19 Dec 2024 11:01 AM +00:00 UTC

Marvel Rivals: How To Play as Venom

Venom breaks the mold of a standard tank in Marvel Rivals. He is a beast on the frontline, causing chaos and wrecking everything in his path.

As a Vanguard, Venom excels at disrupting the enemy’s plans while keeping his team safe.

This article will show you how to make the most of Venom’s skills and wreck the competition.

How To Play as Venom

Venom in Marvel Rivals is a high-mobility Vanguard (tank) with a fierce playstyle built around aggressive tactics and disruption.

He might not be the top damage dealer, but his job is to stir up chaos and keep the enemy team on edge so they can't focus on their objectives.

Venom is considered one of the easier heroes to play, with a difficulty rating of only 1 star.

However, to own him, players need to know the right timing for his abilities and when to push ahead or pull back.

1. Venom’s Mobility Keeps Him Unpredictable

Venom's mobility is one of his most notable strengths.

He’s a tank and a nimble fighter who can quickly maneuver around the map.

The trick to playing Venom is knowing when to use his mobility.

Venom Swing can help you catch up to enemies or dip out when things get too intense.

Thanks to its low cooldown, you can often use this ability to reposition, jump right into the fray, or retreat swiftly when you're overwhelmed with damage.

When using it, make sure you are close enough to the enemy to follow up with other abilities.

Venom’s Alien Biology lets him crawl on walls, which can give you an upper hand in fights.

You can use wall-crawling to throw off enemies and strike from angles they won’t expect.

This makes it easy to run away or sneak up on enemies for an ambush.

2. Disrupt and Slow the Enemy Down

Venom is solid at disrupting enemy plans and locking down space.

He uses Frenzied Arrival and Cellular Corrosion to control enemy movement and slow down high-priority targets.

Frenzied Arrival enables Venom to leap into the enemy's backline, causing damage and knocking enemies airborne.

Use this ability to break up the enemy's formation and force their squishier heroes (such as healers or damage dealers) into a risky position.

As soon as you touch down, throw out Cellular Corrosion to slow down enemies and deal extra damage.

The area around Venom gets hit by Cellular Corrosion, slowing enemies and draining their health over time.

You’ll get the most out of this ability in places where enemies pile up.

When enemies are trapped in the radius of Cellular Corrosion, they either have to break free (using their mobility) or take significant damage.

This ability is handy to stop enemies from running after pulling off a Frenzied Arrival.

3. Stay Tough When Things Get Rough

Venom’s Symbiotic Resilience is what keeps him going in fights.

When Venom takes damage, this ability gives him bonus health by turning a chunk of lost health into extra health, so the more he loses, the more he gets back.

Activate Symbiotic Resilience when Venom’s health is low enough to make the bonus health worth it.

It won’t be as useful if you use it too soon, so wait until you're in a tough spot, like deep in enemy territory or surrounded.

This makes Venom a great frontline disruptor, letting him take hits while dealing damage.

4. Feast of the Abyss Can Turn the Tide

Venom’s ultimate (Feast of the Abyss) is one of his most deadly moves.

He can dig down to avoid damage for a moment, then jump back up and deal massive damage depending on how much health the enemy has left.

Depending on the situation, this ultimate ability works for offense or defense.

If you find yourself in a skirmish and the enemy team is clustered, throw down Feast of the Abyss to catch several of them at once.

This deals much more damage when striking high-health targets, making it especially useful against enemy tanks or heroes with high durability.

If you’re outnumbered and need to retreat, Feast of the Abyss can come in clutch, letting you heal and get a new angle.

It’s tempting to use Feast of the Abyss as soon as it's up, but saving it for the right moments in the match works better.

5. Venom Works Best with Strong Allies

Venom performs best alongside heroes who can enhance his offensive approach while ensuring his durability in long team skirmishes.

He works best with teammates who can make the most of his crowd control and help boost his damage or keep him healing.

Specifically, Venom works well with Spider-Man or Peni Parker since his Touch of Klyntar ability boosts their powers with some symbiote upgrades.

These characters can follow up on Venom’s disruption with extra damage to the enemy.

You can pair Venom with heroes like Wolverine or Hulk for a front-line duo that just wrecks the enemy team.

Since Venom often finds himself deep in enemy lines, having a healer like Mantis or Luna Snow can be useful.

The healers ensure Venom stays alive in the chaos, so he’s still a threat even when facing multiple enemies.

Mantis also helps Venom dish out more damage, making him even more dangerous.

6. Learn How to Deal With Venom’s Counters

Venom is a beast, but he’s not without his weak spots.

You'll be way more effective once you get the hang of what to avoid and how to fight specific enemies.

Venom’s best up close, so heroes like Hawkeye or Iron Man, who can keep their distance, can give him a hard time.

Use Venom Swing and Frenzied Arrival to close the gap fast, and try to attack before the enemies can get set up and start hitting you from afar.

Heroes like Iron Man or Rocket Raccoon can dodge Venom’s initial strike or maneuver around him.

When dealing with these enemies, monitor your Venom Swing cooldown and use it to close in fast.

You could also save your Feast of the Abyss to hit multiple targets when you find an ideal spot.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Marvel Rivals page.