It’s the midway point for Marvel Rivals Season Five, and that means it’s time to welcome another new character to the game. Anne Marie, A.K.A. Rogue (Lenore Zann, X-Men 97), is the latest melee tank to enter the roster. And though she has her trademark energy absorption, thanks to a special wedding ring from her husband, Gambit, she’s packing some new tools to win matches as well. Let’s tackle the most exciting element of Rogue’s kit first: her Ability Absorption.
Rogue dashes forward and knocks down her target. Once down, she absorbs their energy, temporarily replacing the ability with one of her target’s, if possible. If the target doesn’t have a stealable ability, she gets her Fatal Atraction ability refreshed. She also absorbs health, as well as gains a stat buff from the target, the nature of which depends on their class.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
Rogue absorbs stat buffs from her targets.
This power is a ton of fun and can be thrilling when you manage to snag the right ability. Even when you don’t get an exciting hit, however, it’s still a solid one to land. It is on a long cooldown, so use it carefully. Missing can also be a problem, as it can launch you out of position if you aren’t careful.
The choices of who can or can’t give powers make sense either lore-wise or from a practicality standpoint. Some, like Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, all have weapon-based abilities, so of course, she can’t steal those. Mr Fantastic also doesn’t offer any.
However, seeing as how his would require them to make Rogue’s model Stretchy, I can see where it wouldn’t be worth it. And getting an instant refresh on Fatal Attraction is no small thing either. Especially as players will be more experienced with utilising the standard element of her kit.
Fatal Attraction is Rogue’s signature move.
When activated, Fatal Attraction has Rogue dash forward. If the ability is activated again within a few seconds, an energy ring expands outwards from her. This ring deals continuous damage to enemies within it. After a short delay, the ring collapses back to Rogue, pulling all enemies within it to her.
This feels like Rogue’s signature move in Marvel Rivals. It has good maneuverability and great crowd control. The damage is nothing to scoff at, either, especially if she can manage to grab a support or two with the power. It also serves as a great follow-up for her Chrono Kick Combo.
Just be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Enemies still have complete control of themselves, and ramming into four or five of them can result in a quick trip back to spawn if you don’t have proper support.
Chrono Kick Combo is valuable for both movement and combat.
Just like her other abilities, the Chrono Kick Combo starts with a dash, but this one ends with a flip kick that launches both Rogue and her target into the air. Once up in the air, you can activate the power again, which sends her hurtling towards the ground. It also empowers her next two basic attacks. This makes her next two punches have a range attack, as well as piercing enemies and providing temporary hit points to Rogue.
It’s important to note that Rogue doesn’t have to come down to earth immediately. For several seconds, she functions as a flyer. This allows you to set up where she wants to land on her return trip. Indicated by a large circle on the ground, a quick player can line up on a fleeing target easily. Though the power doesn’t have a huge range, working quickly is important.
I also found that there were plenty of times where I would use the initial charge/flip kick for movement purposes rather than damage. If a short wall or other obstacle was blocking my path, this move can launch Rogue high enough to clear many obstructions, setting her up to come crashing down on unsuspecting foes.
Southern Brawl unleashes an AoE attack that Defensive Stance can buff.
The final standard power in Rogue’s kit comes in two parts. The first, Defensive Stance, sees her pull a small forcefield-like construct up in front of her. The shield only lasts a few seconds and only decreases the damage Rogue takes from incoming projectiles. However, it also powers up her Southern Brawl.
Southern Brawl is a move that can only be accessed from the Defensive Stance. When used, it causes Rogue to charge forward, slamming into enemies and unleashing an AoE attack. While it is empowered by Damage taken during Defensive Stance, you don’t need to take any damage prior to activating it; it just works better if you do.
At this point, you’ve probably noticed a pattern in Rogue’s kit. She does a lot of dashing. This allows her great mobility, as she can string attacks together, crumpling squishy enemies before swiftly moving on to the next. While all this speed can be empowering, it can also easily lead a player to overextend their reach. Much like last season’s new tank, Angela, Rogue can swiftly find herself isolated and swarmed if she isn’t careful.
Rogue’s ultimate attack, Heart Breaker, depletes other Marvel Rising players’ ultimate energy.
Rounding out the X-Man’s kit is her ultimate attack: Heart Breaker. A sizable aura expands around Rogue. Enemies within the aura have their ultimate energy depleted, and they take continuous damage. She also gains stat buffs based on the classes of the enemies within her aura.
This ability is fantastic. If fired off at the start of a fight, Rogue will be able to string together her full set of abilities, bouncing from Southern Brawl, launching into Chrono Kick Combo, and finishing with Fatal Attraction.
The vast majority of enemies in the vicinity are likely to be down after all that—especially assuming you have some amount of backup, adding to your damage/keeping you on your feet. When pulled off properly, it’s one of the most rewarding ultimates in the game, because it’s powerful, but also requires solid execution.
Rogue brings a lot of power and movement to Marvel Rivals. While fully utilising her powers in the fluid chain, they are clearly designed to take time to learn. The reward looks like it will be more than worth it. Add on the need to remember which characters give what powers to Rogue, so you know who to lunge at, and she feels like one that will require a fair bit of dedication to master. But it looks like the journey will be a ton of fun.
Marvel Rivals is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
