Marvel Rivals continues to expand its dynamic roster with the second season, introducing fresh characters that enhance gameplay strategies. With the arrival of Season 2, players can look forward to new tactics and exciting challenges. Although the character count is lower than in the previous season, the new additions promise to impress both veterans and newcomers alike, starting with the iconic mutant, Emma Frost, set against the vibrant backdrop of Krakoa. This guide details her abilities and optimal strategies for effective gameplay.
Comprehensive Overview of Emma Frost’s Abilities
Emma Frost enters the battlefield in the Vanguard role, harnessing her powerful psychic abilities and formidable Diamond Form to assert dominance over adversaries. Each of her abilities may appear straightforward, but their strategic application during combat can significantly influence the outcome of a match.
1. Telepathic Pulse
Emma Frost’s primary attack, Telepathic Pulse, unleashes a focused beam of psychic energy. Although its range is limited, it inflicts greater damage the longer it maintains contact with a target, capable of damaging shields with health bars, such as those wielded by Doctor Strange and Invisible Woman. However, it does not affect Magneto’s magnetic barrier.
2. Psychic Sphere
This ability extracts a crystal from the affected target upon impact. When hit, the target becomes tethered to the crystal and will experience a burst of damage when the crystal is destroyed. It’s relatively easy to eliminate, and Emma can use Telepathic Pulse to simultaneously target both the crystal and its host, allowing her to apply consistent pressure on her foes. A field surrounds the crystal; if the tethered opponent escapes it, the crystal vanishes and inflicts no damage.
3. Mind’s Aegis
Mind’s Aegis serves as Emma’s primary defensive mechanism, allowing her to generate a shield that safeguards both herself and her teammates. Players can activate the ability and then hold the button to position the shield farther away, giving a preview of its placement as they prepare. This shield boasts 500 hit points and can be recalled for repositioning after a 3-second cooldown post-destruction.
4. Diamond Form
Diamond Form revolutionizes Emma Frost’s gameplay, transforming her into a tank-like character for a duration of seven seconds. In this form, she receives reduced damage and gains invulnerability to crowd control effects, making her immune to moves like Winter Soldier’s grapple. Her primary fire shifts to a powerful melee combo named Faceted Fury, which delivers significant damage. The abilities Psychic Sphere and Mind’s Aegis are replaced with Carbon Crush and Crystal Kick.
Carbon Crush is a grappling maneuver where Emma catches an enemy, slams them down, and can even interrupt the abilities of competitors, except for those activating instantly. Crystal Kick provides a wide sweep, pushing foes away; those impacted against walls will suffer additional damage. Once Diamond Form concludes, her abilities revert to their standard functions.
Ultimate Ability: Psionic Seduction
Emma Frost’s ultimate manifests as a vast area filled with pulsating psychic energy, inflicting damage over time on any foe caught within. Extended exposure can lead to hypnotization, compelling targets to cease their actions and approach Emma Frost momentarily.
Team-Up Ability
By teaming up with Magneto and Psylocke, Emma Frost can create psychic duplicates that mimic their actions (excluding ultimate abilities). During this synergy, Emma gains an additional 100 health, enhancing her survivability in combat.
Mastering Emma Frost: Essential Strategies
Utilizing Emma Frost’s Core Abilities
Emma’s gameplay excels in non-Diamond Form mode, where her abilities allow for strategic positioning and teammate protection. Positioned on the frontline, she can optimize her damage output via her primary attack while assisting allies to chip away at the health of enemy tanks. Additionally, she can exploit easier targets such as enemy Strategists who venture too close. The burst damage potential from the Psychic Sphere is particularly lethal, as a single shot can decimate the crystals when her primary fire reaches maximum potency. Effectively disrupting enemy formations and maintaining a continuous stream of damage is critical to leveraging her full potential.
Moreover, the Psychic Sphere can not only amplify damage but also compel opponents to evade impending danger. Skilled competitors will recognize the threat and retreat from the crystal to avoid taking damage, thus potentially sacrificing their presence on objectives or allowing their defenses to falter. Mind’s Aegis proves beneficial for halting enemy ultimates or shielding allies in critical moments, allowing for greater control and defense across the battlefield.
Strategic Use of Diamond Form
Implementing Emma Frost’s Diamond Form should be strategic, given its 12-second cooldown. In isolated skirmishes against Duelists or Strategists, sequentially using all available abilities can decisively eliminate opponents, especially with the right positioning for Crystal Kick. A typical ability sequence would be:
- Activate Diamond Form
- Employ Carbon Crush
- Follow with Crystal Kick into a wall
- Use Faceted Fury to finish
While this combination can guarantee victory in isolated encounters, it’s essential to remain mindful of the overall battlefield dynamics. Emma excels in frontline combat; thus, using Diamond Form too liberally can render her vulnerable when she most needs it. Timing and context are critical for maximizing her effectiveness during engagements.
Executing Emma Frost’s Ultimate Effectively
Much like Carbon Crush, Emma’s ultimate can disrupt enemy ultimates, thereby altering match momentum. Counteracting abilities like Star Lord’s or drawing Cloak and Dagger away from their ultimates can provide significant advantages. Employing her ultimate to displace foes from objectives, or potentially leading them off the map, underscores Emma Frost’s capacity to control engagements uniquely, making her an invaluable asset to any team.