One of the Vanguard characters in Marvel Rivals is 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 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 and heroes from Overwatch 2 respectfully, 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 allies or 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 that allow him to fly, create magical shields, and even teleport characters across a map. Out of all the Vanguard characters like Magneto or Thor in Marvel Rivals, Doctor Strange is perhaps one of the most versatile. However, due to a hidden ive ability, Doctor Strange players need to be aware of their actions far more than some other heroes and villains in the game.

Here are all the abilities of Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals, including how long they take to recover:

The Price of Magic is 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 any character seen in Marvel 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 Strange is best used to target one or two strong opponents on the enemy team to 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 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 to target 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 The Sorcerer

Like other characters, Doctor Strange has 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
• Spider-Man
• Wolverine
• Jeff the Land Shark
• Venom

Iron Man in Marvel Rivals also gains the Gamma Charge ive 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.

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 to use your shield to defend your team and help 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.

Flight features in Marvel Rivals are 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 can to maximize your 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 in Marvel Rivals are only as good as how they interact with allies as fights get more and more chaotic.