In Marvel Rivals, duelist characters are known for their ability to deliver significant damage, and few can rival Hawkeye’s sharpshooting prowess. With his iconic bow in hand, Hawkeye represents the epitome of precision, allowing him to accurately target and swiftly take out enemies. Yet, his arsenal is packed with more surprises than one might anticipate, equipping him with various strategies to defeat adversaries.
Duelists, exemplified by Hawkeye, typically possess low health but excel in damage per second (DPS). Unlike the supportive Strategists or resilient Vanguards, characters like Hawkeye are crafted to focus their assault on the most threatening foes. Much like Winter Soldier in Marvel Rivals, Hawkeye’s effectiveness peaks when your aim is on point and consistently hits its targets.
Hawkeye’s Abilities
Maintain Focus to Maximize Damage
Hawkeye is classified as a four-star difficulty character, which indicates a learning curve in mastering his abilities. His challenge arises from the need to accurately aim at moving targets, as his arrows feature distinct effects based on the skills employed. While his character mechanics are easy to grasp, beginners might struggle with Hawkeye due to the accuracy necessary to effectively utilize his abilities.
The table below details all of Hawkeye’s abilities and the cooldown times for some:
|
Ability |
Ability Type |
Cooldown |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Piercing Arrow |
Primary Attack |
N/A |
Fires a powerful arrow that inflicts damage on enemies. |
|
Blast Arrow |
Primary Attack |
3 Arrows (Recharge) |
Launches three explosive arrows. |
|
Crescent Slash |
Basic Ability |
N/A |
Draws a katana and slashes forward, launching enemies that get hit. |
|
Hypersonic Arrow |
Basic Ability |
12 seconds |
Shoots a Hypersonic Arrow that deals damage to enemies in its path and slows them down, capable of knocking down aerial foes. |
|
Ronin Slash |
Melee |
N/A |
Slashes with Hawkeye’s wakizashi to hit frontal enemies and deflect incoming projectiles. |
|
Skyward Leap |
Jump |
N/A |
Executes a double jump in the direction of movement. |
|
Archer’s Focus |
Passive |
N/A |
Improves damage of Piercing Arrow as you aim at an enemy. |
|
Hunter’s Sight |
Ultimate |
N/A |
Records Afterimages of enemies in view; damage to an Afterimage is transferred to the corresponding enemy. |
Hawkeye can quickly transition between Piercing Arrows and Blast Arrows with a simple command, granting him diverse ammunition options against foes. Piercing Arrows have a longer range, maximizing damage on single targets, particularly with headshots. Conversely, Blast Arrows unleash three area-of-effect explosions at medium to close ranges, creating a shotgun-like effect that disrupts enemy clusters.
Charging Archer’s Focus increases as your crosshairs hover over an enemy character. If they move out of line of sight, the Focus charge reduces, lessening the damage of Piercing Arrow.
Crescent Slash can potentially knock enemies off the map in Marvel Rivals, eliminating them if they lack a means to return to the battleground. The other melee skill, Ronin Slash, serves as both an attack and a projectile reflection skill; however, precise timing is crucial to effectively redirect powerful abilities like Iron Man’s Maximum Pulse.
Utilizing Hawkeye’s Ultimate
Always Keep Enemies in Your Line of Sight
Hawkeye’s Ultimate, Hunter’s Sight, activates only while enemies are within view. To maximize the number of captured Afterimages, position yourself at higher ground or in a spot that offers visibility to multiple foes at once. Using Hawkeye’s Skyward Leap ability can help you get to advantageous positions for better sightlines on the battlefield.
Once activated, you have a limited timeframe to start shooting. However, your total Focus charges rapidly while aiming at a target or its Afterimage during this time. This allows you to inflict maximum damage on a target that cannot evade as their Afterimages remain still for you to attack without pause.
Continuously shoot Piercing Arrows at targets to maximize eliminations while Hunter’s Sight is active. It’s usually better to prioritize the Afterimages of less durable characters rather than bulkier Vanguards. You can still achieve headshots on Afterimages, so always aim for the head to enhance the damage output of every arrow.
Optimal Team Composition for Hawkeye
Enable Others to Experience Afterimages
Some top characters to pair with Hawkeye include:
- Black Widow
- Mantis
- Doctor Strange
- Venom
Black Widow possesses a unique Team-Up ability, “Supersensory Vision,” when teaming up with Hawkeye in Marvel Rivals. This skill allows Hawkeye to share his Hunter’s Sight Ultimate with Black Widow during activation, granting her the capability to target and damage enemy Afterimages. This partnership provides a significant advantage for Black Widow, enabling her to swiftly eliminate enemies with headshot precision.
While Hunter’s Sight ability has a duration of 10 seconds, Black Widow’s visibility of Afterimages is limited to 7 seconds via her Team-Up feature.
Mantis also complements Hawkeye well by consuming Life Orbs to boost his damage output, allowing Hawkeye to dispatch foes more efficiently, sometimes with a single headshot. Additionally, Doctor Strange can provide shielding for Hawkeye to shoot from, while Venom can slow targets with a symbiotic tether, aiding Hawkeye in hitting more elusive enemies.
Top Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Success with Hawkeye
Maintain Mobility and Observe Enemy Movements
As of now, Hawkeye stands out as one of the most formidable Duelists in the game, primarily due to his capacity for high damage, resulting in numerous enemy eliminations. Hawkeye thrives when positioned behind the front lines, targeting adversaries from a distance. Utilizing cover effectively, he can aim shots towards contested objectives and bottlenecks to eliminate several foes quickly.
However, Hawkeye’s power makes him a target for aggressive characters like Spider-Man or Iron Fist in Marvel Rivals. To avoid being overwhelmed, remember to employ Blast Arrows or Crescent Slash to create space between yourself and incoming threats. This strategy allows you to double-jump back to your team or towards a health pack for recovery.
With your accuracy honed, you should find success as Hawkeye. Keep your Focus high and prioritize low-health targets to secure eliminations rapidly, diminishing your opponents’ numbers swiftly. With Hawkeye’s sharp skills enabling you to position yourself strategically, you can become a dangerous player that adversaries fear in Marvel Rivals.
