How To Play As Rogue in Marvel Rivals

Rogue has officially entered the fight in Marvel Rivals Season 5.5, joining the roster alongside Gambit as part of the latest X-Men–focused update. Unlike Gambit’s flexible, trick-heavy playstyle, Rogue is built to dominate the frontline, excelling as a close-range brawler who thrives in the middle of chaos. What truly sets her apart, though, is her ability to steal enemy skills, giving her the power to turn opponents’ strengths against them and completely shift the flow of a match.

That said, Rogue isn’t unstoppable. Knowing when to engage, who to target, and which heroes counter her makes a huge difference in how effective she is. In this guide, we break down how to play Rogue in Marvel Rivals, explain how her abilities work, share tips to get the most out of her kit, and highlight the heroes you should watch out for when facing tougher matchups.

Marvel Rivals Rogue Kit and Abilities Overview

Rogue fills the Vanguard role in Marvel Rivals, but she’s far from a basic frontline tank. Her playstyle blends close-range damage, mobility, and disruption, letting her pressure enemies while providing strong utility for her team. She excels at chaining fast punch-and-kick combos, using short bursts of vertical movement to keep opponents off balance. On top of that, Rogue can interfere with enemy Ultimates by slowing their charge rate and temporarily stealing stats depending on the target’s role.

To play Rogue well, timing is everything. Knowing when to dive in, how to string together her core combos, and which enemies to absorb makes a massive difference. Her defensive tools allow her to soak damage and convert it into power, setting up devastating counterattacks if used at the right moment.

Below is a breakdown of Rogue’s abilities and how they function in Marvel Rivals:

Power Surge Punch (Primary Attack)
Rogue attacks with rapid, heavy punches using both fists, forming the foundation of her close-range damage and combo pressure.

Heartbreaker (Ultimate Ability)
Rogue drains Ultimate energy from nearby enemies over time while stealing bonus stats based on their role. This ability can heavily disrupt enemy team fights by delaying Ultimates and empowering Rogue at the same time.

Fatal Attraction (Movement Ability)
Rogue dashes forward, and reactivating the ability releases a surge of Chronovium energy that damages nearby enemies. After a short delay, the energy pulls enemies back toward Rogue, grouping them for follow-up attacks.

Chrono Kick Combo
Rogue lunges forward to launch an enemy into the air and briefly enters flight. Activating the ability again slams nearby enemies back down. Afterward, her next two Power Surge Punches become ranged attacks that pierce enemies and grant her bonus health.

Ability Absorption
Rogue dashes toward a target, knocks them down, and absorbs their energy. This temporarily replaces the ability with one of the enemy’s skills or refreshes Fatal Attraction. She also gains stat bonuses based on the absorbed enemy’s role.

Defensive Stance
Rogue reduces incoming damage and absorbs nearby projectiles. The damage she absorbs powers up her next special attack, allowing her to turn defense into offense.

Southern Brawl (Enhanced Attack)
While Defensive Stance is active, Rogue can dash forward and slam the ground, dealing area damage to enemies in front of her.

Hearts As One (Passive Team-Up)
When paired with Gambit and Magneto, Rogue gains additional synergy effects. Her attacks trigger kinetic explosions that deal splash damage, while Magneto’s Iron Volley is replaced with a powerful explosive weapon when the team-up is active.

Mastering Rogue’s kit means balancing aggression with smart defensive play. When used correctly, her ability-stealing and crowd-control tools make her one of the most disruptive heroes in Marvel Rivals.

How To Play Rogue in Marvel Rivals

Rogue might be known for her ability-stealing mechanic, but her real strength comes from smart counter-attacks and timing. She isn’t a traditional damage sponge like other Vanguards. Instead, she thrives when you bait enemies into attacking, absorb pressure, and then strike back hard with empowered combos.

A strong engage usually starts with Defensive Stance, which reduces incoming damage and charges up your next attack. Once you’ve soaked some damage, use your empowered punch to dash into enemies and close the gap. From there, chain into Chrono Kick Combo to launch a target upward. You can follow with a melee hit mid-air, then activate the ability again to slam them back down. This creates a perfect opening to use Ability Absorption, letting you steal power while the enemy is vulnerable.

If you’re facing multiple opponents, diving headfirst isn’t always the right call. Instead of finishing the slam, you can stay airborne briefly and use Rogue’s two ranged kicks to poke and weaken enemies from a safer distance. This approach is much safer in chaotic fights where committing fully could get you eliminated instantly.

Rogue’s Fatal Attraction dash is another key tool in her kit. On activation, she lunges forward a short distance, and reactivating it releases Chronovium energy that damages enemies and pulls them toward her. This makes it excellent for crowd control and disruption, especially around objectives. That said, the dash alone doesn’t travel very far, so it’s not ideal as a pure escape tool.

To cover the most distance possible, combine Fatal Attraction with a follow-up punch. Together, they let Rogue move roughly 15 meters in one direction, which is about as mobile as a Vanguard can get. This combo is great for engaging backlines or repositioning during fights.

Her defining mechanic, Ability Absorption, is where high-level Rogue play really shines. When you absorb an enemy, you don’t just steal one of their abilities—you also gain stat bonuses based on their role. In simple terms:
• Absorbing a Vanguard increases your maximum health
• Absorbing a Duelist boosts your damage output
• Absorbing a Strategist improves healing and regeneration

Choosing the right target matters. If you’re tanking damage on the frontline, stealing from a Vanguard helps you survive longer. If you’re isolated and need sustain, targeting a Strategist can keep you alive. And if you’re hunting kills, absorbing a Duelist gives you the extra damage needed to finish enemies quickly.

Rogue’s Ultimate, Heartbreaker, is one of the strongest anti-Ultimate tools in Marvel Rivals. It creates an area around her that steadily drains enemy Ultimate charge while granting her additional stats. This ability is best used during objective fights, where denying enemy Ultimates can completely shut down a push. For maximum impact, always pair Heartbreaker with Fatal Attraction to pull enemies into range and keep them trapped inside the effect. When timed correctly, this combo can swing entire team fights and wipe grouped opponents.

Mastering Rogue is all about patience, target selection, and knowing when to turn defense into offense. Play her smart, and she becomes one of the most disruptive and dangerous heroes in Marvel Rivals.

Best Rogue Counter Picks in Marvel Rivals

Even though Rogue is a flexible and dangerous Vanguard, she has clear weaknesses that the right heroes can exploit. Her mobility is limited, her dash doesn’t cover much distance, and she struggles when locked down by crowd control or forced to fight at range. Because of this, certain heroes perform especially well against her.

Iron Man is a strong counter thanks to his aerial playstyle. As a flight-based Duelist, he can stay out of Rogue’s reach and apply constant pressure from range, forcing her to retreat or burn cooldowns just to engage.

Wolverine is one of the most threatening melee fighters in the game, and Rogue has a hard time dealing with him up close. Her shield isn’t built to handle sustained brawls, and Wolverine’s raw damage output can overwhelm her before she gets value from her counters.

Cloak and Dagger directly disrupt Rogue’s biggest strengths. Their ability to make allies disappear can shut down Rogue’s Ultimate timing and completely negate the impact of Heartbreaker during key fights.

Peni Parker excels at area denial, which is especially bad news for Rogue. Her Arachno-Mines can block dive paths and punish aggressive engages, making it difficult for Rogue to safely reach priority targets.

Human Torch, much like Iron Man, thrives at range. His mobility and sustained damage allow him to chip away at Rogue without ever committing to close combat, leaving her with very limited answers.

If you’re facing a strong Rogue player, picking heroes that control space, punish melee engagements, or attack from long range is the most effective way to keep her impact in check.

Conclusion

Rogue is a powerful and flexible Vanguard in Marvel Rivals, but getting the most out of her requires smart decision-making and precise timing. Her ability to steal enemy skills and stats can completely shift the outcome of fights when used on the right targets, while her crowd-control tools make her a serious threat around objectives. At the same time, understanding her weaknesses and knowing which heroes counter her is just as important for success. By mastering her combos, choosing the right moments to engage, and adapting to enemy picks, Rogue can become one of the most disruptive and impactful heroes in your lineup.