Marvel RivalsMarvel Rivals The Thing Character Guide

It's Clobberin' Time! Ben Grimm charges into Marvel Rivals with his rock hard body. As the only hero immune to displacement effects, The Thing is literally an unstoppable force.

His play style is a hybrid of Vanguard roles. Charging and slamming into the enemy team creates a great deal of disruption as they all go flying into the air. Duelists and Strategists are helpless when the giant rock man gets in their face.

Mastering his gameplay loop of leaping, applying damage reduction, charging, and leaping away is crucial to finding success for your team.

The Thing must constantly adapt because he is not a true frontline or dive Vanguard. Instead, he can do both and wants at least one ally to be playing in the same space as him to maximize his Leap's impact. He's also one of the best anti-dive Vanguards when the situation calls for a counter.

TLDR

How to Play As The Thing

• Always dive with an ally so you can use Embattled Leap and gain damage reduction.
• Initiate with SHIFT to knock up the enemies and combo into your ult to stack CC abilities.
• Avoid frontline battles and go after the enemy backline. Use SHIFT to prevent them from escaping your attack.

How to Play Against The Thing

• Evade before he slams. As soon as you see him running in your direction, use your escape tool so he can’t slam you.
• Use heroes who can stay out of his range like The Human Torch, Hela, and Rocket.
• Stun him and run away. After he uses his charge, The Thing has no way to stop or dodge stuns.

Strengths

Counters Wolverine

The best anti-Vanguard ability in Marvel Rivals is undoubtedly Wolverine's Feral Leap. Ben Grimm is the only Vanguard who doesn't have to worry about counterplay as Wolverine falls to the ground instead of snatching The Thing. Yancy slam also shuts down Wolverine's escape, and The Thing can't even be ulted by Wolverine.

If Logan tries to get smart and target your team's other Vanguard, Leap to them and apply the damage reduction necessary for them to survive his Berserk claws.

Good into grouped up enemies

Charge, Haymaker, and Clobberin’ all have large AoE damage. The Thing deals a ton of damage when enemies are positioned closely together. His slam also prevents escapes and enables him to continue his AoE onslaught.

Crowd control immunity

Not only does Undying Will Passive give him permanent immunity to displacement abilities, but his Charge also makes him immune to stuns! Nothing other than an enemy The Thing standing in his way can stop him from charging into the enemy's backlines.

Weaknesses

No vertical mobility

Against enemies who can fly or easily get to high ground, The Thing is pretty useless. He has good mobility on the ground, but his short-range kit offers no counter play against enemies out of his reach.

Needs an ally for damage reduction

Unlike most heroes, The Thing can’t activate his damage mitigating ability on his own without a nearby ally. If he’s cut off by a Groot Wall or goes in without a teammate, he’s an easy KO.

Not enough sustain to frontline

Having no barrier and limited range makes it difficult for The Thing to be a strong frontline presence. He can help fortify himself and a fellow Vanguard with repeated uses of Embattled Leap, but that doesn’t pressure the enemy. If he’s not careful, he’ll just be feeding while standing in the open.

Primary Fire: Rocky Jab

Tips for Rocky Jab

Penetrates shields

• Rocky Jab damages through enemy's shields like Invisible Woman and Doctor Strange. When you see an enemy trying to hide behind a shield, keep the pressure on them with your primary fire.

Constantly press into the enemy team

• Because you can’t be knocked back, you should always be holding forward to stay within range of your primary fire. 

Avoid enemies with stuns available

• Target enemies without stuns as they have less counterplay against you.

Secondary Fire: Stone Haymaker

Tips for Stone Haymaker

250HP combo

• Haymaker → primary fire → charge → slam → Haymaker
• • Each ability cancels into the next. Make sure to immediately slam after activating the charge.

Pierces enemies

• Haymaker penetrates all targets within its range. Try to line up targets to maximize your damage output.

No cooldown

• Into lined-up enemies, you should spam Haymaker over and over.
• When you're outside of primary fire range, use secondary fire to keep dealing damage and building ult charge.

Counter Flyers

• The Thing is now the only Vanguard other than Hulk to have a direct interaction with fliers. When the enemy has any of the many flyers, Charge to get into range, Leap, and immediately Haymaker so he's already punching upon arrival.
• Spamming Haymaker will keep most flyers on the ground because they won't have time between to get away.

[E]: Embattled Leap

Tips for Embattled Leap

Damage reduction begins when you land

• You don’t need to leap all the way to your ally, you just need to be within the activation range. Even if you don’t make it to your ally, you'll both still get the damage reduction from the floating rocks.

Cycle the two charges

• Using one charge as you engage the enemy, but saving your second charge for when your life is truly in danger is the best strategy.
• If you quickly use both charges one after another, you leave yourself vulnerable to enemy aggression with no way to survive other than charging away.

Enable allies

• When you have an ally making an aggressive play, whether that is a dive, flank, or ultimate, give them damage reduction with Embattled Leap.
• Offensive ultimates based on a duration like Star-Lord, The Punisher, or Magik, benefit the most from stacking The Thing's damage mitigation on their ult.

[F]: Battle Blitz

Alternate with Yancy Charge

• Now that he has two movement abilities to approach enemies, try not to stack their cooldowns. Instead, use one, wait, then use the other.
• Expect your target to run away from you. When they do, use the second ability to re-engage for the kill.

Haymaker mid-Leap

• The long windup of Haymaker means you should always activate the punch before arriving at the enemy's location. You'll deal damage sooner and generate Bonus Health. Then you can execute your standard Haymaker melee combos.

Shares Cooldown with Embattled Leap

• The two different keybindings if for QoL to give you more precise control over leaping to an enemy or ally. Cooldown and use-wise, the game treated the two abilities as one.

[SHIFT]: Yancy Street Charge

Tips for SHIFT: Yancy Street Charge

AoE mobility lockout

• The best use of the slam is to disable enemies from using movement and escape abilities. You have a guaranteed window of time to continue your attack on anyone in the slam radius before they can escape.

Initiate with disruption

• The Thing is great at initiating attacks. The mobility of his Leap and Charge combined with high HP allows him to go in first and survive the enemy's attention. Booping every enemy you run through into the air also opens up the enemy to your team's attacks.

Combo with teammates' ultimates

• Enable your teammates by using your slam before or during their ultimate. Hitting enemies with the slam prevents them from being able to use mobility to escape your allies' ult and will help them secure KOs.

Strafe to evade

• When charging into the enemy team, use left and right to evade damage.
• • You don't want to arrive at your destination with half of your health already gone.

Ultimate: Clobberin’ Time

Tips for Clobberin’ Time

Combo with Yancy Street Charge

• Immediately after knocking enemies up with your slam, knock them up again with Clobberin' Time! The Thing will inflict a large burst of damage and the CC lets your team follow up with their abilities as well.

Line them up

• If you are facing the enemy's frontline, make sure to line up your ultimate path with their backline to maximize how many enemies you hit.

Go for the Strategist

• It doesn't matter who you stun if their Stratagist can heal them through your follow up damage. Whenever possible, try to hit the enemy healers with the stun.

Passive: Unyielding Will

Tips for Unyielding Will

You can't be displaced, so play like it

• Abuse the fact that you can't get knocked back and position aggressively. On map areas where environmental KOs are a risk, The Thing can attack without fear.
• Dive the enemy's Strategists and they'll be forced to run away or stun you. Invisible Woman can't push you away, and your charge can get you into primary fire range. The Thing uses his passive to enable his aggressive playstyle.

Team-Up: Cosmic Fastball

Tips for Cosmic Fastball

Target Vanguards

• The throw can be buggy and difficult to aim. Vanguards are the easiest targets to hit and are who Wolverine wants to be attacking.

Charge in to Follow Wolverine

• Chuck Wolverine at your chosen target, then immediately use either your Leap or Charge to follow him. Combining your damage reduction, CC, and Wolverine's damage together makes the two of you one scary duo.

Team-Up: Cooperative Comrades

Tips for Cooperative Comrades

Activate after taking a bit of damage

• The Bonus Health, healing over time, and damage conversion all work best when The Thing is already taking damage. When you have the Team-Up available, you can stay in the enemy's back line longer, and go for deep attacks before having to disengage.

Team Comp Synergies

The ideal comp built around The Thing enables his aggro playstyle. The Thing cannot afford to sit still or stand at choke points. He wants to get in the enemy's face and knock them around. Pairing with other heroes who want to do the same increases their effectiveness.

Melee Duelists are especially good pairing with The Thing as he benefits from their movement by leaping to them and generating rock shields to make himself and them more tanky.

He has very little counterplay against fliers and enemies have a lot of vertical mobility so having allies who can deal with these types makes his job much easier.

Team Comp Example

• Vanguards: The Thing, Magneto
• Duelists: Magik, Hela
• Strategists: Loki, Invisible Woman

Hero Synergies

Vanguards: Magneto

The Thing isn't going to be offering protection to his team. Instead, he brings a deadly offensive presence and enemy disruption to his team. Magneto’s kit and playstyle perfectly synergizes with Ben.

Functioning as his team's anchor to hold down objectives and choke points, Magneto fulfills all the Vanguard functions The Thing struggles with. Metal Bulwark ally bubble also protects Ben from stuns which are his only weakness when attacking enemy backlines.

When Magneto flies up with his ultimate, Ben goes in with slams and knock-ups which gives Magneto easy targets to hit as they land back on the ground.

Duelists: Magik

Applying damage reduction to Magik makes her feel like an unkillable demon haunting the enemy team. She's already the best melee flanker on her own and has combos that quickly eliminate Strategists and Duelists.

The combination of Bonus Health generation and damage reduction gives your Magik insane uptime because she can stay in fights for a very long time.

Additionally, when you see Magik dash or portal you can leap to her and create focus fire on a single target. Their attacks together are extremely difficult to survive against. Be sure to coordinate with Magik and have at least one Leap ready to apply to her when she transforms into Dark Child.

Strategists: Rocket Raccoon

On his own, The Thing deals pretty solid damage. If he gets damage boosted, however, his charge → slam → ult combo deletes enemies. When teamed up with Rocket, always save your ult for when he throws out his and you'll be winning team fights like it's nothing.

Rocket's self-survivability also makes him an excellent choice as a Strategist for Ben since he won't have to worry about his backline getting eliminated while he's focused on offense.

Being the first to initiate also means The Thing will occasionally be the first to die. In which case B.R.B. makes up for the misplay and gives The Thing another chance to Clobber!