Healing in Marvel Rivals isn’t just about babysitting health bars—it’s about wielding cosmic power, creating illusions, and occasionally swallowing enemies whole as a land shark. The Strategist class takes support to delightfully bizarre places.
Behind every team wipe, there’s usually a support player silently carrying the match. Some Strategists excel through raw healing output, others through a utility that makes enemies question their life choices. The gap between the best and worst? Wider than the multiverse itself.
Whether you’re tired of watching teammates die or just want to feel smug about saving them from their own terrible decisions, there’s a Strategist for you. Let’s settle once and for all which support heroes truly deserve your time in the current meta.
Best Support Heroes in Marvel Rivals
Before we jump in, remember that any hero in Marvel Rivals can excel in the right hands. This ranking considers overall viability, skill ceiling, and effectiveness across different team compositions—not just raw healing numbers.
8. Jeff the Land Shark
The honeymoon period with this adorable shark is definitely over. While Jeff’s ultimate remains one of the most potentially devastating team-wipe abilities in the game, higher-ranked players have figured out numerous ways to counter his chompy shenanigans.
The most effective Jeff players aren’t those who hide in the backline spamming healing bubbles—they’re the ones who play him as a disruptive force who can retreat to heal teammates when necessary. Against coordinated opponents, however, Jeff often becomes more of a minor annoyance than a game-changing presence.
7. Mantis
Mantis walks the line between Strategist and Duelist, requiring pinpoint aim and positioning to maximize her value. Her sleep ability shuts down flanking Duelists effectively, and her ability to pocket-heal and permanently boost damage for a skilled teammate makes her the closest thing Marvel Rivals has to Overwatch 2‘s Mercy.
However, her healing output falls short against tank-heavy compositions, often requiring another high-HPS Strategist like Luna or Invisible Woman to keep the team alive. Still, in the right hands and with the right team composition, Mantis can be absolutely devastating.
6. Rocket Raccoon
Rocket brings an impressive toolkit to any team—extra lives every 45 seconds, armor packs, consistent healing, and surprisingly lethal close-range damage. His mobility makes him possibly the most difficult-to-kill support in the entire game, and his team-up with Punisher and Winter Soldier is unmatched.
The problem? In the current meta, his healing output simply doesn’t compare to the top-tier supports. The community’s misunderstanding of his playstyle doesn’t help either—Rocket isn’t meant to be played as a passive healbot, but as an active combat medic who can turn the tide of battle through smart positioning and resource management.
5. Adam Warlock
Often described as “Hela with heals,” Adam Warlock delivers impressive damage while providing clutch healing when teammates are in critical health. His Soul Bond ability functions like a mini-support ultimate on a 30-second cooldown, making teammates temporarily unkillable when timed correctly.
His self-revive passive, which he can share with Mantis and Star-Lord through team-ups, is borderline broken in the right situations. The downside? His ultimate can either save the match or feed six kills to an enemy Winter Soldier, and his complete lack of escape abilities means positioning mistakes are severely punished.
4. Invisible Woman
The newest addition to the Strategist roster excels at pure healing output and team protection. Her force fields and shields provide some of the highest healing-per-second in the game, and her invisibility allows her to escape dangerous situations when timed correctly.
Her main weakness is her damage output—she simply doesn’t threaten enemies the way other supports can. Despite her invisibility tricks, she remains heavily dependent on her team to deal with aggressive flankers like Iron Fist who can quickly overwhelm her if she’s caught out of position.
3. Cloak & Dagger
This unique two-in-one hero has fallen slightly from their former glory after the Season 1.5 nerfs, but they remain elite-tier thanks to their versatility. Dagger provides exceptional healing with auto-aim assistance (no need to worry about missing shots), while Cloak can counter most ultimates with a single button press (Dark Teleportation).
The latter’s ability to apply a 28% vulnerability debuff on targets makes them invaluable for focus-fire strategies. However, the rise of Magneto in the meta has created a significant counter to their playstyle (and ultimate, in particular), making them somewhat less universally viable than our top two picks.
2. Luna Snow
Luna delivers ice-cool healing alongside an avalanche of damage potential. As one of only two hitscan Strategists (alongside Adam Warlock), she rewards precision with devastating headshots while still providing reliable healing to teammates.
Her ice-skating mobility gives her excellent escape options, and her self-healing passive ensures she stays in the fight. Her freeze ability, while requiring practice to master, can completely shut down enemy plays before they even begin—making her a nightmare to deal with in the hands of a skilled player.
1. Loki
The God of Mischief claims the top spot through sheer versatility and survivability. True to his comic book persona, Loki excels at being everywhere and nowhere at the same time, confounding enemies with illusions while supporting allies from unexpected angles.
A skilled Loki can heal ridiculous amounts while still dishing out truckloads of damage with maximum uptime on all three of his clones. His “Regeneration Domain” essentially creates immortality fields that last for five seconds if not destroyed—and enemies often ignore his clones to their own detriment.
With no hard counters (save perhaps for a well-played Moon Knight), Loki feeds on enemy confusion and provides value that transcends simple scoreboard statistics.
Which Strategist do you main in Marvel Rivals? Do you agree with our rankings, or would you shuffle the order? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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