Marvel Rivals: How To Play Hawkeye

Hawkeye, the master Marksman, is available to play in Marvel Rivals. Fans of this competitive hero arena are wondering about his abilities, best team composition, and the best strategy to play this hero. Below are all the important details about Hawkeye’s abilities, how to make the most of them in combat, and the best combos with other heroes.

Since Hawkeye is a ranged Duelist, he is a master of pinpointing targets from a long distance, and has the particularity of possessing the longest-ranged attack in the whole roster. To play this hero properly, players will require a certain degree of skill, as it is not easy to land a shot amid the mayhem of battle.

Hawkeye Abilities Overview

• Piercing Arrow: A charged basic attack that shoots a projectile in an arcing line, and can cause severe precision damage.
• Blast Arrow: A charged basic attack that loads three explosive arrows. These arrows land in a trident trajectory and explode upon impact, causing AoE damage.
• Hunter’s Sight: An Ultimate ability that boosts Hawkeye’s reflexes for 10 seconds, allowing him to cause damage to enemies even if they are moving by targeting their afterimages. Landing a shot in any of the afterimages will transfer the damage to the corresponding enemies.
• Crescent Slash: A lateral slash with the Katana that knocks back enemies and causes moderate damage.
• Hypersonic Arrow: A charge-type ability that can knock down flying enemies, and inflicts Slow on targets hit by the AoE.
• Ronin Slash: A Melee Attack that can also deflect incoming projectiles.
• Skyward Leap: Double Jump in the air with great directional control.
• Passive – Archer’s Focus: Focusing the aim on an enemy improves Piercing Arrow’s damage. The meter fills slowly as Hawkeye tracks down foes.
• Team-Up Passive – Supersensory Vision (Black Widow): When playing with Black Widow, Hawkeye’s ultimate ability also grants the same buff to the player who is using her, allowing her to target enemy afterimages.

Hawkeye is a sniper, capable of causing tremendous damage and pinning down opponents thanks to his rapid fire. Since he is most vulnerable on the melee range, he is also equipped with several abilities like Crescent Slash and Skyward Leap, to get out of tricky situations.

His ultimate ability, Hunter’s Sight, is tremendously broken. Most enemies won’t even know what happens or why their Health depletes even if they’re moving rapidly. Using this ability is the best way to counter fast rivals like Star-Lord, Spider-Man, Iron Fist, and Black Panther.

Hawkeye’s passive, Archer’s Focus, is especially designed for players who prefer a stealthier type of gameplay. Players can take the high ground and slowly track foes, to then unleash a powerful charged shot that can OHKO most heroes (or villains) in the game.

Hawkeye’s primary ability, Piercing Shot, can be spammed. It will cause less damage, but offer a rapid-fire mode that will be useful to pin down opponents and cover allies retreating. It can also overwhelm Strategists easily, since these heroes are often squishier than Vanguards or Duelists.

How To Play Hawkeye In Marvel Rivals

Playing Hawkeye is not easy. His low health bar (250) makes him a glass-cannon of sorts, and his poor mobility compared to other Duelists makes him a favorite target of heroes like Wolverine, Iron Fist, and Venom, who prefer to overwhelm their opponents at close range. The ideal way to play this hero is by keeping distance at all times, and searching for high-ground areas where Hawkeye can roost and do his magic.

Hawkeye can be a true menace for heroes like Iron Man and Storm, who trust their aerial privileges to sow terror among the other grounded heroes. A well-placed Hypersonic Arrow will send them back to spawn, and secure important objectives for the team.

Having a Hawkeye on the team means two things: damage output, and coverage. When playing to secure objectives, keep Hawkeye at mid-range with rapid fire and using Blast Arrows to separate Vanguards from Strategists. This is the best strategy to secure objectives. When other active rangers like Black Widow, Loki, or Psylocke are pursuing the team’s Strategists, Hawkeye can step into Sniping mode and, using his passive, can quickly overwhelm them to facilitate their escape.

Here’s a detailed Hawkeye strategy for each of the different game modes in Marvel Rivals.

Convoy Mode

During Defense, establish a privileged position with a clear view of the objective. Getting to high ground is way more important than in other game modes, since there’s a reduced combat area where players using Hawkeye can focus their attacks. Always pinpoint high-value targets like Strategists (Healers) and Ranged Duelists (Snipers) and take them down first. Scurry to the backline of the team when threatened by Melee Duelists. Don’t try to fight them alone.

During Offense, try to outflank the rival team and use rapid shot mode to destroy Strategists and cause chaos among the enemies. If there’s a chance, get into a sniping roost, but ideally, players should stay away from enemy fire and look for cover instead. Then gain the upper hand by accompanying the ally frontliners with Blast Arrow and Hypersonic Arrow to disrupt the enemy team’s Vanguards.

Domination Mode

This game mode puts Hawkeye at a great disadvantage, since it forces him to play in close-range situations where he underperforms. In this game mode, the team needs to capture a position and hold it until it reaches 100%.

Hawkeye players can do either one of two things here. They can either get to high ground and snipe, or remain close to the target and prevent the enemy team from flooding the target area, creating a choking point alongside the Vanguards. In both cases, Hawkeye is vulnerable, so keeping an eye out for flanker Duelists is a must.

Convergence Mode

During Defense, Hawkeye will have plenty of time to secure a privileged position, since Defenders can move first. Try to reach the high ground and carefully select an escape route in case the enemy team sends a Duelist to counter him.

During Offense, remain in the backline and support the team with suppression fire. Target Duelists, Strategist, then Vanguards in that order. High-priority targets such as Jeff (the Land Shark), Magick, Iron Fist, and Psylocke need to go down first, so keep an eye out for them.

Hawkeye’s skills work best when Roosted in a high-ground position. Take advantage of the terrain during fights, but remember that most terrains (including balconies, platforms, and such) can be destroyed. Keep an eye out for heroes like Spider-Man, Venom, Moon Knight, and Iron Fist. They will likely target Hawkeye as a priority, and they have lots of mobility skills that allow them to climb.

How To Counter Hawkeye In Marvel Rivals

As most players might have guessed by reading this guide, Hawkeye is quite hard to control. His effectiveness depends mostly on two factors: team composition and positioning. The best way to counter a good Hawkeye player is to send another Duelist with high mobility to harass him and prevent him from taking advantage of high ground and sniping positions.

Iron Fist works like a charm with his high resilience and flurry of blows, but Wolverine, Venom, Spider-Man, and Moon Knight are also primary Hawkeye counters. At the beginning of each round, Hawkeye will try to outflank the allies, especially Strategists and other ranger Duelists. The best courses of action in each game mode are as follows:

Convoy Mode

During Offense, Hawyeke will be either in an elevated position or behind the enemy lines. Don’t chase him down yet, but try to use one of the Duelists to flank and harass him to prevent him from gaining the upper hand. Psylocke’s infiltration skills and Spider-Man’s high mobility can be a total menace.

During Defense, Hawkeye will try to outflank the team, so spread out in groups of three and look for the pathway he will take to try this strategy, then jump on him and send him to respawn. Rinse and repeat.

Domination Mode

Use overwhelm tactics. Hawkeye will be at a great disadvantage in this game mode, and will have to position himself close to the objective area. Wolverine with his fast lunges and Iron Fist with his overwhelming attack speed will be his worst nightmare, but Captain America and Psylocke can do the trick as well.

Convergence Mode

During Offense, Hawyeke will become a living turret and harass Strategists as much as possible. Use Psylocke, Venom, or Spider-Man to flank him, then take this chance to snipe him down with other ranged heroes, such as Black Widow.

During Defense, Hawkeye will try to suppress the frontline with rapid fire and its AoE skills. Avoid bringing flying heroes into the fight, as they will be shot down in no time. Instead, use Wolverine, Moon Knight, or Spider-Man to separate the enemy vanguard and turn Hawkeye into an easier target for the rest of the Duelists on the team.

Remember that Hawkeye is not defenseless at melee range, and can deflect mid-range attacks easily. So, bait him to use his Crescent Slash and Skyward Leap and he will be absolutely vulnerable to overwhelm tactics.

Best Team Composition For Hawkeye In Marvel Rivals

Hawkeye greatly benefits from having Black Widow on his team. He can share his Ultimate Ability with Natasha, turning her into an even more lethal Sniper than she already is. On the other hand, he also needs quite a lot of protection during certain game modes.

Vanguards like Thor, Captain America, Venom, Penny Parker, or Bruce Banner/Hulk are a must-have to make their abilities shine. On the other hand, if Hawkeye players want to go into full turret mode and destroy everything, they should associate with Rocket Raccoon. Thanks to his C.Y.A. damage boost ability, Hawkeye turns into a team destroyer for a few seconds and can wipe an entire team if left unattended.