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Dive In And Master Marvel Rivals' Magik

Dive In And Master Marvel Rivals' Magik

Yahoo25-02-2025
Many of the Marvel Rivals Duelists settle in nicely into specific roles. Psylocke functions perfectly as an assassin while Hawkeye is meant to be used at range. But if you're looking for an easy-to-pick-up hero with more flexibility, there is plenty of fun to be had with Magik.
Read More:Marvel Rivals' Damage Heroes, Ranked From Worst To Best
The young mutant is a powerhouse of a duelist who can deal substantial damage and steal health from enemies at the same time. Her kit is admittedly a bit all over the place, but we have the tips to help you master the Limbo ruler and bully the opposition.
Magik has two prominent play-styles that can find success. The more popular strategy in my experience is using her as a dive character. This means using her Stepping Discs to teleport in from the sides or behind the enemy team, getting an elimination or two, and then returning to safety. I wouldn't recommend taking on a Vanguard, but any support heroes or lonely ranged attackers are perfect targets.
Another viable strategy is to play Magik as more of an off-tank, to keep enemies from focusing on your team's Vanguards. The main difference is that you'll be fighting on the frontline alongside your Vanguards. Feel free to mix it up occasionally and use your stepping stones for a quick dive on the opposing team as well.
One of my favorite qualities about Magik is her sword's reach. The 6.5m length outclasses all other melee units and has helped me get numerous eliminations that seemed just out of reach. However, it does come with a unique drawback of damage falloff. Her primary Soulsword melee only deals the maximum 65 damage if the enemy is within 4.5m. It will then fall to 50 percent at the end of its range.
This drawback exists in her Darkchild form as well. Although her Soulsword range increases to 10m, the damage falloff begins at 6m and drops to a measly 25 percent damage at maximum range. The key takeaway here is that it's better to be up close and personal when swinging this sword.
Another drawback with Magik's Soulsword is the slow rate of the attacks. Thankfully, just like other heroes, you can get a lot more damage in with animation canceling. Many of her abilities can instantly cancel the swinging animation, but the sweet spot is right after the sword makes contact. My go-to combos typically follow a loop of Soulsword > universal melee > another ability. Thanks to the damage buff she receives from her Season Bonus, I usually just need another Soulsword swing plus melee added to ensure that combo eliminates weaker heroes.
Outside of animation canceling, the proper balance to her weighty attacks is some nifty mobility techniques with Stepping Discs and Umbral Incursion. Stepping Discs is a two-charge ability that teleports her horizontally in whichever direction she's moving. Aside from becoming invincible to damage during the movement, it also allows her to cast one of two additional attacks for three seconds after teleporting. These special attacks include a wide area-of-effect swing and a demon familiar summon.
Umbral Incursion is a rapid dash that will slash enemies upward if it makes contact. Its range is longer than her teleport and the potential launcher is a great way to deal more damage. While she isn't invincible during the dash, Magik can use it to dash upward or downward.
My advice is to use these liberally with fights and general movement alike. Both abilities are perfect for repositioning around enemies and putting the hurt on them. Pair them together and you can even get in the face of flying heroes like Iron Man. Equally important, the invincibility of Stepping Discs and verticality of Umbral Incursion makes them perfect for making a quick exit.
Whenever a fight gets too dicey for most heroes, the solution is either to use a protective or healing ability, or to escape. The appropriate response in Magik's case is usually to keep swinging that sword and using her abilities. Thanks to her Limbo's Might passive, Magik converts 30 percent of the damage she inflicts as bonus health. I can tell you from experience playing with her and against her that she can last a long time in a fight. Once the odds get stacked against her, such as a pesky ranged hero joining the fray, it's time to leave.
Magik's ultimate has her transform into the corrupted Darkchild for 12 seconds. Unlike the Hulk, the ability moveset is the same across both forms. The difference is that everything is enhanced as Darkchild. Attacks can do more damage and land additional hits, Umbral Incursion reaches a longer range at a quicker speed, and cooldowns are lowered across the board. All of it comes together to allow her to deal massive amounts of damage and gain a decent amount of bonus health at the same time.
Whether you're diving in the back or pushing up front, the goal of Darkchild is to be aggressive and do whatever you can to get some eliminations. Earning the Ace title can be a cinch with an ultimate like this. Just don't activate it in the middle of a fight, since her low health can quickly get depleted and waste your opportunity.
Magik isn't without her weaknesses in Marvel Rivals, but she is still one of the deadliest dive heroes on the roster. If you're interested in checking out a Vanguard dive hero, you can't go wrong with Venom.
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Gabe Kunda Is Ready to Be Your Next Blade
Gabe Kunda Is Ready to Be Your Next Blade

Gizmodo

time4 days ago

  • Gizmodo

Gabe Kunda Is Ready to Be Your Next Blade

Every Marvel Rivals season brings a new pair of heroes with it, and after opening season three with Jean Grey, this week sees Blade take center stage. While dataminers determined well ahead of time that he'd be popping in, the vampire hunter was teased in the game's earlier, Dracula-related season. Now, he's woken out of bed, and players are eager to get their hands on a character they've known and loved since they first saw Wesley Snipes enter that nightclub in 1998. You can count Gabe Kunda among those lovers. The actor, whose voice you've heard in various movie promos and in games like Apex Legends (as Newcastle) and Date Everything (Tyrell), is playing Blade for Marvel's hero shooter, and has a lot of affection for the character. Not only is Snipes '[his Blade]' and the first film his favorite of the trilogy, he likened Snipes' live-action turn to being as definitive as Robert Downey Jr. was for Iron Man. And while Kunda looked toward J.D. Hall's version in the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon and praised the respective performances of Imari Williams and Michael Jai White in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 and Marvel's Midnight Sons, it's Snipes that largely informed his portrayal for Rivals, which he believes was the same for his voice acting predecessors. 'Nine times out of 10, the audience will compare us to Wesley, so if you go outside the orbit, it starts to feel off. The map has been laid out, and we follow that,' Kunda told io9. 'But I tried to avoid going too carbon copy [with my voice]. You can't do better than what he did, but you can add a little bit of yourself in to help stand out.' These days, Blade's biggest problem isn't standing out, but showing up: since Kevin Feige and Mahershala Ali took to the stage at 2019's San Diego Comic-Con to reveal the character was coming to the MCU, his solo movie has struggled to get made. For those wanting a specific vampire-killing fix, Wesley Snipes in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine had your back. (Or more recently, Sinners.) Meanwhile, in games, we learned in late 2023 that Dishonored studio Arkane was taking its own stab at the character, but that project is years away, and something Kunda knows nothing about. He recalled auditioning for Blade in a Marvel game project back in 2024, but he didn't know it was for Rivals specifically. It wasn't until after the game's reveal that he put two and two together—and he got the part shortly after expressing his hopes for it at San Diego Comic-Con that same year. This is CRAZY. This was July 2024… Literally a week or so later I got the call….mannnnnn…….😭🥹 — Gabe Kunda (@GabeKunda) July 30, 2025Blade is Marvel Rivals' 41st character, and a cast that big means people get to talking. Before a match starts, different pairings will banter, which helps inform what universe a character is from, how they feel about others, or potentially tease new heroes to join the fray. Without a firm narrative established in-game or through its seasonal cinematics (like in similar titles), these interactions can pull double duty as character development and fan fodder, and there are entire fandom subsects devoted to posting and analyzing pre-match dialogue. For Kunda and the other actors, these are also where they'd get the most direction during recording sessions. Whereas general barks or lines from season three's reveal trailer could be done as is, he said pre-fight dialogue required 'a lot of context for why I'm speaking to Storm or Black Panther this way, or why I'm talking about Captain America being a wolf.' That guidance was also helpful in a real-world sense in keeping him from getting lost in the fanboy sauce: as a self-professed fan of voice actors like Steve Blum (Wolverine) and Yuri Lowenthal (Spider-Man), the voice direction ensured he was talking to them as their in-game characters rather than the performers he grew up loving with the rest of us. That singular focus has also kept Kunda from thinking too far ahead when it comes to Blade's future. Rivals' voice cast has a lot of repeat Marvel actors, from the aforementioned Blum and Lowenthal to Laura Bailey (Black Widow) and James Mathis III (Black Panther), among plenty others. When asked about this, Kunda acknowledged how continuity can exist between different projects, allowing for performers to come back. For himself, he's trying to avoid viewing Rivals in that light, just as he also doesn't feel a particular weight about voicing a version of Blade that could be in audiences' minds for the next few years—Marvel Rivals is a popular game right now, but that doesn't inherently make his performance definitive. And if he did reprise the role in another project, he noted it could be something 'all different' from this particular take. If there's anything Blade-related in the future that Kunda's thinking about, it's what future creatives will do with the character post-Rivals. 'They could go after Wesley's version, or Michael's, Imari's, or mine,' he suggested. Alternatively, he believes someone could go their own way and find a new angle on the character that proves to be iconic in its own right. Echoing similar thoughts from the reboot film's first director, Bassam Tariq, Kunda called Blade a character who lacks a hard canon compared to big-name heroes like Spider-Man or Captain America. With that freedom in mind, Kunda just wants to be 'the best Blade that I can be' for Marvel Rivals. And with Blade hitting the game on Friday, August 8, Kunda will spend this weekend streaming himself playing his new character, or Black Panther, on Twitch. Blade comes to Marvel Rivals as part of its season 3.5 update tomorrow, August 8. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

All Free Marvel Rivals Skins and How to Get Them for August 2025
All Free Marvel Rivals Skins and How to Get Them for August 2025

CNET

time7 days ago

  • CNET

All Free Marvel Rivals Skins and How to Get Them for August 2025

Marvel Rivals season 2.5 may have taken our heroes off-world as they battled across Arakko, but season 3 is throwing us into the furthest reaches of space to fight a new threat: Knull and his symbiote army. Stopping one symbiote is tough enough. Fighting off an army of them is going to require a whole new wardrobe's worth of battle gear. Luckily for you, there are many ways to unlock some free skins in the hit hero shooter right now -- including the Milano Repair Logs event that evens the odds with a free Storm Symbiote Storm skin and the Summer Special pass that includes the free Thor Worthy Waves skin. Outside of the latest event, there are still other ways to earn free skins right now. Whether you're getting used to Phoenix's dense set of abilities or you're still getting used to the ever-shifting landscape of team-up moves, season 3 has introduced a slate of free skins that you can use to deck out your favorite characters. Here's what you need to know about the Milano Repair Logs event, current Twitch drops and the Marvel Rivals season 3 battle pass. Storm commands her alien partner and the lightning with the Storm Symbiote Storm skin. NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET Get the Storm Symbiote Storm skin during the Milano Repair Logs event The Milano Repair Logs event is a simple challenge-based event launched at the beginning of season 3. It's similar to the Cerebro Database events from season 2, but instead of playing a game of tic-tac-toe, you just have to complete every objective presented to you. There are seven repair logs to complete, with each repair log containing three separate challenges. The challenge rewards are pretty solid this time around -- there are some character-based sprays, profile pics and other filler, but you can also earn a handful of units and hundreds of Chrono Tokens that will give you an early boost in completing the season 3 battle pass. You unlock new repair logs by completing the previous ones, so there's no skipping out on challenges that don't fit your usual play style. Once you complete all seven repair logs, you automatically unlock the free Storm Symbiote Storm skin for your outfit wardrobe. The Milano Repair Logs event lasts until Aug. 8, so you'll want to unlock the Storm skin before then. If you want to complete your symbiote skin collection, there are a smattering of Venom-themed skins for other characters on the battle pass (including two skins on the free track). There are also plenty of Venom- and Phoenix-themed skins in the in-game shop if you've collected enough units to snatch up an incoming bundle or two. The Thor Worthy Waves skin heats up the battlefield. Don't get smacked by Throg Mjolnir! NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET Take part in the Marvel Rivals beach episode with the Thor Worthy Waves skin Season 2's Combat Chest must have been a smashing success for developer NetEase, because smaller event battle passes are making a return in Marvel Rivals Season 3. The Summer Special pass is available until Aug. 15. The Summer Special premium track is available for 990 Lattice, which is roughly equivalent to $10. If you shell out some cash, you'll unlock the Sunshine Thing skin and have a chance to earn the Luna Snow Cool Summer skin. Paying for the pass also removes the time limit, allowing you to rack up tiers at your own pace. If you're a free-to-play gamer, there's still a big incentive for you on this pass. The Thor Worthy Waves skin is on the free reward track, and it's available at tier 14. With no artificial XP point cap this time around, you can pick up Marvel Rivals and unlock the Worthy Waves skin in one sitting if you wanted to. In my experience, each game netted me around half of a Summer Special pass tier, so it'll probably take you somewhere in the ballpark of 30 games to unlock the free skin. If you don't buy the pass, it will disappear on Aug. 15 -- and take Thor's Worthy Waves skin into the undertow along with it. Make sure to reach Summer Special pass tier 14 before then in order to clinch the god of thunder's beach episode attire. How can I get free skins during Marvel Rivals season 3? Players who link their Twitch account to their Marvel Rivals account can nab a free Hawkeye and Star Lord skin by watching participating streams. But if you only care about rewards you can earn in-game, a Phoenix skin is available by progressing through the competitive ladder and new looks for Groot and Rocket Raccoon are available for free on the season 3 battle pass. Rocket Raccoon is looking a little ravenous with his inclusion on the season 3 battle pass. NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET What Marvel Rivals skins are available free right now? There are currently 11 free skins available. Here's how you get them: Storm Symbiote Storm: Complete all 21 challenges included within the Milano Repair Logs event by Aug. 8 in order to unlock this skin. Complete all 21 challenges included within the Milano Repair Logs event by Aug. 8 in order to unlock this skin. Thor Worthy Waves: Complete tier 14 on the Summer Special event pass by Aug. 15 in order to unlock this skin. Complete tier 14 on the Summer Special event pass by Aug. 15 in order to unlock this skin. Hawkeye Will of Galacta: To claim this skin, you'll need to link a Twitch account to your Marvel Rivals account and then watch six hours of livestreams from streamers participating in the drop campaign. The Hawkeye Will of Galacta skin is available until Friday, Aug. 16. To claim this skin, you'll need to link a Twitch account to your Marvel Rivals account and then watch six hours of livestreams from streamers participating in the drop campaign. The Hawkeye Will of Galacta skin is available until Friday, Aug. 16. Star Lord Ignite: To claim this skin, you'll need to link a Twitch account to your Marvel Rivals account and then watch four hours of livestreams from the Marvel Rivals Ignite mid-season finals tournament matches. This Twitch campaign is available concurrently with the Hawkeye Will of Galacta skin, but watching streams will only contribute to one set of drops at a time. The Star Lord Ignite skin is available from Aug. 10 to Sept. 6. To claim this skin, you'll need to link a Twitch account to your Marvel Rivals account and then watch four hours of livestreams from the Marvel Rivals Ignite mid-season finals tournament matches. This Twitch campaign is available concurrently with the Hawkeye Will of Galacta skin, but watching streams will only contribute to one set of drops at a time. The Star Lord Ignite skin is available from Aug. 10 to Sept. 6. Phoenix Emerald Flames: Reach Gold rank or higher in competitive mode in season 3. You must play at least 10 competitive matches to be eligible to receive the skin. Reach Gold rank or higher in competitive mode in season 3. You must play at least 10 competitive matches to be eligible to receive the skin. Groot Symbiote Flora: Reach page 4 in the season 3 battle pass by Sept. 11. Reach page 4 in the season 3 battle pass by Sept. 11. Rocket Raccoon Symbiote Raccoon: Reach page 10 in the season 3 battle pass by Sept. 11. Four of the currently available free skins are not time-gated although they are locked behind achievements or platform exclusivity. Here are the Marvel Rivals skins you can unlock at any time: Spider-Man Scarlet Spider: This skin is available to PS Plus subscribers who play the game on the PS5. It can be found on the PSN Store under Marvel Rivals DLC. This skin is available to PS Plus subscribers who play the game on the PS5. It can be found on the PSN Store under Marvel Rivals DLC. Peni Parker Ven#m: Like the Scarlet Spider skin, this Ven#m skin is available for PS Plus subscribers and can be found in the PSN Store. This skin is also available in the Marvel Rivals in-game store, where it can be purchased with units. Like the Scarlet Spider skin, this Ven#m skin is available for PS Plus subscribers and can be found in the PSN Store. This skin is also available in the Marvel Rivals in-game store, where it can be purchased with units. Storm Ivory Breeze: Earn 200 Achievement Points in the Heroic Journey achievement section. Earn 200 Achievement Points in the Heroic Journey achievement section. Star-Lord Jovial Star: Earn 400 Achievement Points in the Heroic Journey achievement section. A classic X-Man look for Magik is available free on the Season 2 battle pass. NetEase Games/Screenshot by CNET How can I get more free Marvel Rivals skins? There are many ways to get skins in Marvel Rivals. Sometimes the developer issues special codes to unlock them while others require completing challenges. There are also some made available by watching streams on Twitch and many skins are "free" for progressing through the Marvel Rivals Battle Pass, which costs 990 Lattice, or about $10. You can also earn skins through regularly playing the game, as a free skin is frequently awarded with the completion of seasonal events. Players who reach gold rank or higher in competition also receive a free skin as a reward for their performance. Live events like season 2's Cerebro Database and the current Milano Repair Logs challenge include free skins as a completion reward. What free skins used to be available in Marvel Rivals? Twitch drops, battle passes and promo codes get cycled in and out of rotation, allowing Marvel Rivals players to earn different free skins from engaging with the game during different events. Here are all of the previously available free skins, what season they were introduced in and how they were obtainable. Season 0 free skins Iron Man Armor Model 42: This skin was unlocked through opening the Bundle Code main menu option and inputting the promo code nwarh4k3xqy. The skin rotated out of availability on March 5, 2025. This skin was unlocked through opening the Bundle Code main menu option and inputting the promo code The skin rotated out of availability on March 5, 2025. Scarlet Witch White Witch: This skin was an exclusive reward for Closed Alpha players, rewarded upon logging in for the first time in season 0. This skin was an exclusive reward for Closed Alpha players, rewarded upon logging in for the first time in season 0. Venom Cyan Clash: This skin was an exclusive reward for Closed Beta players, rewarded upon logging in for the first time in season 0. This skin was an exclusive reward for Closed Beta players, rewarded upon logging in for the first time in season 0. Magneto Will of Galacta: This skin was unlocked as a Twitch drop during season 0. The skin rotated out of availability on Dec. 31, 2024. This skin was unlocked as a Twitch drop during season 0. The skin rotated out of availability on Dec. 31, 2024. Moon Knight Golden Moonlight: This skin was available as a competitive reward for any players who reached Gold or higher in Competitive mode in season 0. This skin was available as a competitive reward for any players who reached Gold or higher in Competitive mode in season 0. Jeff the Shark Cuddly Fuzzlefin: This skin was a reward for the season 0 Winter Celebration event. This skin was a reward for the season 0 Winter Celebration event. Hela Empress of the Cosmos: This skin was a free reward from the season 0 battle pass. The season 0 battle pass was briefly available for purchase again during season 2, temporarily reintroducing this skin to the game. Season 1 free skins Hela Will of Galacta: This skin was unlocked as a Twitch drop during season 1. The skin rotated out of availability on Jan. 25, 2025. This skin was unlocked as a Twitch drop during season 1. The skin rotated out of availability on Jan. 25, 2025. Adam Warlock Will of Galacta: This skin was unlocked as a Twitch drop during season 1. The skin rotated out of availability on April 4, 2025. This skin was unlocked as a Twitch drop during season 1. The skin rotated out of availability on April 4, 2025. Winter Soldier Revolution: Available via a promo code sent to moviegoers who saw Captain America: Brave New World in participating Regal theaters during opening weekend. Also available to buy in the in-game shop. Available via a promo code sent to moviegoers who saw Captain America: Brave New World in participating Regal theaters during opening weekend. Also available to buy in the in-game shop. Invisible Woman Blood Shield: This skin was available as a competitive reward for any players who reached Gold or higher in Competitive mode in season 1. This skin was available as a competitive reward for any players who reached Gold or higher in Competitive mode in season 1. Human Torch Blood Blaze: This skin was available as a competitive reward for any players who reached Gold or higher in Competitive mode in season 1.5. This skin was available as a competitive reward for any players who reached Gold or higher in Competitive mode in season 1.5. Thor Reborn From Ragnarok: This skin was a reward for the season 1 Midnight Features Part 1 event. This skin was a reward for the season 1 Midnight Features Part 1 event. Groot Carved Traveler: This skin was a reward for the season 1 Midnight Features Part 2 event. This skin was a reward for the season 1 Midnight Features Part 2 event. Black Widow Mrs. Barnes: This skin was a reward for the season 1 Galacta's Cosmic Adventure event. It can be bought now in the in-game shop. This skin was a reward for the season 1 Galacta's Cosmic Adventure event. It can be bought now in the in-game shop. Peni Parker Blue Tarantula: This skin was a free reward from the season 1 battle pass. This skin was a free reward from the season 1 battle pass. Scarlet Witch Emporium Matron: This skin was a free reward from the season 1 battle pass.

We've finally got a look at Blade's abilities after 162 days of waiting, and players have immediately connected the dots—'Oh, his ult is just Vergil'
We've finally got a look at Blade's abilities after 162 days of waiting, and players have immediately connected the dots—'Oh, his ult is just Vergil'

Yahoo

time02-08-2025

  • Yahoo

We've finally got a look at Blade's abilities after 162 days of waiting, and players have immediately connected the dots—'Oh, his ult is just Vergil'

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's finally time. After 162 days, Marvel Rivals has revealed Blade's abilities and ultimate, and it's certainly worth the wait. The second hero to join in Season 3, Blade will add one more hero to the Duelist roster alongside Phoenix. Blade's character reveal trailer shows just how scary this Duelist is going to be. With his titanium sword, Blade can both deflect incoming projectile damage and even some abilities like Mantis' sleep dart, and then perform a rapid "slice and dice" attack on enemies once he's closed the distance. Watching Blade literally slice through the competition, chewing up enemies and spitting them out in seconds, is absolutely terrifying. I always joke that any new character joining Marvel Rivals will be busted just because of NetEase's approach of releasing first and balancing later. But seeing Blade kill Luna Snow and Hela in seconds brings home just how strong this new hero is going to be. And that's not even taking into account his ultimate ability, A Thousand Cuts. When it comes to using his ultimate, it looks like Blade can leap into the sky or just dash across the ground and leave a trail of red cuts in his path that will slice apart any enemy left in its wake in seconds. When I first saw it, I thought, "oh god, that looks like Morgott's cursed-blood slice attack," but I have been playing way too much Elden Ring Nightreign recently. Others, however, too, one look at it and sat up in their chairs pointing and whistling at the screen, "Oh, his ult is just Vergil." marvelrivals from r/marvelrivals/comments/1mdefdr/bury_the_light_deep_within A Thousand Cuts isn't just Blade's ultimate—it also resembles an attack Vergil can do with the Yamato sword in Devil May Cry, which also has the term A Thousand Cuts as its description. And Blade's attack looks just as cool as Vergil's, so cool in fact that many players—myself included—have accepted that we're never going to get a chance to play Blade because of how popular he'll likely be. "I'm never going to get to play Blade, am I?" RapperwithNumberName says. "At least he looks sick as hell." Blade is a long-awaited vampire hunter, acidic blade-wielding badass with an aggressive kit, deathly cool ultimate, and oh yeah, he's a Duelist, the most popular class in Marvel Rivals. So, best of luck to everyone wanting to try this new hero out when he releases on August 8—you'll need it.

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