Jose Tellez 
Players got definite word regarding the best and worst characters in Marvel Rivals, and there are some major surprises.
Marvel Rivals, for better or worse, lets players do basically whatever they want when it comes to playing. There’s no role queue, there are no limits to how many characters of the same role can be on a team, and there’s little structure when it comes to who is queueing with who. The only restriction is that teams can’t pick the same hero twice.
Naturally, that has seen certain heroes gain a reputation, at least in terms of the people playing them. But which heroes really have the worst players in Marvel Rivals, and which are the best? NetEase released pick rates and win rates for everyone, and there are some surprises therein.
Mantis is Marvel Rivals’ best character, Black Widow is the worst
According to the official pick and win rates on Marvel Rivals’ website, Mantis is the best character in the game.
No hero has an anomalous win-loss record, but Mantis stands as the game’s winningest character. As of this writing and according to the official website, Mantis has a winrate above 56%, Just below her is Peni Parker at 55.4% and Adam Warlock at 54.4%. Beneath them is the Asgardian trio of Loki, Thor, and Hela who each have win rates of roughly 53%.
On the flipside of the hierarchy, Black Widow awkwardly sits as the worst character in the game. Her win rate is a humble 44%, with second-worst Jeff the Landshark more than a full percentage point above her.
It’s worth noting that these numbers are pulled from all levels of play. Unlike our Marvel Rivals tier list, which weighs the actual strength of the characters in high-level play. Characters like Black Widow are often picked as the “default” options for certain roles or certain approaches to the game. Players will use them and then move elsewhere as they become more familiar with the game.
Wolverine, Storm, and Black Panther among Marvel Rivals’ least-popular characters
Marvel Rivals’ least-popular characters also include many of the most popular and recognizable characters in Marvel Comics.
Alongside win rates, NetEase also revealed the pick rates for each character. This confirmed that many of Marvel’s most popular and beloved characters are actually rare picks.
At the very bottom of the popularity leaderboard is Storm with a 1.66% winrate. Namor is only slightly more popular at 2.76%. Black Widow also checked in at less than 3%. Wolverine, Black Panther, and Squirrel Girl all fell below 4% pick rates.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jeff the Landshark, Venom, Cloak and Dagger, Mantis, and Peni Parker all stand as the most popular characters.
Unlike Marvel Rivals’ discussion of best and worst characters, there’s a major asterisk when it comes to popularity as determined by pick rates. The overall pick rates are heavily skewed against duelists, the DPS category in the game.
Duelist is the most saturated role in Marvel Rivals, and that’s reflected in the pick rate. No vanguard or strategist has a lower pickrate than any given duelist. The most-picked duelist in Marvel Rivals is the Punisher, who is the 16th-most-picked character in the game overall.
