Black Widow is a powerful addition to the Marvel Rivals roster, but her power only comes if you play her correctly.
Marvel Rivals has tons of different characters sporting various abilities and Team-Ups, each with their own distinctive playstyle. If you’re not a fan of playing in the frontlines or up-close against your enemies, then Black Widow might just be perfect for you.
The legendary Black Widow is a sniper who shines at pressuring enemies from long range in Marvel Rivals, but mastering that technique, and what to do when an enemy gets near you is key to your survival. Here’s how to do just that.
Black Widow stats in Marvel Rivals
- Class: Duelist
- Health: 250
- Movement: 6m per second
Black Widow is a deadly Sniper with the ability to take down enemies from range. She’s not got the highest health in the game, so keeping a distance and ensuring you’re well-protected are key in any battle.
Thanks to her position as a Duelist, however, Black Widow undeniably packs a punch, as long as she’s played correctly.
Weapons
Depending on the situation, Black Widow has two weapons you can switch to: the Red Room Rifle and Bite Baton.
The Rifle is her long-range weapon, which can be scoped and used to hip fire. Meanwhile, the latter is her melee weapon, ideal to use against flankers up close.
Her Widow’s Bite Baton stats can be found below:
| Weapon Type | Melee |
| Damage | 45 |
| Maximum Distance | 3m |
| Fire Rate | 2 per second |
Her Red Room Rifle stats can be found below:
| Weapon Type | Ranged |
| Damage | 120 damage per round |
| Damage Falloff | Falloff begins at 10m and decreases to 50% at 20m |
| Fire Rate | 8 / 0.83 rounds per second |
| ADS times | 0.3s |
| Effect | Shares the same magazine with Red Room Rifle. Straight Shooter activates only after aiming down sights for a specific duration; otherwise, it will fire from the Red Room Rifle |
Abilities
Along with her weapons, Black Widow has some fantastic abilities to help her sprint, perform enhanced jumps, unleash spinning kicks, and so much more.
| Ability | Details | What it Does |
|---|---|---|
| Electro-Plasma Explosion | Projectile Speed: 100m per secondExplosion Range: 5.6m – 8mExplosion Damage: 120 – 170Plasma Gobules: 7-20Range: 1.5m radiusSlow Rate: -80%Duration: 10sEnergy Cost: 2,800 | Change the Red Room Ridle to Destruction mode, unleashing an electro-plasma blast, damaging enemies and slowing them.Charge for one second for maximum range, damage, and Gobules. |
| Fleet Foot | Movement Boost: 33%Max Energy: 120Energy Cost: 12m per secondJump Energy Cost: 24 per leapEnergy Recovery Speed: 10 per second | Change the Red Room Ridle to Destruction mode, unleashing an electro-plasma blast, damaging enemies and slowing them.Charge for one second for maximum range, damage, and Gobules. |
| Edge Dancer | Kick Damage: 35Max Distance: 3mFlying Kick Distance: 12mFlying Kick Damage: 35Flying Kick Stun Duration: 1sFlying Kick Casting Window: 5sCooldown: 15s | Unleash a spinning kick to send enemies airborne. A successful hit lets her grappling hook to the target for a second kick. |
| Straight Shooter | Damage: 120Fire Rate: 8 / 0.83 per secondSpecial Effect: Shares a magazine with the Red Room Rifle | Change the Red Room Rifle to Sniper Mode. |
| Supersensory Hunt(Team-Up) | Team-Up Target: HawkeyeDuration: 8sAfterimage Generation Interval: 0.5sAfterimage Generation Duration: 3sCooldown: 30Special Effect: Afterimage cannot be critically hit | Hawkeye shares his Hunters Sight with Black Widow, letting her catch sight of and damage afterimages of enemies. |
How to play Black Widow in Marvel Rivals
Black Widow doesn’t have too much health, so positioning is key for this character. Ideally, you’ll want to be on high ground or further away from the enemy, so you can pick them off with your Red Room Rifle when they’re in a dangerous position.
However, you’ll also want to avoid camping in one spot, as staying still for too long will allow the enemy team to acknowledge your location and take you down.
We suggest utilizing your enhanced jumps and sprints to change locations once you’ve taken down an enemy, using your weapon to hipfire or your baton if you come face-to-face with anyone on the way.
On top of this, an ideal combo to deal with tricky situations or unexpected enemies is to land a shot at them, use your Edge Dancer ability to kick them away from you, and then press the same ability button again to grab them back to you to land another shot.
This combo should finish off squishies, but assuming your enemy lives, chances are their low health is enough to have them flee to safety.
Best team comp
To help complement Black Widows skills in Marvel Rivals, we suggest pairing her with the following characters:
- Hawkeye
- Iron Fist
- Adam Warlock
- Wolverine
Hawkeye
Considering Black Widow’s Team-Up ability, having Hawkeye on your team is a no-brainer. He’s a powerful ranged character by himself, but when combined with their ability and the dual ranged attacks, you have a team that’s deadly, and tough to get to.
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Check out our Hawkeye guide for more details on the character.
Iron Fist
Almost working as the opposite of Hawkeye, Iron Fist is a fantastic Duelist who will solely work to keep the enemy off Black Widow. Using his disruption techniques and speed, he can serve as such a threat that the enemy team will solely focus on him, allowing you to pick them off one by one.
Check out our Iron Fist guide for more details on the character.
Adam Warlock
Given Black Widow’s relatively low health, an enemy coming close to you can quickly spell disaster, which is why you need a character like Adam Warlock by your side. Not only can he heal, but he can also revive you, keeping you in the fight for longer and allowing you to keep on destroying anyone you see.
Check out our Adam Warlock guide for more details on the character.
Wolverine
Working in the same way as Iron Fist, Wolverine acts as the ideal distraction for Black Widow. Unlike Iron Fist though, Wolverine is a deadly tank mixed with DPS, so you’ll be able to pack a punch, keep yourself standing, and let Black Widow pick off other threats from a safe position. Simply distract, and the wins will come to you.
Check out our Wolverine guide for more details on the character.
Best counters
Going up against a skilled Black Widow can be pretty deadly. So, if you’re struggling, then you’ll want to choose the following counters:
- Spider-Man
- The Punisher
- Jeff the Land Shark
Spider-Man
Using a quick, moveable, and powerful character like Spider-Man is a fantastic counter for Black Widow in Marvel Rivals. Thanks to his webs, he’s able to get away from any threats and jump straight to Black Widow’s hiding place. Then, all he needs to do is take her down, which given her health, should be a ‘swing’ in the park.
Check out our Spider-Man guide for more details on the character.
The Punisher
Getting up close and personal with a ranged character is undeniably useful as a counter, but so is just wailing on them with your own ranged weapon. After all, it’s likely a comprehensive team will be protecting any melee fighters from getting to Black Widow, so simply let loose a Smoke Grenade, use your Vantage Connection to get over to her without being seen, and take her down.
Check out our Punisher guide for more details on the character.
Jeff the Land Shark
While certainly the cutest character in Marvel Rivals, Jeffs’ ability to swim through the map and pick enemies up is game-changing and perfect for Black Widow. Simply swim safely towards her, pick her up, and either throw her off the map or place her in the middle of your own team. Once she’s unprepared and vulnerable, she won’t last long.
Check out our Jeff the Land Shark guide for more details on the character.
That sums up everything you need to know about how to play Black Widow in Marvel Rivals. While you’re here, check out the full roster, the character tier list, and all the game modes.
