Honestly, the first time you drop into Hydra Charteris Base: Hell’s Heaven, it feels less like a tactical shooter and more like you’ve accidentally walked into a Bond villain’s fever dream. It’s cold. It's metal. There’s a giant, bubbling pit of lava right in the middle of a frozen wasteland because, well, comic book logic. But here’s the thing: most people treat this map like a standard corridor shooter, and that is exactly why they’re losing their Domination matches.
If you aren't paying attention to the shifting walls or the verticality of the Hydra map Marvel Rivals has thrown at us, you're basically just target practice for a decent Iron Man or Hela player.
The Weird Lore Behind Hell’s Heaven
We have to talk about why this place even exists in the game. It’s located at the Antarctic Charteris Base, and it’s basically Hydra’s attempt at a Hail Mary during the Timestream Entanglement. They found a massive deposit of Chronovium inside a volcano—because of course they did—and decided to use it to wake up an ancient deity called the Hive.
You can actually see the murals dedicated to Hydra’s enemies and the mechs they’re building while you’re trying not to get shot. It’s a Domination map, which means the objective is all about holding territory. But unlike the Royal Palace in Yggsgard, the environment here actively wants to mess with your positioning.
Survival 101: The Three Zones of Chaos
The map is split into three distinct phases that cycle as the match progresses. If you don't adjust your hero pick between rounds, you're going to have a bad time.
1. The Super-Soldier Factory
This is the "lava room" everyone talks about. The center of the arena is dominated by a pool of molten Chronovium/lava that is instant death if you get knocked into it.
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- The Gimmick: The walls move. Seriously. The mechanical architecture shifts, which can suddenly cut off your line of sight or trap you in a corner with a very angry Hulk.
- The Play: Use heroes with knockback. Strange’s shield or Peni Parker’s mines are hilarious here because you can literally boop people into the lava.
2. The Frozen Airfield
Once you move out of the factory, things open up. This area is a nightmare for ground-based characters who don't have a gap closer. It’s wide, it’s icy, and there’s a lot of "high ground" that isn't actually that safe because it's so exposed. You'll see plenty of mechs in mid-construction here, which serve as your primary cover.
3. The Eldritch Monument
This is where the Hydra weirdness peaks. You’re fighting around a massive portal meant for the Hive. The verticality here is vertical. You have multiple levels of catwalks and platforms. If you aren't looking up, a Spider-Man is going to drop on your head and delete your backline before you can say "Hail Hydra."
Stop Ignoring the Destructible Environment
One of the coolest (and most annoying) things about the Hydra map Marvel Rivals features is how much of it you can actually break.
I’ve seen so many teams hide behind a wall thinking they're safe, only for a Punisher or a Magneto to level the entire structure. On Hell's Heaven, breaking the right wall doesn't just remove cover; it often opens up a flank that wasn't there thirty seconds ago. There’s a specific "Green Route" (as the sweatier players call it) that requires you to destroy part of the environment to get a direct line to the capture point. Use it.
Best Heroes for Hydra Charteris Base
Not all heroes are created equal on this map. If you're playing solo queue, here’s who you should probably be looking at:
Iron Man & Storm
The verticality in the third stage is built for fliers. Being able to rain down damage while the enemy team is stuck on a narrow catwalk is a massive advantage. Just watch out for the ceiling height; it’s lower than you think in the factory section.
Winter Soldier & Hawkeye
Lore-wise, these two are the ones who alerted the heroes to the base, and gameplay-wise, they thrive here. Bucky’s punch is great for environmental kills near the lava, and Hawkeye can abuse the long sightlines in the Airfield.
Groot
Since the walls shift and things break constantly, being able to create your own permanent cover with walls is huge. He can effectively "fix" a broken chokepoint.
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The Strategy Nobody Uses
Most teams just run straight down the "Blue Route"—the main central path. It’s predictable. It’s a meat grinder.
Instead, look for the Elevated Northern paths (the Red Routes). These give you a commanding view of the objective and usually have health packs tucked away in the corners. If you can hold the high ground in the Eldritch Monument phase, you win. Period. The enemy team has to burn all their cooldowns just to reach you, leaving them defenseless once they actually get to the point.
What to Do Next
If you're serious about climbing the ranks in Season 6, stop treating every map the same.
- Jump into a Custom Match alone. No bots, no pressure.
- Walk the perimeter of Hell’s Heaven. Find those breakable walls in the factory.
- Learn the timing of the moving walls. They aren't random; they follow a pattern.
- Practice your "boops." If you play a character with knockback, learn exactly where you need to stand to send an enemy into the lava pool from the capture point.
Mastering the Hydra map Marvel Rivals puts you ahead of 90% of the player base who are still just "aiming and praying." Get comfortable with the cold, learn the shifts, and stop falling in the lava.