With the arrival of Season 3, Marvel Rivals has expanded its character roster, welcoming notable additions such as Phoenix, also known as Jean Grey from the X-Men. This season marks another exciting phase for the game, bringing in numerous heroes for players to explore.
Phoenix stands out as a powerful damage-per-second (DPS) character, especially for fans of hitscan gameplay. Those who enjoy mastering such heroes will find Jean Grey to be an exceptional choice, likely becoming a formidable ally in the right hands.
Having spent considerable time playing as Phoenix, I will share vital insights into mastering her gameplay within Marvel Rivals. This guide will encompass an in-depth look at her abilities, essential offensive and defensive tips, and crucial information regarding her optimal team compositions and potential counters.
Phoenix Reticle and Settings
As noted by my colleague Jay Ku in their guide on Ultron, adapting custom reticle settings from professional players can sometimes enhance performance. However, I have tested several of these settings, and they did not improve my game; rather, they hindered my performance.
This isn’t meant to dismiss their advice, but in my experience with various hero shooters, including Overwatch, it is essential to customize reticle and sensitivity settings based on your personal preferences, especially for DPS roles.
In most cases, success with these settings depends largely on your hand-eye coordination. It’s also worth considering your DPI settings; many average players find a range of 800-1300 DPI optimal. For Phoenix, I recommend sticking with the default circle and dot reticle but reducing the size to better fit the hitboxes of her projectiles.
Phoenix Overview
Phoenix thrives as a DPS character who specializes in crowd control.Her ability to burst through groups and swiftly take down vulnerable characters using her Sparks mechanic makes her particularly deadly.
Her primary fire unleashes hitscan projectiles that can stack up Sparks, indicated by a crown icon above enemy heads. Achieving three stacks ignites an explosive burst, inflicting damage on nearby foes and applying individual spark stacks to them in the process.
The optimal strategy for mastering Jean is to consistently apply Sparks to clustered enemies, effectively disrupting their formations. Her mobility is enhanced by the Telepathic Illusion ability and the aerial maneuver from Dark Ascent, allowing you to reposition quickly when necessary.
Classified as a three-star character, Phoenix has a moderate learning curve, but with this guide, you will grasp her abilities swiftly.
Phoenix Abilities
Note that ability damage values and cooldowns may undergo adjustments in balancing updates. This guide is based on Marvel Rivals’ version from Season 3.
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Cosmic Flames |
Jean launches fiery projectiles that apply 1 spark on hit (or 2 for critical hits).Achieving three stacks causes an explosion, damaging nearby enemies and providing Jean with Healing-Over-Time. Each hit does 50 damage with a drop-off at 10 meters. |
|
Endsong Inferno |
Phoenix soars skyward before crashing down to create a massive shockwave explosion dealing 140 damage within a 10-meter radius and applying 1 spark stack to enemies. This ability also destroys summons, shields, and bonus health. |
|
Psionic Detonation |
Shooting a targeted area with psionic energy creates three brief explosions. The first deals 20 damage and stuns enemies, while the next two also deal 20 damage and slow targets by 30% for 2 seconds. Cooldown lasts for 10 seconds. |
|
Telepathic Illusion |
Jean dashes forward, leaving an illusion that damages and applies a spark stack on contact. This ability has a cooldown of 12 seconds. |
|
Dark Ascent |
Jean merges with the Phoenix, enabling free flight and a 50% movement boost, while replenishing 4 ammo per second. |
Phoenix Offensive Tips
When played correctly, Jean can exert overwhelming pressure on opposing teams with her barrage of attacks and burst damage stemming from spark stacks. However, players must develop a strong understanding of her skills, lest her potential go unfulfilled.
Avoid treating her like a poke DPS character; while she possesses a hitscan primary fire, undervaluing her capabilities will limit her effectiveness. Prioritize honing your aim to maximize her prowess.
Maintain a position on the flanks, focusing on disrupting the enemy team’s coordination. Here are key offensive strategies to excel with Phoenix:
- Consistency is crucial with Cosmic Flames; accuracy in your shots allows for rapid stack accumulation, enabling you to obliterate groups. Combine this with Psionic Detonation to maintain ongoing pressure.
- Due to its hitscan nature, Phoenix is proficient in targeting aerial characters; heroes like Iron Man, Ultron, and Storm can swiftly retreat under her fire.
- Many players neglect Jean’s melee attack, which has a noteworthy 4-meter range and can apply spark stacks. This is particularly effective against heroes like Magneto, as you can rush after them despite their shields.
- Consider binding melee to a more convenient key (besides V, if on keyboard and mouse) to foster a habit of integrating melee into your attack combo—using Primary Fire > Melee > Primary Fire > Melee will lead to faster spark stack accumulation.
- Use Dark Ascent not only for escapes but also to replenish ammo, maximizing sustained fire on enemies.
- Although rushing low-health targets can be tempting, Jean’s ultimate should be saved for countering other ultimates. It’s effective against enemy abilities like Rocket Raccoon’s Amplifier and Groot’s Walls, as they can be destroyed.
- When engaging in 1v1 situations, prioritize picking off squishy DPS or healers instead of tanks. Approach tanks when supported by allies to bring them down more effectively.
Phoenix Defensive Tips
Despite being an aggressive front-line DPS character, Jean can leverage several defensive strategies to enhance her survival capabilities in Marvel Rivals. While the previous section emphasized her offensive nature, utilizing these defensive tips can ensure longevity in combat.
- Jean’s self-healing is essential for frontline survival and can stack; the more spark stacks activated on enemies, the more healing you receive.
- Her alternate fire is effective for long-range harassment or for disrupting clustered enemies, especially in tight spaces like doorways. Pairing alternate fire with primary fire allows you to apply stacks without exposing yourself.
- The aerial maneuver from Dark Ascent can be invaluable for escaping after eliminating low-health enemies. Once you’ve secured a kill, use this ability to evade incoming opponents.
- Telepathic Illusion can be a game-changer against flankers like Black Panther or Psylocke. If utilized correctly, it applies a spark stack on the target and can quickly fend them off.
- Jean’s ultimate ability additionally provides her with a second chance at life, granting her 250 HP upon activation. This can be pivotal in intense encounters, especially when victory hinges on a single teamfight.
Phoenix Team-Up Abilities
|
Team-up Ability |
Heroes Needed |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Mind’s Grace |
Wolverine |
Upon activation, Jean enhances Wolverine’s Feral Leap, transforming it into Phoenix Warrior. This upgrade allows for continuous damage and lifesteal, while Jean receives a 10% damage boost as the Team-up Anchor. |
In Season 3, this team-up ability empowers Wolverine, significantly enhancing his gameplay through lifesteal and scorch damage on enemies. This combo is notably powerful, contributing to Wolverine’s popularity and frequent bans in higher ranks as he retains his formidable status.
This synergy doesn’t guarantee overpowering effectiveness, but it can immensely benefit skilled players who can exploit Wolverine’s strengths to dominate opponents. Just ensure to collaborate with a proficient Phoenix player to maximize DPS potential.
Phoenix Counters and How to Deal with Them
Vanguard
While Jean Grey excels against aggressive tanks like Venom or Magneto, an adept Emma Frost can dismantle her easily if Jean plays too aggressively on the frontlines. Emma’s Diamond Form allows her to withstand significant damage and act as a barrier against Jean’s hits.
Without adequate team support or a healer, a lone Jean can become an easy target for proficient Emma Frost players.
Duelist
This counter depends heavily on skill level. It all hinges on your ability to either escape or neutralize dive characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man.These characters can swiftly eliminate Phoenix if she struggles to escape or land her shots effectively to trigger a spark explosion.
Notable counters to Jean include Punisher and Star-Lord. A skilled Punisher can swiftly dismantle Phoenix, especially with his ultimate ability, which can obliterate her as she attempts to unleash Endsong Inferno. Star-Lord similarly poses a threat by engaging from flanks, often quickly disrupting Phoenix’s attacks.
Strategist
Although healers typically cannot eliminate Phoenix alone, Cloak and Dagger easily counter her, especially through strategic use of Dark Teleportation. They can evade Jean’s ultimate during critical moments, provided the timing is precise.
Best Phoenix Team Comps
While Phoenix can stand strong on her own, certain heroes complement her abilities effectively. Team compositions that enhance her potential can make all the difference in matches.
In my experience, Groot is a formidable tank to pair with Phoenix, as their ultimates can collectively annihilate enemy teams. I personally witnessed this during a random Quickplay session. Collaborations with Dr. Strange’s ultimate work similarly, as it can briefly incapacitate opponents caught in the area of effect.
For DPS, Wolverine is an obvious choice to team with Jean, enhancing both characters’ effectiveness.
Finally, healing support from Mantis proves valuable, allowing Phoenix to increase her effectiveness while on the frontlines, although virtually any healer can synergize well with her, including Cloak and Dagger for long-range healing capabilities.
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