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The most prevalent character type in Marvel Rivals is the Duelist. This class is tailored for players attempting to achieve the highest number of eliminations through the use of potent Ultimate abilities. Each Duelist’s Ultimate can potentially decimate your team if you’re not ready to respond effectively. Successfully negating a Duelist’s Ultimate can help your team avoid rapid losses during fierce confrontations.
Understanding how to counter a Duelist’s Ultimate is key to safeguarding your main damage dealers from similar tactics. For instance, in Marvel Rivals, Iron Man’s Ultimate can be countered by Magneto’s Ultimate skill. To thwart this, your team might decide to take down Magneto first, allowing Iron Man to unleash his Maximum Pulse without the worry of being countered.
What Are the Most Powerful Duelist Ultimates in Marvel Rivals?
Identify the Most Threatening Attacks
Among the 19 unique Duelists found in Marvel Rivals, you can categorize their Ultimates into three distinct groups. While these categories are broad, the essence of a Duelist’s Ultimate can be distilled down based on its effects on individual characters or the overall battlefield. Depending on the mechanics of a character’s Ultimate, its charge speed can also be influenced by the Duelist’s other abilities.
The three primary categories of Duelist Ultimates include:
- Limited-Time Buff/Transformation
- Area of Effect (AoE) Attack
- Single Damage Burst
Some Ultimates combine these categories. For example, Mr. Fantastic’s Ultimate has him transform to perform numerous AoE attacks until returning to his original form.
All Duelists received adjustments after the buffs and nerfs of Season 1 in Marvel Rivals, resulting in some characters possessing Ultimates that have greater power than others. The table below ranks each Duelist alongside their Ultimate, arranged from the most formidable to the least effective:
|
Duelist |
Ultimate |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Winter Soldier |
Kraken Impact |
Leap high, then dash forward and slam down with the bionic arm, dealing damage to nearby enemies and marking them for death. Marked foes will instantly perish if their health drops below a specific level, allowing the bionic arm to recharge for another Kraken Impact shortly thereafter. |
|
Hela |
Goddess of Death |
Rise into the sky and unleash Nastrond Crows from both hands at will, gaining an additional health bar of 800 while performing this Ultimate. |
|
Storm |
Omega Hurricane |
Transform into a hurricane, drawing in nearby enemies and causing damage. |
|
Star-Lord |
Galactic Legend |
Engage in free-flight and lock onto visible enemies. |
|
Iron Man |
Invincible Pulse Cannon |
Launch a devastating pulse cannon in the targeted direction, causing massive damage upon impact in the designated area. |
|
The Punisher |
Final Judgement |
Unleash dual Gatling guns and missiles to attack foes. |
|
Spider-Man |
Spectacular Spin |
Release Web-Clusters all around to inflict damage and Stun enemies. |
|
Squirrel Girl |
Unbeatable Squirrel Tsunami |
Summon a swarm of squirrels to charge forward, dealing damage while bouncing against surfaces and then attacking the nearest enemy. |
|
Psylocke |
Dance of the Butterfly |
Slash surrounding enemies with a psionic katana, causing significant damage. |
|
Wolverine |
Last Stand |
Launch enemies into the air and spiral down, lifting any enemies in his wake and delivering a devastating impact when landing. |
Generally, the longer a Duelist’s Ultimate lasts, the more powerful it tends to be in comparison to others. For instance, both Hela and Storm gain extra health during their Ultimates, making them substantially more potent than Star-Lord, who doesn’t receive any health boosts. Weaker Ultimates can be countered more easily, especially if their damage is minimal or focused on transformations that are short-lived.
Countering Each Duelist Ultimate
Stun Opponents and Evade Traps
Duelist Ultimates can either be extremely quick or may take time to become threatening. Hence, it’s important to be adaptable based on the characters involved in any given match. Strategies that work against one Duelist may also apply to another, thanks to similar Ultimate mechanics. Many defensive abilities in Marvel Rivals serve as excellent counters to Duelist Ultimates, as they often offer protection or healing to allies.
As a general tip, most Strategist Ultimates are capable of nullifying a Duelist’s Ultimate skill. For example, the damage output from Star-Lord’s Galactic Legend won’t be enough to eliminate a foe being healed consistently by Luna Snow’s Ultimate.
Below are effective strategies to counter each Duelist Ultimate in the game, along with the best characters for executing these tactics:
|
Duelist |
Countering Method |
Best Counter Characters |
|---|---|---|
|
Winter Soldier |
Keep your and your teammates’ health above the threshold needed for Winter Soldier to recharge his Ultimate. After the initial strike, find health packs and stick together behind a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals to diminish the chance of him scoring another kill. |
|
|
Hela |
Take cover in indestructible parts of the map. Alternatively, have a shield-bearing character fly up to Hela and block her line of sight until her Ultimate concludes. |
|
|
Storm |
Eliminate Storm while she is charging her Ultimate. If unable to do so, use mobility abilities to distance yourself from the hurricane, which will pull you in if you’re too close. |
|
|
Star-Lord |
Find cover to avoid Star-Lord’s targeting. Pop out from behind corners to eliminate him quickly, as he lacks armor or extra health during his Ultimate. Any ability that blinds Star-Lord disrupts his targeting. |
|
|
Iron Man |
Take down Iron Man while he is airborne before he fires his Ultimate. After he releases his Maximum Pulse, have a teammate absorb its impact with a shield or simply avoid the large area of effect from the projectile. |
|
|
The Punisher |
Target The Punisher from angles where it’s harder for him to hit you. Like Star-Lord, he doesn’t gain additional health during his Ultimate, so your goal should be to take him out quickly. |
|
|
Spider-Man |
Keep an eye on Spider-Man to avoid letting him surprise and stun your allies. Watch for his positioning before he jumps and use shields, cover, or barriers to protect against his web attack area. |
|
|
Squirrel Girl |
You can actually take out the summoned squirrel horde with basic attacks, so eliminate them promptly to lessen their impact on the battlefield. |
|
|
Psylocke |
Evade the area of effect from Psylocke’s moving Ultimate, which can track vertically. Utilize healing abilities to outlast its damage or simply run away to evade it. |
|
|
Wolverine |
If Wolverine knocks opponents into the air, try to eliminate him before he lands. If he manages to land, provide protection or healing to allies at risk of following attacks. |
|
The more Duelist Ultimates your team can neutralize, the fewer eliminations the enemy team will achieve. By mastering how to counter each Duelist Ultimate in Marvel Rivals, you can extend your team’s survivability and maintain control of objectives to secure wins in your matches.
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