Quick Links
Few characters inMarvel Rivalscan spark someone to panic quite like Iron Fist. And for good reason. He’s a Duelist to be feared, capable of dealing a truly awe-inspiring amount of damage almost immediately, taking someone from full-health to respawning before they can blink.
But, plenty of people have picked Iron Fist expecting to become a god among heroes, to find they had trouble using him effectively. Iron Fist requires good timing, ability rotation, and strategy variance in order to render him even remotely effective. While all of his abilities seem fairly straightforward, getting yourself in a position to use them effectively isn’t always easy.
Iron Fist Overview
Iron Fist isone of the most agile characters in the game,second to Spider-Manand possibly no one else. When used well, he can combine a multitude ofmovement and damage abilities to get in close on an enemy and unleash a rapid series of attacksthat they could not have possibly defended.
Butwhen used poorly, Iron Fist is going to beeasily countered. He has low health, and when you don’t know what you’re doing with him, his damage output is going to be lacking.
Jeet Kune Do / Yat Jee Chung Kuen
Iron Fist hastwo primary attacks, and which attack you’re going to be unleashing is going to depend on the situation.
Jeet Kune Do
In a vacuum, Iron Fist’s primary attack will beJeet Kune Do. This is aslower attack, dealing less damage-per-second overall than the alternative. The bonus of this attack is that itreduces the cooldownof Iron Fist’s most important ability,Dragon’s Defense.
Yat Jee Chung Kuen
Iron Fist willautomatically use his Yat Jee Chung Kuen attack after using his Dragon’s Defense ability, which we’ll detail just below.This attack is much faster,dealing a lot more damage-per-secondand enabling Iron Fist to close the gap to his target immediately, provided they aren’t too far away.
Dragon’s Defense
Dragon’s Defenseis the ability that’s going to make the most difference for Iron Fist. This abilityallows him to move into a defensive stance, blocking incoming attackswhile you’re using the ability. For a short period after, Iron Fist willgain damage reduction and bonus health.
But, equally as important, Dragon’s Defenseallows Iron Fist to attack with Yat Jee Chung Kuenfor a short time, his much more meaningful attack.
When To Use Dragon’s Defense
Dragon’s Defense is mostly going to be useddirectly before you start your attack on an enemy. With Iron Fist, this is ideally going to be anambush-style attack, allowing you to get up close and personal withan enemy Strategistor Duelist.
The damage reduction and bonus health will allow you to stick out the fight longer than you otherwise would, and the extra damage from Yat Jee Chung Kuen is going to enable you tounleash a panic-inducing amount of damageto the enemy.
Much of Iron Fist’s efficacy revolves around smart use of Dragon’s Defense. Used inappropriately, it’s going to provide little benefit, and hinder your overall damage. Used well, you’re going to be a force.
K’un-Lun Kick
K’un-Lun Kickis a combo movement-attack ability,sending Iron Fist launching forwardand dealingincreased damage to enemies at low health. As with all movement abilities in Marvel Rivals, this ability is multi-purpose.
When To Use K’un-Lun Kick
In its most effective form, K’un-Lun Kick isused as a finisher on an enemy trying to escape. If you’ve dealt almost enough damage to finish them but not quite enough, K’un-Lun Kick will do the job, closing the gap and dealing the final blow.
It can also be used as an opener to the fight,getting you right on top of an enemy before they can react. With his role as an ambusher, generally, you’d like to be attacking enemies from the side or behind. In that case, this isn’t necessary. But sometimes you need to engage someone from the front, andthis gets you on top of them without issue.
Lastly, this ability can be used as aneffective escape method. Combined with his other movement abilities,smart incorporation of this into your movement repertoireis going to make younearly impossible to hit accurately.
Iron Fist’s Movement Abilities
Aside from K’un-Lun Kick, Iron Fist has a couple more movement abilities that are quite important.Learning how to use these abilitiesindividually, and then in succession, is going togreatly improve your performance with Iron Fist.
Crane Leap
Crane Leapis another movement ability for Iron Fist,allowing him to jump up to three times in a row. All of these jumps have about the same verticality to them, but getting vertical isn’t their only purpose.
One of Iron Fist’s greatest strengths is that he isone of the mostdifficult characters to consistently damage.Much of that comes from Crane Leap; you can change direction with each leap, and doing this unpredictably is going to both make you difficult to hit and allow you to either close a gap or create one.
Wall Runner
Wall Runneris a passive movement-ability for Iron Fist,allowing him to run along walls at a speed that’s quicker than his ground-running. This can be a tricky ability to get used to, and in the beginning, you’ll find yourself running the wrong way along walls often.
But once you’ve used Iron Fist for a while,this ability is going to dramatically improve your skill ceiling. Creative use of wall running is going to afford you a lot more flanking opportunities, as well as add to your escapability.
Combining both Crane Leap and Wall Runneris going to ensure you don’t have to touch the ground unless you intend to.
Harmony Recovery
Harmony Recovery allows Iron Fist to recover health on his own, without the use of a friendly Strategist or Health Pad. It’s an important ability, but you need to be smart about where and when you use it.
Using Harmony Recovery out in the open is going to get you killed; the worst thing an Iron Fist can do is stand still. Get to cover, ensure you don’t have a tail, and then use Harmony Recovery.
Oftentimes, the enemy team expects Duelists to attack from an angle leading from friendly Strategists. With Harmony Recovery,you don’t have to visit friendly Strategits, or Health Pads, ensuring you canconstantly be in locations the enemy doesn’t expect.
Chi Absorption
Chi Absorptionis Iron Fist’s other passive; the effect it provides likely isn’t one you’re going to notice often, but it is important.
Taking down and assisting in taking down enemies is going to give Iron Fist bonus health. It isn’t going to be a lot, but with characters that rely on movement and not health, any amount of extra health is helpful.
Living Chi
Living Chiis Iron Fist’s ultimate ability, and in the right situation, it can easily wipe the enemy team single-handedly. This ability essentiallycreates a supercharged version of Iron Fist. He’ll be constantlyattacking with Yat Jee Chung, he’ll gain bonus health, and the cooldown of Dragon’s Defense is going to be reduced.
When To Use Living Chi
Iron Fist basically functions the same with Living Chi act; he’s just better at everything he does.Activate the ability, preferably on a flanking route, and dive into the enemy team.
Ideally, youtake out enemy Strategistsfirst, but with this active, you’re going to be capable oftaking Vanguards downwith quickness, too. You canclose the gap on enemies immediately, and the bonus health helps ensure you don’t get dropped immediately.
As long as you aren’t low-health when you activate the ability, it’s difficult not to make a significant difference in the match with it.
Dragon’s Chill
Dragon’s Chillis Iron Fist’s passive ability and affectsLuna Snowmore than it does Iron Fist.Iron Fist passively channels Chi into Luna, who then can create a field around her that knocks back enemies and heals allies.
While this isn’t a boost for Iron Fist, who’s usually not going to be around for this healing, it is avery helpful ability for the rest of the team.
