Marvel Rivals has provided players with over thirty different heroes to pick from and learn right from Season 0 – Doom’s Rise. With so many different characters across the three roles of Strategist, Vanguard, and Duelist, getting to know every single hero and villain including their special combos or tips and tricks can be very time-consuming and often tricky to accomplish. However, those that are arriving in Marvel Rivals with a history of playing Overwatch will soon begin to see that many of the hero kits of each character mirror one or more Overwatch character’s abilities or playstyle, which can make finding the characters for your Marvel Rivals hero pool that much easier – especially if you have a preference for something somewhat similar to your Overwatch main.
However, with so many familiar abilities, combos, or playstyles available for Overwatch players to pick up on, pinpointing which hero or villain you should be prioritizing can be overwhelming – especially if multiple characters share aspects of your favorite OW pick. If you’re looking for a breakdown of similarities between the Overwatch and Marvel Rivals roster, including both their general playstyle and key abilities, all relevant information has been included in the guide below.
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Marvel Rivals Picks, Based on Your Overwatch Tank Main
Sigma Players: Magneto
- In Marvel Rivals, Magento’s core kit is closest to Sigma’s in overwatch, with both both them moving by floating slightly above the ground and utilizing a deployable shield and mid-ranged projectile primary fire. Much like Sigma, this makes Magneto thrive with a poke playstyle. Lastly, just as Sigma’s ultimate enables him to soar into the air and then hit people with his Gravitic Flux AOE, Magneto can soar into the air and then charge a projectile that will deal damage across the AOE of its impact zone.
- While Magneto’s core kit will feel quite familiar to Sigma players, he also somewhat resembles Zarya too, providing allies with a bubble that can empower his Mag-Cannon if they take damage whilst bubbled.
D.Va Players: Peni Parker
- Much like Overwatch’s D.Va, Peni Parker is a character who pilots a mech across Vanguard, which is the Marvel Rivals Tank role. Both of these characters have unlimited bullets with their primary fire and reduced movement while firing, though Peni’s can be used at more range with damage falloff, while D.Va’s is better used in close proximity while chasing down targets.
- While D.Va’s job is to dive on the enemy to harass and disrupt plays, secure picks, and peel for her team with her Defense Matrix, Peni plays more of an area control role, by utilizing carefully placed traps and bombs to deal massive damage to the opponent. Furthermore, her webs are a massive asset as they enable her to regenerate health, which helps increase her uptime when holding map areas or control points and utilizing natural covers.
Wrecking Ball Players: Venom / Spider Man
- Wrecking Ball players will feel most at home on either Venom or Spider-Man, depending on if they prefer the Marvel Rivals Vanguard or Duelist role. In some situations, it may even be beneficial to learn both of them so that you can flex between both roles. Both of these characters heavily rely on the get-in-get-out playstyle, securing individual picks to turn team fights and finishing off final hits.
- Venom is capable of swinging into the backline, hitting the enemy with a slam, and similarly to Ball’s Adaptive Shields, can grant himself another burst of life in a pinch through his Symbiotic Resilience, which grants him extra shields depending on how low his health is.
- Spider-Man, on the other hand, has increased mobility in comparison to Venom, due to his two swings. This allows him to better execute the dive-in/dive-out approach, though he will need to be quick, decisive, and precise with his target priority and combos, as he does not have the ability to grant extra shields such as Venom. Instead, you can use Spider-Man’s double swings to fly across the map to health packs during your escape, much like Wrecking Ball so often relies on.
Doomfist Players: Thor / Winter Soldier
- While there isn’t a character that feels like they play particularly similarly to Doomfist, both Thor and Winter Soldier loosely resemble parts of his playstyle, such as cleverly utilizing kits to execute combos and charging up movement abilities. Thor’s Mjolnir Bash enables him to charge his hammer to travel a distance, much like Doom’s Rocket Punch, and will also apply CC to affected enemies. Winter Soldier, on the other hand, plays somewhat similarly to OW1 DPS Doomfist, by cycling his abilities to create powerful combos, which includes both applying CC to them and utilizing an upper-cut. Furthermore, Winter Soldier’s Ultimate is sort of like Doomfist’s Ultimate, but much better – enabling him to deal AOE damage on impact, and instantly recharge his Ult for each enemy killed.
Winston Players: Hulk
- While Hulk has the ‘baby D.Va’ mechanic with the ability to phase between Bruce and Hulk, this is pretty much where his similarities with the MEKA pilot end. Instead, Hulk plays more like Winston with some Zarya aspects, with the ability to take space and then bubble himself and his allies through team fights, as well as a rage-inducing Ultimate that provides Hulk with increased health and more powerful leaps, which can even knock down airborne foes.
Reinhardt Players: Doctor Strange
- While Doctor Strange lacks the massive suit of armor and giant metal hammer, he does have a few key aspects that Reinhardt players should be able to pick up fairly easily. Much like Rein, Strange has a shield that he can toggle to block incoming damage and protect his allies, which brings options for shield flashing to the time of incoming projectiles or bullets and even blocking several key Ultimates. Much like Rein, Strange will want to use his shield to take and hold space, whilst also having the opportunity to deal massive damage. Just as Reinhardt’s Earthshatter stuns enemies, Strange’s Ultimate stuns everyone hit in the AOE, providing them all with two hitboxes that Strange and his team can use to deal huge damage. Lastly, Strange is also equipped with a Symmetra-like Portal on a large cooldown, which can be huge for setting up flanks, utilizing clever combos, and even tricking the enemy.
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Marvel Rivals Picks, Based on Your Overwatch DPS Main
Hanzo Players: Hawkeye
- For fans of the elder Shimada brother archer, you’re in extreme luck, as Hawkeye’s entire kit is very close to that of Hanzo from Overwatch, with slight variations. He can hold to charge his arrows by looking at opponents, and with a full charge can one-shot headshot almost any squishier character. In addition to this, Hawkeye has a jump ability for vertical movement, which can be used to reach the advantage of high ground much like Hazno’s wall climb/Lunge. In addition to this, Hawkeye also has a slash ability which comes in particularly useful when being dived, and secondary explosive arrows that he can switch between at will, which when paired with the slash, gives the chance to deal AOE damage, knockback, and potentially escape.
Widowmaker Players: Black Widow
- Black Widow’s kit resembles much of what makes up Widowmaker’s playstyle but with more consistent mobility. While Widow has a grappling hook on a cooldown, Black Widow has a sprint with no cooldown – similar to Soldier: 76, which she can use to gain more vertical momentum when jumping, and reach different high ground and advantage points. Black Widow is also a hitscan sniper with the potential to pick off targets from afar.
Tracer Players: Star-Lord
- Tracer players will feel very much at home on Star-Lord, as he not only has guns that feel very similar to Tracer’s pistol, some of the best general mobility in the game across all DPS, and the ability to “blink” – faking out opponents, cooldowns, and even survive some otherwise devastating impacts. In addition to this, Star-Lord has what is essentially very similar to a Reaper Death Blossom as one of his cooldowns, which is great for doing rapid AOE chip damage, and his Ultimately resembles Soldier: 76’s with the ability to lock onto and ‘aimbot’ the opponents.
Pharah Players: Iron Man
- Flyers also tend to appear in Marvel Rivals in the form of Iron Man, who is closest to the likes of Pharah (and Echo, to some degree). He can soar through the sky for extended periods of time in comparison to the Overwatch flyers, and while his explosive rockets deal less damage in general compared to Pharah’s, they can be used in clever ways, bouncing off the ground to deal burst damage. He also has a beam somewhat like Echo/Zarya, with an extended reach that can melt low HP targets, and his Ultimate ability is very similar to Rocket Barrage, causing massive damage in the AOE from a single pulse.
Ashe/Cassidy Players: Hela
- Ashe and Cassidy share the playstyle of hitscan heroes who can reliably hinder and two-shot most enemy squishies with consistent aim. Hela, for the most part largely resembles this, too, as while she may not seem it at first glance, she is a hitscan hero herself. She also has a stun somewhat similar to OW1 Cassidy, which can be used to hinder opponents and line up easy headshots. In addition to this, she has a secondary attack that can deal delayed explosive damage, similar to Ashe’s Dynamite after securing a kill. Lastly, as Ashe can reposition herself with her Coach Gun, Hela can take the same sort of advantageous angles with her Astral Flock.
Genji Players: Psylocke / Iron Fist
- Genji is a DPS that relies on the dash in, get a kill, and dash back out playstyle. This is largely seen in two DPS in particular, Psylocke and Iron Fist, who share key aspects of his kit and make them the most reliable overall choices for Genji players. Psylocke is one of the best flankers and disruptor picks in the game but tends to utilize hitscan attacks rather than Shuriken projectiles. However, she is paired with two Genji-like dashes which are brilliant for horizontal and vertical mobility, as well as securing picks. She also has timed invisibility, much like Sombra, which can help set her up for flanks or allow her to escape. Finally, her ultimate is somewhat similar to Dragonblade, but has Psylocke able to deliver katana slashes to everyone in her AOE.
- Iron Fist is a melee character that relies on getting up close and personal with the enemy, and much of his abilities and playstyles mirror that of Genji. Rather than having a Wall Climb, he has a Wall Run which can be used for horizontal movement – but also used to gain verticle movement with his jumps. He has 3 jump cooldowns which can be used to close distance and leap from high ground to high ground, and a dash-like kick that can be used to initiate or finish enemies off. Iron Fist also has a Deflect like Genji, but he is tied to a right click that can also be used to buff his shields and temporarily improve his punches. Lastly, while Genji often has to play around with health packs and dive back to his Supports, Iron Fist has the ability to heal himself in a pinch, which can also be used before a fight begins to buff his health from 250 to 300 HP, making a huge difference.
Sombra Players: Psylocke / Loki
- Players who wish to maintain the playstyle of Sombra without too much worry about other core similarities are sure to have a blast on Psylocke. While her only main parallels to the Talon Hacker are her invisibility cooldown, hitscan weapon, and her ability to harass and disrupt the enemy, it won’t be hard for Sombra mains to adjust to Psy. On the other hand, if you’d like to try out a supporter role, Strategist hero Loki is also another very solid choice, as his kit enables much of the ‘troll’ play that Sombra mains tend to enjoy, enabling him to go invisible, create clones and switch between them, and even mirror someone else like an Echo ult, instantly gaining their Ultimate and using it to their liking – giving Loki some of the strongest strategy and disruption potential in the game.
Soldier: 76 Players: The Punisher
- Punisher mirrors what Soldier: 76 is to Overwatch in that he is the character that has one of the most simple yet versatile kits, making him a strong addition to almost any team composition, as well as a great character for beginners and highly skilled players alike. Much like Soldier, Punisher has a hitscan rifle weapon that can be used to deal damage from a distance. Second to this, he also has a shotgun that he can change to, dealing devastating damage up close much like Reaper. While Punisher doesn’t have a sprint like Soldier, he has his ziplines which he can set up to create a quick way around the map or to reach high ground and advantageous areas. He also has a smoke bomb which can be used to create distance and obscure vision, as well as to super jump to some areas. His turret essentially works the same as the OW1 Bastion turret, in which he plants somewhere and shoots to deal devastating damage. Lastly, his ultimate is very useful for holding defensively or making an aggressive push to shred the opponent, operating similarly to Mauga’s general chaingun weapons.
Junkrat Players: Squirrel Girl / Moon Knight
- Junkrat players will find many aspects of his kit in Squirrel Girl, who comes equipped with a slingshot weapon that can fire bouncing projectiles at the enemy, using the ground and walls to spam chokepoints and make certain areas hard to push past. As Junkrat has his mines to help reposition himself, Squirrel Girl has a tail bounce which can be used to escape or reach high ground. She also has a trap like Junkrat, which can be placed to lock enemies into place – often setting up easier combos for herself. However, another character that resembles Junkrat’s aggressive, spammy playstyle is Moon Knight, whose weapons will bounce between groups of enemies to deal chip damage across each one of them. He can also bounce his weapons off his Ankhs, which he can place on the ground, wall, roof, or other various objects to create spam across a small AOE. With clever use of this strategy, Moon Knight has the ability to shut down flank routes and make choke points horrendous to push through – much like Junkrat succeeds in doing.
Torbjorn Players: Namor
- One of Torbjorn’s key assets is his Turret, which can be placed to auto-detect enemies and deal damage to them until destroyed. Namor takes on a similar approach, with the ability to summon up to 3 (with Luna Snow) sea creatures at a time to operate as mini turrets, shooting the enemy for you. While they do less damage overall than a Torb Turret, Namor has the advantage of being able to place his sea creatures in advantageous areas, such as high up on walls, on rooftops, or other areas that are otherwise hard to get to. Just as Torb has an Overload to deal increased damage, Namor has a secondary fire that temporarily amps the rate at which his turrets deal damage, giving Namor huge potential to secure picks.
Mei Players: Groot
- While Groot takes on the Tank/Vanguard role rather than the DPS/Duelist category, much of his kit mirrors one of Mei’s core features – the ability to place walls. While Mei has one Wall on a cooldown that only lasts so long, Groot has multiple, smaller walls that can be placed to use as natural cover, to isolate targets, or to block important routes. As Mei has a self-heal to protect herself, one of Groot’s Walls grants him bonus health when standing near it while allies deal damage, which gives him more survivability and uptime, holding and denying space. Lastly, his ult can also trap people but operates more as a Zarya Grav than a Mei Freeze.
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Marvel Rivals Picks, Based on Your Overwatch Support Main
Moira Players: Cloak & Dagger / Scarlet Witch
- Moira players will be able to easily adjust to the playstyle of both Scarlet Witch on Duelist and Cloak & Dagger on Strategist. Scarlet Witch pretty much mirrors most of Moira’s kit, with an auto-locking infinite primary fire, and the ability to fade. She also has a burst fire and stun orb which can be used to disrupt opponents. However, most significantly, her ultimate is essentially a D.Va bomb, making her kit a fun combination of familiar OW heroes.
- Cloak & Dagger, on the other hand, works more like a Moira/Kiriko combination. Dagger’s primary consists of lock-on projectiles that feel familiar to Kiriko’s Kunai in terms of aim, but heal allies and damage enemies. Cloak has a close-range infinite lock on damage just like Scarlet Witch and Moira, and both Cloak and Dagger get a healing wall and a damage wall, which can be sent out similar to Moira’s Orbs. Dagger also has the ability to ‘fade’ not only himself but also nearby teammates, making everyone immune to damage and effects for a brief moment. Lastly, much like Moira’s ability to both harm and heal with her Ultimate, C&D’s Ultimate ability enables them to pretty much paint an AOE on the floor with three dashes, with this AOE dealing chip damage to the enemy whilst providing massive healing to allies.
Ana Players: Mantis/Luna Snow
- While neither Luna Snow nor Mantis will feel close to Ana’s playstyle, they do have key aspects that mirror Ana’s abilities, as well as playing the role of two of the most consistent, highest-output Strategists in the game. Just as Ana’s scoped bullets are hitscan, Luna Snow is a hitscan character, making her a very aim-reliant healer. In addition to this, she has the ability to freeze opponents similar to Sleep Dart, which can even cause environmental eliminations and negate several Ultimates. In comparison, Mantis has a ‘sleep’ ability, but through a projectile AOE grenade rather than a sleep dart. Mantis tends to play more defensive, which enables her to create some big healing numbers, but she also has the potential to rack up a lot of damage and elims in the right hands, much like Ana.
Zenyatta Players: Adam Warlock / Mantis
- Both Adam Warlock and Mantis are suitable options for Zenyatta mains. Adam Warlock tends to have abilities similar to both Zen and Mercy, with his primary healing toggling to multiple people similar to Valkyrie, and his Ultimate Ability mirroring Mercy’s OW1 Mass Rez. However, more like Zenyatta, Adam’s healing output is somewhat limited, which means he needs to rely on dealing with damage as well to gain value. Like Zen’s two different attacks, Adam can launch a single projectile or a charged multishot. Mantis, on the other hand, resembles Zenyatta in the way that she provides value for her allies, granting them both a damage boost or healing over time. Similarly to Zen, Mantis’ Ultimate also grants increased healing over time in an AOE, as well as boosting damage, which can change the outcome of a team fight.
Baptiste Players: Rocket Raccoon
- Rocket Raccoon shares Baptiste’s ability to create massive healing output numbers as well as dead very solid damage. His primary fire operates more similarly to Sojourn but can be weaved into healing the same way as Bap’s healing-to-damage tempos tend to work. Rocket launches similar healing orbs to Bap’s grenades, but they will also continue to float or bounce more like a Moira Orb. In addition to this, Rocket has more mobility with the ability to wall dash paired with his tiny hitbox, making him a pain to take down at times. Much like Bap’s deployable Immortality Field, Rocket utilizes similar deployables that his team can play around with, and his ultimate also significantly boosts damage. However, unlike Bap’s Ultimat being a window you must shoot through, Rocket’s Ultimate works more like Orisa bongo from OW1.
Lucio Players: Storm/Luna Snow
- Lucio has no hero who plays quite like him at this point, but both Storm and Luna Snow have key aspects if players are seeking something close. Storm, while she plays much more stagnant and tends to be a bit lackluster in terms of Season 0, has the ability to toggle between assisting her allies with a speed boost, or assisting them with a damage boost – much like Lucio’s ability to toggle between speed and healing. Luna Snow, on the other hand, has increased speed through her skate passive, which is similar to Lucio running on the ground – she just doesn’t have the ability to attach to walls. Lastly, another thing Luna Snow shares with Lucio is the ability to pivot into applying pressure and dealing with damage from time to time.
Third-Person Shooter
Action
Multiplayer
- Franchise
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Marvel
- Released
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December 6, 2024
- Developer(s)
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NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
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NetEase Games