Marvel Rivals Hawkeye guide: Abilities, ultimate, tips, more

Brad Norton
Marvel Rivals Hawkeye

Hawkeye is the sharpest shooting Avenger in Marvel Rivals and with the right approach, can help carry a team to victory.

Clint Barton may not be the flashiest of Marvel characters, after all, he’s a human wielding a bow and arrow, but his aim makes him one of the deadliest of all. While he’s not flying through the sky or drowning his opposition with otherworldy powers, his simple approach to combat can have him at the top of any leaderboard.

If you’re confident with your aim, there are few better Duelist options than Hawkeye. But beyond raw skill, you can achieve a great deal with this hero if you adopt the right approach to positioning, timing, and more.

Hawkeye stats in Marvel Rivals

Hawkeye in Marvel Rivals
Hawkeye has serious potential in the right hands, emerging as a top Duelist pick in the early meta.
  • Class: Duelist
  • Health: 250
  • Movement: 6 m/s

Hawkeye is a Duelist in Marvel Rivals who can pick off enemies from a distance. The key to being as impactful as possible is making sure you’ve got a solid aim with your weapon.

Weapon

As you would expect, Hawkeye mainly attacks with his trusty Bow, however, there’s a bit more to it than first meets the eye. While the standard method of fire is all well and good, an optional explosive arrow can damage a wider area in clutch situations.

You can find the full stats for both arrow types below:

Piercing Arrow

CastingCharged projectile with an arced trajectory
Slow Rate while Casting-30%
Minimum Charge Time0.7s
Projectile Speed120 – 180 m/s (Maximum speed is achieved after 0.9s of charging)
Damage8 – 80 (Maximum damage is achieved after 0.9s of charging)
AmmoInfinite

Blast Arrow

CastingArced projectile that generates a spell field upon impact
Slow Rate while Casting-30%
Projectile Speed60 m/s
Damage20
Range3m spherical radius
Blast Arrows Per Cast3
Cooldown0.5s
Charges3
Hawkeye gameplay in Marvel Rivals
Visit the Practice Range often to fine-tune your aim as Hawkeye.

Abilities

Although he’s listed as having a four-star difficulty, Hawkeye’s kit is relatively simple to master. With just two main abilities to focus on, this Duelist mostly lets your aim do the talking.

He also has access to a melee-based ability though, and his Hypersonic Arrow is a great counter to airborne enemies.

AbilityDetailsWhat It Does
Hunter’s SightDuration: 10s
Afterimage Generation Interval: 0.5s
Afterimage Duration: 3s
Energy Cost: 3700
Capture Afterimages of enemies in his view. Damage dealt to an Afterimage is transferred to the corresponding enemy.
Crescent SlashCasting: Melee
Maximum Distance: 8m
Damage: 40
Cooldown: 15s
Unsheathe a katana and slash forward, launching up enemies hit.
Hypersonic ArrowCasting: Straight-line projectile that is accompanied by a spell field
Projectile Speed: 150 m/s
First Spell Field Range: Length: 3m, Width: 3m, Height: 2.7m
First Damage: 50
Second Spell Field Damage: Length: 3m, Width: 5m, Height: 1.6m
Second Damage: 50
Slow Rate: -40%
Slow Duration: 1s
Cooldown: 12s
Shoot a Hypersonic Arrow, dealing two instances of damage to enemies in its path and inflicting them with Slow. This ability can Knock Down flying heroes.
Ronin SlashCasting: Melee
Maximum Distance: 3m
Special Effect: This ability cannot block explosions or effects created by projectiles on hit
Swing a wakizashi to strike frontal enemies, deflecting all incoming projectiles.
Skyward LeapCooldown: 6sPerform a double jump in the direction of movement.
Archer’s Focus (Passive)Bonus Damage: 0 – 80 (Maximum damage is achieved after 0.9s of aiming)
Critical Hit: Yes
Special Mechanic: Apply bonus damage to the base damage of Piercing Arrow
Aim at an enemy to improve focus, enhancing the damage inflicted by Piercing Arrow.
Supersensory Vision (Team-Up Passive)Team-Up Bonus: 20% Damage BoostHawkeye can share his Hunter’s Sight with Black Widow, enabling her to catch sight of and damage afterimages of enemies.

Tips to play Hawkeye in Marvel Rivals

Performing well with Hawkeye mostly boils down to your aim. Whether you’re on controller or mouse and keyboard, it’s well worth hopping into the Practice Range for a few minutes before your first game of the day. Use this opportunity to warm up a little. Unlike other heroes that don’t require as much intense input, Hawkeye is best when you’re sharp.

Much like pro players do in other games, spend time practicing, warming up against bots, and then diving into the real thing.

Knowing exactly when to use Hawkeye’s key abilities is also vital. On paper, it looks simple enough to spam out arrows of all kinds, but there’s a degree of mastery to it if you think a little bigger.

Hawkeye streak in Marvel Rivals
Nail the essentials and you’ll be a force in any lobby as Hawkeye.

For instance, take his Hypersonic Arrow. Sure, it can be used for a quick bit of damage against opponents on the ground, but aim it up high toward an enemy in the sky, and it’s far more beneficial. Having the power to directly counter any airborne heroes is massive and you should use this to your advantage.

When it comes to the Hunter’s Sight Ultimate, it’s a great idea to flank before triggering it. If you can catch enemies by surprise, they won’t have time to react as you continue shooting their original placement thanks to the Afterimage.

Best team comp

Black Window

An image of Black Widow's hero screen in Marvel Rivals.

The best hero to pair Hawkeye with in Marvel Rivals is undoubtedly Black Widow.

Hawkeye’s Supersensory Vision Team-Up ability with Black Widow is among the best in the game, as rather than a quick one-off gimmick, this one effectively doubles up your Ultimate. By enabling Black Widow to also damage Afterimages, you can tag-team an easy team wipe before the competition knows what hit them.

We’ve also got a detailed guide for how to play Black Widow in the game that you can check out.

Best counters

If you find yourself battling a Hawkeye, we’d advise using the following characters to defeat her:

  • Magneto
  • Venom

Magneto

An image of Magneto's hero screen in Marvel Rivals.

As Hawkeye thrives is attacking from a distance, using heroes that can get up close and damage him that way are effective counters. Although he’s got some melee attacks, closing the gap while those abilities are on cooldown and dealing as much damage as possible is what we’d recommend.

Magneto is one of the best Vanguards in Marvel Rivals who can also take a substantial amount of damage thanks to his shields.

Before you use him, make sure you give our Magneto guide a read.

Venom

A screenshot of Venom's hero screen in Marvel Rivals.

Venom is another good Vanguard to counter against Hawkeye. If you can time his Frenzied Arrival ability correctly, you should be able to get up close to Hawkeye and deal a decent amount of damage.

If you do get countered, Venom’s high health pool and regenetive abilities should keep you safe alright you can make an escape as well.

We’ve also got a full Venom guide you can check out.

That’s all you need to know about Hawkeye in Marvel Rivals. For more on the game, check out our full tier listTwitch Drops, the best controller settingsBattle Pass details, all currencies, and the Iron Man code.