How to Play Wolverine in Marvel Rivals

Wolverine is the only hero whose damage scales with his target’s health pool — Savage Claw adds 1.5% of max health per hit — which makes him the tank shredder of the Duelist roster. Add a passive that survives fatal blows, a 40% damage reduction button, and Feral Leap’s ability to drag any enemy out of their team and into yours, and he is the highest-sustain brawler in the game at 350 health.

Role and difficulty

Duelist. Wolverine has 350 health. Difficulty Hard (3/5). He brawls inside the enemy team, isolating targets with Feral Leap and sustaining through Undying Animal and the healing factor.

Abilities and what they actually do

• Savage Claw (Normal Attack): Key numbers: DAMAGE — 18 + 1.5% Max Health + 0.062% Max Health per 1 Rage; RANGE — 3.5m.
• Last Stand (Abilities).
• Vicious Rampage (Abilities): Key numbers: DAMAGE — 1.5% Max Health + 0.057% Max Health per 1 Rage; COOLDOWN — 3s.
• Feral Leap (Abilities): Key numbers: COOLDOWN — 12s; DAMAGE — Snatch: 35, Landing Impact: 35 / 8 + 1% Max Health + 0.035% Max Health per 1 Rage; RANGE — 3.5m.
• Undying Animal (Abilities): Unleash a fierce howl to briefly reduce incoming damage. Key numbers: COOLDOWN — 16s; DAMAGE REDUCTION — 40%; DURATION — 5s.
• Regenerative Healing Factor (Abilities): Key numbers: COOLDOWN — 105s.
• Berserker Rage (Abilities): When Wolverine battles enemies, he builds up a unique rage bar displayed below his crosshair. He can store up to 100 rage. The more rage Logan has, the more powerful his attacks become. Regenerative Healing Factor also becomes more powerful based on rage. Rage generated on taking damage - 3 per hit.

Rage, isolation, and the second life

Berserker Rage builds to 100 as he fights, and the more rage he holds, the harder Savage Claw hits and the stronger Regenerative Healing Factor becomes. That factor is his passive second life: at zero health he survives with bonus health proportional to his rage that converts to normal health after 3 seconds. Savage Claw deals 15 base plus 1.5% of the target’s max health per hit — Vanguards are his best prey. Undying Animal grants 40% damage reduction for 5 seconds on a 16-second cooldown; at full health it takes his effective health from 350 to roughly 583, so pop it right before big damage lands. Vicious Rampage is a 3-second-cooldown omnidirectional dash that generates 20 rage. Feral Leap catches the first enemy it collides with, slams them down, and hard-stuns them — the isolation is the point, not the damage, and its hitbox extends behind him, so a 180-degree turn can snag a target at his back. Last Stand launches enemies upward, then slams a targeted area for rage-scaled damage — aim directly down for the follow-up.

How to play Wolverine

1. Build rage before engaging; low rage means low damage and a weak healing factor.
2. Use Feral Leap to drag priority targets out of their team and into yours.
3. Pop Undying Animal right before the enemy commits burst — 350 becomes 583 effective health.
4. Shred Vanguards with Savage Claw’s percentage scaling between rampages.
5. Chain Vicious Rampage to close gaps and farm rage on its 3-second cooldown.
6. Cast Last Stand at high rage, and aim straight down for the follow-up slam.

Matchups

Wolverine out-brawls melee duelists and shreds tanks with percentage damage, and Feral Leap isolates any target his team can delete. Kiting comps that never let him touch them waste his rage, and he struggles into teams with fewer Vanguards to shred. His melee range is very short, so every fight is a commitment.

Strengths (per the wiki):

• Close-range brawler with high mobility and survivability, capable of constantly harassing his targets while progressively increasing his own attack power.
• Has higher max health compared to most Duelists.
• Has slightly higher base movement speed compared to other characters.
• Wolverine’s gameplay revolves around his damage percentage bonus. Unlike other heroes, Wolverine deals a small percentage of the target’s maximum health as damage in addition to a flat amount of damage. The more health an enemy has, the more damage Wolverine will deal.
• • This makes him exceptional at taking down opponents with higher maximum health, specifically Vanguards.
• Wolverine is the only Duelist in the game with two key passives:
• • Regenerative Healing Factor automatically grants Wolverine bonus health once his health depletes to zero, while also removing any debuffs he previously had.
• ** This bonus health amount scales with Wolverine’s current stacks of Berserker Rage, from a base of 150 bonus health to 300 bonus health with max Rage stacks.
• ** After 3 seconds this bonus health is converted into a direct heal at a 1:1 ratio.
• ** This passive has a lengthy cooldown of 90 seconds once triggered, but is decreased by 10 seconds every time Wolverine eliminates an enemy or provides an assist.
• • Berserker Rage is a stackable passive that builds up whenever he deals or takes damage. Every offensive ability that successfully connects (including his Ultimate) provides a different amount of stacks for Berserker Rage.
• ** Each stack grants a small bonus of percentage damage to all of Wolverine’s attacks. These bonuses max out at 100 stacks.
• ** The Berserker Rage gauge is shown directly below the aiming reticle.
• ** There is also a visual indicator wherein Wolverine’s claws begin glowing orange akin to heated metal, in addition to his body becoming enveloped by a blood-red aura, both of which become more intense as his Berserker Rage stacks climb. At max stacks his hair becomes spiky and red sparks periodically pulse around him.
• His primary fire, Savage Claw, unleashes four quick slashes with his adamantium claws, with the fourth attack having a slight delay afterwards.
• • This attack deals damage equal to 1.5% of the target’s max health, with an extra 0.045% damage for each stack of Berserker Rage.
• His secondary fire, Vicious Rampage, is a quick lunge forward that unleashes a cross-claw strike.
• • This attack deals damage equal to 1.5% of the target’s max health, with an extra 0.045% damage for each point of Berserker Rage.
• Feral Leap is a jumping leap attack that ends with Wolverine smashing the ground upon landing, dealing damage. After using Feral Leap his primary fire, Savage Claw, temporarily becomes Berserk Claw Strike for 4 seconds.
• • Berserk Claw Strike has vastly increased attack speed and removes any delay between attacks.
• • If the leap connects with an enemy hero, they will be grabbed and pulled alongside Wolverine and become unable to act, until being briefly stunned once Wolverine lands on the ground.
• ** Feral Leap is capable of grabbing enemies directly behind or to the side of Wolverine.
• ** This ability may be used to pick off key targets overextending or to separate them from the rest of the team.
• *** If Wolverine leaps off of an edge while he is grabbing a target, the target will be taken down alongside him. Additionally, if Wolverine manages to land close to the ledge of a pit while he is grabbing a target, he will drop the target into the pit.
• • Both the snatch and slam deal damage equal to 1% of the target’s max health, with an extra 0.035% damage for each point of Berserker Rage.
• Undying Animal provides Wolverine with a 50% damage reduction from all sources by 5 seconds.
• • This ability may be activated during Feral Leap to cancel the leap prematurely while conserving its momentum. This allows Wolverine to cover much more distance with the leap at the expense of being able to snatch enemies.
• His Ultimate, Last Stand, is a rising claw strike that knocks enemies directly upwards. Upon connecting, Wolverine will leap high into the air, prompting the player to strike down and deal damage in a radius.
• • The first enemy caught when Wolverine descends will be snatched and slammed down to the ground, being briefly stunned.
• • Both attacks during this Ultimate deal damage equal to 10% of the target’s maximum health, with an extra 0.3% damage for each point of Berserker Rage.
• Hulk can use Fastball Special when paired with Wolverine, providing him with Metal Cannonball.
• • Both players will need to confirm the team-up, after which Hulk picks up Wolverine and carries him around in his right hand.
• ** Hulk can then aim, charge, and throw Wolverine, who will perform a Feral Leap.
• Relies heavily on dealing constant, uninterrupted damage in order to keep his Berserker Rage at high stacks to maximize his damage-per-second.
• Is less effective against team compositions with fewer Vanguards. On his own, Wolverine is not an effective backline diver due to his reliance on percentage-based damage.
• Limited mobility compared to other melee-oriented heroes (no double jumps or wall interactions).
• Savage Claw has a very low melee range, requiring Wolverine to be very close to his targets.
• Feral Leap can sometimes miss targets if they are extremely close to Wolverine when he jumps. This can be somewhat alleviated by aiming downwards while casting Feral Leap.
• The follow-up slam strike of Last Stand may feel counter-intuitive; the player needs to aim directly down and activate the slam manually.
• His team-up with the Hulk relies on Hulk to initiate the throw, meaning that Wolverine has no autonomy over where he is thrown.

Weaknesses (per the wiki):

• Relies heavily on dealing constant, uninterrupted damage in order to keep his Berserker Rage at high stacks to maximize his damage-per-second.
• Is less effective against team compositions with fewer Vanguards. On his own, Wolverine is not an effective backline diver due to his reliance on percentage-based damage.
• Limited mobility compared to other melee-oriented heroes (no double jumps or wall interactions).
• Savage Claw has a very low melee range, requiring Wolverine to be very close to his targets.
• Feral Leap can sometimes miss targets if they are extremely close to Wolverine when he jumps. This can be somewhat alleviated by aiming downwards while casting Feral Leap.
• The follow-up slam strike of Last Stand may feel counter-intuitive; the player needs to aim directly down and activate the slam manually.
• His team-up with the Hulk relies on Hulk to initiate the throw, meaning that Wolverine has no autonomy over where he is thrown.

Team-ups

• Pair of Threes (with Gambit, Season 9.0: The Mystery of Thebes): Upon activation, Wolverine receives Kinetic Enhancement, gaining increased Movement Speed and a Jump Boost. Attacking enemies applies Kinetic Particles that detonate after a short delay for bonus damage. The effect lasts for a duration. Enhanced: When teaming up with Gambit, Wolverine receives Continuous Healing for the entire duration of the ability.
• Blast Slash (with Cyclops, Season 9.0: The Mystery of Thebes): Activation extends the attack range of Savage Claw and Berserk Claw Strike. Vicious Rampage is replaced with Kinetic Claws, granting a brief forward lunge that unleashes a flurry of slashes around. Enhanced: When teaming up with Cyclops, Blast Slash is permanently active.

Related guides

• Heroes Database
• Abilities Database
• Flank Routes Guide
• How To Play Gambit
• How To Play Cyclops

Common mistakes

• Engaging at low rage — both the damage and the healing factor scale with it
• Using Feral Leap as pure damage instead of isolation utility
• Holding Undying Animal until after the burst lands instead of before
• Forgetting the Last Stand follow-up requires aiming directly down
• Fighting without his team nearby — isolation only pays off with someone to receive the target