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(Image credit: NetEase) I'm sure we've all experienced the unbridled rage in Marvel Rivals that comes with repeatedly getting jumped by Magik, Spider-Man, Iron Fist or whoever the enemy team's designated diver is. As someone who predominantly plays Strategist, I encounter this pretty much daily, which is why Emma Frost in all her brawling, dive-countering glory is so much fun to play. I've never been able to gel with a Vanguard. I'm not quite sure what it is, as I play tank in Overwatch 2 quite often. But for whatever reason, things are different in Marvel Rivals and no matter how much I try to force Groot or Doctor Strange, nothing seems to work. For this reason, I wasn't expecting to love Emma Frost as much as I do. Marvel Rivals tier list: Best characters for each role Marvel Rivals characters: Current and confirmed roster Marvel Rivals ranks: How to climb in competitive Marvel Rivals codes: Grab free gear and more Marvel Rivals crosshairs: The best custom reticles Her ability set can be a bit tough to familiarise yourself with at first, as she works a little differently from the other heroes. Like Ramattra from Overwatch 2, Emma Frost has two sets of abilities depending on what form she's in. You may like 'Thick thighs save lives': Marvel Rivals players are desperate for Emma Frost to crush them between her thunderous gams when season 2 goes live All Marvel Rivals characters: current roster and upcoming heroes In her regular form, Emma Frost has the Psychic Spear ability, which allows her to seize an enemy's "sentience" and deal damage twice as quickly, as well as having Mind's Aegis, which lets her put up a shield. However, in her diamond form, which also has damage reduction, she gets access to two different abilities, Carbon Crush and Crystal Kick. These let her grab an enemy and choke slam them to the floor, and kick enemies, dealing knockback damage. Emma Frost's normal form and abilities are pretty good for standard play: Her Telepathic Pulse has enough range on it that you can reach flying heroes up in the sky and keep other tanks at arm's length. But it's not nearly as fun as her diamond form. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: NetEase) (Image credit: NetEase) (Image credit: NetEase) (Image credit: NetEase) With this, you become a really brawly tank, much like Captain America or Hulk, as your primary fire shifts to Faceted Fury (you throw punches), which can be devastating when you couple it with Carbon Crush, something that I like to use as a finishing move. This second form gives Emma Frost a good amount of freedom to shift as fights change, being a normal mid-range tank when your team is holding their own and then quickly changing to a close-range brawler if your backline is getting jumped by Spider-Man or an enemy Vanguard tries to get too close. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. But her diamond ability isn't just of use when fending off flankers, it can also be used to stun enemies out of their ultimate abilities. Emma Frost probably won't stay all-powerful for too long. As long as you get to enemy players before they can stun you with their ultimate like Doctor Strange or Groot, then you can stop their ult in its tracks. Or for other heroes like Peni Parker, Black Panther, or Spider-Man, you can just slam them to the floor in the midst of their ultimate, instantly stopping it, and maybe even killing them in the process. The only hero I've come across so far who I can't seem to knock out of their ultimate is Magneto, but if he hits you while you're in diamond form, he won't be able to kill you, so it's not a massive problem. It's all fun and games being able to ruin someone's game by messing up their carefully timed ultimate, but like most new heroes added to Marvel Rivals, I can foresee some balance issues with Emma Frost. The devs working on Marvel Rivals haven't been shy about wanting to prioritise fun over balance. They've explained how the most important thing is to ensure players are having fun with the game, and they aim to ensure this by providing heroes with unique, powerful, and interesting abilities. Emma Frost ticks all of these boxes, but she's so strong that playing against her will likely be a bit of a chore. Human Torch had the same issue when he was added alongside The Thing in Season 1.5, where he became the new meta thanks to his team-up ability with Storm, which turned her ultimate into a fire tornado. But like Human Torch, Emma Frost probably won't stay all-powerful for too long. Either she'll be nerfed slightly when the next hero balance patch rolls around, or the devs will just add an even stronger hero to the mix. I'll be sure to take advantage of her unbridled strength until that time comes. Social Links Navigation News Writer Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. 'Thick thighs save lives': Marvel Rivals players are desperate for Emma Frost to crush them between her thunderous gams when season 2 goes live All Marvel Rivals characters: current roster and upcoming heroes Marvel Rivals tier list: Best characters and team compositions in Season 1.5 Marvel Rivals devs conducted 'exhaustive research' to come up with the game's roster of heroes and abilities so it could live up to 'exceptionally high player expectations' Marvel Rivals devs have accidentally buffed Storm into a tornado-yeeting monster that everyone is picking, and no-one knows how to counter: 'A clustered group is a snack for us' NetEase is feeling the pressure to keep Marvel Rivals as fresh as launch, so it's releasing a new hero every month starting in Season 3 Latest in Third Person Shooter Marvel Rivals has aced Season 2 by giving Emma Frost the ability to choke slam other heroes out of their ultimate abilities Marvel Rivals is launching an 'experimental feature' to help players deal with the game's awful performance and insatiable appetite for RAM How to complete the Cerebro Database event in Marvel Rivals 'Rocket Raccoon is now the goat healer': Marvel Rivals devs have finally caved and given Rocket Raccoon's ultimate the ability to heal Am I the only one wondering what's going to happen to Blade, now that he's not the new hero for Season 2? 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