Ranked terms

Marvel Rivals Ranked Glossary

Hero-shooter terms can make ranked advice feel harder than it needs to be. This glossary explains the words Pocket Rivals uses across guides, hero pages, counter reads, and Match Analysis examples.

Plain-English queue vocabulary

How to use this glossary

Learn the call, then practice the job

A term only helps if it changes your next fight. Each definition below includes a plain-English meaning, a Bronze-to-Platinum use case, a common mistake, and a deeper Pocket Rivals page to read next.

Term

Dive

A fast engage that jumps past the front line to pressure a support, sniper, or isolated damage hero.

Ranked use: Call the target before entering and leave after forcing a cooldown if the elimination is not clean.
Common mistake: Going in first with no exit route, then blaming the team for not healing through walls.

Counter dive guide

Term

Poke

Damage or pressure from range that softens the enemy before a full fight starts.

Ranked use: Use poke to clear a lane, force healing, or make the enemy spend a defensive tool before your team walks.
Common mistake: Standing far away forever and never converting the damage into objective space.

Counterplay hub

Term

Peel

Turning away from your current target to protect a teammate who is being pressured.

Ranked use: Peel when saving a support or stopping a diver keeps the next fight alive.
Common mistake: Everyone chases the diver so far that the objective, front line, or second support is abandoned.

Strategist role hub

Term

Stagger

Dying late or entering late so your team starts the next fight missing players.

Ranked use: If the fight is lost, leave together or die quickly enough that the team can regroup.
Common mistake: Touching the point alone after the fight is already lost and delaying your own respawn.

Anti-stagger guide

Term

Reset

Stopping a lost fight, regrouping, and preparing the next clean engage instead of trickling back in.

Ranked use: Call reset when two teammates are down, key ultimates are gone, or the team no longer has a safe path in.
Common mistake: Using an ultimate after the fight is already lost because the scoreboard still looks winnable.

Reset guide

Term

Off-angle

A side angle that pressures the enemy without fully splitting from your team's fight.

Ranked use: Take an off-angle when you can still return, receive help, or shoot the same target your team is pressuring.
Common mistake: Calling a solo flank an off-angle even though nobody can see or support you.

Target focus guide

Term

Front line

The space where your team is contesting the enemy's path, usually around Vanguards and close cover.

Ranked use: A good front line gives teammates a fight they can see, follow, and retreat from.
Common mistake: Walking forward because you have health, not because your team has cooldowns or line of sight.

Vanguard positioning guide

Term

Backline

The safer area where supports and ranged heroes usually play to heal, control, or pressure from cover.

Ranked use: Protect the backline when enemy pressure is winning fights before your team can engage.
Common mistake: Treating backline protection as only the support player's problem.

Team comps hub

Term

Sustain

How long a team can keep fighting through healing, shields, defensive cooldowns, and safe cover.

Ranked use: Fight longer when your sustain is strong; force shorter cooldown trades when the enemy sustain is stronger.
Common mistake: Trying to out-damage a support pocket without first forcing a defensive cooldown or changing the angle.

Support duo guide

Term

Target focus

Multiple teammates pressuring the same enemy at the same time instead of spreading damage everywhere.

Ranked use: Choose targets by punish window: exposed support, used escape, trapped diver, or low-health front line.
Common mistake: Shooting whatever is closest while the actual fight-winning target escapes.

Duelist target guide

Term

Safe swap

Changing heroes to solve a clear problem without abandoning your team's role needs.

Ranked use: Swap when you can name the job: survive dive, clear setup, start fights, finish pressure, or protect supports.
Common mistake: Panic-swapping after one lost fight without knowing what the new hero is supposed to fix.

Swap guide

Term

Comp

Short for team composition: the heroes and jobs your team brings into a fight.

Ranked use: A good ranked comp below Diamond is one your lobby can actually execute, not just the perfect list on paper.
Common mistake: Copying a high-rank comp while nobody in the lobby knows who starts, peels, or resets.

Team comps hub

Continue learning

Turn the words into a next-fight plan

After the term makes sense, use a guide, counter read, or Match Analysis example to decide what you will actually do in your next ranked fight.

Open ranked guides View coach examples