Out now, Marvel's Avengers is an action-RPG that focuses on rebuilding the team of Earth's mightiest heroes to face off against a new threat. Starring some of Marvel's most iconic characters, including Captain America, Hulk, and Iron Man, you'll work with your team of heroes to battle robot minions and various supervillains. One of the Avengers' key members is the master assassin Black Widow. And while she doesn't have superpowers of her own, she possesses a particular set of skills that makes her one of the deadliest members of the superhero crew.
If you want a more detailed look at each playable hero, then check out our on-going break downs for each character, such as this explainer for Iron Man, along with a general look at the entire roster of the Avengers.
Black Widow Hero Summary
To paint a clearer picture for what Natasha Romanova--AKA Black Widow--brings to the table, think of her as the rogue class in the Avengers. She's the fastest character on the roster, and with her skills that focus on getting in and out of combat with ease, she can be surprisingly tricky to get accustomed to when compared to the other more over-the-top and straight-forward characters. Her skills in taking out foes, in her particular way, can make for a playstyle that's both slick and clever in its approach. Black Widow is more geared towards agility and heroic attributes when it comes to stats, which will give you some great ways to move around the field and strike at your enemies when they least expect it.
Compared to seeing Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, and the Hulk in action, Black Widow's somewhat reserved approach certainly sticks out. However, what makes Black Widow such a deadly fighter is that her abilities are tailor-made for single-target enemies. She doesn't have the bombast of Thor or the Hulk, with their attacks sweeping through large groups of enemies at once. Instead, Black Widow's abilities focus on incapacitating targets, which means that your attacks will deal heavy stagger damage, opening them up to takedown finishers. When you get used to her style, Black Widow can be a blast to play as.
General Tips For Black Widow
Pick Your Targets. As an assassin, Black Widow is at her best when she pinpoints her targets and puts all her effort into taking them out. When playing as her, it's best to read the room and identify which marks to remove from the equation fast. In larger-scale fights, for instance, it's best to eliminate the elite targets first, which will help your teammates mop up the rest of the foes in a battle.
Close The Gap. One of Black Widow's most useful skills is the Widow's Line. This grappling hook helps with traversal around the map, but it also comes into play during combat. This gadget allows her to grapple onto enemies and close the distance on them. In doing so, you can start hammering away at your chosen target and quickly get them into a staggered state. Also, using the Widow's Line just before an enemy is about to attack will parry their strike, which will put them into a brief stun state. Watch out for the yellow warning icon to appear over their heads, this will clue you in on when it's time to parry.
Learn To Juggle. Black Widow has some solid aerial combat skills, and when using her heavy strikes--which brings out the batons--you can quickly build up the stagger meter to put them into a takedown state. By holding down the heavy button, you can activate the launcher attack, which will have the enemies rise into the air, at which point you can follow with your own stream of attacks. Black Widow also has a special dive kick attack, which can be great when you need to do a quick bounce off an enemy's head.
Use Those Takedowns. The takedowns are one of the best ways that Black Widow can deal damage. While it will often take out the standard fodder easily, some elite enemies may survive the attack. Still, it's worth pulling off because they can still deal significant damage, allowing your teammates to tear into them with their own skills. While leveling Black Widow, you'll be able to find loot that may improve her strength for takedowns, so be sure to keep an eye out for them.
Maintain Distance When Needed. In many cases, you'll find that it's best to stay back from the fight. When this happens, keep your distance and utilize Black Widow's set of firearms. These guns include twin pistols, sub-machine guns, and a high-powered magnum. These weapons can put significant pressure onto enemies, but they shouldn't be relied upon too often as you'll still have to reload your guns. Use your guns when you can, but if you see an opening for a close-range assault, definitely go for it.
Keep Your Cloak Up. Black Widow's Veil of Shadow is a useful cloaking ability that renders her invisible. Not only does this let you sneak up on enemies, but it also happens to give you a damage boost. This skill also works on your teammates, and it can be especially useful to have a powered up and invisible Hulk on the field. Since it takes some time to charge, be smart about when you should deploy it. Keep an eye out for gear that improves the Veil of Shadow's effectiveness.
Activate That Ultimate. Breaking away from her restrained style, one of Black Widow's most over-the-top attacks in her arsenal is her ultimate. By pressing down both assault and support heroic buttons, Black Widow will combine her batons to form an electrified polearm. This particular state will turn her into a combo-dealing machine, and it also allows her to bounce between different enemies more efficiently to pile on the pressure even more.
Best Abilities To Get First
For Black Widow, you'll want to start with opening up different combo options. For light attacks, Pounce and Spider Sweep are very useful combo-starters. The former is Black Widow's dive-kick, which carries into a combo, while the latter is a powered-up light attack that can break shields used by enemies. Spinning Fury and Baton Strike are solid upgrades for her heavy strikes to help build up an enemy's stagger. These are among the early core melee attacks to get, and they'll come in clutch during any fight.
For her long-range attacks, you want to open up her different sub-weapons early, which includes a pair of machine guns and a magnum. Descending further into her ranged skill tree will open up modified attacks that amplify each firearm's effectiveness. These upgrades will give you more options when it comes to ranged combat, which can be nice to have early on .
For her defensive skills, Black Widow's upgrades focus on added parries and dodges. As mentioned previously, Widow's Line is a super useful skill that can close the gap, but it is also useful for parries. The Whiplash skill is an upgrade that opens up a modified parry. When you use the Widow's Line right before an attack, you can stun an enemy. But with Whiplash, you can press the heavy attack button right after the parry to execute a devastating punish attack, which sees Black Widow perform a leg-based takedown.
Lastly, another ability you'll want to unlock early is the Unseen Fate upgrade for her Veil of Shadow skill. When activated during a fight, all enemies in the area with low health will be instantly placed into a takedown state--allowing you and other teammates to chain together several finishers. This upgrade can be invaluable during a tough fight with lots of minions, and it quickly helps even the odds.
