Marvel Rivals Black Widow guide: Abilities, how to play, and more

Marvel Rivals Black Widow is a Duelist character. She is a classic from the Marvel series and is undoubtedly amongst the fan-favorites. Sticking to her lore, Black Widow is a marksman character who excels at securing eliminations using her Sniper Rifle. She has a very high-skill floor, solely because of how fast the tempo of this game is, and as a player, you have to constantly reposition for a strategic advantage.

It does require a fair amount of practice to master this Duelist character. This article will provide players with a detailed guide on how they can dominate their enemies using Black Widow in Marvel Rivals.

Editor's Note: The contents of this guide have been updated to the latest patch deployed on January 25, 2025. This article will be further updated as a new balance update goes live for Marvel Rivals in the near future.

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Marvel Rivals Black Widow: All abilities

Marvel Rivals Black Widow is a Duelist character (Image via NetEase Games)

Black Widow has a total of two weapons and features four abilities with a single team-up power. Here is a detailed look into all her abilities:

Ability	Effect
Widow’s Bite Baton (LMB)	Strike with the enhanced electric batons
Red Room Rifle (LMB)	Attack with the Red Room Rifle
Electro-Plasma Explosion (Q)	Switch the Red Room Rifle to Destruction mode and unleash an electro-plasma blast, damaging enemies within range and leaving plasma on the ground to Slow nearby enemies
Fleet Foot (LShift)	Dash forward and enable a powerful jump
Edge Dancer (E)	Unleash a spinning kick to Knock enemies airborne. Landing the hit will allow her to zip to the target with a grappling hook for a second kick
Straight Shooter (RMB)	Switch the Red Room Rifle to Sniper mode to fire high-energy rounds
Supersensory Hunt (C)	Hawkeye can share his Hunter's Sight with Black Widow, enabling her to catch sight of and damage afterimages of enemies

How to play as Black Widow in Marvel Rivals?

Mobility

Black Widow using Fleet Foot in Marvel Rivals (Image via NetEase Games)

Black Widow in Marvel Rivals has only a single movement ability, Fleet Foot, that can be used to quickly relocate a short distance. However, the super jump that is enabled after the jump is far more important than the dash itself. This jump can allow you to climb up to different vantage points from where you can easily snipe enemies and deal damage. This is also quite effective when melee attackers try to close in on your location.

Playstyle

Black Widow in Marvel Rivals is quite straightforward and takes the long-range position on the team. Your abilities will almost always be used to deal damage or the final blow on enemies to create space for the squad. You should aim to spam the Plasma shots as much as possible throughout the match, as they can turn the tides of the battle with their extra damage output.

Marvel Rivals Black Widow Straight Shooter ability (Image via NetEase Games)

It is important to remain on the backlines and support the Vanguard, as Black Widow to ensure that the team can push continuously and emerge victorious. Black Widow can become even more effective with Hawkeye on the team, as you can see afterimages of enemies and damage them. This is especially great when chasing high-mobility heroes like Spiderman or Ironman.

Ultimate

The Ultimate ability of Black Widow, Electro-Plasma Explosion, is a great ability to crowd control in matches. It slows down enemies by eighty percent in a radius of 1.5 meters for ten seconds after exploding in an area of 5.6 to 8 meters. The explosion deals a damage of 120-170 leaving the slowed down enemies for an easy finish.

Best team-ups for Black Widow in Marvel Rivals

1) Hawkeye (Duelist)

Hawkeye is a great duo for Marvel Rivals Black Widow (Image via NetEase Games)

Hawkeye and Black Widow together form the Marvel Rivals team-up called Allied Agents. Black Widow benefits from this team-up by getting the special ability from Hawkeye called Supersensory Hunt.

When this team-up is active in a game in Marvel Rivals, Black Widow also gets to use the effects of Hunter’s Sight, enabling her to also spot and damage afterimages of enemies. This combined with the massive damage of her Red Room Rifle is lethal, especially against other Duelists and Strategists.

2) Rocket Raccoon (Strategist)

Rocket Raccoon is a great duo for Marvel Rivals Black Widow (Image via NetEase Games)

Rocket is one of the best duos for Black Widow in Marvel Rivals. His B.R.B. and his ultimate, C.Y.A., are perfect for Widow as they allow her to continuously dish out heavy damage owing to the continuous armor packs and damage boost.

Furthermore, B.R.B. also enables Widow to take aggressive peaks as it can potentially revive her if such a situation arises.

Best Marvel Rivals Black Widow counters

1) Venom (Vanguard)

Venom is a counter to Marvel Rivals Black Widow (Image via NetEase Games)

Venom is one of the best counters to Black Widow in Marvel Rivals. Primarily, his high health allows him to tank multiple shots from Widow’s Red Room Rifle. Moreover, his Symbiotic Resilience, which grants him bonus health against damage taken, is excellent against a high-damaging hero like Black Widow.

Furthermore, Venom’s agility with Venom Swing and Alien Biology makes it extremely difficult for Widow to track him, and when paired with Frenzied Arrival and Cellular Corrosion, it is almost always lethal against Black Widow.

2) Black Panther (Duelist)

Black Panther is a counter to Marvel Rivals Black Widow (Image via NetEase Games)

Black Widow is a glass cannon and is particularly weak against dive Duelists in Marvel Rivals. Black Panther is one of those Duelists who uses his advanced movement mechanics to get close to his enemies and deal lethal damage with Spirit Rend and Spirit Kick. This allows him to dodge Widow’s sniper shots effectively and melt her HP once he gets close enough.

Moreover, even if he gets hit by one of Black Widow’s Red Room Rifle shots, his passive, Panther’s Cunning, then helps him to get rid of her health bar even faster.

Marvel Rivals Black Widow Lore

While most players already know about the character of Black Widow from The Avengers, her in-game lore is different from that of the MCU. Here's an excerpt from the game's official website detailing the backstory of Natasha Romanova aka Black Widow in Marvel Rivals:

"Trained from childhood in the infamous Red Room, Natasha Romanova became one of the most feared spies and saboteurs in the world. For years, she put her unrivaled combat skills to use as a member of the Avengers, keeping pace with some of the most powerful beings who ever lived. Imbued with supersoldier-like treatments that vastly extended her lifespan, Black Widow outlived most of her enemies and allies. But her fight still rages on decades into the future, where she leads the Red Room in its ongoing effort to overthrow the tyrannical Doom 2099."

That's all there is to know about mastering the fan-favorite Marvel Rivals Black Widow. These inputs will help you dominate your games, and the more you play this character, the better you will be able to position yourself for easier eliminations. For more related news, stay tuned to Sportskeeda's Esports section.

If you're interested, you can check out our other hero guides below:

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Edited by Ashmita Bhatt