Marvel Rivals Venom guide: Abilities, how to play, and more

Marvel Rivals Venom is a vanguard or tank who has dive-focused gameplay and can do splash damage with his diving abilities. As a Symbiote being, Venom uses his tendrils or tentacles for most of the attacks and also retains web-slinging properties which greatly aids in his mobility. As a vanguard, Venom can also tank a decent amount of damage to help his team.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at Venom in Marvel Rivals. We will explore his kit and analyze his dive-oriented playstyle to see what synergizes best with him.

Editor's Note: This guide is updated until the December 19 patch of Marvel Rivals. We will update it whenever a new balance update for the character is released.

Looking for Crossword hints & solutions? Check out latest NYT Mini Crossword Answers, LA Times Crossword Answers, and Atlantic Crossword Answers

Marvel Rivals Venom: All abilities

Marvel Rivals Venom is a Vanguard character (Image via NetEase Games)

Venom in Marvel Rivals is a dive tank, going by Overwatch's terminology. This Vanguard excels in close-quarter combat and is perfect for players who want to go all-out aggressive against enemy players. With the right tempo, Venom can absolutely dismantle squads and cause irreparable damage to enemy team cohesion and coordination.

Here is a list of Venom's abilities:

Abilities	Effect
Dark Predation (LMB)	Unleash tentacles forward to attack enemies.
Cellular Corrosion (RMB)	Unleash tentacles to Slow enemies within reach. Enemies unable to break free in time will suffer damage.
Feast of the Abyss (Q)	Burrow underground for free movement. After a duration or by pressing LMB, devour enemies above and generate Bonus Health.
Venom Swing (L-Shift)	Launch webbing forward, allowing for a singular swing in the desired direction.
Symbiotic Resilience (E)	Generate Bonus Health against damage. The lower Venom's Health, the greater the Bonus Health generated.
Frenzied Arrival (F)	Dash to the target location from a certain height. Upon landing, damage nearby enemies, Knocking Them Back towards the landing point.
Alien Biology (Passive)	Press Space to wall crawl, and while crawling press LMB to sprint.
Touch of Klyntar (Team-up Passive)	Venom shares a part of his symbiotes with Spider-Man and Peni Parker, activating their symbiote abilities. Spider-Man and Peni Parker can convert the symbiotes into explosive spikes that inflict harm on nearby enemies and relentlessly drive them back.

Also read: Is Marvel Rivals free-to-play?

How to play as Venom in Marvel Rivals?

Mobility

Venom's Venom Swing in Marvel Rivals (Image via NetEase Games)

Venom in Marvel Rivals is a fairly mobile character since he can swing and gain positional advantages really quickly. However, when not swinging, Venom is bulky and incredibly slow.

Accurate to the lore, Venom can crawl on walls and even sprint on them, making it easier to take really odd angles that not many heroes in Marvel Rivals can reach. All of Venom's mobility is based on the web-swinging and wall-crawling abilities akin to Spider-Man.

Read more: All Marvel Rivals heroes and villains

Playstyle

As mentioned before, Venom in Marvel Rivals is a dive hero. He is very good at diving at the enemy, disrupting and doing some poke damage, and then using his abilities to sustain for a while before swinging out of action. It is important to remember that Venom is a big and bulky character, which also makes him an easy target for some of the more heavy-hitting duelist units like The Punisher in Marvel Rivals.

Venom's regenerative ability aids in his dive playstyle since he can sustain himself pretty well in a fight, even without constant support. With his overhealth and ability to slow down enemies, this symbiote being can be quite a menace that can potentially change the entire flow of a battle.

Marvel Rivals Venom Frenzied Arrival ability (Image via NetEase Games)

For combos, one of the better ways to play Venom in Marvel Rivals is to swing in and dive on a group of enemies with your Frenzied Arrival, and keep doing damage with your tentacles till you have lost half of your health.

At this point, you should use your Symbiotic Resilience (E) along with your Cellular Corrosion (RMB) to sustain and deal some more damage while your Venom Swing recharges, following which you should leave the fight.

Ultimate

Venom's ultimate in Marvel Rivals allows him to burrow under the ground and then devour the opponents above in a giant bite. Although this ability does significant damage, it is not enough to kill an enemy with full health. As such, it should be used in combination with other ultimates to secure easy kills on your enemies.

This ultimate also generates bonus health for Venom, which can help him sustain further after resurfacing from his ultimate.

Best team-ups for Venom in Marvel Rivals

1) Spider-Man and Peni Parker

Spider-Man is a great duo for Marvel Rivals Venom (Image via NetEase Games)

Venom, Spider-Man, and Peni Parker together form the Marvel Rivals team-up called Symbiote Bond. When this team-up is active, Venom shares a part of his Symbiote with Spidey and Peni Parker who can then use it to create explosive spikes around them, dealing damage to nearby enemies and driving them back.

Venom, in this case, is the team-up anchor. Therefore, as a Vanguard, he receives +150 max health as a seasonal bonus, taking his overall health up to 800.

2) Mantis

Mantis is a great duo for Marvel Rivals Venom (Image via NetEase Games)

Venom is a Vanguard, meaning he is a frontline hero who is designed to tank damage and engage in initial fights. For such a character, a consistent healer behind him is a must, which is where Mantis comes into play. Her Healing Flower and her ultimate, Soul Resurgence, can provide consistent healing and bonus health, increasing Venom’s value on the battlefield.

Furthermore, Mantis’ Spore Slumber combined with Allied Inspiration enables Venom to get some easy takedowns.

Also read: 5 best heroes to duo with Venom in Marvel Rivals

Counters for Marvel Rivals Venom

1) Magneto

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

Magneto is one of the few heroes who can counter Venom’s extremely aggressive kit. His Iron Bulwark and Metal Bulwark are the primary counters to Venom as they block Venom’s primary attacks and provide him with rings, charging up his Mag-Cannon. Mag-Cannon deals massive damage to Venom with higher ring stacks and can even knock him back with a maximum stack.

Moreover, Magneto’s ultimate, Meteor M, deals devastating damage when successfully cooked. Additionally, Magneto can remain airborne for a long period of time, making it difficult for Venom to take him down.

2) Hela

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

Hela is another excellent counter to Venom in Marvel Rivals. Her ranged attacks can deal a significant amount of damage, effectively taking down Venom’s massive health bar. Moreover, her Soul Drainer ability can stun Venom if he tries to get close, making him an easy target for Hela and her team to take down.

Hela also possesses one of the best escape abilities in the game, called Astral Flock. This allows her to easily dodge Venom’s tentacles and reposition herself to an advantageous position. Finally, her ultimate, Goddess of Death, can melt Venom in seconds, making her a formidable opponent for the nightcrawler to face.

Marvel Rivals Venom Lore

After going through his abilities in detail, it is only fair that we explore Venom's lore in the Marvel Rivals universe. As per the official blog post, here's everything you need to know about the character's background:

"When Spider-Man rejected a symbiotic alien that he had once believed to be a mere costume, the creature formed a new bond with a man who shared its disdain for Peter Parker. Together, the symbiote and Eddie Brock became the lethal protector known as Venom. While displaced in time and fighting in the occult wars, Venom glimpsed the horrific future awaiting this timeline. To prevent that future from happening, Venom knows he has only two options - kill the dark god Knull or imprison him on Klyntar and take his throne."

Also check out some of our other Hero guides:

Are you stuck on today's Wordle? Our Wordle Solver will help you find the answer.

Edited by Jito Tenson