Marvel Rivals Venom: How to Play, Counter & Abilities
Looking to try out a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals? Venom is probably your best bet right now. He’s really straightforward to play, hard to kill, and can actually get stuff done on the battlefield. You don’t need fancy mechanics or complex ability combinations to do well with him – just basic game knowledge and good timing.
What makes Venom stand out from other tanks is how well he can take care of himself. You get a bunch of ways to heal up during fights, and you can still put out decent damage while being tough to take down.
The game rates him at just 1-star difficulty, which is accurate – you can pick him up and start making an impact pretty quickly. Right now, he’s also one of the stronger tanks in the game, so you won’t feel like you’re holding your team back while learning.
Venom Stats in Marvel Rivals
Let me break down Venom’s key statistics that make him such a formidable force on the battlefield:
 | Venom |
| Role | Vanguard |
| Health | 800 |
| Difficulty | 1 Star |
Venom’s high base health pool of 800 combined with his healing abilities makes him one of the most durable heroes in the game.
How to Play Venom in Marvel Rivals
Your primary role is to be the team’s frontline disruptor, creating chaos in the enemy backline while staying alive through clever use of your defensive abilities.
The key to mastering Venom is understanding his core combat loop. Here’s how I approach each engagement:
First, use Venom Swing to get a good vantage point and survey the battlefield. Look for vulnerable targets like enemy healers or damage dealers who are slightly out of position. Once you spot an opportunity, initiate with Frenzied Arrival from above – this ability works best when you catch multiple enemies by surprise.
Immediately after landing, use Cellular Corrosion to slow and damage nearby enemies. This creates space for your team to follow up while preventing enemies from escaping easily. While your targets are slowed, unleash your Dark Predation attacks to deal consistent damage.
One crucial aspect of playing Venom effectively is managing your Symbiotic Resilience. I’ve learned to resist the temptation to use it immediately when engaging. Instead, wait until your health drops below 20% – this maximizes the bonus health you receive and can often surprise enemies who think they’ve nearly defeated you.
Your ultimate ability, Feast of the Abyss, is best used as either a finishing move on low-health targets or as an emergency escape tool. Don’t forget that the health you gain from it depends on your targets’ current health, so try to use it when enemies are still relatively healthy.
A unique aspect of Venom’s kit is his Alien Biology passive. I often use wall-crawling to set up unexpected angles of attack. You can sprint on walls by pressing the primary attack button while wall-crawling, which gives you excellent mobility options that many players don’t expect.
How to Counter Venom in Marvel Rivals
Despite his strengths, Venom has several clear weaknesses that skilled opponents can exploit. His limited attack range means he struggles against heroes who can maintain distance while dealing damage. Additionally, crowd control abilities can shut down his mobility, making him an easy target.
Here are the most effective heroes I’ve encountered when playing against Venom:
- Iron Man – His ability to stay airborne while dealing consistent damage makes him a nightmare for Venom to deal with. Without reliable ways to reach him, Venom often becomes ineffective.
- Mantis – Her Spore Slumber completely shuts down Venom’s mobility, leaving him vulnerable to focused fire from the enemy team.
- Magneto – His Metallic Curtain can negate Venom’s basic attacks, while Metal Bulwark protects allies from Venom’s dive attempts.
- Hawkeye – His long-range capabilities and ability to knock Venom out of the air with Hypersonic Arrows make him a constant threat.
- The Punisher – His Culling Turret can melt through Venom’s health bar before he has a chance to regenerate.
All Venom Abilities
Here’s a complete breakdown of every ability in Venom’s arsenal:
| Ability | Description | Stats |
 Dark Predation | Primary attack that unleashes tentacles forward to damage enemies | • Range: 15m • Attack Interval: 0.9s (0.1s between tendrils) • Damage: 20 • Type: Quad-cast delayed spell field • Can Critical Hit |
 Feast of the Abyss | Ultimate ability that lets you burrow underground and emerge to damage enemies | • Range: 7m radius • Duration: 4s max • Movement Boost: 80% • Damage: 50% of target’s health + 40 • Energy Cost: 2800 • Converts 100% damage to Bonus Health |
 Venom Swing | Launch forward using webbing for mobility | • Max Length: 30m • Cooldown: 8s • Type: Dash ability |
 Symbiotic Resilience | Generate bonus health when taking damage | • Cooldown: 15s • Grants 100 Bonus Health • Converts 100% of lost health to Bonus Health • Type: Instant Cast |
 Frenzied Arrival | Aerial dive attack that damages and launches enemies | • Range: 6m radius • Distance: 3-40m • Damage: 65 (40% at max range) • Cooldown: 8s • Damage falloff starts at 2m |
 Cellular Corrosion | Unleash tentacles to slow and damage nearby enemies | • Range: 8m radius • Initial Damage: 5 • Full Damage: 80 (after duration) • Cooldown: 8s • Slow: 15% • Takes 3s to deal full damage • Breaks if target moves 11m away |
 Alien Biology | Wall crawling ability with sprint option | • Wall-Crawling Speed: 3 m/s • Sprint Speed: 9 m/s • Activate sprint with left-click while crawling |
 Touch of Klyntar | Team-up ability with Spider-Man and Peni Parker | • Bonus: +150 Max Health • Allows allies to create explosive symbiote spikes |
Here’s the thing about Venom – he’s simple to play but takes time to really get good with. You’ll figure out the basics pretty quickly: swing in, cause problems, heal up when needed. But knowing exactly when to go in and when to back off? That comes with practice.
Don’t get too focused on trying to get kills. Your job is to be annoying and hard to ignore. When you’re playing Venom right, the enemy team has to deal with you – they can’t just pretend you’re not there while they go after your healers.
Get in their faces, make them waste their abilities on you, and trust that your team will take advantage of the space you create. The wins will come naturally when you focus on being disruptive rather than trying to be the hero.
