Warner Bros. Interactive's MultiVersus has been making waves in the gaming community as of late. The MultiVersus Open Beta launched on July 26, with some people able to gain restricted access sooner than that. The cross-over fighting game has been generally well received and is being called a multi-console accessible version of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros.
MultiVersus is being praised for its extremely diverse line-up of playable characters, such as Batman, Shaggy, and LeBron James. More characters are confirmed to release throughout Season 1, but each character's Coin value can vary. Many revealed characters already appear to be top tier whilst others may be a bit lackluster in terms of playability.
S-Tier Characters
Bugs Bunny - Bugs Bunny acts as a Mage in MultiVersus, which means he does best in ranged combat, keeping away from the firefight and dealing damage from afar. A skillful Bugs player can keep away from opponents, dodge read, and use his teleportation ability to escape tricky situations. A nerf is reportedly in the works for Bugs, given how difficult he can be to counter, but it's not likely to move him too far down, if played right.
Batman - The Caped Crusader earns himself a place in the S-Tier, thanks to his mobility, melee abilities, and interesting combos. Some players are not pleased with what has been fan-dubbed "Bat Spam" but it's precisely this that makes the superhero easier to play than others. Batman's combo mixups, deadly accurate grappling hook, and steering of his Batarang can really take true effort to dodge. He also has a quick recovery time, though many players tend to agree that he does best in 1v1 rather than against multiple enemies.
Arya Stark - Arya Stark, a bit like her persona in Game of Thrones, is an Assassin character, who performs best when being sneaky and facing off against large opponents like the Iron Giant. Arya is able to strike quickly and has a speed and agility advantage when pulling away, though if she does take a hit it can be quite damaging because she starts with less health than most characters.
Arya, voiced by Maisie Williams, wields a diverse kit, though she has been called Harley Quinn without the projectiles. She is a decision-oriented character, as player's can't really hit buttons at random, but the pro is that she's very precise when does strike.
A-Tier Characters
Harley Quinn - Harley Quinn takes on an assassin role in MultiVersus, which is observed best through her flexibility when traversing each map. She's optimal for players that enjoy being able to speed up and slow down at will and deal calculated attacks, all whilst being on the offensive. Some players don't think she's very easy to learn right out of the gate, but mastering her character will likely pay off for most as her specials can pack quite the punch, though her selection of specials is not as vast as some characters. It's Harley Quin's air attacks that are most revered about this character, as she's able to tally up an incredible amount of damage while doing seemingly infinite combos.
Shaggy - MultiVersus has canonized the Shaggy "Ultra Instinct" meme, to many fans' delight. For beginners, Shaggy is a good character to learn, and using the special button will generate the 'Zoinks' ability which allows him to charge his rage. Once charged, allies around him will gain a rage buff and Shaggy will also collect a small health boost. Shaggy has been compared to Captain Falcon from Smash Bros. or Goku from Dragon Ball Z because of his range and the potential charge power behind his blows. One of his better abilities pertains to his KO potential as he can deal intense knockback force and keep other characters from recovering.
Velma - Velma, a smart glasses-wearing protagonist from Scooby-Doo, has also entered the fight as a Support character. While her attacks are less direct and her main goal is to keep her allies alive, she can be deadly in the right hands because of her quick aerials and impressive edge guarding abilities. She struggles in close-range melee but does have some satisfying combos. She can temporarily reduce the cooldowns of herself and her team members, which can turn the tide of a fight quickly. She also has the ability to snipe characters from across the stage, though the con here is that players should remember to keep their distance from Bruisers and Tanks.
Tom and Jerry - The cat and mouse duo fall under the Mage category, and they can be hard to fully get the hang of at first. However, when positioned correctly Tom and Jerry can be quite the character in MultiVersus since they specialize in long-range attacks and wield unconventional abilities and wild combos that are hard to predict. When separated, Jerry is a smaller target but can also be fired as a projectile. The projectile capability is strong, after players get over the learning curve with it. Being apart means Tom and Jerry can divide and conquer the arena, but many of their special attacks are situational, so they can't be utilized as often.
B-Tier Characters
LeBron James - The first and currently only real-life person to join MultiVersus is LeBron James, a Bruiser who could be A-Tier if his skill-ceiling was a bit lower. His combos are not obvious and can take some time to learn, but he does well in both long and close-range combat because of his ability to throw basketballs directly at enemies. At the same time, these basketballs work well for his counterplay, or defensive ability, because they are effective in shielding him from a lot of damage. LeBron Jame's biggest downfall is that he can only grasp one basketball at a time, and he can't summon another until his Neutral Spin cools down. There is some high-risk, high-reward in his general playstyle that makes it situational, depending on the player.
Taz - Taz heralds from Warner Bros' Looney Toons cartoons. While not particularly a popular character in the MultiVersus roster, Taz has been making waves for his fierce Tornado spin move that players are calling overpowered and unpredictable. During both the Alpha and Beta playtests, Taz has been nerfed several times to the point that his Tornado lasts less time, no longer has multi-hits, and does less knockback damage. Still, Taz is a solid pick in MultiVersus especially since the Bruiser is able to deal a lot of damage up close. His Tasty debuff is one of his more powerful moves as he's able to melee enemies, and over time, he can turn the opponent into a roast chicken. If damage is done to the chicken, they drop food that can heal Taz and his teammates.
Finn the Human - Finn the Human can be quite strong in a skilled player's hands, but the Adventure Time character has limitations in MultiVersus because he can leave himself open and defenseless. The Adventure Time protagonist is similar to Taz in his playstyle, though his Backpack projectile slower than the Tornado. Finn mains typically use the Backpack Attack ability more conservatively and save coins to make their final hit stronger. These buying abilities can drastically increase his stats for his attack spread and rather simple combo moves.
Jake the Dog - Jake, also from Cartoon Network's Adventure Time comes with stretchy powers and melee attacks that can counter characters like Taz. He's able to dish out a substantial amount of damage, and in the right hands, he can confirm his kills by swallowing low-health opponents. Unfortunately, this swallowing method is his only truly reliable move and his combos are rather predictable, which can be devastating since he's rather lightweight for his Bruiser class. However, Jake's still a great character to play in MultiVersus because his up-attack has such a wide range, he has a tiny hitbox, and good reach.
C-Tier Characters
Reindog - Reindog is an original character created by Warner Bros. Interactive solely for MultiVersus. While the character is cute and has a lengthy in-game biography, he is a Support character who is best when healing his allies. Reindog is at a disadvantage up close but is great at playing keep-away and punishing those who are playing Finn and abusing hitboxes. His combos and mixups are generally liked, though his fireball projectiles are fairly slow and predictable. If Reindog's projectiles do hit, however, they set MultiVersus opponents ablaze though his ranged abilities have a high cooldown. One of his best assets is the ability to tether allies away from imminent death.
Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman is playable in MultiVersus as a Tank character. Realistically, the superhero is half Support and half Tank who specializes in being able to bear a lot of damage, though her cooldowns between abilities are frequent enough to keep her somewhere between B and C-Tier. Wonder Woman's best assets are her shielding capabilities, which make her difficult to kill and nearly impossible to spike. The character must be played methodically, as applying her down-special can bring up a knock-back deterring shield that protects her allies, which means players should stick next to teammates, and she maintains armor when on the attack. She's a great counter to projectiles because of this.
Garnet - While Bruisers are often regarded as the best characters, Garnet is just a bit too slow to maneuver past enemy attacks, which has most players rather unsatisfied with her. She's limited in her combo attacks, which is relatively fine for casual play but not the best for ranked games. Garnet also moves slowly, though if she gets close, her melee is powerful and can be charged up to do more damage. Unlike other Bruisers, she has more projectiles at hand that she can fire which rounds her out to be dangerous up-close and from far away. Her projectiles are rather predictable and slower paced though which brings said potential down.
D-Tier Characters
Iron Giant - The Iron Giant is a rather easy-to-hit target due to his immense size and large hitbox. His size and inability to dodge often result in what feels like cheap hits, however someone players. In exchange, though, he can deal a lot of damage, though that depends on if he can get close to an enemy. This Tank does fine if he remains on the stage, especially if he's able to crush opponents with his Down-air special. Off-stage, however, it can be hard to recover, despite his flying ability. His bolts and rage meter are the robot's best mechanisms, as the former act as a shield over his armor and the meter strengthens him for a brief period once full.
Superman - In MultiVersus, Superman is a Tank character but struggles in 1v1. As a Tank, his durability and recovery are very high, but he is not very effective in a fast environment because he's slow and predictable. Competitive and seasoned players are likely to get the better of this character quickly because of this. Clark Kent can deal a lot of damage with his standard attacks, but he needs to charge them. His laser eyes are great at controlling the map, but unfortunately, he's just too slow to really be able to catch an enemy off guard.
Steven Universe - This isn't Steven Universe's first video game appearance, but the first in which he is a Support character. Steven is meant to be a defensive character, but that, unfortunately, doesn't perform the best when the game becomes faster-paced, and to survive, he typically needs to stick by allies. Steven just doesn't offer much with his kit, as he really is just there to protect others. He can't take much damage before being finished off, though, and really only shines when he saves his allies by deploying platforms and a shield.
MultiVersus is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.