Black Widow Guide: How to Play, Combos, & Counters

Black Widow Overview

black widow is one of the most challenging Duelists to pull off in a high-tier match in Marvel Rivals (at least in her current state). As a dedicated sniper, she relies on precise aim rather than raw damage output. Her kit revolves around landing headshots with her Red Room Rifle while using her mobility to stay safe from diving enemies.

	Stats
Health	250 HP
Role	Duelist
Difficulty	Hard (4/5)

Black Widow's Abilities in Marvel Rivals

Ability Name	Input	Description
Widow's Bite Baton	LMB	Strike with enhanced electric batons for close-quarters combat when enemies get too close.
Red Room Rifle	LMB	Attack with your Red Room Rifle, effective at medium ranges and for quick shots without scoping.
Straight Shooter	RMB	Switch the Red Room Rifle to Sniper mode to fire high-energy rounds with no damage falloff at range.
Fleet Foot	Shift	Dash forward with increased movement speed and activate a powerful jump for repositioning or reaching high ground.
Edge Dancer	E	Unleash a spinning kick that launches enemies, followed by a grappling hook that allows you to zip to them for a second kick and stun.
Electro-Plasma Explosion	Q	Switch to Destruction mode and fire a plasma blast that damages enemies and leaves a field that slows anyone caught in it.
Supersensory Hunt	C	Hawkeye shares his Hunter's Sight with you, allowing you to see and damage afterimages of enemies you target.

Ability Management

Black Widow's effectiveness depends on using her abilities at the right moments:

• Red Room Rifle: This is your primary damage source. At close to medium range, hip-fire can be effective, but at distances beyond 15m, you'll need to use Straight Shooter (ADS).
• Straight Shooter: This is your main source of damage at long range due to no-fall off damage.
• Fleet Foot Energy: Manage your energy bar carefully. Don't use all your energy getting to a position—save at least 50% for emergency escapes and don't spam the power jumps.
• Edge Dancer Usage: This ability serves dual purposes—defensive and offensive. Defensively, use it to create space between you and diving enemies. Offensively, the short stun from the follow-up kick creates perfect opportunities for headshots on stationary targets.
• Reload Timing: With limited rounds in your magazine, reload management is equally important. Reload during repositioning or while in cover, not during active engagements.

How to Play Black Widow in Marvel Rivals

Positioning and Playstyle

Black Widow's sniper focus requires careful positioning to be effective:

• Positioning: Seek positions with clear sightlines to the battlefield. Use a natural cover to minimize your vulnerability while still allowing you to take shots. Unlike more mobile characters, you need to be really careful about how you position, therefore look out for spots that offer both good visibility and quick escape routes.
• Approach Patterns: As Black Widow, your "approach" is often staying back from the main fight. Some effective positioning strategies include:
  • Elevated positions that overlook objectives or common pathways
  • Areas with health packs nearby
  • Positions near cover that let you quickly break line of sight when spotted
• Defensive Positioning: Always have an escape route planned. Don't try to take on multiple enemies at once if they dive you—Black Widow is designed for single-target long-ranged fights and not sustained combat.
• Health Management: With only 250 HP, you can't afford to be out of position. Remember that staying alive is more valuable than securing a single kill if it means your death.

Target Priority

Black Widow's high single-target damage gives her specific advantages against certain targets:

1. Support Characters: Strategists should be your highest-priority targets. Eliminating healers severely hampers the enemy team's sustainability.
2. Enemy Duelists: Other ranged threats like the Punisher should be targeted early although be careful as exposing yourself for too long can put you in a bad spot as well since a lot of other Duelists have a higher consistent damage.
3. Low-Health Retreating Enemies: Your hitscan weapon excels at finishing off enemies attempting to escape with low health.
4. Vanguards as Last Resort: While not ideal targets and should not be prioritized in most cases, landing consistent headshots on tanks forces them to use resources or retreat.

Black Widow Combos in Marvel Rivals

Black Widow's combat revolves around several key combo sequences:

• Edge Dancer spinning kick → Fleet Foot jump away

• Edge Dancer spinning kick → Grapple pull → Headshot

• Two baton hits → Edge Dancer kick → Grapple kick → Unscoped rifle shot
• Body shot → Electro-Plasma Explosion → Headshot on slowed target
• Fleet Foot jump → Quick-scope headshot → Land and reposition (High Skilled)*

• Hawkeye Team-Up Combo: Supersensory Hunt → Electro-Plasma Explosion
• Hawkeye Team-Up Combo: Supersensory Hunt → Headshot original target (can skip this as a beginner) → Damage afterimages → Electro-Plasma Explosion (can use this second in order as well)

How to Counter Black Widow in Marvel Rivals

Black Widow's low health pool and heavy reliance on positioning make her vulnerable when caught out of position or when her defensive abilities are on cooldown. Most flankers and characters that block the sightline counters Black Widow.

Effective Counters:

• Black Panther: His mobility allows him to close distance quickly and pressure Black Widow in close range where she's weakest.
• Spider-Man: Can swing to her position and can easily dive her.
• Doctor Strange: His shields are a problem for Black Widow.
• Magneto: Barriers disrupt her sightlines.
• Magik: Her dash allows her to close distance quickly and apply pressure in close range.
• Venom: Can easily gap close and is a bit too tanky for Black Widow to handle.
• Groot: Can block your sightlines with walls.

When facing Black Widow, your primary goal should be to disrupt her positioning and sightlines. Use barriers and shields to block her shots and approach from multiple angles to force her to position. Moving unpredictably with strafing and jumps makes you significantly harder to hit, reducing her effectiveness. Remember that Black Widow struggles against multiple attackers especially when they dive on her.

Best Team Composition

Black Widow works best in compositions built around creating space for her to operate safely. Characters that can ideally pair well with her are:

• Vanguards: Doctor Strange and Magneto create shields that allow you to position more aggressively.
• Dive Characters: Characters that can dive into the enemy backline (both Vanguards and Duelists) can give you a window to take down shots on the enemy backline with ease. A few examples would be Black Panther, Venom, and Spider-Man.
• Damage Buffing Characters: Characters that buff your damage naturally become a good pair for you. Such characters are Mantis, Rocket Raccoon (his ult boosts your damage), Storm, and any other hero that provides you buff.
• Hawkeye: He is a great character to have on your team while playing Black Widow due to your team-up ability.

Best Settings for Black Widow

Mouse Sensitivity (Horizontal)	2
Mouse Sensitivity (Vertical)	2
Invert Horizontal Look	Off
Invert Vertical Look	Off
Mouse Acceleration	Off
Mouse Smoothing	Off
Hold to Activate ADS	On
ADS Horizontal Sensitivity	1-1.5 (depends on your preference)
ADS Vertical Sensitivity	1-1.5 (depends on your preference)
Hold to Dash	On
Attack Range Hint	On
Ultimate Horizontal and Vertical Sensitivity	Match with ADS

Best Crosshair for Black Widow

Most top Black Widow players prefer a simple dot or small crosshair that doesn't obstruct vision. The best thing about her is that since her shots are hitscan it means you won't miss the properly aimed shots. Here is the reticle code for the crosshair we are using in Marvel Rivals for Black Widow.

4;0.0;10.0,0.0,0.0,40.0;100.0,0.0,100.0,50.0;39.0,0.0,0.0,30.0;100.0,100.0,100.0,100.0;0.0,0.0,0.0,40.0;33.0,0.0,14.0,33.0;0.0;100.0,0.0,100.0,50.0;0.0;1,1,1,1;1.0,1.0,1.0;

Black Widow requires a lot of practice to play effectively in the current meta. Her learning curve is steep, demanding precise aim and careful positioning to maximize impact. With consistent practice focusing on these three areas—aim, movement, and positioning—you'll see improvement in your effectiveness with Black Widow.