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Winter Soldier is one of the strongest Duelists in Marvel Rivals who can deal damage from a distance and shut down enemies with his ultimate ability. While he may not be in S-tier anymore as of Season 1, in the hands of a good player, Winter Soldier has the ability to single-handedly turn the course of a fight.
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Marvel Rivals: Winter Soldier Hero Guide
Powerful duelists are easy to come by but hard to master. When you hear him coming, it’s time to run. Here’s how to use him.
Winter Solder’s damage output is way too high, and he can chain his ultimate ability on multiple targets since it resets every time you execute an enemy with it. If you are finding it hard to deal with Winter Soldier, here’s a detailed guide which will ensure that you’re ready the next time you face him.
How To Counter Winter Soldier
Winter Soldier’s is the strongest when playing in close to mid-range where all his abilities can hit the targets. Ideally, he will start by using his basic attacks on enemies and deal damage until his ultimate is charged. Once it’s ready, he’ll start jumping onto enemies and executing them until he has wiped off the entire map.
The best way to deal with Winter Soldier is by playing from long-range with heroes like Hela, whom he cannot reach. Once you are out of the mid-range zone, Winter Soldier’s abilities lose their potency, where he stops being scary. Apart from that, Strategists who can provide bonus health with their ultimate abilities or those who can either cut off Winter Soldier or stun him are also extremely effective in countering this hero.
Never try to fight Winter Soldier in a 1v1 scenario. It’s always better to surround him with your team so that you can outnumber him and take him down quickly.
The first ability that you need to take care of is Winter Soldier’s basic attack, Roterstern, which can not only deal damage to the targeted enemy but also those standing behind. It deals a lot of damage in mid-range, but it’s not the fastest and relies on precise aiming. The best way to deal with it is being unpredictable with your movement so that Winter Soldier cannot hit your head with his basic attack.
Kraken Impact is Winter Soldier’s ultimate ability where he leaps in the air and jumps on a target. During this jump, he puts a red mark on the enemy’s health bar, and if their HP drops below that mark, they get executed. Winter Soldier’s ultimate is recharged if enemies die by execution. This ultimate can be countered by any hero that can either provide bonus health or generate it which is the case with quite a few Strategist and Vanguard units.
While Kraken Impact is active, Winter Soldier rises in the air and smashes down on an enemy. However, it’s not instantaneous and has pretty back tracking. If you hide behind a wall or a corridor when you see him rising above you, the ability won’t hit you/
Finally, Winter Soldier can pull enemies close to him by using his Bionic Hook ability. He will usually combo the enemy by pulling them with Bionic Hook and then following up with Trooper’s Fist. However, this ability has a very short range and unless you are playing too close to him, its easy not to get caught by it.
How To Counter Winter Soldier As A Strategist
When it comes to Strategists, there are numerous options that you can go for to counter Winter Soldier. The first one is Luna Snow, whose ultimate provides healing and bonus health, both of which can negate Winter Soldier’s ultimate ability. Just make sure to use it when you see Winter Soldier jumping in the air, as otherwise, he will kill you very quickly.
When activating Luna Snow’s ultimate ability, try to stick close to your team, as otherwise all the bonus health and healing will offer no value and your team will get killed.
Mantis is also quite strong as she can stun Winter Soldier, thereby wasting his ultimate ability. She can also play from range and her damage is quite good, which makes her a threat, provided you can hit Winter Soldier’s head. Adam Warlock can revive his allies who get killed by Winter Soldier, thereby rendering the latter’s ultimate useless.
Finally, Invisible Woman can cut off WInter Soldier from his team, which means he is forced to fight very close, where he can get outnumbered and killed. Apart from that, Invisible Woman can push him away, and thereby make it easy for the long-ranged duelists in the team to take him down.
How To Counter Winter Soldier As A Vanguard
Vanguards are forced to fight up close, but there are a few of them who can counter Winter Soldier, or at least slow him down. Doctor Strange and Magneto are amazing options as they can block part of Winter Soldier’s kit with their shields. Additionally, Magneto can absorb damage from Winter Soldier using his Iron Bulwark and Metal Bulwark abilities and then throw that back at him using his Mag Cannon.
Venom is also pretty decent against Winter Soldier as his Symbiotic Resilience ability provides bonus HP that can keep him alive whenever he takes lethal damage from the latter. Apart from that, Venom can also use his ultimate in case he’s at a risk of dying which will prevent him from getting executed by Winter Soldier’s ultimate.
As Vanguards, if you are at a risk of dying from Winter Soldier’s ultimate, it’s better to run away from the battlefield and let the debuff pass away instead of forcing yourself to stick in the chaos and end up in respawn base.
How To Counter Winter Soldier As A Duelist
When it comes to Duelists, you have quite a few options that can counter Winter Soldier. The first and the most obvious choice here is Hela, who can simply out-range Winter Soldier with the latter having no answers. Hawkeye is also a decent counter to Winter Soldier despite the nerfs, as the former can two-shot the latter as long as the fight happens around mid-range.
Dive heroes are not recommended against Winter Soldier as if his ultimate is charged, you’ll die in almost every scenario and will have to rely on outplaying him which isn’t very consistent.
Iron Man can counter Winter Soldier pretty well, since the former can fly high up in air, making it difficult for the latter to find any counter options. Finally, Moon Knight can also shut down Winter Soldier since the former can fly and position himself in areas where the latter cannot reach. Apart from that, Moon Knight deals way too much damage and Winter Soldier doesn’t have any answers to that.
Storm is also a strong counter to Winter Soldier as she can play while being surrounded by her team which makes it difficult for Winter Soldier to launch an attack. Additionally, Storm can fly and play from range, which also works against Winter Soldier’s kit.
