Captain America is a Vanguard hero in Marvel Rivals, a man with resilience, team leadership, and powerful defense. Like the Marvel Universe version, Captain America is a worthy character to lead your team with his balance of offense and defense.
His iconic shield allows him to knock opponents, block their projectiles, and even throw them to damage enemies far away.
Captain America’s abilities make him an all-rounder hero who can be offensive and defensive depending on the situation. Players who want to lead their team will find Captain America a rewarding hero.
Learn more about his abilities, play strategies, team composition, and counters in this guide.
Captain America’s Abilities in Marvel Rivals
In Marvel Rivals, Captain America is a versatile hero who can adapt to aggressive and safe playstyle. To unlock his true potential, you must understand his strengths and weaknesses beforehand. Here’s a breakdown of his abilities:
- Sentinel Strike: This is Captain America’s basic melee attack, and it performs a two-hit combo that damages close-range enemies. When he successfully lands the second hit, he throws his shield that ricochets between up to four enemies.
- Freedom Charge: With his shield held high, Captain America charges forward and creates a path for his allies. This grants health and speed bonuses to himself and his companions. While it is active, you can use Living Legend and Leading Dash to launch enemies in the air.
- Leading Dash: This ability increases Captain America's movement speed and activates Fearless Leap, Which allows him to jump into the air.
- Vibranium Energy Saw: Captain America throws his shield forward and strikes enemies in a path. The shield can ricochet from the target and damage multiple foes.
- Liberty Dash: Captain America holds up his shield and charges into enemies to deal significant damage.
- Super-Soldier Slam: Captain America flies up, slams down, and then launches enemies into the air.
- Living Legend: Captain America holds up his shield to block and reflect any projectile that comes in its way. The projectiles are deflected randomly, meaning they are bounced back in any direction and cause damage to enemies.
- Charged Aegis: When Captain America is paired with Thor and Storm, he gains an electrifying buff. This boosts his movement speed and adds a lightning effect to his shield, which electrocutes nearby enemies.
How to Play Captain America in Marvel Rivals
As mentioned above, Captain America shines in both defensive and aggressive playstyle. As a Vanguard hero, you can use him to protect the team, create openings, or disrupt enemy formations.
Begin with either Liberty Dash or Leading Dash to move quickly and gain an early advantage. If there is any incoming projectile attack from the enemy, use Living Legend to block and reflect it.
When enemies cluster together, unleash the Vibranium Energy Saw to disrupt their formation effectively. To penetrate enemy defenses, use Super-Soldier Slam to launch them into the air, scattering their positioning. Follow this up with Sentinel Strike for devastating melee damage and to trigger your shield throw, dealing further damage and maintaining the offensive momentum.
Keep Living Legend saved for critical moments or defuse enemy attacks. When your team is ready for a push, activate Freedom Charge. It will grant your allies health and speed bonuses.
Remember to pay attention to where you are charging. Going too deep without support can make you and your team vulnerable.
Team Pairing with Captain America
Captain America excels with those heroes who can complement his play style. For example, Luna Snow and Cloak & Dagger are excellent choices as they are great healers. Luna Snow also boosts her nearby allies, including Captain America, to increase his damage effect. On the other hand, Cloak & Dagger provides passive healing and impressive AoE damage.
The Punisher is a strong ally for Duelists due to his ranged attacks that help balance out Captain America’s close-quarters combat.
With his offense, Captain America can get close to an enemy, and when they are weakened, The Punisher can finish them off from a distance. Lastly, Thor and Storm unlock the passive ability Charged Aegis, giving Captain America speed boosts and providing a lightning boost.
How to Counter Captain America
To fight Captain America, you must use his dependence on melee combat against him. Doctor Strange is one of his primary counters, as he has the Eye of Agamotto ability. This ability allows him to separate the soul from the body, bypassing Captain America’s shield.
Additionally, high mobility, ranged heroes such as Storm, Iron Man, and Scarlet Witch are a good counter to him. They can take away his health while avoiding melee attacks and keeping their distance.
When he is using Living Legend, don't use explosive attacks, as they can be deflected. To reduce Captain America’s effectiveness, maintain a safe distance, and avoid grouped formations.