat. There’s nothing worse for a player than getting separated from their team and having the iconic X-Man make a beeline for them. Finally, while Mister Fantastic is a newer character in the game, his moveset is unique and makes him feel a lot like a tank.

Related: 10 Most Annoying Marvel Rivals Heroes

A-Tier Duelists

Seeing one of these Duelists on the battlefield will make Marvel Rivals players want to head back to the lobby. Magik and Psylocke have a lot of similarities, though the Japanese mutant has much better mobility, and it’s easy to see why so many gamers pick them. Magik packs quite a punch with her massive sword, while Psylocke uses smaller yet still very effective blades as her weapon of choice.

What neither of those heroes have, though, is Iron Fist’s ability to overwhelm enemies. Every Duelist and Strategist main knows if Iron Fist is coming their way, they have to get out of the way quickly, or else they run the risk of having to respawn. The same applies to Spider-Man, who can head to the enemy’s backline and take out a couple of characters before anyone knows what happened.

S-Tier Duelists

Despite being nerfed as part of the Season 1 update, Hela still remains one of the best Duelists in Marvel Rivals‘ roster. On top of her regular abilities, which hit really hard, her Ultimate move leaves very few alive. It’s difficult to avoid, and it doesn’t help that her health never seems to go down during it.

Hawkeye is a major boom-or-bust character, mostly because he relies on projectiles to do damage. However, if players are able to hit their shots with the Avenger, there’s no better way to change the outcome of a game. It doesn’t matter if there’s one enemy player left on the point or three – Hawkeye will send them running.

And that’s the best Duelist tier list for Marvel Rivals Season 1.

Marvel Rivals is available now on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S.

The above article was updated on 2/24/25 by Escapist Editorial to include new Marvel Rivals characters.