Marvel Rivals Groot guide: Abilities, how to play, and more

Marvel Rivals Groot is a Vanguard Class Hero. As a Vanguard, his main objective is to claim space from enemy players and prevent them from taking control of strategic locations of the map, such as the objective point, certain areas in higher elevation, and so on. Groot is quite a simple character, and his abilities are straightforward.

We believe that Marvel Rivals Groot is a beginner-friendly character, and mastering him is a great way to understand the unique aspects of this fast-tempo hero-shooter.

That said, this article will provide a detailed brief on the fan-favorite Vanguard and all his abilities. To know more, read below.

Editor's Note: The contents of this guide have been updated to the latest patch deployed on March 6, 2025. This article will be further updated as a new balance update goes live for Marvel Rivals in the near future.

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Marvel Rivals Groot: All abilities

Marvel Rivals Groot character overview (Image via NetEase Games)

Groot is quite an easy character pick in Marvel Rivals. As stated above, abilities are straightforward, and you can easily meet the requirements of your role by creatively combining them. Here's a detailed look into all his abilities:

Abilities	Effect
Vine Strike (LMB)	Launch vines to attack enemies.
Spore Bomb (RMB)	Throw an explosive Spore Bomb that splits into multiple small explosive spores.
Strangling Prison (Q)	Fire a massive vine cluster that pulls nearby enemies to its center and imprisons them.
Thornlash Wall (LShift)	Target a location and grow a Thornlass Wall. When Awakened, it strikes nearby enemies attacked by Groot and his allies.
Ironwood Wall (E)	Target a location and grow an Ironwood Wall. When Awakened, it grants Bonus Health to Groot when nearby enemies take damage.
Furious Flora (V)	Perform a combo with his arms, and the third strike will slightly Launch Up the hit enemy airborne
Flora Colossus (Passive)	Wooden walls near Groot will Awaken, activating an extra effect.
Friendly Shoulder (Team Up)	Rocket Raccoon can ride Groot's shoulder receiving damage reduction.

Categorized as a one-star difficulty character, Groot is quite a fun and easy-to-learn character in Marvel Rivals. His skill ceiling is quite low, but that doesn't make him a bad character, but one that is accessible to players of different calibers. All in all, we do believe that he is quite a powerful vanguard in the game, and when used right, he can easily ruin the enemy team's synergy and coordination.

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How to play as Groot in Marvel Rivals?

Mobility

Groot does not have a ton of mobility. You can use his Walls as a means to get high ground in certain areas of the map. However, he lacks mobility tools.

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Playstyle

Groot has a massive 900 HP health pool and if you want to play this Hero, you should be the player leading your team into battle. His primary and secondary attacks aren't too strong, however, if you can find the sweet spot of hitting combos with his other abilities, you will be an undefeatable force.

Marvel Rivals Groot Ironwood Wall ability (Image via NetEase Games)

Both of Groot's walls, i.e., the Ironwood Wall and the Thornlash Wall offer unique advantages to the character. They don't merely deny space but also assist Groot in dealing damage and controlling a high-traffic space.

One of the easiest and best combos you can execute with this Hero is by boxing your enemies with both the Ironwood Wall and the Thornlash Wall. Both these abilities will aid you in killing the foes, and the former will also help you regain the HP that you'll be losing in such an encounter.

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Ultimate

Marvel Rivals Groot Strangling Prison ultimate ability (Image via NetEase Games)

Groot's Ultimate, Strangling Prison, is a fantastic engagement tool to squeeze in all the enemies in the ability's effective radius together. Strangling Priison deals up to 200 HP damage and is paired with a combo of either your team's attacks or the aid of your Walls, you can easily wipe out squishy Duelists and Strategists at the flip of a button.

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Best team-ups for Groot in Marvel Rivals

1) Rocket Raccoon (Strategist)

Rocket Racoon is a great duo for Marvel Rivals Groot (Image via NetEase Games)

Groot, Jeff the Land Shark, and Rocket Raccoon together form the team-up in Marvel Rivals called Planet X Pals. When this team-up is active, Rocket can ride on Groot’s shoulders, which grants them damage reduction. Moreover, having a Strategist by your side at all times increases your chances of survival on the battlefield due to the constant stream of healing that Groot can receive.

Groot, being the Team-up anchor, receives +150 max health. It is important to note that this stat boost for Groot is active throughout the season whether Planet X Pals is active or not.

2) Iron Fist (Duelist)

Iron Fist is a great duo for Marvel Rivals Groot (Image via NetEase Games)

Groot's ability kit is quite unique in the entire Vanguard class as he can create temporary walls around the battlefield. This is a great tool that can be used to isolate fights or mitigate incoming damage. Iron Fist can benefit from these abilities as he is a single-target, close-range Duelist who deals melee damage. If coordinated properly, Groot can block off a few routes for a short time and provide Iron Fist enough space to secure a few kills.

Iron Fist's ultimate ability can be combined with Groot's to dish out massive damage numbers on trapped enemies and potentially score multiple eliminations. Iron Fist, despite having a small health pool, can sustain himself for a long time on the battlefield with his ability kit. This makes it easier for the duo to keep fighting on the frontlines and creating space for the team.

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Best Marvel Rivals Spider-Man Groot counters

1) Iron Man (Duelist)

Iron Man is counter to Marvel Rivals Groot (Image via NetEase Games)

Groot's primary threat in Marvel Rivals is long-range combat. This makes Iron Man a prime candidate who can be used to counter the Vanguard hero on the battlefield. Since Iron Man can deal explosive from a safe distance, it becomes difficult for Groot to maintain his walls to protect his allies. Moreover, Iron Man can simply fly over to a different position and shoot his blasters from another side, completely ignoring the walls to deal damage.

Iron Man's ultimate deals catastrophic damage to enemies. However, it can be difficult to hit due to its activation delay. Groot has slower movement speed and so needs to depend on his walls to mitigate damage. You can take advantage of team fights to land the massive missile on your opponents as Iron Man to secure easy kills.

2) Spider-Man (Duelist)

Spider-Man is a counter to Marvel Rivals Groot (Image via NetEase Games)

Spider-Man is particularly powerful against Groot owing to his advanced movement mechanics and fast-paced playstyle. Groot has a slow movement speed and is an easy target for Spider-Man who can easily get up close, deal damage, and swing away.

Moreover, Spider-Man’s Web Swing, Get Over Here!, and Thwip and Flip allow him to dodge Groot's vines effectively, making it problematic for Groot to find value. Furthermore, Spidey’s ultimate, Spectacular Spin is very easy to land on Groot, which stuns him and makes it easy for Spidey and his team to take him down.

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Marvel Rivals Groot Lore

The fan-favorite character from Guardians of the Galaxy also has quite a rich lore behind him. Here's a glimpse into the story behind Groot in Marvel Rivals:

"He is Groot, a flora colossus from the branch world of Planet X capable of manipulating plant matter and regrowing his damaged body from a single splinter. The hero at the heart of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot may not have many words to say, but his actions always speak for themselves. Groot accompanied Star-Lord and Rocket on a scouting mission to Klyntar, where they became stranded after their ship was shot down. Klyntar's dark king, Knull, now seeks to corrupt Groot's regenerative powers in an effort to cultivate the ultimate symbiote."

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That's all there is to know about mastering Groot in Marvel Rivals. Our detailed guide will help you dominate your games, and the more you play this character, the better you will be able to play as a Vanguard in-game.

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