One of the Vanguard characters inMarvel Rivalsis Doctor Strange, the master of the mystic arts whose magical abilities can be potent on the battlefield. The Sorcerer Supreme comes equipped with a variety of abilities designed to support teammates and defeat opponents. With a focus on unorthodox mobility and defensive skills, Doctor Strange can harness the magic of Kamar-Taj to lead his team to victory.
Unlike Duelists and Specialist characters, who act like DPS andSupport heroes fromOverwatch 2respectfully, Doctor Strange fulfills the Vanguard role. Vanguards act like Tanks, having far higher health than other characters for greater survivability. While they don’t focus on damage or healing,Vanguards are great at protecting alliesor giving themselves the tools to stay in fights longer.
All Doctor Strange Abilities
Gather Dark Magic And Manipulate The Battlefield
Doctor Strange has a variety of abilities thatallow him to fly, create magical shields, and even teleport charactersacross a map. Out of all the Vanguard characters like Magneto orThor inMarvel Rivals, Doctor Strange is perhaps one of the most versatile. However, due to a hidden passive ability, Doctor Strange players need to be aware of their actions far more than some other heroes and villains in the game.
Who’s your favorite character in Marvel Rivals?
Marvel Rivals has officially launched on PC and consoles. Featuring 6v6 battles with over 33 different playable heroes and villains, there are so many characters to choose from. That being said, some of my favorite heroes so far have been Moon Knight, Wolverine, and Scarlet Witch. Each one features incredibly unique gameplay, and I’ve really been vibing with all three of them so far.
Here are all the abilities of Doctor Strange inMarvel Rivals, including how long they take to recover:
Primary Attack
6 Daggers (Reload)
Cast a series of mystical dagger projectiles forward that deal multiple hits to enemies ahead of you.
Basic Ability
9 seconds
Ascend and then enter a brief state of sustained flight for up to seven seconds.
8 seconds
Release Dark Magic to deal damage to nearby enemies in an AoE burst around yourself.
174 seconds
Open portals between two locations anywhere on a map, enabling all units (both friendly and hostile) to travel through them.
Shield of the Seraphim
Varies
Create a protective barrier against damage. This shield has a set amount of health, with its cooldown taking longer to recover if it is destroyed.
Passive
N/A
Dark Magic accumulates with every hit on an enemy. If Dark Magic is not released, Doctor Strange will enter a state of Anti-Heal.
Ultimate
Separate nearby enemies' Souls from their bodies. Damage dealt to these Souls is transferred to their physical bodies.
ThePrice of Magicis an ability you may not notice at first when playing Doctor Strange, as it is shown by a small visual as you throw Daggers of Denak. This meter goes from 0 to 100, with Doctor Strange reaching a state of Dark Magic corruption when it is filled.Those who build up too much Dark Magic cannot be healed by allies, making it much harder for them to survive intense fights.
Doctor Strange’s most game-changing ability, Pentagram of Farallah, has the largest cooldown of anycharacter seen inMarvel Rivals. As a result, you may only get the chance to use it once or twice per spawn during a match.
You can release Dark Magic and reset the meter using Maelstrom of Madness, which has a fairly small cooldown. Even if you don’t hit anyone with this move, it can be good to use just to reset your Dark Magic at different times.
How To Use Doctor Strange’s Ultimate
Target The Souls Of Enemies Hit
The Eye of Agamotto Ultimate of Doctor Strangeis best used to target one or two strong opponents on the enemy teamto take them down fast. This Ultimate stuns any target it hits, causing a character’s Astral spirit to be detached from their physical body for a couple of seconds. Doctor Strange and his allies can target these spirits to damage the physical bodies of targets and score easy eliminations.
Always try to get two to three characters in Doctor Strange’s Ultimate ability if you can. More characters will make it hard to target which person to eliminate, and any less will keep too many characters alive to support the one you stunned.
This Ultimate is very similar to Hawkeye’s, where the archer can target the after-images of enemies. However, Doctor Strange’s Ultimate is better used totarget the enemy Vanguard giving your team the most trouble. Unlike Hawkeye’s ability, Eye of Agamotto prevents enemies from retaliating since they can’t move, allowing you to shred through enemy health bars if everyone targets the same character.
Best Team Composition For Doctor Strange
Find The Best Allies To Support The Sorcerer
Like other characters, Doctor Strangehas a Team-Up ability that makes certain characters good to have on your team. These Team-Up skills are special abilities added to some characters based on a team’s synergy, giving you access to more techniques.
Doctor Strange has the"Gamma Charge"Team-Up ability with the Hulk, giving both Vanguards a reason to be on the same team. Hulk can imbue Doctor Strange with gamma radiation, empowering the Sorcerer Supreme’s Maelstrom of Madness ability. When you use Maelstrom of Madness with a gamma charge, it has a wider AoE radius and does more damage to enemies it hits.
Maelstrom of Madness does even more damage when you have a higher Dark Magic build-up. A good strategy for playing Doctor Strange with Hulk is to have Hulk imbue you with gamma radiation when your Dark Magic is high to maximize the Maelstrom’s damage potential.
Some other characters that pair well with Doctor Strange on a team include:
Iron Man inMarvel Rivalsalso gains the Gamma Charge passive bonus from Hulk if you have the character on your team. With Hulk imbuing additional power to both Iron Man and Doctor Strange, your team can dish out a lot more damage to your enemies.
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Wolverine also gains a unique Team-Up ability with Hulk, so having multiple synergies with characters will give your team many options. Spider-Man and Jeff the Land Shark also have abilities to stun and reposition enemies, which can work in combination with Doctor Strange’s Ultimate easily. Venom works as another Vanguard that fills in Doctor Strange’s weaknesses with greater mobility, but many other Vanguards are great additions alongside the Sorcerer.
Best Tips, Tricks, & Strategies For Winning
Defend Your Team And Find The Right Positions
Doctor Strange’s best strategy is touse your shield to defend your teamandhelp allies find their best positions on the battlefield. Unlike other characters, Doctor Strange cannot heal or provide armor to his teammates during a match. Instead, he has multiple ways to direct heroes and villains on his side to different areas, either by protecting them directly or opening portals.
Pentagram of Farallah is one of Doctor Strange’s best and worst abilities, depending on where you place both of its portals. Keep in mind that enemies and allies can move and shoot through the spaces you create, so their position must be considered carefully. For example, a portal that allows you to reach a contested point can be good, but not if it allows an enemy team to hunt you down from your spawn location.
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Flightfeatures inMarvel Rivalsare prevalent with Doctor Strange, who has limited aerial mobility.You can use your shield while flying, giving you options to move and defend simultaneously. Doctor Strange is no slouch when it comes to damage either, so find ways to balance your offense and defense depending on different situations.
Stay with your team whenever you canto maximize your support for their efforts. While you won’t be able to keep up with Spider-Man or Moon Knight’s mobility, you can protect Strategists trying to heal your team more often than not. The abilities of Doctor Strange inMarvel Rivalsare only as good as how they interact with allies as fights get more and more chaotic.
