How can Black Widow be good in Marvel Rivals?

M Alzamora Published 18/01/2025

Is Marvel Rival's Black Widow any good as a duelist?

Black Widow may not be the best hero to play in Marvel Rivals, but does she have any merits? Some players are trying desperately to prove it out.

Marvel Rivals is one of the latest third-person shooter games to sweep the web. Season 1 recently hit a new milestone of over 600,000 concurrent players with tens of millions of downloads. Many players praise the game for its commitment to a free-to-play model with optional paid add-ons and immediate access being given to each of the game’s hero. Not every hero, however, is made equal. While Mantis and Hela are among the most successful in competitive play, others like Black Widow fail to measure up.

Generally, most Marvel Rivals players consider Black Widow to be one of the worst heroes in the game. A small minority, however, argue that she can be a viable character just like any other.

Is Black Widow a good hero in Marvel Rivals?

Though some players disagree, the general consensus is that Black Widow is underpowered when compared to the rest of the Marvel Rivals characters.

One of the biggest critiques of Black Widow that players have is that compared to other heroes, she lacks a certain lethality in her gameplay. Black Widow in Marvel Rivals is a duelist, a class that implies high damage-dealing capabilities and an aggressive playing style. Yet she can’t one- or at times even two-shot an opponent on her own, and she has a relatively long rate of fire. For a point of comparison, her rifle can do 120 damage per shot, while Star-Lord can do up to 260 damage per second. Hawkeye can do similar sniping damage to Black Widow, but he’s able to load up a second shot much more quickly.

Additionally, many are left unsatisfied with Black Widow’s overall kit. While her ability to sprint is useful in the context of her character, her kick move mainly serves to get opponents out of her face and it doesn’t have great reach. Her ultimate, Electro-Plasma Explosion, doesn’t deal a lot of damage and mostly serves to slow enemies. Black Widow’s abilities also face a lot of criticism for their slow recharge time.

Duelist Black Widow in Marvel Rivals.

Despite all of this, some players have insisted that when played optimally, Black Widow can be a critical part of a team’s success. She and Hawkeye have a team-up called Supersensory Vision that allows Hawkeye to share his Hunter’s Sight ultimate. Black Widow can then headshot targets using these after images. Their team-up can become crucial then.

As a sniper, Black Widow mains agree that the hero works best when she is positioned far away, constantly on the move, and works more as a support than a main damage-dealer. Even in close range, players have found ways to deal significant damage without relying on headshots. Some have even gone as far as to say that Black Widow is properly balanced. They suggest that it is other snipers, such as Hawkeye and Hela, who are overpowered.

Is Black Widow viable in Marvel Rivals competitive play?

As of Marvel Rivals Season 0, Black Widow is the least successful heroes of the original 33 in competitive play.

No matter what mode or platform one looks at, Black Widow handily takes home the worst win rate of the bunch. She has her highest relative win rate on PC and console in quickplay at 44.15%. This number quickly drops to 41% and 37% respectively by platform when switching to competitive mode. Her closest hero is Jeff the Land Shark, whose win rate never dips below 44%.

Players may notice a small change in her performance after Season 1 buffs. In the patch notes, the development team acknowledged that Black Widow needed a number of adjustments to bring her abilities closer in power to the other heroes. Her first effect from Edge Dancer now has a wider range, up from three meters to five, and her Fleet Foot sprint only takes four seconds to recover rather than 12. Additionally, players will see that her ultimate reaches maximum power in an improved time.

The assassin character is able to weave together interesting combos now with her disengage tool, main weapon, and melee attacks, linked them together to do heavier damage than she otherwise can. But that still doesn’t make up for the gap between her and top DPS characters in the game.

Marvel Rivals Season 1 launched on January 10, and most players are still getting accustomed to the new round of adjustments. Those who have the time to practice may find that Black Widow is more valuable than they once thought. Still, it’s unlikely that she will ever be the best or easiest hero to play unless her kit is changed dramatically.

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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