Marvel Rivals, much like any other hero shooter, can be rather daunting at first for new players due to the number of different characters on the roster for each role. This can make learning a specific role tricky if you’re not sure where to start.
Don’t worry, though, if you’re getting started with Marvel Rivals in general or just new to the Strategist role, then these starting hero picks will help you learn and understand the most important aspects of the role with the least strain. Without further ado, here are the best Strategist heroes for beginners in Marvel Rivals.
Last Updated October 2026 for Season 10: This article is updated regularly to ensure all information remains accurate following balance changes. We may also add or remove picks over time as new characters are released, or when a hero receives major balance changes, reworks, or ability updates.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket is one of the more simplistic kits for newcomers to start out with, making him the perfect choice. More importantly, though, he helps to teach good positioning, which is a must for the Strategist role. Once you know your spots, you can tuck away into a corner with line of sight to your team, supplying heals and breaking enemy deployables from safety.
Finally, his smaller hitbox, wall climb, and dashes help him to survive flanking and divers, as well as adjust closer or further away from his team as needed during a fight. This can help take some of the pressure off when you’re just learning Strategist for the first time, and once you learn these positioning and rotation skills, they carry over to the other Strategist picks with ease.
Cloak and Dagger
Worried about your potential healing output value being affected by less reliable aim? Well, Cloak and Dagger have a newbie-friendly skill floor with lock-on auto-aim abilities. Dagger has a heal/damage, and Cloak with closer-ranged more aggressive damage. As long as you have line of sight to your team, you should have no problem healing thanks to their handy auto-aim feature.
The most important thing when learning Cloak and Dagger is cooldown management and knowing when to window. Dagger has an AOE healing bubble and a heal window that increases healing to those it passes through, while Cloak has a window that damages and blinds enemies, and the ability to fade himself and his team, granting temporary invulnerability.
As you learn the game and the ins and outs of the Strategist role, you will find yourself being able to make more significant plays and saves on pure reaction. Their kit is very beginner-friendly, sure, but it can also make some huge plays with a deeper mechanical understanding. Plus, they’re pretty solid as far as the meta goes, strong on a season-to-season basis and never really falling below “good”.
Jeff the Land Shark
If his cuteness didn’t capture your interest, then maybe Jeff the Land Shark’s simple-yet-fun gameplay style will? Jeff has a very long-range heal/damage beam, meaning he can sit at the back of his team and heal through multiple allies whilst damaging enemies simultaneously. The beam is his main source of healing, and is essentially a big, satisfying point-and-click projectile.
That’s not all, though; Jeff can also burrow underground to give himself more cover, traverse quicker, and get away from the enemy. He also has bubbles that can heal and speed-boost himself or any ally, and a close/mid-ranged projectile blast for more burst damage. Oh, and let’s not forget about his chaotic ability to gobble up the battlefield – just make sure you don’t forget to spit your teammates out before you go diving off the ledge with the entire lobby in your belly!
Luna Snow
Luna Snow is extremely straightforward in the way that point-and-click DPS characters are. In fact, she follows much of the same route, but on Strategist. She has point-and-click gameplay to heal allies or damage enemies, enhanced movement speed and jump, and a clap ability for amplified numbers and piercing heal/damage.
Luna has serious damage and heal numbers, plus a hard CC with her freeze. If you’re the type of player who can hit your shots, then she can be devastating in the right hands. Her freeze, in particular, can be game-changing when used to shut down enemy Ultimates, and it gives her good survivability against flanks and dives.
Ultron
Ultron, though often a bit weaker in the meta compared to other options on this list, is as simple as it gets for a Strategist pick in Marvel Rivals. In fact, he plays more like a DPS with some heals thrown in, with his gameplay loop involving supplying healing drones to allies with a click of a button, and then dealing poke damage with a generous range.
Basically, you keep strong aerial positioning for line of sight on your team, supply healing drones to those taking damage, holding space, or engaging in flank/dive routes, then play corners and natural cover, peeking out and using your strong damage beam to apply additional pressure on the enemy and help secure picks. It’s both easy for beginners to learn his kit and to get value with it in a team fight once they have that basic understanding, so he’s a great choice for Strategist newbies.
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