Marvel Rivals was never going to escape comparisons to Blizzard’s Overwatch, and to be fair, it probably shouldn’t. Much of Rivals’ core concept feels directly inspired by Blizzard’s hero shooter, from mission types like escorting a payload or defending a point, to the familiar three-role division.
Drawing inspiration from Overwatch is far from a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great starting point. But one area where Marvel Rivals still struggles is in giving its Strategists (support heroes) a true sense of identity.
In Overwatch, each of the 11 Support characters has a distinct playstyle and a memorable Ultimate ability: Mercy transforms into a flying beacon of healing, Lucio drops the beat for a huge healing wave, Illari summons the Sun to scorch enemies, and Zenyatta grants temporary invincibility in a glowing AoE.
By contrast, Marvel Rivals’ Strategists blur together. Luna Snow’s Fate of Both Worlds feels functionally identical to Zenyatta’s Transcendence, which also feels similar to Mantis’ Soul Resurgence. All three abilities involve moving while producing a wide AoE burst of healing. Even Invisible Woman’s Invisible Boundary shares the same core function, which means one Overwatch Zenyatta is three Marvel Rivals Strategists.
These ultimates all do the same thing: press Q, drop a healing field, and let your teammates soak it in. It’s not nearly as diverse as Overwatch, where Juno can summon an orbital beam to heal and buff allies, or Baptiste deploys a matrix that boosts both healing and damage.
That said, not all of Marvel Rivals’ Strategists feel copy-pasted. Adam Warlock’s Karmic Revival is a standout. It can swing an entire match by reviving all fallen teammates within its radius. Jeff the Shark’s Ultimate, while easy to counter, can be hilariously disruptive during close-quarters fights. And Loki? His kit at least offers some depth, assuming the player knows how to use him.
But those are just three out of nine Strategists. The rest don’t bring much to the table beyond “stand in this healing zone so you don’t die for a few seconds.”
There’s hope that things might improve over time. NetEase has shown a willingness to listen to player feedback. Still, it’s unlikely they’ll completely rework the existing Strategists who currently share near-identical ultimates. Upcoming characters like Ultron do offer a glimmer of variety, as his Ultimate summons a swarm of Ultron drones that heal allies and damage enemies. It’s a refreshing idea that, for once, doesn’t feel directly lifted from Overwatch or other hero shooters.
At the end of the day, Marvel Rivals needs more unique support Ultimates. Not just for balance, but because these abilities are what give heroes their personality, and right now, too many Strategists just feel like different skins with the same kit.