Marvel Rivalsis a hero shooter, and as that name implies, the majority of combat takes place over a long range. Guns, lasers, and magic make for good tactical combat, after all.
That said, Marvel has a large stable of heroes and villains, and not all of them need advanced tactics to get their respective jobs done. Sometimes you just need a beefy fist or large weapon and enough strength to swing it really hard.
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For balance reasons, there are no melee-exclusive characters in Marvel Rivals. There are melee-focused characters, though, and a few more of them than you might expect.
Please note that the following was written during Marvel Rivals Season 0, and is subject to change with future updates.
Carries A Brick Of Solid Steel
Thor is the Norse god of thunder, and naturally, the lightning bolts and whatnot tend to take precedence in his imagery. However, something that’s easy to forget is that Thor constantly lugs around a solid slab of enchanted steel on a stick.
In Marvel Rivals, most of Thor’s abilitiesrevolve around his Thorforce, building and burning it to charge his lightning. Even when he’s out of charge, though, he can still cold-clock a guy with his hammer.
Additionally, his Storm Surge ability, while ostensibly for travel purposes, also makes a great ramming attack, knocking back any enemy it makes contact with.
He Punches You, His Walls Punch You
Groot’s primary, Vine Strike, has a bit of a long-range to be considered a melee attack, but it’s also not the only thing he’s got going for him.
For instance, one ofGroot’s defensive walls, Thornslash Wall, is awakened when Groot attacks enemies nearby. When awakened, the wall will lash out with vines of its own. It’s kind of like a remote melee attack.
If that’s a little too much setup for your tastes, Groot also possesses the Furious Flora ability, a fairly straightforward three-hit melee combo.
Besides being damaging, this combo also ends with a launcher, which can be a good setup for other teammates.
Chargin' ‘Round With The Power Of A Bull
Hulk’s Marvel Rivals incarnation actually possesses more ranged abilities than you’d expect from the ol’ jolly green giant.
He has a Gamma Gun and Grenades in his Banner form, as well as both Radioactive Lockdown and Gamma Burst in his full Hulk forms. However, these are support abilities, designed to aid in the ultimate purpose of being a solid wall of radioactive meat.
When Hulk is in the thick of things, his primary punches will stave off foes, while his Incredible Leap ability allows him to crash down on foes from above.
Don’t even get us started on his World Breaker ultimate, which grapples and pulverizes a nearby foe.
7Spider-Man
Hits Fast, If Not Hard
Despite the whole “proportionate strength of a spider” thing, Web-Head has never been the strongest on Marvel’s roster. What he lacks in raw brawn, though, Spider-Man makes up for in speed and agility.
Spider-Man’s purpose in a fight is to trap his enemy in his rhythm, peppering them with fast, repeated blows from his primary and abilities.It takes a bit of finesse, but he can be quite the force of nature with practice.
With some good timing, you can zip over to an enemy with Get Over Here, launch them with Amazing Combo, and then finish the job with a few swings of Spider-Power.
If you can tag them ahead of time with a Spider-Tracer from a Cyber-Web Cluster for extra damage, all the better.
6Captain America
“Charging Star!”
When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who choose to oppose his shield must yield. In Marvel Rivals, though, he won’t throw his shield until he’s gotten up close and personal a bit.
Cap’s primary, Sentinel Strike, is a multi-hit melee combo. After the second hit, his shield will automatically begin to ricochet between targets, but he can keep swinging without it.
He also has his classic Liberty Rush charging attack, as well as the Super Soldier Slam from above to launch up nearby enemies.
He can throw his shield on its own with Vibranium Energy Saw, but while that’s cooling down, it’s all melee combat.
5Black Panther
Claws, Kicks, And Spears, Oh My!
As you’d probably expect from a guy blessed with the might of a panther goddess, Black Panther’s kit is all about high-speed, ferocious melee combat.
His Vibranium Claws and Spiral Kick come out fast and hard, with the latter also attaching a Vibranium Mark to hit targets.
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Black Panther’s only ranged ability is Spear Toss, which also attaches a Vibranium Mark to anyone it hits. All of these marks are in service of his Spirit Rend lunging attack.
If Spirit Rend hits any marked enemies, it instantly refreshes, allowing you to chain together strings of damaging lunges.
Good Ol’ Tendrils
Rather than his fists, Venom attacks primarily with the tendrils that shoot out of his body. Whether or not this is a “melee” attack is debatable, but it has a fairly short range, so we say it counts.
It’s just as well, since Venom does his best work up close and personal anyway.
Venom’s job is to bea mobile nuisance, falling from above with Frenzied Arrival and debuffing enemies with Cellular Corrosion.
Even if they fight back, he can extend his longevity with the health bonus from Symbiotic Resilience and pick off stragglers with a few more swishes of his tendrils.
Speak Softly And Carry A Big Sword
Anyone who carries a sufficiently large sword is obviously going to base the bulk of their fighting style around it.
While Magik has a projectile in the form of Magik Slash and some backup from her Limbo demons, that sword of hers is going to be doing the heavy lifting here.
Besides her primary sword swing, Magik can launch foes with Umbral Incursion. Her Stepping Disc ability allows her to blink a short distance to get into melee range, and it can also be immediately combo’d into Eldritch Whirl to clear out foes at her arrival point.
Even when transforming with Darkchild, Magik is still a melee combatant first and foremost.
2Iron Fist
He’s Got “Fist” In His Name
To nobody’s particular surprise, the guy with “Fist” in his name is going to be a melee combatant over all else. Iron Fist is anaggressively in-your-face combatant, switching between his primary Jeet Kune Do strikes and his secondary, Dragon’s Defense.
When Dragon’s Defense is activated, not only does he reduce all incoming damage, but his primary switches to the rapid punches of Yat Jee Chung Kuen.
The only ability Iron Fist has that even resembles a ranged attack is the K’un-Lun Kick, which is a long-distance flying kick.
Besides that, his other abilities, like Harmony Recovery and Crane Leap, are just for recovery and mobility. It’s all toward the ultimate goal of moving around and punching stuff.
1Wolverine
The Best At What He Does
Arguably, the most famous of Marvel’s many melee combatants is none other than Wolverine and his adamantium claws.
The guy’s been the master of rushing and slashing since his X-Men: Children of the Atom days, and Marvel Rivals maintains that proud tradition.
His normal primary is Savage Claw, a short barrage of melee slashes, which is then upgraded into Berserk Claw Strike following a Feral Leap.
His secondary, Vicious Rampage, is a combination of a dash and a single, powerful claw strike, perfect for closing the distance while Feral Leap is on cooldown.
Naturally, all of this is upgraded when Wolverineunleashes his Berserker Rage.
Marvel Rivals
WHERE TO PLAY
Marvel Rivals: All Duelists Ranked
Strategists or Vanguard mains, don’t be scared to pick Duelists sometimes. Choose any of these Duelists in Marvel Rivals for the win
