Iron Man is a hero who is dominating lobbies of all ranks in Marvel Rivals. He has the potential to solo carry entire games if left unchecked. In this guide, we will go over several ways of countering Iron Man so he isn’t much of threat in your next match.
Understanding Iron Man
Iron Man is a two star difficulty flying duelist who is capable of dealing high amount of damage in close as well as long range. His skill set is straightforward, which is why it is so easy to get value out of him, and why he needs to be countered. He likes to play medium to close range in general, but can also harass enemies in long range. This is because his primary fire, the Repulsor Blast doesn’t have any damage fall off – he can eliminate squishy heroes with his three-shot primary combo even past 100M. It also does splash damage and has a decent radius to it, so he doesn’t necessarily need to aim at enemies’ head or bodies.
However, the reason he brings so much value is because of his alternate fire Unibeam, combined with his “Armor Overdrive” ability, that powers up his primary and alt fire massively. The ability also gives him unlimited ammo for its 10-second duration, so he can eliminate two to three squishies with ease.
Additionally, his ultimate ability “Invincible Pulse Cannon” is the highest damage nuke in the entire game. It out-damages even the most powerful heals in the game like Luna Snow’s “Fate of Both Worlds” or Invisible Woman’s “Invisible Boundary”. He also has a semi-escape ability called Hyper Velocity, which not only allows him to move at high speed, but also changes the axis of his head hitbox.
How To Counter Iron Man In Marvel Rivals
You must play behind cover and focus your damage on Iron Man to diminish his value. You don’t always necessarily need to eliminate him. As a squishy character himself, Iron Man cannot sustain too much damage. He will be forced to use his escape tools or play very safe, and therefore won’t bring much value to his team. An additional tip is to ban Bruce Banner, as their team-up ability “Gamma Overdrive” is one of the most powerful in the game. It enhances Iron Man’s damage even further, to the point where he can even take out Vanguards without much effort. Let us look at heroes that can punish Iron Man’s slow movement and wind up animations:
Hela
Hela is a hitscan character with high damage output. Even after the Season 1 update, she can eliminate squishies with just three critical hits. This stays true for any distance beyond her effective range of 20M, where she just needs two hits. Moreover, she has two tools that can completely negate Iron Man’s “Invincible Pulse Cannon”. The first is her ability “Astral Flock”, where she turns into a crow for 2.5 seconds and is invulnerable to any incoming damage. The second is her ultimate “Goddess of Death” which again gives her an invincibility frame, while she soars in the air. Even if Iron Man somehow manages to take down Hela’s 1000 HP in her Goddess form, she doesn’t instantly die – she still has a chance for a counterplay.
The Punisher
The Punisher is another character that can make short work of Iron Man. He also has hitscan attacks, meaning you don’t need to lead your shots; your bullets go where you aim your crosshair. This works perfectly against Iron Man, since he moves on z-axis as well. You don’t need to do complicated calculations to find where he will go next, simply keep your crosshair on him and fire to shut him down. His ultimate is also allows him to fire even more devastating hitscan shots, coupled with additional missiles.
Star Lord
Star Lord is also a hitscan character, and because of his mobility he can match Iron Man in sky very well. With smart management of his “Rocket Propulsion” ability’s fuel and cooldown of the “Stellar Shift” ability, he can stay in the air for quite a while. Combining “Rocket Propulsion” with the “Blaster Barrage” ability also keeps you in the air, but it is not recommended as it leaves you vulnerable to attacks. With his ultimate “Galactic Legend” it is almost a guaranteed elimination on Iron Man because he is mostly isolated from his team, and the time-to-kill of this ultimate is shorter than most people can react.
Winter Soldier
Although not a hitscan character, Iron Man finds it hard to go against Winter Soldier because of his abilities and hard-hitting attacks. His “Tainted Voltage” ability can knock down any flying characters if it hits, making it the perfect tool to bring Iron Man to ground level. His “Bionic Hook” ability can not only bring Iron Man to ground level, but into his own team for a quick elimination. Additionally, he can also dodge Iron Man’s ultimate with a well-timed use of his “Trooper Fist” ability, or he can use his ultimate “Kraken Impact” to dodge if the situation demands it.
Luna Snow
Luna Snow is yet another hitscan character, but this is not the main reason for her being a counter to Iron Man. She can definitely snipe Iron Man out of the sky, but that would require her to ignore her team and only focus on damaging instead of healing, which is not ideal. Instead she can use her “Absolute Zero” ability, which not only brings Iron Man down from the sky, but keeps him stunned for an extra few seconds for additional damage. She can also cast “Share The Stage” ability on any ally trying to contest with Iron Man, making sure they come out on top.
There are several other heroes like Hawkeye, Iron Fist, and Doctor Strange that counter Iron Man in some fashion as well. But the heroes mentioned above are the most consistent ones, and with them you are sure to make an Iron Man switch heroes if not defeat him entirely.
Since you are here, why not glance through what we feel are the best heroes to duo with Invisible Woman in Marvel Rivals?
