Six Marvel Rivals Heroes I’d Buff Before My Coffee Gets Cold
Marvel Rivals Season 1 heroes need smart buffs to make six underpowered picks fierce, useful, and competitive.
I have a confession: I do not play Marvel Rivals to be reasonable. I play it to swing into the enemy backline as Venom, immediately regret it, and then pretend the whole thing was a tactical distraction. But even with my questionable decision-making, Season 1 made one thing clear to me: the meta is fun, yet several heroes still feel like they brought a plastic spoon to a laser fight. I am writing this in 2026, after enough matches to qualify as a minor incident, and I still think these six heroes deserve a little developer love. Not a full rework, just a buff or two. A snack. A participation trophy that actually does damage.
The quick version
| Hero | My very professional diagnosis | Buff I’d order |
|---|---|---|
| Black Widow | Sniper with a close-range panic button missing | More close-range utility and less long-range punishment |
| Mister Fantastic | Stretchy Duelist who accidentally cosplays as a Vanguard or Strategist | More efficient damage without turning him into an immortal rubber band |
| Venom | Big health, big hugs, medium damage | Better Ultimate scaling and a little more bite |
| Rocket Raccoon | Great healer who cannot heal and shoot at the same time | Smoother damage/healing flow and a friendlier Ultimate radius |
| Magneto | Slow floating shield dispenser | More reliable defensive uptime or mobility |
| Black Panther | Melee assassin with claws made of polite suggestions | More claw damage and a scarier Ultimate |
Black Widow needs to feel like an assassin, not a tourist
A good Black Widow can make a lobby miserable. An enemy sniper picking off Duelists and Strategists one by one is terrifying, and if she is landing headshots, flankers should be sweating. The problem is that Black Widow does not always feel like that legendary assassin. Her sniper rifle headshot rate and accuracy can feel low and inconsistent, and once someone gets close, she is basically already writing her farewell message in the chat. Most of her moves do not help her at close distance, so I would love to see more close-range utility and a long-range kit that punishes her a little less for existing.
Mister Fantastic is doing three jobs and none of them perfectly
I have seen Mister Fantastic players charge in like a stretchy battering ram, absorb damage, and then act surprised when the enemy team simply walks past them. He is an odd Duelist because he can deal enough damage to feel like a Vanguard, or throw himself at allies to shield them and basically become a Strategist. That flexibility is cool, but his damage is not efficient enough for competitive play. He can even negate enemy Ultimates entirely, which is great, but I still want a few buffs so he does not feel like a rubbery support item with legs.
Venom is a supportive Vanguard who forgot to bring the menace
Venom has plenty of health, and swinging into the backline to cause trouble is one of my favorite hobbies. Unfortunately, his toolkit often feels more tuned toward distracting enemies and feeding them damage for their Ultimates through his shielding ability than maximizing eliminations. His Ultimate lacks real damage scaling to punish the enemy team, and his tendril attacks are a bit slow and low. I am not asking for Venom to stomp every lobby, but I would like his damage to scale in a way that makes enemy Strategists nervous instead of mildly inconvenienced.
Rocket Raccoon is too good at healing to do anything else
Rocket is one of the best Strategists in Marvel Rivals, but that is partly because his kit does not really permit him to do much else. He can revive allies, provide shields, give jump boosts, and throw out bouncy healing orbs. Lovely. Fantastic. But his damage output is not going to beat his healing, and switching between damage and healing is not exactly smooth. His Ultimate gives a 40 percent damage buff with a very short range, which feels like handing out a coupon that expires before teammates can use it. His small size makes him harder to hit, which is great, but being one of the only Strategists who cannot heal and attack at the same time puts him in a weird spot. I would buff his flow, not his ego.
Magneto is a shield dispenser with a parking brake
Magneto is perhaps one of the most underused Vanguards, and I understand why. He cannot fly, which leaves him vulnerable and slow, and his slow fall does not really save him. His attacks feel weak, and his defensive capabilities, which are most of his skills, can be negated rather easily. Metallic Curtain does not last long or have a lot of health, and Iron and Metal Bulwarks do not have the best duration either. His cooldowns are generous, which is nice, but when Vanguards like Doctor Strange are far superior options, generosity is not enough. Give Magneto more reliable shields or a little mobility, and maybe he will stop feeling like a floating roadblock.
Black Panther deserves claws that actually threaten people
Balancing Duelists is hard because their kits are supposed to deal lethal but fair damage. Black Panther, however, most certainly deserves a damage buff. His primary Vibranium Claws only deal around 35 damage per hit, which is not great for a melee-focused Duelist who has to get up close and personal. His agility and Panther’s Cunning give him a 20 percent damage buff when below 100 health, making him great for one-on-one battles, but his Ultimate is underwhelming and his Vibranium Marks only slightly reduce cooldowns. He is a skillful choice, but he often feels like he is tickling enemies with museum-grade metal.
I do not want every hero to become an unstoppable monster. I just want the roster to feel less like a few characters got the good chair and everyone else is sitting on a crate. If you see me in queue, I will probably still play Venom badly. But at least I will be doing it with hope. 😅