Marvel Rivals Slang Guide: Essential Terms Every Player Should Know

Jumping into Marvel Rivals for the first time? You’ll quickly notice that players use a lot of shorthand and gaming slang to communicate efficiently in the heat of battle. If you’re new to the game, this guide will help you understand the essential Marvel Rivals lingo so you can coordinate with your team like a pro.

Basic Terms Every Player Should Know

1. DPS (Damage Per Second)

Heroes that focus on dealing high damage rather than healing or tanking. DPS heroes typically have powerful abilities but lower survivability.

Examples: Spider-Man, Psylocke, Black Panther.

2. Tank

Tanks are high-health heroes built to absorb damage, protect teammates, and control fights with their crowd control abilities.

Examples: The Thing, Peni Parker, Hulk.

3. Support (Healer/Utility)

Support heroes either heal teammates, provide shields, or debuff enemies to change the outcome of fights.

Examples: Doctor Strange, Invisible Woman.

 

 

Combat & Strategy Lingo

4. CC (Crowd Control)

Abilities that stun, slow, knock back, or disable enemies, preventing them from fighting back effectively.

Examples:

• Doctor Strange’s Eye of Agamotto (pulls enemies in).
• Invisible Woman’s Force Fields (interrupts attacks).

5. Ult (Ultimate Ability)

Every hero has an Ultimate Ability, a game-changing move that charges over time and can turn the tide of battle.

Example: Hulk’s “HULK SMASH!” knocks enemies away with massive AOE damage.

6. Flanking

Attacking enemies from the sides or behind to surprise them and take down key targets.

Example:

• Black Panther flanks backline supports.
• Rocket Raccoon sneaks behind to drop traps.

7. Dive

“Diving” means rushing into enemy lines to eliminate a priority target, usually a healer or sniper.

Example: Spider-Man swings into the enemy backline to take out Doctor Strange.

8. Peel

Helping an ally who is being attacked by distracting or pushing away the enemy.

Example: If your Support is under attack, The Thing can use his rock punch to knock enemies back and protect them.

9. Poke

Using long-range attacks to chip away at enemy health before fully engaging.

Example:

• Storm’s lightning bolts can poke enemies from a distance.
• Iron Man’s repulsor blasts wear down enemy tanks.

10. Meta

Short for “Most Effective Tactics Available”, the meta refers to the strongest strategies, heroes, and playstyles in the current game version.

Example: “Right now, Invisible Woman is meta because of her strong shields and CC.”

11. One-Shot

When a hero gets eliminated instantly due to taking massive damage from a single attack or combo.

Example: “Dude, I just got one-shot by Hulk’s ultimate!”

12. Hitbox

The invisible area that determines if a character gets hit by attacks. Some heroes have small hitboxes (harder to hit) while others have big hitboxes (easier to hit).

Example: “Rocket Raccoon is so annoying—his hitbox is tiny!”

13. Cooldown (CD)

The waiting time before you can use an ability again after casting it.

Example: “I can’t heal yet, my ability is on cooldown for 5 more seconds.”

14. Snowballing

When a team gains an early advantage and keeps growing stronger until they dominate the match.

Example: “We got early kills and snowballed hard—easy win!”

15. Throwing

Making bad plays or mistakes that cause your team to lose despite having the advantage.

Example: “We had the game won, but our Tank kept charging in alone—he’s throwing!”

Final Thoughts

Now that you know the most common Marvel Rivals terms, you’ll be able to communicate better, understand strategies, and improve your gameplay. Whether you’re a Tank protecting teammates, a DPS dealing damage, or a Support keeping everyone alive, knowing the right lingo will help you climb the ranks faster!