One of the most iconic superheroes ever, Doctor Strange is famously known for being part of the Avengers, both in the comics and in the world renowned movie series by MCU. Marvel Rivals has done an incredible job of implementing his powers into the game and making him useful as a character as well. His kit is mostly very easy to learn but there are some nuances that can take a skilled player to master.
That’s what we’ll be discussing in this article, as we go through all his abilities one by one and look at how to use them on the battlefield.
Doctor Strange is a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals, meaning he’s going to be the one taking the lead and controlling the momentum of the fight for his team. He has basic tank abilities like a shield and ranged damage but also has skills that only the Sorcerer Supreme can do.
Doctor Strange Abilities: Daggers of Denak
Strange’s main way of dealing damage is through his Daggers of Denak. They’re magical shards that travel in a straight line and you can use them for medium-close range fights. They have a maximum range of 30 meters so it’s best to keep that in mind.
We recommend using the daggers like shotguns, as they do pretty good damage when you’re up close and personal. The daggers are best used for dealing poke damage. You’ll also have much higher chances of hitting your targets thanks to their spiraling shape.
But if you do continuous damage for a period of time, you’ll start accumulating Dark Magic. This can be both a boon or a curse for Doctor Strange if you don’t know how to manage it properly, which we will see a bit later in this article.
Cloak of Levitation
His Cloak of Levitation allows Strange to momentarily fly up in the air and gain vertical movement as well. You can stay airborne for up to 6 seconds and it can be very useful for getting the high ground on enemies. Strange can get very cheeky angles thanks to this ability and a good tank player will always use this to their advantage whenever possible.
Shield of The Seraphim
Shield of The Seraphim will be your main way to ward off any damage and give your teammates space. The shield covers an extremely large area and possibly one of the biggest in the game, if not the biggest.
Not to mention, it has a whopping health of 800 so you can comfortably use this for a long period of time as you get to a safe area and recharge its health by not using it.
This shield can also block several ultimates and save your team from getting one hit, a very notable example being Scarlet Witch’s ultimate or Hela’s Ravens.
Maelstrom of Madness
Doctor Strange’s passive ability includes a build up of dark magic when you deal continuous damage to the enemies. Once this Dark Magic reaches its maximum level, Doctor Strange will be cursed with Anti-Heal.
However, you can also dispel all of this curse with one of his abilities, called the Maelstrom of Madness, and it’s probably one of his most useful abilities. Pressing this ability once your dark magic is at a high enough level will cause an explosion, dealing AOE damage with strength depending on how much dark magic was accumulated.
This move is especially useful for finishing off enemies that are very little on health.
Pentagram of Farallah
The Pentagram of Farallah is possibly one of the coolest abilities ever seen in a hero shooter video game. While the concept of portals was first seen in the Portal games, the implementation of it in an online shooter game is definitely something we haven’t seen before.
Freely place two ends of a portal to create a means of transport for your teammates. Or, if you’re the sneaky type, you can place a portal at the edge of the map and bait the enemies into taking it by activating it at the right time. Easy way to get several kills!
Eye of Agamotto
Strange’s ultimate ability seems pretty straightforward, but it does a lot more than the eye can see (pun intended). First off, Strange uses his Eye of Agamotto and the power of the Time Stone to stun everyone within a large radius. When stunned, enemies that are affected will have apparitions appearing out of their bodies which take a lot more damage when hit.
This ult is a perfect opportunity for players with AOE abilities to deal massive damage while the Eye of Agamotto is active. Strange himself can use the Maelstrom of Madness to deal a good deal of damage and finish off multiple enemies with one press of the ability.
This ultimate definitely requires a lot of practice to use effectively, especially the timing aspect of it. Using this right before your team is about to capture a point can be just what’s needed to turn the tide and win the game. It’s also very useful when you know most of the enemies are low or if the enemy team has their healers dead.
With all that being said, Doctor Strange is actually a relatively easy hero to learn in Marvel Rivals. His playstyle is mostly passive as he uses his shield to engage and get closer to the enemy while dealing poke damage with his magical daggers.
His nuance comes from his potential to outplay the enemies with his portal strats or extremely well timed ultimates. With a bit of practice and experimenting, Doctor Strange can provide a lot of benefits to his team even if you don’t use him to his full potential. And once you do master the Sorcerer Supreme, you’ll undoubtedly be dominating lobbies using his transcendental abilities that manipulate space itself.
