Now that Marvel Rivals has been around for a few weeks, players are getting a feel for which characters they love – and love to hate. The roster is packed with many well-known Marvel heroes alongside some deeper cuts for comic book fans, and like any fighting game, there are going to be some winners and losers when it comes to popularity. Thanks to the Rivals Codex database, which shares stats for each characters, fans can confirm which characters are most seen on the battlefield in Season 0.
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Marvel Rivals launched into Season 0 with a roster of 33 characters, including popular MCU fan favorites like Iron Man, Loki, and Groot. Interestingly enough, few of those most beloved film franchise characters currently claim the top spots among most played characters. This could in part be due to the fact that they don’t always boast the most impressive in-game skills compared to their counterparts.
Some characters, like Jeff The Land Shark, are so overpowered that players simply can’t resist adding one to the team, meaning that feeling of constantly seeing Jeff is indeed backed up by the stats. As you might expect, the most-played characters differ a bit depending on whether players are headed into Normal matches or playing more competitive Ranked mode.
Most Popular Characters in Marvel Rivals Normal Mode
Currently, the most popular characters in Normal matches are:
- Jeff the Land Shark
- Cloak & Dagger
- Luna Snow
- Mantis
- Venom
Jeff is popular due to the combo of solid healer support and a truly crushing Ultimate. Meanwhile, Cloak & Dagger is a solid ranged strategist with the ability to alternate between support and damage dealing. This character can take a little more skill to get used to, but players clearly enjoy the well-balanced strategist style.
Luna Snow and Mantis are likely popular for similar reasons, as both manage a good balance of healing support and damage dealing. Luna Snow has a powerful Ultimate that deals massive damage but can also do a good bit of healing, while Mantis’ life orbs help her deal extra damage – and heal the team.
As for Venom, those who’ve gone up against him know firsthand that he deals damage from the backline in a way that makes him great for taking out healers and ranged characters. This makes Venom a solid counter to many of the other Top 5, thus landing him a spot in the list of most popular Marvel Rivals characters.
Most Popular Characters in Marvel Rivals Ranked Mode
In ranked Mode, many of the top five are the same, but with a few notable differences. They are:
- Luna Snow
- Cloak & Dagger
- Mantis
- Hela
- Doctor Strange
Hela and Doctor Strange earn their spots in the Ranked meta for their versatility and playstyles. Hela deals massive amounts of damage and can get around pretty quickly, making her an asset to Ranked teams. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange has damage reduction abilities that can help keep objectives on track – especially with the help of those portals.
The Least Popular Characters in Marvel Rivals
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While fans can get a fairly easy sense of which characters are most common just by playing the game and fending off Jeff the Land Shark yet again, the least popular characters are harder to spot.
Least Popular Marvel Rivals Characters in Normal Mode
The least popular characters, in order of just how hated/ignored they are, are:
- Storm
- Black Widow
- Namor
- Wolverine
- Black Panther
Storm’s playstyle is tricky to master in Marvel Rivals. Flying is cool, but she moves slowly enough that it’s easy to get sniped out of the sky, and her damage just isn’t enough. Wolverine suffers from a similar problem, with lengthy cooldowns between abilities and a relatively slow movement speed.
Meanwhile, Black Widow just feels underdeveloped compared to other characters, with lackluster abilities and limited utility in melee. As for Namor? He is best used in conjunction with Luna Snow due to their team up ability, but is otherwise not very useful compared to other Duelists. Black Panther, on the other hand, is a bit too complicated a Duelist, making his abilities tricky to master.
Least Popular Marvel Rivals Characters in Ranked Mode
Ranked mode’s lineup of least popular options is relatively similar, with a few notable changes. The least popular characters in Marvel Rival Ranked play are:
- Storm
- Black Widow
- Wolverine
- Squirrel Girl
- Bruce Banner
Squirrel Girl was pretty popular when the game first launched, but she’s now among the lesser played characters in both modes. This largely comes from the fact that many find her Ultimate less exciting than others, and the fact that she’s better at a distance.
Bruce Banner, on the other hand, just isn’t as strong as the other tanks in Marvel Rivals. While Hulk deals plenty of damage, he’s also a huge target, making him fall prey to ranged enemies.
Every player has their own playstyle, and even the most hated combatants in Marvel Rivals can be enjoyable for those who lean into them. Even so, it’s interesting to see how the meta has landed in Season 0 and how it might shift as more characters are added and as the game heads into Season 1.
