The Hood is the newest Vanguard in Marvel Rivals, and he plays almost nothing like a traditional tank. Parker Robbins wields dual pistols, transforms into a demon, and pumps out enough damage to trade blows with a Duelist while still holding the frontline. He arrived with the Season 9.5 update, joining the roster after Jubilee.
Quick answer: Build Demonic Energy by shooting enemies, shields, and deployables with your Accursed Pistols, then fight from your Half-Demon State for higher fire rate and lifesteal. Deploy Abyssal Veil in front of you, use the Scarlet Witch Team-Up to teleport onto the backline, and hold Void Walk to retreat.
The Hood role and health in Marvel Rivals
The Hood is classed as a Vanguard, but he functions as an offensive tank. His carry potential comes from raw damage rather than damage mitigation, so he feels closer to a Duelist in practice. His base health sits at 600, and he has no innate damage reduction, which means positioning and lifesteal do the heavy lifting for his survival.
His entire kit revolves around one resource: Demonic Energy. Filling that meter automatically flips him into his Half-Demon State, changing how his primary weapon behaves and unlocking his best window to fight.
All The Hood abilities
| Ability (Input) | What it does |
|---|---|
| Accursed Pistols (Left Click) | Fire dual-wielded pistols forward. Gains increased Attack Speed once Demonic Energy passes 50%. |
| Mantle of Oblivion (Right Click, normal state) | Spread your cloak into a spherical barrier that blocks incoming attacks. Radius expands when Demonic Energy exceeds 50%. |
| Leaded Transformation (Right Click, Half-Demon State) | Turn your arms into demonic rifles with higher Attack Speed and Infinite Ammo. Every bullet that hits an enemy triggers Lifesteal. |
| Abyssal Veil (E) | Throw a dark magic sphere that creates a Veil where it lands. Your shots through it build more Demonic Energy and gain increased Lifesteal, enemy projectiles through it deal reduced damage and healing, and enemies passing through take damage and are Blinded. |
| Void Walk (Left Shift) | Enter the Void for free-flight. On reappearing, gain a decaying Movement Boost and damage nearby enemies. |
| Demon of the End (Q, Ultimate) | Enter Full Demon State and fire up to 6 high-powered shots that pierce enemies and barriers. Grants Bonus Health to you and nearby allies on hits, and the final bullet is the strongest. |
| Ruinous Pact (Passive) | Build Demonic Energy by dealing damage with Accursed Pistols, blocking with Mantle of Oblivion, or using Void Walk. Full energy automatically triggers the Half-Demon State. |
How Demonic Energy and the Half-Demon State work
Charging Demonic Energy is your first job every fight. Shooting enemies with the Accursed Pistols fills the meter, but you do not need a live target to make progress. You can hit enemy shields and barriers to charge faster, and that extends to deployables like Loki clones, Namor’s squids, and Groot’s walls.
You also gain energy from casting Void Walk and from blocking damage with Mantle of Oblivion, whether or not you land the Void Walk AoE. Because The Hood is weak in his basic form, cast these off cooldown while you are safe to reach the 50% threshold sooner, where his attack speed ramps up.
Once the meter fills, you flip into the Half-Demon State automatically. Your primary becomes automatic fire through Leaded Transformation, with wider bullet hitboxes, higher fire rate, and lifesteal on every hit. The lifesteal can restore your full health bar quickly and adds up to 100 Bonus Health once you are topped off. Setting your Abyssal Veil in front of you before you push increases that lifesteal, which is the core survivability loop for the hero.
Best Team-Up: Scarlet Witch over Moon Knight
The Hood has two Team-Ups, and one is clearly stronger. The Scarlet Witch pairing is the pick in most games.
| Team-Up | Base effect | Enhanced effect (partner in team) |
|---|---|---|
| Chaos Collision (Scarlet Witch) | Gain a new ability that creates an arcane zone dealing continuous damage with stacking Damage and Healing Reduction. Reactivate to teleport to the zone’s center. | After teleporting, release a magical shockwave that deals one-time damage and launches nearby enemies toward The Hood. |
| New Moon’s Shadow (Moon Knight) | Upgrades Abyssal Veil into a Lunar Barrier that blocks projectiles. On breaking it detonates, damaging enemies and applying Healing Reduction. Enemies passing through take damage and are briefly Blinded. | The Lunar Barrier gains greater shield value, and your attacks that pass through it gain a bounce effect. |
The big draw is that you get the Chaos Collision teleport from the base effect alone, so your team does not need to run Scarlet Witch to give The Hood a second movement tool. That teleport lets you harass the enemy backline, and the arcane zone’s healing reduction makes diving strategists much easier. If Scarlet Witch is on your team, the enhanced shockwave pulls enemies toward you for quick eliminations.
The Moon Knight Team-Up is far weaker. The Lunar Barrier only provides a small shield that breaks easily, its detonation deals negligible damage and is easy to dodge, and the enhanced bounce radius is tiny. Moon Knight also sees little play in the current meta, so you rarely even get the enhanced version.
Playstyle and combat tips
Mantle of Oblivion is more valuable than its short duration suggests. During its roughly one-second window it can block an unlimited amount of damage, so save it to eat dangerous enemy ultimates from the likes of Iron Man, Namor, and Scarlet Witch, or to protect nearby allies inside the sphere. The radius grows once you are above 50% Demonic Energy, which makes room for teammates. You can also keep firing while casting it, letting you ignore crowd control and keep dealing damage at the same time.
Using Demon of the End, his ultimate
Demon of the End sends The Hood into a Full Demon State with up to six piercing shots that travel through shields and enemies, and the final bullet hits hardest. On paper it looks like a line-breaking offensive tool, but it is easy to counter. Enemies who break line of sight, disengage, or spread out so you can only hit one target at a time neutralize the piercing shots.
Its real strength is defensive and supportive. Every successful hit grants Bonus Health to you and nearby allies, around 119 per hit, with roughly 50 even on a missed shot. Because the Full Demon form gives you a large health pool, you can also use the ultimate to stall a point and buy time for your team to arrive and commit to a fight.
You can also teleport during the ultimate if you have the Scarlet Witch Team-Up ability available, giving you a repositioning option mid-cast.
The Hood counters
Like most tanks, The Hood struggles against poke and crowd control, and his 600 health with no damage reduction means he can be blown up fast if he overextends without lifesteal. The following heroes give him the most trouble:
- Winter Soldier
- Punisher
- Cyclops
- Jean Grey (Phoenix)
- Hela
The Hood rewards players who master his Demonic Energy loop, keep Mantle of Oblivion in reserve for big ultimates, and treat the Scarlet Witch teleport as a scalpel for the enemy backline. Charge up before you commit, lean on Half-Demon lifesteal to stay in the fight, and he becomes one of the highest-impact frontliners on the roster.
