Despite not having any superpowers, Black Widow is a force to be reckoned with in Marvel Rivals. Her highly effective shots can take you down before you even realize she’s there, so she’s a superb character to play once you understand how she functions.
Black Widow is one of the many Duelists you can play, which means her skill set is centered around her damage-dealing capabilities. She’s got a unique balance between melee and ranged abilities, so she’s a highly flexible unit that works well in all combat situations. Mastering her skill set can be tricky, so here’s how to play Black Widow in Marvel Rivals.
All Black Widow abilities in Marvel Rivals, explained
| Name | Description | PC control | Controller |
|---|---|---|---|
| Widow’s Bite Baton | Strike with enhanced electric batons. | LMB | RT/R2 |
| Red Room Rifle | Attack enemies with the Red Room Rifle. | LMB | RT/R2 |
| Fleet Foot | Dash forward and enable a powerful jump. | LShift | LB/L1 |
| Edge Dancer | Unleash a Spinning Kick to Launch Up enemies. Landing this strike allows Black Widow to zip to her target with a grappling hook to deal a second strike. | E | RB/R1 |
| Straight Shooter | Switch to the Red Room Rifle to fire high-energy rounds. | RMB | LT/L2 |
| Supersensory Hunt (Team Up) | Hawkeye shares his Hunter’s Sight with Black Widow, enabling her to catch sight of and damage afterimages of enemies. | C | Y/Triangle |
| Electro-Plasma Explosion | Switch the Red Room Rifle to destruction mode and unleash an electro-plasma blast that damages enemies within range while leaving Plasma on the ground to Slow nearby opponents. | Q | Left Stick + Right Stick |
Black Widow strategy and tips in Marvel Rivals
As long as you know how to use her, Black Widow is one of the most dangerous and deadly characters in Marvel Rivals. She has a versatile and flexible combat style since you can sneakily snipe enemies or get up close to deal rapid deadly strikes.
Although she can be used for melee and ranged attacks, Black Widow excels at sniping down enemies from afar. The shots from her Red Room Rifle are about lethal and allow you to eliminate opponents before they can even react as long as you strategize and aim carefully.
Black Widow’s position is key to her success. Do your best to find a spot up high, out of sight, with a good view of the battle area so you can rain down havoc from above. It might take some time to learn the maps enough to know where you want to have her set up, so there’s certainly a learning curve for mastering her skill set.
If you’re struggling to hit enemies with her sniper shots, Black Widow’s Supersensory Hunt team-up makes it a lot easier because it essentially gives you multiple duplicates of your target to strike. Try to get someone else to play as Hawkeye on your team so you can make use of this powerful ability.
There are lots of different ways you can mix and match her abilities, but I’ve found it to be highly effective to start with Fleet Foot to quickly navigate to a solid sniping spot as soon as a match begins, toggle Straight Shooter to switch to her gun, use Red Room Rifle to get as many hits as possible in, and swap to Widow’s Bite Baton as needed to deal melee damage whenever enemies get within range.
When her Electro-Plasma Explosion Ultimate is ready to go, always make sure you position yourself carefully before using it. Lots of other characters like Psylocke, Moon Knight, and Spider-Man have Ultimates that require you to get up close with enemies, but Black Widow’s Ultimate plays into her sniper skill set and allows you to deal massive deductive damage from afar. It has an AoE effect that causes all enemies within range to be damaged and temporarily Slowed, so try to hit when lots of enemies are grouped together.
Black Widow’s biggest strength is ranged damage, as it is for quite a few Duelists, so if you’re struggling to use her effectively, always try to put some distance between you and your enemies to make the best use of her skill set. And if you end up deciding she’s one of your favorites, she’s got some great skins worth working on acquiring next.
