Picking a Strategist in Marvel Rivals comes down to one practical question for most players. Which healers carry games without forcing you to master tricky combos, precise aim, or tight team coordination? For Season 8.5, the casual support pecking order favors heroes who heal reliably, survive dives, and stay useful even when your teammates are not communicating.
Quick answer: For casual play between Bronze and Platinum, run Rocket Raccoon, Cloak & Dagger, or Invisible Woman as your S-tier supports. They offer easy healing, strong survivability, and ultimates that win fights without demanding much practice.
Marvel Rivals casual Strategist tier list (Season 8.5)
These rankings target the average player, not new accounts and not high-rank specialists. A low tier does not mean a hero is bad. With enough practice you can dominate on any of them, but the heroes near the top reward you fastest with the least effort.
| Tier | Strategists |
|---|---|
| S | Rocket Raccoon, Cloak & Dagger, Invisible Woman |
| A | Adam Warlock, Ultron, Jeff the Land Shark |
| B | Luna Snow, Mantis, Gambit |
| C | Loki |
Season 8.5 builds on the Season 8.0 metagame, the latest balance adjustments, the reworked Team-Ups, and the arrival of the new hero Cyclops. Cyclops is a Duelist, so he does not factor into the support rankings here.
S tier supports: Rocket Raccoon, Cloak & Dagger, Invisible Woman
Rocket Raccoon finally earns the top spot for casual play this season. His healing output is solid, he needs almost no practice to perform, and his revive station gives your team a real safety net. There is little downside to him right now, and his Team-Up with Peni Parker pushes him even higher.
Cloak & Dagger is a premiere healer at every rank, and the auto-aim is what makes the pair so forgiving. You do not need precise aiming to stay effective, so you can hold position, keep heals flowing, and save the ultimate for when your team commits. Cloak’s side adds easy lock-on damage that helps you fend off divers, and the ultimate lays down a long healing path that lets your team force an objective.
Invisible Woman rounds out the top tier as a well-rounded, evasive healer. She has a strong ultimate, dependable healing, and a double jump plus vanish that lets her slip away under pressure and rejoin her team safely. She has to play a little closer to the fight than other supports, but her attacks hit allies and enemies at once, so you heal and deal damage at the same time. She also benefits from frequent Team-Up boosts, since three characters can pair with her for stronger heals.
A tier supports: Adam Warlock, Ultron, Jeff the Land Shark
Adam Warlock has improved steadily over multiple seasons and now sits as a reliable casual healer. His healing runs on a cooldown that you cannot really miss, his kit is straightforward, and his ultimate makes a big impact without much practice. He is a good stepping stone toward Mantis since both share the damage-and-healer hybrid style. If aiming is a struggle for you, he may feel closer to B tier in your hands.
Ultron offers a unique angle on the support role. You can passively heal while flying and playing more like a DPS, which suits teams that need extra damage but cannot afford to drop a healer. He is not the strongest healer, but his long damage range keeps him easy to use and effective.
Jeff the Land Shark is the best beginner healer in the game. He leans far more on constant healing than on damage, so you can sit in the backline and spray heals. His attacks heal allies and damage enemies at the same time, meaning you never have to swap focus. He is the textbook “heal bot”, which is exactly what works in a casual setting.
B tier supports: Luna Snow, Mantis, Gambit
Luna Snow dropping to B tier would startle a lot of veterans, but she has lost her edge over recent seasons. She has been power crept down, and there are stronger, easier options that do not demand the same precision. She is still capable, just no longer a default pick.
Mantis lands in a similar spot. She is a solid competitive healer who loses impact in casual lobbies. The lock-on and preset healing are simple, but she is a damage hybrid who needs critical hits to heal dependably. That requires more knowledge of spacing, team comps, and maps than most casual players want to invest.
Gambit is not always the top-tier pick people expect. He thrives on teamwork, which casual lobbies rarely provide. His ultimate heals and grants damage boosts that are perfect for coordinated team pushes, but casual play usually calls for reactive healing ultimates rather than proactive offensive ones.
C tier support: Loki
Loki is not a bad character, but he is a tough healer to use casually. By the time you figure out how to make him click, you have usually moved into competitive play anyway. If you already know him well, he can deliver in casual, though that is true of almost any hero. For new players or anyone who hops on for a few quick rounds, he is an easy skip.
The pattern this season is clear. Casual Strategist value rewards heroes who heal without precise aim, survive dives, and bring ultimates that react to trouble instead of setting up perfect team plays. Start with Rocket Raccoon, Cloak & Dagger, or Invisible Woman, lean on Jeff if you want the simplest possible heal bot, and save Loki, Mantis, and Gambit for when you are ready to put in the practice.
