Two new Heroes were recently added to the Marvel Rivals Closed Beta Test. The first was the lovable shark pup Jeff the Land Shark, a new Strategist whose main gimmick is his ability to swallow friend and foe alike to either heal or damage them. Meanwhile, the other new character is the fabled God of Thunder, Thor, who makes his debut as a powerful new Vanguard unit. Thor has a very unique playstyle, especially compared to other Tanks, with a special mechanic which supersedes the ability cooldowns seen on most other units.
However, because of this uniqueness, Thor can also be pretty hard to play. Despite being simple on the surface, Thor has a lot of small mechanics and features that you need to pay attention to, especially when he’s one of the weaker Vanguards in terms of HP or shields. As such, we’re here to break down everything you need to know about Thor.
Here’s how to play Thor in Marvel Rivals, including all of his abilities, his Team-Ups, strengths and weaknesses, and which Heroes he counters and gets countered by.
The God of Thunder
Marvel Rivals Thor Abilities and Moveset
Thor is Marvel Rivals’ seventh Vanguard unit. Vanguards are the Tanks of the game and all of them come packing high health to soak up enemy damage while also boasting a degree of protective measures such as shields. Your goal as a Vanguard is to be the tip of the spear for your team while also being their shield and Thor fills this requirement pretty well.
At 600 HP, he has the second lowest HP of all Vanguards (with Magneto’s 550 HP being the lowest). Additionally, whenever Thor uses an ability, he will generate a 100 HP shield for several seconds, and he can have up to 200 HP as shields at any one time.
Compared to the other Vanguards in Rivals, Thor is a lot more offensive-facing, with all of his abilities revolving around dealing damage or allowing him to get into the fight faster. Additionally, unlike Hulk or Peni, he provides very little to his allies in terms of utility: without a way to shield or protect them, the main way Thor will defend his team is by striking the enemy down before they can strike him.
Thor the Vanguard
Mjolnir Bash
Thor wouldn’t be complete without Mjolnir and his Normal Attack, Mjolnir Bash, is proof of that. By pressing the Normal Attack button, Thor will swing Mjolnir at any nearby opponents in a three-hit combo.
Like most melee characters in Marvel Rivals, these swings deal middling amounts of damage, with the primary upside being far faster you can get these blows out at close range. Speaking of which, Thor’s range is a big deal as Mjolnir requires you to be very close to your opponents to land even a single blow. Like Hulk, Thor is very melee-heavy and will suffer against ranged opponents.
Mjolnir Bash
Thorforce (Passive)
Perhaps the most important part of Thor’s entire kit is his passive effect, Thorforce. At any one time, Thor can have up to three stacks of Thorforce charged, which are denoted by three little Mjolnir symbols in the middle of the screen. These charges can then be spent to cast his various abilities, which all have really low cooldown timers to compensate.
Thorforce will regenerate slowly over time but, if you cast Mjolnir Bash after casting any of Thor’s abilities, you’ll instantly gain one point of Thorforce back. This allows you to have very high uptime on all of Thor’s low-cost abilities, so long as you remember to weave in those basic attacks.
Thorforce Charges
Storm Surge
Storm Surge is Thor’s gap-closer and main traversal tool. By holding the Storm Surge button, Thor will spin Mjolnir for several seconds. Upon release, Thor will fly forward in the direction you’re facing, dealing a small amount of damage to any opponents caught in his wake while also causing Knock Back.
This is a super important skill for Thor as it allows him to quickly get close to most opponents so that he can cast Mjolnir Bash. Additionally, as a one-cost ability with basically no cooldown, it has almost 100% uptime. This is both a boon and a curse as it means skilled Thor players will always have it as an option whereas less skilled ones may be tempted to spam it, leaving them wide open if they happen to run out of Thorforce.
Additionally, there are a few odd intricacies to Storm Surge. Firstly, if you hold down Storm Surge but don’t release the button before the bar to the right of Thor fills, it will cancel the attack. Secondly, Storm Surge can only hit one opponent: if you try and get a cheeky two-for-one combo on enemies standing next to one another, Storm Surge will only damage and push back a single target. This also often leads to dealing less Knock Back as you get caught on the second opponent.
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- Storm Surge Charge
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- Storm Surge Release
Lightning Realm
Lightning Realm is an odd ability and one most players may neglect as they’re playing. This ability summons lightning to Thor’s current position, creating a field around him which persists for several seconds. Depending on how many enemies are near Thor when he casts the ability, he’ll immediately restore some Thorforce charges (for example, if there are two opponents within range, he’ll get back two Thorforce).
This is Thor’s only ability which doesn’t cost Thorforce to cast, meaning that you’ll need to play around its 15-second cooldown timer. It is a very effective way of getting out of a tricky situation, though, especially if you’ve not been paying attention to your charges. Casting Lightning Realm while surrounded could allow you to make a quick getaway with Storm Surge or even immediately trigger Awakening Rune, Thor’s strongest regular ability.
Lightning Realm
Awakening Rune
Speaking of the devil, Thor’s next ability is Awakening Rune. This ability consumes all three of his Thorforce charges to force Thor into the Awakened state. While Awakened, Thor will gain a 200 HP shield and his Mjolnir Bash Normal Attack will change to a range lightning strike attack which deals higher damage than normal. The Awakened state lasts for 4 seconds.
Awakening Rune is Thor’s ace ability and the thing you’ll build towards in every battle. Not only is it a substantial increase in damage output, it eliminates Thor’s main downside – his short range – while also serving as a source of instant shields.
Of course, at three Thorforce charges, it will be hard to consistently cast this skill. On one hand, players may hyper-focus on getting it out, meaning that they neglect their low-cost skills. Meanwhile, on the other hand, players who don’t know how to balance their Normal Attacks and low-cost abilities may find that they never have enough Thorforce to cast Awakening Rune. If you want to use this ability consistently, you’ll need to learn patience.
Awakening Rune
Hammer Throw
Thor’s last core ability is Hammer Throw, a relatively simple attack compared to his other offerings. For one Thorforce charge, Thor will fling Mjolnir in a chosen direction. A moment later, Mjolnir will then return to Thor.
While Hammer Throw’s damage isn’t spectacular, its main utility comes in the form of punishing fleeing opponents. If you’re going against a speedier target, like Spider-Man or Magick, and you get them weak, they’ll often try to retreat. Well, with Hammer Throw, you can quickly sling Mjolnir away at their fleeing form to deal enough damage to score the KO. In ordinary fights, though, Storm Surge is often the better pick when it comes to Thor’s low-cost abilities.
Hammer Throw
God of Thunder
Lastly, let’s go over Thor’s Ultimate, God of Thunder. With enough energy, Thor will leap into the sky and begin charging for a short duration. During this time, a lightning AoE will appear beneath him, dealing damage to any opponents caught with it. Once Thor has finished charging, he will descend in a crash of thunder and lightning, inflicting heavy damage on any enemy still caught in the AoE.
The main thing to remember about this Ultimate is that you won’t be as mobile as you might expect. It isn’t like Venom’s Frenzied Arrival, which lets him pick a point on the map to charge towards. Instead, more often than not, your big final attack will often land only a few meters away from where you cast it. If you can play around that, this is a great attack as you can quickly take out or soften up large groups of opponents in one fell swing. Just don’t expect to cross massive distances with it.
Ultimate: God of Thunder
Thor Team-Up Attacks
Ragnarok Rebirth (Hela + Thor and Loki)
The first Team-Up effect Thor can benefit from is Odinson Reborn, which is part of Ragnarok Rebirth and triggers whenever he or Loki are on the same team as Hela. If Thor or Loki die in Hela’s presence, she can instantly resurrect them by landing a final blow on an enemy. If either party is still alive, though, Hela’s final blow will, instead, grant them bonus health.
Because Hela is already one of the best Duelists in the entire game, this Team-Up effect is actually really potent, especially if you run all three on one team. Being able to quickly get your Tank or Support back onto the field is vital to winning matches.
Ragnarok Rebirth
Voltaic Union (Thor + Storm)
Thor’s second Team-Up ability is Thunderous Deity, which is part of the Voltaic Union Team-Up with Storm. In this Team-Up, Thor functions as the anchor, granting Storm access to an additional ability, Electrifying Enchantment. When cast, this attack will strike a target and then chain between any other nearby opponents.
Compared to some of Marvel Rivals’ other Team-Ups, Voltaic Union is, unfortunately, rather weak. Not only is Storm the only one able to use the attack, but it isn’t particularly strong in 1-on-1 engagements and it has a pretty long cooldown of 15 seconds. While it certainly has its uses, especially in more closed-off-maps or those with zones which attract a lot of enemy attention, it isn’t a must-have Team-Up.
Voltaic Union
How to Play Thor in Marvel Rivals
Your main combo with Thor is always going to start with Storm Surge, his gap closer. Not only does Storm Surge help him get close to the opponent – which side-steps his poor melee range – but it also empowers his Mjolnir Bash strikes, making them refund the Thorforce charge you just spent to get there.
Speaking of Thorforce, whenever you’re playing Thor your main goal is to always reach three Thorforce charges so that you can unleash Awakening Rune at the right time. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should just ignore his one-cost moves like Hammer Throw or Storm Surge. Instead, you need to be ready to weave in several Mjolnir Bash attacks after each main ability as that will refund the cost of the skill you just used.
Striking a good balance between abilities and ordinary attacks is vital to Thor, especially when it comes to keeping him alive. Unlike other Vanguard units, Thor doesn’t have an easy-to-use shield or heal which he can pop in a panic like Venom or Hulk as you need three full Thorforce charges to trigger Awakening Rune. As such, if you don’t have high uptime on your abilities and you spam his lower-cost abilities willy-nilly without weaving in a few Mjolnir Bash attacks to refund those charges, you’ll never have enough to cast Awakening Rune and often be left unable to escape or shield in vital moments.
So, in short, Thor’s playstyle is built around getting in close and building up to that big Awakening Rune ability. You’ll want to use your low-cost ability Storm Surge get in close or chase a fleeing opponent, before delivering an empowered Mjolnir Bash to refund the Thorforce charge you used. Then, wail on your opponent until you get three charges and pop Awakening Rune, which should allow you to deal high damage and stay alive for the five or so seconds it’s active. After that, rinse and repeat the cycle while popping Thunder Realm when surrounded to instantly regen Thorforce charges or Hammer Throw to finish off low-health opponents from range.
Thor Enters the Realm
Best Thor Match-Ups and Counters
In the Vanguard department, Thor absolutely dominates Doctor Strange as his Mjolnir Bash attacks can go through Strange’s Shield of the Seraphim, which is his main way of blocking damage. For that same reason, Thor might be an excellent match-up against Magneto, one of the stronger Vanguards as of the Closed Beta Test.
As for Tanks Thor struggles against, Groot’s ability to block off exits and trap opponents can prove tricky for Thor, especially if Groot stops him from getting close to him or his allies. Similarly, Peni can punish Thor’s close-range requirement with her Spider-Nest, forcing him to take damage if he wishes to engage with her, while also binding him with her Cyber-Web Snare. In general, any opponent who can restrain Thor or stop him from getting in close is going to be a tricky foe, especially with his relatively low health pool compared to other Tanks.
Thor Vanguard Match-Ups
Meanwhile, when it comes to Duelists, Thor is good against most other melee units. Mjolnir Bash will, generally, deal more damage than a Spidey punch or a Magick swing, allowing him to quickly and efficiently chunk down these squishier targets. And, as we mentioned earlier, Storm Surge and Hammer Throw are great chasing tools for low-heath targets. It doesn’t matter how fast they are if Thor can get within range.
On the opposite side, any ranged Duelist such as Punisher or Iron Man will likely be a tough opponent for Thor to fight. The Punisher’s barrage of weapons can soften up Thor as he approaches, with his close-range shotgun able to take the Vanguard down in only a few blows. As for Iron Man, his ability to stick to the skies while peppering the God of Thunder with damage is a real hassle, especially when Thor’s only rebuttal is to either use Hammer Throw (his weakest ability) or get up close with Strom Surge. If you want to take out an enemy Thor, just stick to the ranged Heroes and you’ll be good.
Thor Duelist Match-Ups
Lastly, when it comes to Strategists, Thor pairs excellently with Mantis. Combining her healing over time with his shield generation is enough to keep Thor alive in most scenarios, even if you aren’t always balancing your abilities perfectly. Add on her ability to sleep enemies for an easy gap-closer or the damage buff she provides with Inspire and you have an excellent running mate. In the same vein, Rocket can keep up with Thor’s Storm Surge dashes with his Jetpack and provide a potent damage buff at buff range with his Ultimate.
If you’d like to play a Support who can get out of Thor’s way, though, Luna Snow and Jeff the Land Shark are your best bets. Both have relatively good mobility options, what with Luna’s ice skating and Jeff’s ability to duck underwater to negate all damage, which they can use to escape from an oncoming Thor quickly. Additionally, Luna can freeze Thor solid, leaving him open to a barrage of attacks from her allies. Fast, mobile Strategists who can get away from Thor or slow him down are his worst nightmare.
Thor Strategist Match-Ups
That was how to play Thor in Marvel Rivals. Do note that this is just the Closed Beta Test and that some things about Thor may change before the official release.
