Marvel Rivals All Heroes Explained#
Marvel Rivals is NetEase’s 6v6 hero shooter, officially released on December 6, 2024. This page lays out the game’s role system, the roster size at launch and today, and the base mechanics shared by every hero, so the framework is clear before you pick anyone.
Three ground rules first:
- Every hero is free. There are no paid characters. All heroes are available from the start — no unlocks, no gacha, no battle-pass exclusives.
- The roster grows with the seasons. The game launched with 33 heroes and has since expanded by roughly two per season (official announcements are the final word). Every headcount on this page is a point-in-time snapshot; the in-game roster is what counts.
- Skins never touch stats. Paid content is purely cosmetic, with no stat bonuses of any kind. What you buy is looks, not power.
Current Roster Size#
As of Season 7 (7.0) in 2026, the game has 48 playable heroes, laid out as follows:
| Role | Count | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard | 12 | High-HP frontline built to soak damage, protect allies and control space |
| Duelist | 24 | Primary damage dealers, responsible for kills and pressure |
| Strategist | 11 | Healing and buffs; they decide how long the team lasts in a fight |
| Hybrid | 1 | Deadpool, who can switch between multiple roles |
| Total | 48 | More will arrive in future seasons; the in-game count is authoritative |
The three core roles divide labor just like traditional team shooters: the Vanguard is the tank, the Duelist is the damage, and the Strategist is the healing and support. The difference is that this game never hard-locks positions, so lineups can be composed freely — and stacked on top is the Team-Up system, which means the same six heroes can produce completely different results depending on the combination. To dig deeper into any role, check the role breakdown page.
Launch Roster (December 2024)#
The game shipped with 33 heroes: 8 Vanguards, with the rest split between Duelists and Strategists. Details by role below.
Vanguards (8 at Launch)#
| Hero | Playstyle Overview |
|---|---|
| Captain America | Shield charges and sprinting rushes; a mobile frontline |
| Doctor Strange | Portals reshape the battlefield, plus shields and crowd control |
| Groot | Walls that cut the map apart and cover teammates |
| Hulk | Leaping engagements and smashes, with a Banner transformation mechanic |
| Magneto | Magnetic shields and projectile suppression for frontal pushes |
| Peni Parker | Web nests and minefields that punish dives |
| Thor | Mjolnir melee bursts, throwable to call down lightning strikes |
| Venom | Symbiote dives to open fights, soaking damage and regenerating |
The Vanguard is the team’s shield: their health pools run higher than any other role, and the job is to eat damage, start fights and protect the backline. The Vanguard pool has kept growing since launch — The Thing, Emma Frost and Angela all joined the frontline over time, bringing the role to 12 heroes as of Season 7.
Strategists (Launch Lineup)#
| Hero | Playstyle Overview |
|---|---|
| Adam Warlock | Group healing and area resurrection |
| Cloak & Dagger | Dual-form switching, healing and damage in parallel |
| Jeff the Land Shark | Healing water streams and underground dives; his ultimate can swallow people |
| Loki | Illusion-clone trickery and rune healing; his ultimate can copy enemy heroes |
| Luna Snow | Idol-style healer whose ability doubles jump height |
| Mantis | Healing and buff orbs, with a mass-hypnosis ultimate |
| Rocket Raccoon | Healing beams and a resurrection beacon; tiny and hard to hit |
Strategists were the smallest role at launch, but how long a team can stay in the fight depends largely on how they perform. As of Season 7, the role has grown to 11 heroes.
Duelists (Damage)#
Duelists have always been the largest role — 24 heroes as of Season 7, half of the entire roster. The launch lineup already included familiar faces like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, The Punisher, Hawkeye, Hela, Moon Knight, Namor, Psylocke, Magik, Iron Fist, Black Widow, Star-Lord, Storm and Squirrel Girl.
This role also has the widest internal spread: flying pressure from the likes of Iron Man and Storm, melee assassins in the Black Panther and Spider-Man mold, and anchored turret play from The Punisher and Hawkeye — range and mobility run the full spectrum. A team usually fields two to three Duelists, and which ones you master comes down to your preferred engagement distance.
Hybrid: Deadpool#
Deadpool joined in January 2026 as the game’s first Hybrid hero, belonging to none of the three core roles — that is why the roster table above lists him as a separate entry. As of Season 7 he remains the only Hybrid; whether more follow in later versions is up to official announcements.
Movement Speed, Jumping and Health#
Each hero’s abilities differ, but a few base stats are shared across the entire roster (individual exceptions listed separately; the in-game version is always final):
| Item | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base move speed | 6 meters per second | Same for every hero |
| Move speed exception | 7 meters per second | Black Panther and Wolverine, two melee heroes |
| Jump height | 3 meters | Same for every hero |
| Jump exceptions | 6 meters / 9 meters | Luna Snow’s ability doubles jump height to 6 meters; Squirrel Girl’s tail bounce adds 200%, up to 9 meters |
| Health range | 250–300 | The common range for most heroes |
| Vanguard health | 500–800 | The common range for the frontline role |
These numbers explain two things you have probably felt in matches: first, why Black Panther and Wolverine are always in your face — they are naturally faster than everyone else; second, why Vanguards dare to stand in front — they carry more than double the health of damage dealers, and many of them pack shields or self-healing on top.
Heroes With Unlimited Flight#
Most flying heroes are limited by flight energy and must land to recover once it runs out. As of Season 7 in 2026, only 5 heroes can fly indefinitely: Angela, Human Torch, Iron Man, Storm and Ultron.
This list only reflects the current version and will change as future seasons add flying heroes. For ground-based comps, the answer to unlimited fliers is always about forcing position rather than winning gunfights: use cover to compress their damage windows, then hand them to a long-range Duelist.
Team-Ups and Skins#
Team-Ups are the core of this game’s roster depth: when specific hero combinations appear on the same team, they unlock extra synergy abilities. For example, Venom, Spider-Man and Peni Parker on one team trigger the symbiote combo. The combo list shifts with each season and can even change mid-season through balance adjustments, so watch the lineup screen for combo hints before queuing, or see the Team-Ups and compositions page.
On skins, one more time: every skin, emote and accessory is purely cosmetic and changes no stats. This game’s paid line is clear — buy looks, never buy power.
Balance Changes and Hero Strength#
Hero strength moves with each season’s balance patches. This page deliberately skips DPS, time-to-kill (TTK) or win-rate tables — that data is patch-sensitive, lacks a stable official source, and any table built on it goes stale fast.
To figure out who to learn in the current patch:
- Read the in-game balance notes at the start of every season, and check whether your mains got nerfed
- See the meta analysis page for a read on the current seasonal environment
- Master two or three signature heroes instead of re-rolling your pool every patch
FAQ#
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How many heroes are there now | As of Season 7 (7.0) in 2026: 48 — 12 Vanguards, 24 Duelists, 11 Strategists, 1 Hybrid, and still growing; the in-game count is authoritative |
| Do heroes cost money | No. Every hero is free to unlock; paid content is purely cosmetic |
| How often do new heroes arrive | Roughly two per season since launch; official announcements are the final word |
| Do heroes have levels or skill unlocks | No. There is no progression system; every ability is available from the start |
| Are team positions locked | No. Positions are never hard-locked; lineups are composed freely, with role division and Team-Ups covering the gaps |
| Do skins affect strength | No. Skins are purely cosmetic |
Bottom Line#
Picking heroes here has a lower barrier than it looks: three roles, every hero free, swap anytime. Fill the team’s gap by role first, then use Team-Ups to complete the combo — that beats memorizing any tier list. The roster will keep growing every season, so treat the numbers on this page as a snapshot — the most accurate list is always the one in the game.