Rogue Arrives In Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals is getting a serious shake up in season 5.5 with the arrival of Rogue as the latest playable hero. After Gambit joined at the start of the season and their wedding kicked off the current story arc, players knew it was only a matter of time before Rogue entered the fight.
She is not just another front line bruiser. Rogue is being introduced as a brawl tank with one of the most disruptive skill sets in the game. Her signature mechanic lets her steal powers from enemy heroes and then turn those abilities right back on the opposing team.
If you enjoy aggressive playstyles, punishing enemy mistakes, and creating chaos in team fights, Rogue is shaping up to be one of the most exciting additions to Marvel Rivals so far.
How Rogue’s Power Stealing Works
Rogue’s core identity in Marvel Rivals is all about copying and weaponizing enemy abilities. Instead of bringing a static loadout to every match, she adapts to the enemy team by stealing powers from specific heroes.
Here are some of the powers she can currently steal:
- Thor’s awakening state
- Doctor Strange’s shield
- Groot’s walls
- Emma Frost’s diamond state
- One of Phoenix’s attacks
- Iron Fist’s healing
- Psylocke’s invisibility
- Invisible Woman’s projectile punches
- Loki’s healing lamps
That list alone shows how flexible Rogue can become. Depending on the matchup, she can gain extra survivability, utility, crowd control, or even healing and stealth. However there is an important catch. You cannot store or use all of these powers at once. Rogue has to actively steal a specific ability from an enemy hero before she can use it.
This means her effectiveness is tightly connected to the enemy lineup. If the opposing team is running heroes like Thor, Doctor Strange, Groot, or Phoenix, Rogue can turn them into unwilling ability donors. If they do not, her options will be more limited. On the flip side, constant hero swapping from the enemy can give her more opportunities to grab different abilities throughout the match.
The actual steal seems to be a quick action, but it is not a free one. Rogue has to get close to her target, which pushes her into the center of team fights. There do not appear to be any invincibility frames while she is stealing a power, so you are vulnerable while going for the grab. To make it work, you will need:
- Good team coordination to peel enemies off Rogue while she steals
- Smart timing so you dive in while key enemy cooldowns are already burned
- Awareness of target priority so you steal the most game changing ability first
Played well, Rogue can flip a fight by turning defensive tools like Doctor Strange’s shield or Groot’s walls into your team’s advantage or by stealing powerful survival forms like Emma Frost’s diamond state.
Meta Impact And How She Might Play
On paper Rogue looks terrifying to play against. She is a tank that thrives on getting in your face and then punishing you with your own tools. That type of design tends to feel oppressive early on, especially while players are still learning how to counter her.
Veterans are already comparing her potential impact to classic season one power picks like Hela. In that era, certain heroes felt almost like mini server admins who could dictate the flow of entire matches. Rogue could easily land in that same territory if her power stealing numbers and cooldowns are even slightly overtuned.
For Rogue players, the early days of her release will likely be the sweet spot. New heroes in games like Marvel Rivals often launch overtuned to generate hype, dominate the meta for a while, then slowly get nerfed as data rolls in and the community pushes back. It would not be surprising if Rogue starts off feeling overpowered and then gets toned down in future balance patches or seasons.
Until that happens, expect to see a lot of Rogue in your lobbies. Teams that build around her strengths can set up nasty combos. For example:
- Pairing her with strong crowd control allies to lock down targets while she dives in to steal powers
- Drafting heroes whose abilities are still useful even if Rogue steals a copy, so your team does not lose too much when she mirrors them
- Building comps that can quickly follow up on her stolen tools, like pushing through enemy chokes with Groot style walls or engaging under a stolen Doctor Strange shield
On the defensive side, players facing Rogue will need to rethink how they position and which heroes they pick. Letting her freely dive your strongest utility or support hero can instantly swing a fight. Expect strategies like:
- Saving stuns or knockbacks specifically to interrupt her when she attempts a steal
- Running comps that do not rely too heavily on a single star ability
- Spacing and playing sightlines more carefully so Rogue has a harder time closing the gap
While the exact numbers will decide how dominant she really becomes, her design guarantees more dynamic and unpredictable fights. Every match where Rogue is present becomes a constant question of who owns which power at any given moment.
For now the best approach is to ride the Rogue wave. If you enjoy aggressive tank play and the idea of bullying the enemy team with their own abilities, she is absolutely worth locking in as soon as she becomes available. And if you are on the other side of the matchup, start practicing peel, spacing, and target focus now because Rogue is coming for your powers whether you like it or not.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-is-turning-up-the-heat-with-a-new-busted-hero-who-can-steal-powers-from-her-enemies-to-create-shields-heal-and-turn-invisible/
