How to Play Venom in Marvel Rivals: Abilities, Team-Ups and How to Play

Even though we looked at some of the best tanks in Marvel Rivals, such as Thor, Magneto, and Doctor Strange, none of them come close to the diving potential of the Lethal Protector. Venom is the primary disruptor in the game, who can dish out damage while taking multitudes of it without so much as a scratch.

Venom currently is one of the most valuable aggressive Vanguards in Marvel Rivals, and in this guide, we will look over what makes him the Lethal Protector that he is – and give you some advice on how to maximize his potential.

Marvel Rivals Venom Abilities

Passive – Alien Biology

As he was (or is?) Spider-Mans rival, Venom tries to do everything he can. This includes climbing on walls with his Passive, which lets him get to places that few heroes can. Additionally, once he’s on the wall, he can sprint around, covering a lot of vertical space quickly.

Primary Attack – Dark Predation

Venom’s main attack is a four-part combo of tendril lashes. Each of the tentacles deal separate damage in short succession, so you will have to track your opponents to maximize your potential.

The tentacles can pierce enemies and can also critically strike, so Venom can melt squishies if you can land your shots. The range of Dark Predation is deceptively long, even though it feels like a melee attack when you first start to use it.

Secondary Attack – Cellular Corrosion

With his RMB, Venom latches onto nearby enemies, slowing them while his tentacles are connected to them. If they can’t break free, they will also get damaged. Enemy heroes can break the connection if they move away from Venom.

First Ability – Venom Swing

Similarly to his passive, Venom has another ability that mimics Spider-Man. With Venom Swing, he can swing from any surface on maps and launch himself into the air. This ability makes the Lethal Protector incredibly fast for a tank, capable of flanking the enemy team or catching any support that’s trying to run away.

Second Ability – Symbiotic Resilience

This skill grants Venom bonus temporary Health for a short duration. The amount if Health gained increases the more HP the symbiote misses, and if you use it just before you get KO’d, you can stay in the fight for an absurd amount of time. Your healers can also heal you while your shield is up, so you can buy even more time.

Third Ability – Frenzied Arrival

Venom’s third ability is another gapcloser, but a much more aggressive one than Venom Swing. Frenzied Arrival lets Venom crash into the target area from certain heights, dealing damage and knocking up all enemies hit. Combined with Alien Biology and Venom Swing, you can enter and exit fights off cooldown with ease.

Ultimate – Feast of the Abyss

With his Ultimate, Venom dives underground, becoming untargetable and immune to damage. After a few seconds – or when you end the cast – Venom crashes up from the ground, devouring everyone in the ability’s area.

This deals percentage damage, which means that the higher the targets’ Health is, the more Venom chomps them for. Feast of the Abyss also heals Venom, granting him bonus Health for a few seconds.

Marvel Rivals Venom Team-Up

Venom has a Team-Up with Peni Parker and Spider-Man. The Lethal Protector gives some of his matter to the heroes, granting them extra damage and the ability to dish out clusters of symbiotes that explode.

While Venom doesn’t get the offensive buff of his Team-Up, it’s still worth to pick these characters together, as the main symbiote gets extra Health when paired with Peni or Peter.

Marvel Rivals Venom How to Play

Venom is a Vanguard, but as we explained above, he basically doesn’t have any ways to protect his allies. Instead, he tries to dive into the enemy backline and disrupt them, making their job of healing the enemy tanks and killing the allied healers much more difficult.

While he can make the lives of Duelists and Strategists hell, Venom is also one of the best answers to other Vanguards. His Ultimate, Feast of the Abyss is among the few abilities in Marvel Rivals that deals percentage based damage, so if you dive in and use it right away, you can make serious dents in the Healths of the enemy frontline.

If you use your abilities well, Venom is THE tankiest Vanguard in the game. The basic combo is diving into the middle of the enemy team with Venom Swing and Frenzied Arrival, using Cellular Corrosion to slow everyone down, then deal damage with your LMB and your Melee attack. When you get low, simply pop Symbiotic Resilience or Feast of the Abyss to survive for even longer. If you get your timings right, you can waste 10 to 20 seconds of the enemy squad all by your lonesome.

However, Venom needs his team to excel. If you chew through his ability rotation, you’ll become a sitting duck, as your cooldowns are too high to be completely self-sufficient. Picking Peni and Spider-Man helps, as the extra Health enables the Symbiote to take a few extra hits, but Venom excels when he’s getting pocket heals. Adam Warlock, Luna Snow, and Cloak & Dagger are some of the best Strategists you can pick with him to keep him alive.

Overall, Venom is a Vanguard that can be very fun for Duelist players, but tank mains can see the merit he has as well. While the class’s main role in the game is to protect your team, the style of play the Lethal Protector is the best example for is really hard to deal with for enemy teams – just make sure you don’t dive into their lines without a plan!