Marvel Rivals Heroes & Abilities Glossary
Marvel Rivals is a six-versus-six hero shooter with a roster of 54 heroes on the official heroes page at marvelrivals.com (12 October 2026). Every hero belongs to one of three roles, has a fixed set of abilities and one ultimate, and some can combine with a partner through a Team-Up ability. This glossary explains those parts, then answers the questions people search most: what "Hero Mastery" really is, whether Chaos Hex, Shang-Chi, Taskmaster or the Soul Stone exist in the game, and which famous characters are not playable.
A warning that applies everywhere below: numbers such as damage, cooldowns and health change in almost every balance patch, so we describe how things work and name the abilities, and leave the live figures to the in-game hero page.
| Term | What it is | Real in the game? |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard, Duelist, Strategist | The three roles: tank, damage, healer-support | Yes |
| Ultimate | Each hero's big, slowly charged move | Yes |
| Team-Up ability | A bonus move two particular heroes share | Yes, rebuilt in Season 9 |
| Hero Mastery | Official name: Hero Proficiency, a per-hero level | Yes, under another name |
| Chaos Hex | Not an ability name; closest is Scarlet Witch's Scarlet Hex | No |
| Thor / Rune King | Playable Vanguard; Rune King is a costume | Yes |
| Soul Stone | No item of that name; Adam Warlock has Soul Bond | Partly |
| Shang-Chi | Not on the roster | No |
| Taskmaster | Not on the roster | No |
| Beast, Black Bolt, Polaris, Vision, Wasp | Often searched, not playable | No |
Roles: Vanguard, Duelist, Strategist
The three roles decide how a team is built. A normal team has some of each, and the game rewards that balance: a team of six Duelists has no shields and little healing.
- Vanguard is the tank. These heroes have large health pools, block or absorb damage and take space for the team.
- Duelist is damage. Duelists hunt targets and are the largest group on the roster.
- Strategist is the healer-support role. Strategists heal, shield or buff allies, and most are fragile.
As of Season 10 a roster guide by Beebom (updated 10 September 2026) counts 27 Duelists, 14 Vanguards and 12 Strategists, with Deadpool listed in all three roles: 54 in total, matching the official page.
| Role | Heroes |
|---|---|
| Vanguard (14) | Captain America, Doctor Strange, Groot, Hulk, Magneto, Peni Parker, Thor, Venom, The Thing, Emma Frost, Angela, Rogue, Devil Dinosaur, The Hood |
| Duelist (27) | Black Panther, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hela, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Magik, Moon Knight, Namor, Psylocke, The Punisher, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Squirrel Girl, Star-Lord, Storm, Winter Soldier, Wolverine, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Phoenix, Blade, Daredevil, Elsa Bloodstone, Black Cat, Cyclops, Gorr the God Butcher |
| Strategist (12) | Adam Warlock, Cloak & Dagger, Jeff the Land Shark, Loki, Luna Snow, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Invisible Woman, Ultron, Gambit, White Fox, Jubilation Lee |
| Flexible | Deadpool |
Kits shift between seasons: Black Widow was rebuilt in Season 9, and Captain America's health was split into base health plus a regenerating shield. If a hero feels different from a guide, check the latest patch notes.
Abilities and ultimates
A hero's kit is made of a primary fire (the basic attack), a melee button, a few abilities on cooldown, one or two passives and an ultimate. Heroes can look alike on paper but play differently because of what the abilities cost. Two examples from the community wiki show the range:
- Wolverine (Duelist) builds rage as he fights, which strengthens his claw attacks and healing factor.
- Adam Warlock (Strategist) has a passive cocoon that lets him revive himself once in a while, and an ultimate that can bring recently fallen allies back.
The ultimate charges from damage, healing and other contributions. NetEase slowed ultimate charge for all three roles in the Season 9 launch patch of 10 July 2026, so each ultimate is worth more than before. Pressing it at the wrong moment wastes it. Magneto's Meteor M, for example, can explode early if he absorbs too many projectiles.
Team-Up abilities
A Team-Up ability is a bonus ability that appears when two or more specific heroes are on the same team. Examples from the community wiki:
| Partners | Team-Up | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Thor + Angela | Thunderstrike Pike | Thor throws a spear, then leaps to its impact point |
| Ultron + Iron Man | Nano Ray | Ultron's beam turns into a piercing laser that damages enemies and heals allies |
| Wolverine + Hulk or The Thing | Fastball Special | The big hero throws Wolverine at the enemy |
| Iron Fist + Luna Snow | Lunar Chi | Iron Fist's healing meditation reaches nearby allies |
Season 9 (10 July 2026) rebuilt the Team-Up system "from the ground up", according to the official notes as summarised by Beebom. Wiki pages mark many older Team-Ups as unavailable in the current season, so a combo that appears in a 2025 guide may no longer exist. Always check the hero's Team-Up tab in the game.
Hero Mastery (Hero Proficiency)
Hero Mastery is not an official term. The system people mean is Hero Proficiency: each hero has its own level that rises as you play that hero, and it unlocks cosmetic rewards. It does not change a hero's stats or abilities. The older claim that mastery points unlock stronger abilities is wrong.
According to the community wiki, a hero starts at Agent (level 1), then moves through Knight (5), Captain (10), Centurion (15), Lord (20), Count (25), Colonel (30), Warrior (35), Elite (40), Guardian (45) and Champion (50), with a level cap of 70. Season 6 added the ranks above Lord. Each hero has three repeatable challenges that give points: a play-time challenge (15 minutes), a role-based health quota and a role-based knockout quota. Duelists count direct damage and final hits, Vanguards count damage received or blocked and KOs, and Strategists count healing, assists and KOs.
In Quick Play and Competitive the challenges can be repeated without limit; in other modes they count up to 10 times a day. Rewards include sprays, KO prompts, avatars and avatar frames, nameplates, titles and a small amount of Units and Unstable Molecules per hero. The Lord rank gives the well-known avatar icon, which is why guides call it "Lord icon". Rank requirements and rewards have changed with seasons, so read the Proficiency tab for your hero.
Chaos Hex
Chaos Hex is not an ability in Marvel Rivals. We found no hero, skin or patch note with that name, and the old claim that it randomly moves health and energy between players does not match anything in the game. The name probably blends two real pieces of Scarlet Witch's kit.
In Season 10 (11 September 2026) Scarlet Witch was reworked around Chaos Marks. Her new ability Scarlet Hex fires a wide shockwave in front of her, deals a small hit and applies a Chaos Mark. Dark Seal also applies the mark, and her primary fire, Chaos Control, now targets every marked enemy at once. Damage dealt to marked enemies feeds her bonus health, according to secondary reports. Season 10.5 (9 October 2026) nerfed her again. The wiki also lists a Magneto and Scarlet Witch Team-Up, Metallic Fusion, that uses chaos magic (marked unavailable this season), so "chaos" appears in several kits. See the wiki or hero page for numbers; the cooldown and mark duration were not published in the sources we read.
Thor and the Rune King costume
Thor is a playable Vanguard who has been in the game since launch. His kit revolves around a resource called Thorforce: Mjölnir Bash is his primary attack, Hammer Throw sends the hammer up to a set distance, Storm Surge is a charged dash, Lightning Realm creates a lightning sphere, and Awakening Rune turns his attack into ranged lightning for a short time. His ultimate, God of Thunder, slams the ground and stuns nearby enemies. His Team-Up with Angela, Thunderstrike Pike, is listed as available.
Rune King Thor is not a separate hero. It is a costume that skin guides place in the store in April 2025, based on the comic form of Thor of the same name. Costumes change how a hero looks, not what the hero does. Patch notes later shrank the costume's cape so it would not block your view.
Soul Stone
There is no Soul Stone item, ability or hero in the roster. Two real things get mixed up under this name:
- Adam Warlock's Soul Bond. In the comics Adam Warlock is linked to the Soul Stone. In the game he is a Strategist, and Soul Bond links nearby allies for a few seconds: damage taken is shared among them and they regenerate health, and the link breaks instead of letting the shared damage kill him. Its cooldown was raised from 30 to 40 seconds in April 2025.
- The Infinity Stones event. From 9 October to 11 December 2026, the mode "Path to Doomsday: Avengers Infinity War" puts 12 players into six duos, and the first duo to collect all six Infinity Stones wins. The official notes do not describe what each stone does, so we do not claim an effect for the Soul Stone there.
Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi is not playable in Marvel Rivals. He is not on the 54-hero official list, NetEase has not announced him and we found no credible datamine. The only mentions are fan wish lists. If you want a martial-arts main, Iron Fist is the nearest: a Duelist who runs along walls, uses a six-hit combo, a quadruple jump, a parry stance called Dragon's Defense and an ultimate that boosts his damage and speed.
Taskmaster
Taskmaster is not playable either. The "leaked character" articles that list him repeat the same text across unrelated sites without citing game files, and the serious leak roundups do not include him. The pages that exist for him are fan concept art and wish lists. In the comics he copies the fighting styles of other heroes, which is why players imagine him as a mimic. Nothing like that is announced. For a Taskmaster-style loadout in the game, Hawkeye covers the archery and Captain America the shield.
Heroes people search for who are not playable
The official list does not include the following characters as of 12 October 2026. Each has its own page with the comic background, what has been reported and which playable heroes come closest:
- Beast: appears on datamine name lists only.
- Black Bolt: no credible leak.
- Polaris: fan requests only; Magneto is her playable counterpart.
- Vision: no credible leak; Ultron created him in the comics.
- Wasp: Easter eggs in Times Square and a datamine name, nothing official.
Only NetEase can confirm new heroes. The next full season, Season 11, is planned for 13 November 2026, and its hero has not been named.
FAQ
How many heroes are in Marvel Rivals?
54 on the official list on 12 October 2026. The most recent are Jubilation Lee (Season 9), The Hood (Season 9.5) and Gorr the God Butcher (Season 10).
Which role is best for beginners?
Whichever you will actually play. Many beginners start with a Duelist for the simple goal of damage, but a Vanguard teaches positioning and a Strategist teaches priority. Pick two from different roles so you can fill a gap.
Do I need to master a hero to rank up?
Hero Proficiency is cosmetic. Rank in Competitive depends on match results; see the rank explainer.
Related Marvel Rivals terms
- Settings, modes & social features · Replay codes · FOV
- In the general gaming terms: combat abilities · strategy & meta · game economy & cosmetics
