Whether you’re Bronze or Grandmaster, there are mistakes that are common amongst all ranks in Marvel Rivals that are costing you matches. Today, we will review some of them and what you can do to stop them from happening.

There are plenty of mistakes people make across all ranks. Some are more costly than others, such as getting no one with an ult or just missing all of your shots on that one person with 1HP. No matter what, it’s okay to make mistakes since they give you something to work on. The best way to find them is to go through your replays and watch them not just from your point of view but from that of your teammates, where maybe you might find out that a mistake that you thought was your own was, in fact, not yours because obviously, you played “perfectly.” You might also see some funny moments that you couldn’t see from your own POV or discover someone was secretly hacking.

Double Dipping Strategist Ults

Using both support ults at once is the most common mistake across all ranks, from Bronze all the way to Eternity, you can find teams that will make this mistake. Using both Strategist ults at once leaves you and your team with nothing to stop the enemy from popping their next ult and costing you the teamfight. Try to communicate, or have your Strategists figure out who will ult first. The correct order will change patch to patch, but ideally, whoever has the lowest ult cost goes first so that they can work towards building another one.

Not Targeting Strategists

This is much less common in higher ranks, but in most lower ranks, people often spend all their time shooting Vanguard, not the people keeping them alive. Killing them isn’t always possible, especially when they keep each other alive. While shooting Vanguard is suitable for building ult charge, unless they are debuffed by something like Winter Soldier’s ultimate “Kraken Impact” or Cloak’s ability, “Terror Cape,” it is unlikely they’ll die as long as their Strategists are looking at them.

Instead, target their Strategists, sitting in the back, and even if you cannot kill them, often forcing them to use an important cooldown like Loki’s “Regeneration Domain” or Adam Warlock’s “Soul Bond.” It’s even more valuable if you force them to use an ultimate to save themselves so that someone on your team can pull off a devastating ultimate without fear of doing no damage.

Countering Strategist Ultimates

Speaking of Strategists, saving certain one-shot ultimates when their team’s strategists are active is one of the best ways to swiftly end fights in your team's favour. Some of the best ultimates to do this with are Magneto’s “Meteor M,” Iron Man’s “Invincible Pulse Cannon,” and Scarlet Witch’s “Reality Erasure.” Make sure when using these ultimates you take care to avoid things that block them, such as shields and Groot’s walls. Removing one Strategist leaves the other without something to heal them, making them an easy target. Too often, in ranks below Diamond, people spend the whole game shooting Vanguards even when they already have their ult and should be looking for a higher-priority target. It’s not a golden rule to never shoot the Vanguards; if you don’t shoot the Vanguards, they might just walk in and kill your Strategists themselves.

Not Using the Map to Your Advantage

One of Marvel Rivals' unique features compared to other hero shooters is its destructible environment. This feature can flip a map’s geometry, making it easier to attack or defend. The easiest way to see what is destructible is via the Chrono Key button (B on PC, Right D-Pad for Xbox/PlayStation). The Chrono Key will highlight anything destructible in yellow. Do keep in mind that some parts of the map are only destructible when the map begins, or that point of the map is the current focus.

Shin Shibuya: First Point

One of the best examples of the destructible map you can use is the gate on Shin Shibuya's first point. As a defender, as soon as the round begins, if you break enough of the building found in the image below, the whole gate will collapse, and spider bots will hold the roof, stopping it from falling. Removing this wall and making the ceiling float leaves the attackers with less cover. This opens up more angles for your team to poke from and slows the enemy's rotation to a different lane.

Yggdrasill Path: Second Point

The second point on Yggdrasill Path has this high ground, which, as an attacker, should almost always be destroyed. It leaves the defenders with a strong high ground and a nice flank route if left untouched. You can also stop people who are low on health from running away into the room and towards the health pack behind the building.

There are plenty of other examples, but we’ll have to share those later. In the meantime, try using the Chrono Key to see if you can notice them yourself.

Not Swapping In Overtime

Picture this: it’s match point, overtime, and you’ve just died. You don’t know if your team will win this without you, but you know they’ll at least be able to stall for about 15 seconds. When you die during a situation like this, one of the best things you can do if your team doesn’t have one already is swap to Doctor Strange and make a portal from your spawn to point. That way, you bring yourself back into the fight and provide a faster respawn for any teammates that die in the process.

Wrapping Up

Marvel Rivals has many exciting and unique mechanics. Making mistakes is easy when there are six opponents with ultimates and abilities to keep track of. There’s a lot to learn and many characters to fight and master. The important thing to remember is to focus on how your own performance can be improved and to take note of the key mistakes you catch yourself making. With that in mind, good luck in your games, and hopefully, you can stop at least one of these mistakes from happening.