Marvel Rivals - How to play Hawkeye

Marvel Rivals arrived this month for new generation consoles and PC, and so far, it has proven to be a giant in the hero shooter market, with great numbers that haven't been declining over the weeks.

In this game genre, each hero has a different approach, with a unique style and exclusive skills which impact the gameplay much more than the shooting itself. Therefore, it’s essential to master a character to stand out in Marvel Rivals matches, and we at UmGamer have worked with this complete guide to help you play Hawkeye!

Passive - Archer’s Focus

Whenever you target an enemy within 60 meters of you, a number below your aiming display will increase, reaching up to 100. If they leave your central field of vision, the number will drop again. This is your focus, the bigger it is, the more damage your shots will do.

A tip for when supports or DPS are extremely far away is to aim at the tank, who is usually closer, on the opponent's front line, just to charge your focus, after that, quickly aim at the other opponent and shoot. This way you will be able to enhance your passive to use it even against those who are further away.

In the video below, I use exactly this strategy in training camp. Note that I can't charge the focus on opponents in the back line, I initially aimed at Luna Snow to raise the number to 100 and managed to finish the robot with just one shot. With the other one, I didn't use this concept, and I couldn't take him down even with a headshot.

Piercing Arrow and Blast Arrow

Both are Hawkeye's basic attacks, but the Blast Arrow has a short cooldown. Each has a different purpose, but the Piercing will be used most of the time.

I only see advantages in using the Blast Arrow when the enemy is at high speed, like, for example, Jeff when he is underground, as this shot hits a larger area, being easier to hit, but causing much less damage.

Crescent Slash

Crescent Slash is his most defensive ability, capable of saving you at various times. It’s basically a melee blow that damages and pushes away enemies in front of you.

I recommend using it wisely, Hawkeye is efficient at long distances, so if an opponent approaches, and you don't have Crescent Slash in hand, you’ll probably be taken down. Use only when facing real threats.

Hypersonic Arrow

Despite not offering much damage, Hypersonic Arrow slows down opponents, even “breaking” flights for a short period of time, as illustrated by the video below.

Anyone who has played Marvel Rivals for a good many hours must have realized how difficult it is to eliminate a flying hero, and many characters don’t have effective abilities against them. A tool like Hypersonic Arrow is capable of removing any advantage from the enemy in the aerial environment.

Ronin Slash

It's a common melee attack, all heroes have something similar. However, Hawkeye offers something more, Ronin's Slash is capable of deflecting projectiles if used at the exact moment you’d be hit. I confess that it’s much more difficult than it seems, but it can definitely help when you use it accurately.

Skyward Leap

Similar to Hanzo from Overwatch 2, we also have a “second jump”, it’s a powerful tool to allow you to climb onto higher platforms, or escape from a threat.

Hunter's Sight

Marvel Rivals was right to bring unique Ultimates which really do justice to the character, and that's the case here. Hunter's Vision creates temporary images of moving enemies in your field of vision for 10 seconds. These figures stand still and the amount of damage you deal to them will be transferred to the respective hero.

Note that the Archer's Focus will always be at maximum during his Ultimate, bringing a considerable increase in DPS. A tip to make the most of the seconds of Hunter’s Sight is to shoot with as little force as possible, since your passive will always be at 100, there’s no need to hold down your aim.

I only recommend holding the arrow in case the images are far away, as this will increase strength and accuracy, but for close opponents, consider shooting as quickly as possible, as shown in the video.

I also recommend using this ability against high movement heroes like Spider-Man, who are harder to hit naturally.

Team-up Ability - Supersensory Vision

His only Team-up Ability is with Black Widow. Here, your duo will receive a skill that, when activated, grants her the same benefits as the Hunter's Vision for eight seconds.

Although Crescent Slash and Skyward Leap serve as escape tools, it’s a fact that Hawkeye has much less mobility than the average hero in Marvel Rivals. Furthermore, close combat tends to be challenging for him.

To overcome these problems, it’s best to play from the backlines and seek high ground, making it difficult for melee enemies to advance. If any of them are flying to charge at you, don't hesitate to use the Hypersonic Arrow.

Choose to shoot the Strategists and Duelists, they are usually further away, but that’s not a problem for Hawkeye. Furthermore, our hero has a high instakill potential against these characters who have less health.

Hawkeye is bad against

A shortcoming of Hawkeye is that it depends on slow projectiles, which doesn’t make him efficient against tanks. Despite being extremely powerful, the arrows are nothing more than projectiles, any opponent's shield will easily protect from them. This makes us weak against Doctor Strange and Magneto, these two offer countless resources to block your shots. Some dive tanks like Venom can also be threats, but if you use your escape mechanisms at the right time, you’ll be able to stay alive.

Other strong characters against ours are Black Panther and The Punisher, the first of which has more than one way of approaching, bringing constant insecurity. The Punisher can invade your vision during the time of your Ultimate using the smoke grenade.

Your shots have high damage, but a below-average cadence, so missing a sequence of arrows is unacceptable, your DPS will be very low, and you will barely be useful to the team. So, be careful with Loki, if he knows how to trick you with the clones, you will miss countless precious shots.

Hawkeye works well with

Dive compositions are unfeasible with him, so forget about using the archer alongside tanks who advance like Venom and Peni Parker. His lack of close combat requires greater protection, so Doctor Strange and Magneto are options.

The same rule must be considered for Duelists and Strategists, you won’t be able to keep up with the advances of heroes who are more mobile to provide support. So, it’s recommended to stick alongside characters with the same style, be it Black Widow (her having a Team-Up Ability with you is all the more reason for choosing her), or Squirrel Girl.

Hawkeye may have his negative points, but it’s an excellent option to master, a good player with him in their hands is capable of eliminating several characters with a single shot.

I hope you enjoyed this article! I am available in the comments to answer questions and suggestions.