While I can’t deny the love I have for Marvel Rivals, I don’t remember the last time I’ve raged this much—and been this exhausted—in a video game. Don’t relate? Well, you definitely aren’t a Strategist main then.
The number of times I’ve been called out for not being present exactly where my team’s Duelists are loitering and saving them is… astonishing. Which makes me wonder, do Duelist mains even know how the Strategist role works in Marvel Rivals?
For starters, healing you isn’t the only job we have. As a Cloak & Dagger main, I must tap into the powers of two separate heroes. Besides boosting your health by spamming Dagger’s abilities, I can blind enemies, make them vulnerable, and even save you from a devastating ultimate with Cloak. The same applies to Loki and Invisible Woman: Both are meant to be played more like actual Strategists than just healers.
Oddly, most Marvel Rivals players, especially in low to mid Elo, are quite fond of the blame game. And they typically shift all the blame to the team’s healers based on what they witnessed momentarily. I’ve been, sadly, a part of this situation multiple times, where I had to switch from Dagger to Cloak to protect myself when none of my allies were near the point—and a dead teammate caught that on spectate. They then proceeded to flame me for “always playing Cloak” and not healing them, even though I had enough healing and assists in my pocket to prove them wrong. Why wouldn’t I play Cloak if it’s a part of my kit? Why am I expected to always play Dagger and spam heals?
Not all Strategists aren’t meant to be played the same way. Invisible Woman’s primary fire deals decent damage, but it doesn’t have an aim lock mechanic like Cloak’s or Mantis.’ To top it off, it isn’t long range either. Her primary fire is highly effective if the Duelists and Tanks stick to her position. Her shield, on the other hand, can help in mid-range. But again, my team’s “best in the server” Duelists never seem to have the patience to stay behind a shield and heal themselves. They expect me to run around them frantically and request them to be in my range.
Strategists are designed to be offering constant support to Vanguard heroes while healing anyone who’s around them. If you’re an extremely mobile Duelist like Spiderman or Star Lord or have an assassin-like playstyle, it’s odd to expect a healer to be aware about what your plans are—or follow you around—when they are with the tanks playing for the point.
Don’t get me wrong; we’re always eager to heal, give you a damage boost, or a piece of support utility to boost your kills. But come to the point or at least near it, so that we’re in range. Open your microphone and ask for healing or just use the ping feature, so that we can track the exact location in the heat of a battle. Or, just learn the spawn points of health packs. Simple.
In fact, many Duelist heroes can generate bonus health, and every one of them can flee a messy situation. If you really main the Duelist class, stop blaming and learn how to play it without lamenting about heals every second.
Interestingly, I’ve noticed a few creators calling out Strategist mains for being proud of having a lot of healing in their stats. “You can heal a Vanguard constantly and get that inflated stat,” they say. Well, I say that’s a stupid argument. Tanks are meant to absorb a lot of damage considering their health. If they aren’t taking the damage, we can’t heal them. How can we “inflate” the numbers? Also, try keeping a Vanguard alive when the entire enemy team is focused on them. You’d know exactly how much effort we need to invest to get a small mention at the end of the match.
Another anti-Strategist argument I’ve come across is that our healing was useless if we managed to grab less assists. Strategists only get an assist when Duelists and Vanguards utilize our support. So, if you can’t kill an enemy or use our gravity pull, blind, and all the other stuff we offer, is it really our fault? I don’t think so. All this, and players still wonder why anyone wouldn’t want to play a Strategist.
I’m not going to end this rant by glorifying all Strategist mains in Marvel Rivals across the world. Many genuinely don’t know how to balance between healing, support, and damage. They’re either too focused on the battle, or just aren’t aware of how to use the hero they’re playing. I’m not just a Strategist main; I also play Vanguard, so I’ve experienced the pain of not having a good “healer” on our team.
Marvel Rivals is the most fun I’ve had playing a video game in recent times. But there’s no denying the persistent blame game and toxicity in ranked games affects everyone in a team. Instead of that, assemble like the Avengers and fight for the outcome, together.
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