How to Play Hela in Marvel Rivals: 5 Combos, Her Best Team-Ups and the 7 Mistakes That Cost You the Game

What matters in 30 seconds

What kind of hero she is (tap each one to see what it means):

• Hitscan instant shots, no travel time

  The shot lands the instant you fire: if your crosshair is on the enemy when you click, you hit. No need to lead your aim.

  Countered by: shields and cover, which block the line of fire.

  Other heroes like this: Adam Warlock, Black Widow, Blade, Cyclops, Deadpool, Elsa Bloodstone and 7 more.

• Poke steady damage from mid and long range

  Chips away from range before the close fight starts. Wins as long as it keeps its distance.

  Countered by: dive and flankers that get on top of it, and shields to push in.

  Other heroes like this: Adam Warlock, Black Widow, Cyclops, Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Human Torch and 14 more.

• Anti-air punishes flying heroes

  Punishes flyers: instant shots, long reach, or something that pulls them out of the sky.

  Countered by: ground heroes that get close.

  Other heroes like this: Adam Warlock, Angela, Black Widow, Devil Dinosaur, Hawkeye, Hulk and 5 more.

Her abilities, one line each

Lots of players know the buttons before the names, so every ability comes with its button. Pick your platform and every button in the guide changes.

• Nightsword ThornLeft clickRTR2

  Instant shot for 80 damage (160 to the head), 2 per second, 10 rounds. From 18 m it starts hitting for less, down to 75% at 35 m.

• Piercing NightRight clickLTL2

  4 thorns that stick to the enemy and explode after 3 s, even if they run to hide. If all of them land, that's about 180 damage. 8 s cooldown.

• Soul DrainerERBR1

  A sphere that stuns for 0.3 s and pulls enemies within 2 to 3 m into the center; up close it also damages them. Your best weapon against divers. 10 s cooldown.

• Astral FlockShiftLBL1

  You turn into a crow, immune to damage, and fly up to 18 m. Press ShiftLBL1 again to cancel it and land exactly where you want. Since Season 9 the flight is omnidirectional: you can go any direction, round corners and climb to high ground. You get 25 bonus health when it ends. 15 s cooldown.

• Hel's DescentSpaceACross

  Hold jump in the air: you fall slowly and glide.

• Nastrond Crowstorm

  Passive. Every enemy you kill leaves a crow that explodes after 1.8 s for 80 damage around it.

• Goddess of DeathQLS+RSL3+R3

  Your ultimate. You rise straight up and fly for 10 s with 1,000 health of its own, throwing exploding crows for 125 damage.

Aim: how the best players hit their shots

• Keep your crosshair at head height and strafe: let the enemy walk into your crosshair instead of chasing them with the mouse.
• Don't over-track: tracking is only worth it on flyers or very fast enemies at mid range.
• Look at the enemy, not your crosshair: your peripheral vision finds the crosshair, and you react sooner when they change direction.
• Use a small dot crosshair: it's the one most recommended for Hela; it covers less of the enemy's head.
• Practice 10 minutes a day: in the practice range, track the bots for a minute without shooting, then go for chains of headshots.

Positioning: soft angle or hard angle

WaxyMR, in his advanced Hela guide, splits positioning into two kinds of angle. This is how they look from above:

If you don't trust your aim yet, play close to your team first; flanks come once you're landing your shots. Use natural cover: peek, shoot and step back, and always have somewhere to retreat to.

Before taking a hard angle, find where the health packs are or keep Astral Flock ShiftLBL1 ready to get back to your team. Nobody heals you out there: if you get hurt, they're your only way out.

✕

On defense, dying costs more: you walk a long way from your spawn and the enemy respawns close. That's when a soft angle is worth it, even if it pays off less.

Who to shoot first

The order most guides agree on:

1. Healers

   Without them, the rest of the enemy team can't hold the fight.

2. Low-health duelists

   Two headshots and they're out of the fight.

3. Flyers

   Your instant shot is one of the best in the game against them.

4. Tanks

   Last. Shooting them all game only charges the other team's ultimates.

The exception is the tank who pushes too far from their healers: then two headshots do a lot of damage and force them to back off.

What to save and what to spend

Before every fight, ask yourself which ability you can spend and which one the enemy team forces you to save.

• Soul Drainer ERBR1 is your defense against dive: if they have divers like Spider-Man or Black Panther, save it for when they jump you. Up close the pull keeps them from escaping and leaves them in your sights. Aim at their feet, where they're about to move.
• It also pulls people out of hiding: if someone is barely peeking from behind a wall, throw Soul Drainer right next to them (the pull reaches 2 to 3 m). The pull drags them into the open and you finish them there.
• Astral Flock ShiftLBL1 is your escape: only use it to attack if you know nobody is going to jump you afterward.
• The crow also dodges ultimates, like Magneto's, because you're immune while it lasts.

5 combos you need to master

✕

• ERBR1 Left clickRTR2 Left clickRTR2

  Stun and finish: Soul Drainer on the diver who jumps you, one headshot and one body shot. That's 40 + 160 + 80: enough for any 250 HP hero.

• ERBR1 Right clickLTL2

  Group up and blow up: Soul Drainer on a group close to you to pull them to the same spot, then Piercing Night on the ones left bunched up.

• Right clickLTL2 before they hide

  Finish the runner: if someone hurt runs for cover, hit them with Piercing Night before they get there. The thorns stay stuck to them and explode even when you can't see them anymore.

• QLS+RSL3+R3 lowest health first

  Crow chain: during your ultimate, kill the lowest-health target first. Their Nastrond Crowstorm crow explodes on whoever is nearby and sets up your next kill.

• SpaceACross + Left clickRTR2 ShiftLBL1

  Angle from above: drop from high ground with Hel's Descent while shooting, and get back to cover with Astral Flock.

When to use the ultimate (Goddess of Death)

Be patient. Before you press QLS+RSL3+R3, ask yourself what could stop it right now and whether you can wait for them to spend it. Doctor Strange's and Emma Frost's shields and Magneto's ultimate stop it, and Phoenix erases it with hers.

✕

The most important part of this ultimate isn't your aim, it's talking to your team. When you pop it, the enemy team scatters like ants when you lift a rock: everyone runs to hide and many end up alone.

• Tell your team before you use it, so they watch for the enemies you leave low and finish them.
• From above you see where everyone ended up: ping them for your team. And the other way around: have your team ping whoever is left alone so you can go for them.
• Ask your team to break Strange's shield when your ultimate is ready. Once it's gone, he can't stop you.
• Use it under open sky: you rise straight up from where you are, and a roof or a wall above you blocks your shots.
• Aim at the center of the group or at their feet: each crow explodes in a 6 m radius, but it hits much harder in the center than at the edge.
• Don't pop it right next to Strange: move away first so his shield can't reach you.
• Ultimates that lock enemies in place help, like Groot's or Doctor Strange's, but you don't need them.
• Save Astral Flock for when it ends: it gets you back to your team, or out if you didn't get many kills. For the same reason, never fly in with the crow and then ult: if they cancel it, you have no escape.
• A good ult isn't always 3 kills: if it forces the enemy to burn a healer's ultimate, you already won the trade.
• Use it to avoid dying only if your team is still fighting: it's instant and has 1,000 health of its own. If they break it, you go back to your normal form with the health you had, so you stay in the fight and help win it. Using it alone, with no team to follow up, almost never works.

Advanced tip: keep track of the enemy ultimates

In high-level games, after every fight teams call out how many ultimates the enemy used ("they used 3"). That way you know who still has theirs. Before using yours, check whether they've spent their defensive ultimates, like the healers' or Phoenix's: if not, your ultimate may do nothing. Use it once they've spent them or when you know they don't have them charged yet, or combine it with your team's.

Her team-ups: who to play Hela with

You pick the team-up on the hero select screen. Each one has two parts: the base effect, which you always have, and the enhanced effect, which only turns on if the partner hero is on your team.

Hela has two team-ups of her own. Which one to pick depends on your style, and in Season 10.5 ranked she wins 56.2% of games with Venom and 50.5% with Namor, according to RivalsHeroes.

Hel Tendrils

With Venom, wins 56.2%

Base

Replaces Soul Drainer with tendrils that reach 5 m, pull and tether enemies for 2 s, and slow anyone trying to escape by up to 40%.

With Venom

Piercing Night fires 6 thorns and every direct hit heals you 20.

Pick it if

you like flanking and winning duels.

Deep Wrath

With Namor, wins 50.5%

Base

Every kill you take part in summons an undead Monstro, a squid with 150 health that shoots on its own. While it's alive, every time you cast Piercing Night it spits a thorn at the nearest enemy.

With Namor

Every attack during your ultimate summons another Monstro.

Pick it if

you play close to your team and look for finishing blows.

Hela also powers up five heroes through their own team-ups:

• 
  ThorRagnarok Rebirth

  Fatal damage doesn't kill him: he gets bonus health that drains over time. If either of them takes part in a kill during that window, he revives instantly.

• 
  LokiVillain's Illusion

  His transformation lasts longer and a fatal hit turns him back into Loki instead of killing him.

• 
  GorrRagnarök

  His scythe reaches farther and gives bonus health to him and his allies.

• 
  PhoenixCircle of Life

  Her explosions apply more Sparks. In 10.5 its cooldown dropped from 12 to 10 s.

• 
  DeadpoolHel-Yeah, Honey

  He can upgrade his Desert Eagles and his Katanas one more time.

All of Hela's team-ups, with their full effects, are on our team-ups page.

The 7 mistakes that cost you the game

• Playing alone, far from your team, with no plan to escape.
• Standing still watching the same angle: Marvel Rivals has a lot of area damage. Move between shots.
• Spending the crow to chase a kill and being left without an escape.
• Using Soul Drainer for damage instead of saving it for whoever jumps you.
• Using your ultimate without a callout, alone, in the middle of the enemy team, or when everyone has somewhere to hide.
• Shooting the tank while the healers are exposed.
• Reloading out of habit with an almost full magazine: it leaves you without shots right when a target shows up.

How to beat Hela

If she's on the other team, there's one rule: make her spend the crow and go after her during its 15-second cooldown. Without Astral Flock she has no way out.

Heavy dive is really hard for her: two or three heroes jumping at once. One forces her to spend the crow, another her Soul Drainer, and the next one finishes her. She also struggles against lots of shields together, like Doctor Strange with Magneto or Emma Frost with Invisible Woman.

✕

Her counters: the heroes that beat Hela

The six that do best against Hela, according to CounterWatch's Season 10.5 data:

• Invisible WomanHer shield eats your shots and her healing undoes your damage.
• Black PantherHe jumps on you and finishes you: with 250 health you can't survive his combo.
• MagnetoHis wall and bubble block your headshots, and his ultimate stops yours.
• Cloak and DaggerDagger heals nonstop and Cloak turns her allies invisible.
• MantisShe quickly heals whoever you're shooting and gives her team more damage.
• Captain AmericaHe runs at you with his shield up and reaches you before you break it.

Who Hela shines against

The ones who suffer most against her: flyers with no cover and heroes who have to get close to deal damage.

• Scarlet WitchShe needs to be close; from mid range you melt her before she gets there.
• StormShe flies in plain sight: an easy target for your headshots.
• UltronHe floats away from cover and can't dodge an instant shot.
• Iron ManHe flies with nowhere to hide; your shots bring him down before he does damage.
• Devil DinosaurHe's huge and has to get close: every shot lands while he walks toward you.
• The ThingHe fights in melee with no shield: you punish him from range.

The video guide we recommend most

If you want to see all of this in action, WaxyMR's advanced guide walks through his angles and how he thinks through every fight, game by game.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hela hard to play?

She's medium difficulty: the kit is simple, but she depends on your aim and your positioning. If you're just starting out, play close to your team until you land your shots consistently.

What kind of hero is Hela?

A hitscan poke duelist: her shot is instant and she does her damage from mid and long range. She punishes flyers, and with Soul Drainer she defends herself well against divers.

Which team-up is best for Hela?

In Season 10.5, the Venom one (Hel Tendrils) wins more games: 56.2% against 50.5% for the Namor one. Pick Venom if you like flanking and Namor if you play close to your team.

How many shots does Hela need to kill?

Two headshots kill any 250 HP hero out to about 30 meters; both have to be headshots. From 18 meters the damage starts dropping, and past 30 you need one more shot.

Who is the best counter to Hela?

According to CounterWatch, Invisible Woman, Black Panther and Magneto top the list. In general, any diver who forces her to spend the crow leaves her with no escape.

Who is Hela good against?

Against Scarlet Witch and flyers like Storm, Ultron and Iron Man, who have nowhere to hide from her instant shot. She also punishes tanks who push too far and healers left unprotected.

Is Hela strong in Season 10.5?

Yes: she's A tier, with a 51.7% ranked win rate according to CounterWatch. The higher the rank, the more she gets picked: she shows up in 10.9% of games in Bronze and in 23.4% in Celestial and above. She got no changes of her own in 10.5.