By James Carr on July 28, 2022 at 9:32AM PDT
MultiVersus, is taking over the Smash Bros-like genre in a major way. Now that the game is in open beta, anyone can hop in and battle it out with over a dozen beloved characters. MultiVersus aims to include any and all characters from Warner Bros. vault of IPs, including Shaggy, Batman, Arya Stark, and even LeBron James. The free-to-play fighting game also has its own unique spin on the Smash Bros. formula, with the main play mode being a 2v2 fight. The characters are designed to work in pairs, adding a level of teamwork not found in other platform fighters. The game has been such a success thus far that the servers have struggled to contain the crowd at times.
While open beta has kicked off, Season 1 will start on August 9, adding yet another character to the roster. Morty Smith, from Rick and Morty, will join at the start of the season with Rick Sanchez coming at some point during the season. Before their additions, MultiVersus has 17 characters on its roster, split into five different classes; Bruiser, Tank, Support, Assassin, and Mage. Each class of characters play similarly to each other, although each one has their own unique set of attacks and specials.
Another unique mechanic that MultiVersus has is the Toast system. After a match ends you have the chance to toast bother your opponent's and your teammate for a job well done. If you receive a Toast, you get 20 coins, which can be used to unlock new characters or extra perks. Toasts can be purchased with coins, unlocked by leveling characters, or at certain tiers of the battle pass. Here is how the current MultiVersus roster ranks and which character is the best.
Jake from Adventure Time is a hybrid bruiser, which means that he has the flexibility to take hits and deal damage in pretty much any direction. However, this means that Jake doesn't have anything that he is particularly good at, with his kit falling short in some aspect or another compared to the rest of the roster. Jake's biggest issue is his special abilities. His neutral special where he eats someone has no range, and his other three specials are slow to use. For a relatively fast-paced game means that Jake is regularly getting his moves interrupted.
Jake does deal solid damage and there isn't a single character on the roster that feels like they are so bad they shouldn't be played, but Jake just doesn't have anything going for him that another character does better. His best move is his aerial down attack, where he busts out a skateboard and bounces off enemies heads, but that isn't enough to keep him from taking the bottom slot on this list.
There are currently three support characters in MultiVersus, something that makes this Smash clone stand out. The support character can provide buffs and support to their teammate in the 2v2 mode at the cost of dealing less damage and not being able to tank too much damage. The reason Steven Universe is this low is that one of the support characters is so much better than the other two, that it would be a bad idea to play one of the other supports over them.
As for Steven himself, his move set is focused around creating shield walls, which can be used as platforms or bounce enemies off of. In theory these shields could be used to help your teammate recover or to block an enemy trying to get back from being knocked off the ledge. However, you can only have one shield in play at a time and you can't be very precise with their placement. Steven also has a heal, but that requires you and your teammate to stand in a zone, which can be difficult to do in such a fast-paced game.
Reindog is the one of the other support characters in MultiVersus and the only character created specifically for the game. Reindog gets put above Steven because his support abilities are easier to use. His neutral special lets you tether to your teammate, dealing damage to enemies the tether touches and giving you the option to pull your teammate towards you. Reindog is a better brawler as well, with his normal attacks moving faster and dealing more damage than Steven's.
Reindog's downfall is that his charge attacks don't have much launch. He can charge a projectile attack that has a solid horizontal launch but that's about it. Playing a support character requires your teammate to understand the support character and work around their abilities, asking for more coordination than you're going to get out of a random player.
Finn from Adventure Time is one of three Assassin's on the MultiVersus roster and he is unfortunately the weakest of the three. One of his major downfalls is that in order to charge his attacks and send opponents flying, he has to move around the map while charging. While this might let you catch an opponent running away from you, it typically results in you needing to play out your charge attacks far in advance.
Finn does have an interesting passive ability, which is that both he and his teammate can collect gold coins that drop during the match. These coins can be used to purchase either a speed buff, a projectile shield, or BMO, which changes Finn's down special to a chop using BMO. While his passive and the shop are interesting abilities, it doesn't provide enough of an advantage for the amount of management and focus it requires from you during a match. Finn also has pretty short range compared to the other two Assassins.
Batman is a Bruiser equipped with many gadgets and a solid pick for MultiVersus. The main focus of Batman's attacks is using gadgets like the Batarang or grappling hook to extend combos out further. He can also use his smoke bomb to gain an invisiblity buff, which will weaken enemies he attacks. Batman gets a lower place on the list because while he is an excellent fighter with strong combos, he lacks in the finishing department.
While he does have some charge attacks for knocking enemies back, he doesn't quite have the launch of some other fighters on the roster. His focus is on being in the enemies faces and dealing damage, but you might need to rely on your teammate to get the final blows without getting enemies to really high damage percentages.
Taz from Looney Tunes is a special case for this list and for MultiVersus as a whole right now. Taz has a pretty average kit, focused around eating and spitting on his enemies, building up stacks of Tasty which will eventually turn his enemies into cooked chickens, leaving them debuffed and unable to attack. Taz has pretty short range, but he moves quickly so you can get in people's faces relatively easily.
Anyone who has been playing MultiVersus might have dealt with his side-special, the Taz-Nado. That move was broken, stun-locking and launching players at low damage to the point of being broken. As part of the open beta launch, this move has been nerfed significantly, placing Taz at this spot on the list.
Garnet from Steven Universe is another Bruiser character, and while she can pack quite a punch, her hit boxes and move set leave something to be desired. Garnet is one of only a handful of characters who does not have a passive ability and her up attacks can be difficult to land. Her overall range and ability to hit other characters feels a bit off, but if you can figure her out she deals quite a bit of damage.
She can do a charged side attack that launches her fists at people and a down attack that causes a shock wave projectile to fire at people. Her neutral special creates a field that slows down projectiles, which can come in handy against enemies who rely on projectiles. Garnet doesn't feel great to play, but her damage output can be quite impressive.
Wonder Woman is one of the Tank characters in MultiVersus, who across the board are pretty powerful. Pretty much all of the Tank characters can take far more damage before getting launched than other characters and none of them seem to sacrifice much in the damage department. Her passive ability charges whenever she blocks a projectile or attack with her shield charging her Amazon Shout.
The two best parts of Wonder Woman's kit are her down special, which will shield both her and her teammate from incoming attacks for a period of time, and her neutral special, the Lasso of Truth, which lets you snag either an enemy or your teammate and pull them in. Her regular attacks hit fairly hard and being able to confirm a kill by pulling an enemy in with the Lasso of Truth make Wonder Woman a pretty great character, even if she doesn't have the versatility some of the higher ranked characters have.
Bugs Bunny of Looney Tunes fame is one of two Mages currently in MultiVersus. As a Mage his moves take a bit of setup and require cooldown management, but if you can get a handle on him he is a powerful character. Bugs' passive is if he crouches he will pull an item box out of the ground and toss it to his teammate, as long as it's not on cooldown. Bugs moves very fast and his regular attacks are also quick, letting him fly around the map dealing damage. This speed also makes him difficult to hit.
As for his special attacks, his neutral will drop a safe from the sky that can be hit into enemies after it lands. He can also launch a rocket with his aerial side special and dig a tunnel with his down special. The rocket and the safe both deal a ton of damage and have great launch, but the cooldowns are pretty lengthy, so you will need to be smart with their usage.
Tom and Jerry are the other Mage in MultiVersus and this combo-character can be quite lethal once you get a grasp on their moves. Jerry can provide a buff to allies if they pick him up after he gets launched using the neutral special. Tom and Jerry are designed around the idea that they are really just fighting each other and everyone else is collateral damage.
One of Tom and Jerry's best moves is also one of the most complicated in the game. After firing Jerry with the sling shot, Tom can hit a Tennis ball towards Jerry. If the ball doesn't hit an enemy, Jerry sends it back towards Tom, who can launch it with a charged Tennis Racket swing for maximum damage. When Jerry is away from Tom, he will usually do attacks at the same time as Tom, giving you extra range to work with. Like Bugs, Tom and Jerry are complicated, but powerful once mastered.
One of the Assassins in MultiVersus, Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, is similar to the last two characters as she can be a bit difficult to figure out, but is quite lethal. She moves very fast and has a ton of range with her attacks, making her a menace to deal with. Her passive gives a bunch of different buffs, depending on the situation. She deals extra damage when attacking from behind and gets a small buff after dodging an attack. When an enemy is KO'd, a small pie spawns, debuffing and slowing any enemy that goes over it. She gets enraged when her teammate is KO'd, giving her a small boost.
Her main special, Face-Stealer, is a lunging stab that will steal someone's face if they are in range. With the face, Arya can use the neutral special again to reveal the face, which will stun an enemy if they are within close range. Her side special throws a dagger, which she will dash to if you use the ability again. Her normal attacks also can be put together into high damage combos, making her a great but complicated character.
LeBron James, from Space Jam: A New Legacy and, well, real life, is a Bruiser character who plays like a Mage. LeBron's entire kit is centered around his basketball, which he can throw as his neutral special. If it hits an enemy, it will deal damage and bounce off of them. If it hits a teammate, it will attach to them and fire off in the same direction as their next attack.
His side special attack has him jump up in the air and slam his basketball down, sending out a shock wave. This attack launches enemies upward pretty far, but destroys the basketball. He can summon a new one with his neutral special or will get one automatically after attacking an enemy. It can be a little difficult to manage the fast moving basketball projectile, but LeBron's normal attacks deal plenty of damage without the ball, making him a solid pick for any player.
MultiVersus has continued the trend of sticking Harley Quinn into anything DC-related. Another Assassin, Harley Quinn strikes a great balance between being a powerful damage dealer without being overly complicated. Harley can light people on fire for additional damage after hitting them with an explosive or confetti blast. Her neutral special is a bomb that she can detonate at will that sticks to enemies. She can stick an enemy and knock them off the stage, finishing them with the explosion.
Harley has plenty of quick combo attacks that are easy to use and land. Her side charge attacks have a ton of launch, letting you take enemies out at a lower damage. Her up special swings a baseball bat, launching enemies straight up. If any enemy is above you, they can be up specialed off screen with ease.
Another Tank character, the Iron Giant is the largest character in the game and it's not close. His large size makes him susceptible to getting combo-locked, but he can take a high amount of damage, and deals it just as well. His passive ability allows him to build a rage meter and when it fills, his moveset changes and he cannot be knocked back until his special silver health is depleted.
He has some strong combos and because of his massive size, he has the best range for melee attacks in MultiVersus. His down special, Cannonball, launches him into the air and he comes plummeting back down, dealing massive damage and launching enemies far. His size can get you into trouble, but with a little bit of practice he is a force to be reckoned with.
Superman is the best Tank in MultiVersus for a couple of reasons. First, he can take a ridiculous amount of damage before he starts getting launched completely off screen. He moves fast and has quit regular combos that he can deal fast damage with. He can also dodge upwards, making for easier recovery. His ice breath, his neutral special, lets him freeze enemies and deal damage with strong range.
The best part of Superman's kit are his aerial side special and aerial up special can be used for quick knockouts. Both moves have Superman fly in the direct you point and if he runs into an enemy they can be grabbed and thrown. If an enemy gets launched even halfway up the screen, Superman can snag them in the air and throw them out-of-bounds. The move feels a bit cheap, but it's a great and consistent finisher.
Velma from Scooby-Doo is the third support character in MultiVersus and she has an incredible set of moves that allows her to deal damage, buff her teammates, and heal herself almost simultaneously. Her neutral attack fires out supportive words, which seek her teammate. If it hits her teammate, they become targeted and the words will hasten them, heal Velma, and fire off an additional word bubble. If it hits an enemy, they become targeted and take damage from the attacks. Her neutral special works similarly, but is a beam that is fired from Velma and can be extended if she hits her teammate.
Velma's combos and special attacks are powerful, letting her rack up damage quickly, but her passive is what makes Velma top tier. During the match Evidence will appear on the stage that she and her teammate can collect. If Velma collects enough Evidence without getting KO'd, she can call the police. The police car will target an enemy and if it catches them, it will disable their abilities and attempt to drive them off the ledge. Nobody likes a snitch, but this move can almost guarantee a KO, on top of an already impressive move set.
Player First Games and Warner Bros. leaned all the way into the ultra-instinct Shaggy memes, when making MultiVersus. His neutral ability allows him to charge his rage and become enraged, where he deals additional damage. This bruiser has a great set of combos and his neutral charge attack gives him a shield while charging, so you can get the move off even under pressure. Another great move is his up special, which is an uppercut. While enraged, this move hits multiple times, making it a perfect finishing move.
Also while enraged, Shaggy inflicts weakened, making them fly even further when hit. HIs down special has him pull a sandwich out of the ground that he can throw. It deals damage to enemies and if it passes your teammates, it heals them. Shaggy is an absolute powerhouse of a character and his moves are relatively simple to use and understand, which makes him the best pick for MultiVersus.