Black Widow arrived in Season 9 as a completely different Duelist. She is no longer a backline sniper who waits for one-shot headshots. Her Red Room Rifle now fires fast and hits hard, her mobility drains no stamina, and her old ultimate became a regular ability. That shift turns her into a mid-range diver who flanks, combos, and finishes kills up close. The ranking below sorts her full kit and both team-ups by how much each piece carries her new aggressive playstyle.
| Tier | Abilities and team-ups |
|---|---|
| S | Red Room Rifle (Left Click), Assassin’s Focus (Q ult) |
| A | Fleet Foot (Shift), Edge Dancer (E), Burning Bullets (Phoenix team-up) |
| B | Widow’s Bite Slam (F), Allied Agents (Hawkeye team-up), Electro-Plasma Blast (Right Click) |
| C | Electric Batons (Left Click, secondary) |
S tier: The core of every fight
The Red Room Rifle is now Black Widow’s main tool in almost every engagement. The reworked version trades the slow bolt-action sniper for a fast fire rate that consistently deals solid damage. Because it no longer needs the old ADS sniper mode outside her ultimate, you can hold it up in most fights and keep pressure on flankers and squishies alike. It is the reason her whole kit works.
Assassin’s Focus is her new ultimate, and it is one of the strongest in the game when used well. Activating it switches the rifle to sniper mode for 20 seconds, during which you can fire up to six shots that pierce through targets and deal increased damage. The trick is positioning before you press it. Line up an angle where multiple enemies stack up, then fire in ADS for maximum damage so a single shot cuts through the whole line. Used that way, one ult can wipe several targets, and the wider bullet hitbox even lets it chew through large heroes.
A tier: Mobility, combos, and the best team-up
Fleet Foot is a large part of why the rework lands. The dash and powerful jump no longer drain a stamina bar, so Black Widow can run across the map freely to flank, dive, or reposition without paying for it. Constant movement is now built into her identity rather than a resource you ration.
Edge Dancer earns its spot as her key combo and control tool. The spinning kick launches enemies up, and landing it lets her zip to the target with a grappling hook for a second kick. That closes distance, sets up her melee-to-rifle strings, and helps her punish divers who jump on her.
Burning Bullets, the Phoenix team-up, is the pairing to prioritize. It grants the Red Room Rifle a fire rate boost and turns the Plasma Cannon projectile into a hitscan laser that no longer needs charging. With Phoenix specifically, the plasma cannon gains a second charge. The upgraded laser folds cleanly into her combos and pushes her damage output noticeably higher.
B tier: Situational damage and setup
Widow’s Bite Slam is a new ability that leaps to a target area and slams the ground for AoE damage. It works best as a combo opener and gives her real anti-dive value, but it is a setup piece rather than a standalone threat. Allied Agents, the Hawkeye team-up, builds Focus as you land rifle hits, and at three stacks the next bullet gains a damage boost and pierce. Teaming with Hawkeye lets a critical hit keep the Focused state alive until you miss a crit. It is strong, but it demands accuracy to pay off, which is why it sits below the more reliable Phoenix option.
Electro-Plasma Blast is her old ultimate reworked into a normal ability. It fires a plasma round that explodes on contact and applies a Slow. The crowd control is useful for peeling divers or catching retreating enemies, but it no longer defines her game the way it once did.
C tier: Combo filler only
The Electric Batons remain the weakest part of her kit. Their melee damage is low and cannot be relied on as a main attack. Use them only inside a combo, never as your primary source of damage. Outside of stringing hits together, you are almost always better off with the rifle.
Combos that raise the value of each ability
The ranking assumes you can chain her tools together, since several B-tier abilities gain value as combo pieces. These strings turn her setup moves into kills.
- Widow’s Bite Slam (F) → Electric Baton attack (Left Click) → Rifle shot (Left Click)
- Widow’s Bite Slam (F) → Edge Dancer (E) → Electric Baton attack → Rifle shot (Left Click)
- Rifle shot (Left Click) → Widow’s Bite Slam (F) → Electric Baton attack (Left Click)
- Burning Bullets (C) → Rifle shot (Left Click) → Melee
How this ranking was decided
Each ability and team-up was judged on reliability of damage, how often you use it in a normal fight, its role in her dive and flank playstyle, and how much it depends on landing precise shots. This ranking reflects Black Widow’s reworked Season 9 kit, a 275 HP, four-star Duelist who now plays as a mid-range diver rather than a backline sniper. If you are switching from the old version, the fastest way to climb is to lean on the S-tier rifle and ultimate, keep moving with Fleet Foot, and treat the batons as combo filler rather than a fighting option.
