Marvel Rivals: Ultimate Guide to Playing Iron Fist
Iron Fist, the current mightiest Melee Duelist in Marvel Rivals, holds the key to vanquishing foes with a fierce barrage of martial arts strikes. A valuable team asset, he thrives when leading the charge alongside Vanguards and fellow Duelists, and is an excellent pursuer of snipers and other adversaries.
This comprehensive guide will dissect all of his abilities, unveil the optimal strategies for playing Iron Fist across diverse game modes, and present effective methods to counter him. We've also amassed intel on the most potent team combinations that synergize harmoniously with Iron Fist, maximizing the potency of his skills. Prepare to harness the power of the dragon as we explore his remarkable abilities.
Iron Fist Abilities in Detail
Jeet Kune Do: Iron Fist's fundamental combo, consisting of 5 movements. The initial strikes have shorter intervals yet inflict less damage, while the final attack in the chain demands a slightly longer wind-up but delivers more significant damage. This attack gains a power boost after activating Dragon's Defense, transforming into Yat Jee Chung Kuen.
Yat Jee Chung Kuen: The enhanced iteration of Iron Fist's basic combo, featuring a lunge effect and swifter, more potent attacks that whittle down the foe's HP substantially.
Living Chi - Ultimate: Iron Fist becomes supercharged with the Heart of Shou Lao, augmenting his speed, reducing damage taken, amplifying his combos, and trimming the cooldown of Dragon's Defense.
K'un-Lun Kick: A dash-forward, forceful kick that travels horizontally, repelling opponents. Deals increased damage to foes with health below 50% and can even hurl them against walls or off the map.
Harmony Recovery: Hold to regain health during a brief meditation. If Iron Fist uses this while at full health, he acquires a gradually dissipating overheat instead.
Crane Leap: Iron Fist can execute three consecutive mid-air jumps. He can also chain attacks or unleash a K'un-Lun Kick while airborne.
Dragon's Defense: Holding this ability bestows Iron Fist with enhanced damage reduction and empowers his basic attacks, unleashing a potent, lunging flurry of blows.
Wall Runner: Iron Fist can scale walls, traverse horizontally, and then leap off to launch an attack.
Chi Absorption - Passive: Each time Iron Fist secures a takedown or assists an ally in doing so, he recuperates a small amount of health (50 per takedown/assist).
Dragon's Chill - Team-Up Passive: Iron Fist bolsters Luna Snow's abilities, endowing her with enhanced healing powers and a pushback and slow effect on her basic attacks.
Iron Fist's attacks are melee-centric, endowing him with both strengths and vulnerabilities. His premier combo involves charging up with Dragon's Defense and then unloading a powerful fist barrage. He can also utilize K'un-Lun Kick to close the distance on opponents and dispatch them when their health is low, proving especially effective against foes like Punisher who can pester the team from afar.
His skills revolve around mobility, evading ranged assaults, and lunging towards the enemy backline to swiftly neutralize healers and ranged Duelists. Thanks to Crane Leap and Wall Runner, Iron Fist enjoys remarkable mobility, enabling him to reposition or pursue sharpshooters like Black Widow and Hawkeye, safeguarding his team from their sniping.
He can also employ Living Chi and Dragon's Defense to assume an off-tank role during melee skirmishes, spearheading the charge alongside Vanguards and other Melee duelists for a potent synergy. Thanks to his self-healing prowess, Iron Fist can retreat from battle, heal, and rejoin the fray, even when behind enemy lines, enhancing his hit-and-run tactics.
Mastering Iron Fist in Marvel Rivals
Iron Fist is a challenging yet highly rewarding hero in Marvel Rivals, and perfecting his ability combos is no easy feat. The most arduous aspect is remaining alive long enough to perform optimally, as he is a prime target for heroes such as Venom, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, Groot, Squirrel Girl, and Winter Soldier.
The secret to mastering Iron Fist's K'un-Lun style lies in perpetual motion. Regardless of the circumstances, if he remains stationary for too long, he becomes an easy mark and is vulnerable to being overwhelmed by enemy focus. By leveraging his high mobility to confound his Rivals, he can gain the upper hand and even ambush the backline, descending from the sky with a devastating flurry of blows that can dispatch foes in seconds. Let's explore how to play him in each Marvel Rivals game mode:
Convoy Mode
During Defense: Stay close to the team and avoid overextending, as Iron Fist fares best when operating in tandem with his comrades. By securing objectives, scoring kills, and providing assists, Iron Fist will continuously regenerate health. Having a durable Duelist like him can tip the scales in this game mode. Keep a vigilant eye out for snipers and remain mobile when bombarded by long-range attacks. Refrain from diving headlong in Defense Mode; instead, flank and drive out snipers like Black Widow and Hawkeye, who pose a significant threat to the defending team.
During Offense: Iron Fist excels as a secondary attacker, trailing high-mobility Vanguard and Duelists such as Spiderman and Venom. By staying attuned to the team's actions, he can score successful assists and accumulate overheal, transforming into a makeshift tank. Since Chi Absortion currently lacks a cap, he can amass substantial overheal by safely assisting the team. Alternatively, he can adopt a more aggressive approach and dive for kills, but caution is warranted to avoid isolation, as Iron Fist can be easily overpowered. If needed, he can utilize the payload for cover and employ Harmony Recovery to regain health.
Harmony Recovery can be prematurely terminated if necessary. It can also overheal Iron Fist beyond his base health (250) by a total of 300 (50 Health Regained/Overheal). Exploit this to enhance Iron Fist's tankiness prior to a dive or to recuperate after a successful backline ambush.
Domination Mode
In Domination, Iron Fist functions as a flexible frontliner, ambushing unsuspecting foes and pursuing priority targets like Mantis, Cloak & Dagger, Rocket Raccoon, and Hela. He can also vault to elevated positions, flushing out snipers and pesky ranged dealers like Storm, Iron Man, and the particularly troublesome Hawkeye. This game mode hinges on control, so a astute Iron Fist player will discern opportune moments to strike and when to retreat. He can also be a valuable asset by shuttling between the frontline and backline, aiding Strategists when they're beleaguered by flankers like Winter Soldier, Hulk, or even another Iron Fist.
Convergence Mode
During Defense: Iron Fist should assume the role of a backline protector, as having a Duelist safeguard the vulnerable Strategists is essential in this mode. Given that Iron Fist empowers Luna Frost, it's logical to have a teammate select her as Support. However, other healers like Adam Warlock, Mantis, and Cloak & Dagger also complement this composition well. Ensure proximity to them and rotate as required, as the enemy will capitalize on any absence of Iron Fist to gain ground.
During Offense: Dash to the backline and eliminate as many priority targets as possible. Iron Fist is equipped with an array of mobility skills, making his backline incursions a perpetual menace to the enemy team. Even when not actively lurking, his mere presence on the battlefield will keep the foes on edge and distracted, which can prove fatal if Black Widow is lurking in the backline sniping them.
Countering Iron Fist in Marvel Rivals
Iron Fist may seem an imposing and nearly invincible adversary, but he can be neutralized and defeated with the right approach. His kit revolves around a trade-off between offense, defense, and mobility, and he cannot execute all three simultaneously, creating a vulnerability window.
In that moment, players can launch a swift and decisive assault to overpower him. Given the variety of game modes in Marvel Rivals, let's examine how to counter Iron Fist in each scenario:
Convoy Mode
During Defense: Iron Fist will attempt to continuously harass the team. Select his two natural counters, Spiderman and Venom. Have them work in tandem, rotating between flanks, leaping across high ground, shielding snipers, and coordinating with the rest of the team to safeguard the payload. There's a risk of Iron Fist leaping to eliminate Strategists, but in doing so, he'll neglect ranged Duelists like Black Widow, presenting an opportunity to take down key targets. Captain America is also a viable counter, being another Vanguard/Duelist hybrid capable of toggling between offense and defense.
During Offense: Exercise caution when assaulting the objective and transporting the payload. Iron Fist will leap behind to target the most vulnerable team members. When attacking the payload area, he poses a moderate threat, but when the team escorts the moving objective, he becomes a persistent nuisance that can derail every push attempt. The solution is to deploy Wolverine, Winter Soldier, or Captain America to safeguard the backline. If the team remains cohesive rather than spreading thin, Iron Fist will be no match for their concentrated firepower.
Domination Mode
In Domination, when the team is compelled to continuously assail a single area and defend it after capture, Iron Fist can be a thorn in the side. The most effective way to counter his maneuvers is to impede his mobility. Jeff the Land Shark specializes in this, but Squirrel Girl, Black Panther, and Moon Knight are also adept at matching his pace and harassing him to thwart his repositioning. Keep a watchful eye on the skies to thwart aerial assaults, and avoid selecting Storm or Iron Man if there's an Iron Fist on the opposing team, as he'll target them first and neutralize them.
Convergence Mode
During Defense: Stick together to prevent Iron Fist from ambushing the more fragile team members. If possible, field the Winter Soldier, Rocket Raccoon, and Punisher combo, which can defend the area independently. Employ Thor, Hulk, or Venom to apply pressure elsewhere on the team, confining Iron Fist's movements to the area guarded by this formidable trio. He'll soon realize the folly of engaging three trigger-happy, heavily-armed, and crowd-control-equipped adversaries. If a teammate can select Psylocke or Magik, they can effectively counter-gank him.
During Offense: To avoid falling victim to Iron Fist's attacks, the best strategy is to counterpick. Opting for Thor, Venom, Hulk, and Captain America provides effective means of dealing with him while other team members attack from a safe distance. Another clever tactic to foil his ganks is to select Loki and feign immobility as one of his illusions. Iron Fist will then target the other Loki (the real one) and be lured into a trap. Additionally, choose Black Panther and shadow his movements. Eventually, he'll have to land, at which point Black Panther can dismantle him.
Ideal Team Composition for Iron Fist in Marvel Rivals
The optimal allies for Iron Fist in Marvel Rivals are Luna Snow, Spiderman, Venom, Magneto, and Hawkeye. This team assemblage comprehensively addresses Iron Fist's weaknesses, and Iron Fist, in turn, supercharges Luna Snow's abilities, transforming her into a formidable counter-offensive support.
Furthermore, having Scarlet Witch or Squirrel Girl on your side can prove advantageous, as they can partner with Iron Fist during his ganking forays. Since Iron Fist recovers health with each assist or kill, he requires less support healing compared to other team members. Prioritize providing cover fire with Hawkeye, Squirrel Girl, or Black Widow when he overextends and needs to retreat.