Devil Dinosaur roars his way into Marvel Rivals Season 8 as the newest tank hero in the game. Towering over the rest of the cast, Devil lives up to his tank role, controlling territory and soaking up enemy damage. But while many will be tempted to charge in trusting on aura alone to sustain them, smart players will quickly learn that even the King of the Thunder Lizards needs backup to survive.
While Devil’s huge size makes him an intimidating presence in any match, it also strikes a huge bullseye on him. Many players will fall back onto a “shoot the big one first” mentality, leaving Devil needing plenty of support to stay alive long enough to get his chomps in. While proficient healing is a necessity for the big red dino, the devs have given some great abilities to help Devil close the distance on his next, would-be, meal.
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Devil Dinosaur’s passives reduce damage from crits and dial back ultimate charging on both sides.
The first element that helps Devil Dinosaur reach his intended prey is a passive ability, Prehistoric Plating. It allows him to take reduced damage from crits, making up for his oversized melon, as well as giving him immunity to knock-back, launch-up, and other displacement abilities. This helps him reach his target as soon as possible. Although it is important to note, Stationary effects like Luna’s Deep Freeze, or Groot’s ult, will still rein him in.
The second element of this passive dials back the amount of ult charge both sides get when targeting DD. When enemies damage him or allies heal him, the amount of ult charge is reduced. This keeps the monstrous tank from becoming the game’s biggest ult battery, and gently encourages enemies to look elsewhere if they are struggling to get those last few points of charge in a tight moment.
The other major aid Devil has in closing the distance comes with his Savage Predation ability. Causing the hero to dash and then pounce ahead, ending with a powerful bite, it can close an impressive distance in a short time. If he lands the bite at the end, it will cause bleeding. Also, if the target is already bleeding, Devil Dinosaur will pick them up for a couple of seconds before throwing them.
Devil Dinosaur causes bleed with attacks like Savage Predation and Impact Beam.
While this maneuver is strong, you do need to be mindful when activating it. The ability will try to launch Devil in the direction he is looking, rather than a standardized leap forward. This means that looking up creates a higher arc than simply looking forward. It also means that triggering it while looking down will not move him at all. So if your camera is pointed down while chomping on an in-close enemy and you plan to make a quick escape, look up first, or you are going nowhere.
You may have noticed the presence of bleed in that last description. Much of the big guy’s kit interacts with the damage-over-time dealing mechanic. His primary fire, well, bite, inflicts it, as do some other elements of his kit. Also, his second passive, Apex Advantage, gives him bonus health whenever he inflicts bleed or deals damage, greatly increasing his survivability in the grand melees that seem to spawn around him.
One element of his kit that both looks for the bleed effect, as well as helps Devil Dinosaur survive in combat, is his Frenzied Bite. Launching a quick succession of bite attacks, the ability grants Devil bonus health equal to the damage it deals. And, if it is used on an opponent with bleed on them, it deals bonus damage. So always do a standard bite first, if a target doesn’t already have bleed on them, to get maximum effect.
Devil Dinosaur’s major tank effect, Buddy Barrier, projects a giant shield for yourself and allies.
One way Devil Dinosaur can get bleed on a bunch of enemies at once is his short-range Impact Beam. While only traveling about 15 meters, the beam will pass through enemies, allowing you to hit multiple at once. Along with applying bleed and dealing damage, the attack also puts slow on enemy targets and can knock flyers from the air.
Rather than running on ammo, this ability has a gauge that depletes while used, and regenerates when not. If you don’t completely drain it, the ability will recharge proportionally faster, rewarding players who keep track of their usage better.
This ability isn’t just strong, it’s a blast. Doing his best Godzilla impression, Devil can lay into entire groups of enemies in tight spaces. Along with all the other effects, the beam also does a number on the visibility of the characters being hit, leading to confusion as the enemy tries to navigate a river of red energy.
Now, we’ve talked a lot about damage, and you might be wondering how Devil Dinosaur serves as a tank, massive body blocking line of sight notwithstanding. His major tank effect comes in the form of his Buddy Barrier. Devil spawns a large, spherical shield around himself that moves with him. Allies inside are protected from enemy attacks, while enemies inside the bubble are slowed.
The Devil-Beast Rampage ultimate gives a massive burst of speed and a massive rampage.
An easy-to-overlook element of this shield’s huge size is its effect on healing. Many support’s primary means of healing is also their primary attack. Meaning if a target is within an enemy’s Buddy Barrier, you can’t heal them with any such ability. Only powers that exclusively heal can reach allies from outside. So effects like Invincible Woman’s Shield or Mantis’ heal-only ability will prove particularly helpful in reaching allies when an enemy dino is around.
The final element of Devil Dinosaur’s kit is his ultimate ability: Devil-Beast Rampage. Releasing a mighty roar, DD gains a massive burst of speed, allowing him to rampage around an area. With each thunderous step. shockwaves pulse from him, dealing damage. He also launches enemies away from himself, while applying slow to them.
Combining all the AOE damage with his passive ability to gain bonus health when dealing any damage, the ability can give Devil both a tremendous amount of damage output, while also helping sustain him. Furthermore, he has access to his other abilities while Devil-Beast Rampage is active, further amplifying his impact.
Devil Dinosaur brings a fun and exciting presence to Marvel Rivals. His kit helps him both inflict solid damage while also protecting himself and his team, making him a great tank, while carving out a unique niche for himself thanks to his prodigious size and how his kit comes together.
Marvel Rivals is available to play now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
