You cannot see the bar, so put a clock on it
There is no enemy ultimate readout. There is something better: three fixed rules that let you bound it.
- Cost is 2,500 to 4,800, and the number is known per hero.
- Charge never exceeds 100% and never banks. Once full, generation stops until it is spent.
- Every hero gains passively, 11 per second for a Vanguard or Duelist, 8 for a Strategist.
Together those turn “does he have ult” into arithmetic. Time alive sets a floor; output raises it.
The floor: what time alone guarantees
| Hero | Cost | Passive | Time to full on passive alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venom | 2,500 | 11/s | 3:47 |
| Spider-Man | 2,800 | 11/s | 4:15 |
| Thor | 3,100 | 11/s | 4:42 |
| Hela | 4,000 | 11/s | 6:04 |
| Rocket Raccoon | 4,300 | 8/s | 8:58 |
| Luna Snow | 4,800 | 8/s | 10:00 |
So an enemy Hela who has been alive for two minutes is guaranteed at least 1,320 of her 4,000 energy — a third of the way, with no damage dealt at all. A Hela alive for five minutes is at 100% from the passive trickle alone if she has not spent it.
That is the practical use of the table: the longer an enemy has been alive, the closer to certain their ultimate becomes, regardless of how the fight is going.
The ceiling: what output adds
| Who | Damage dealt | Healing dealt | Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard, Duelist | 55% | 55% | 11/s |
| Strategist | 50% | 65% | 8/s |
| Bruce Banner | 150% | — | 10/s |
| Monster Hulk | none | — | 12/s |
A Duelist sustaining 100 damage per second converts 55 energy per second and adds 11 passively, so 66 per second. A 3,400-cost ultimate fills in about 51 seconds. A Strategist healing 100 per second converts 65 and adds 8, so 73 per second — a 4,500-cost ultimate in about 62 seconds.
Read that as a rule of thumb: a Duelist who has been fighting for a minute is a Duelist with an ultimate, and a Strategist who has been healing for a minute is close to one.
The three tells that matter more than the bar
They just used it. Because charge cannot bank, an enemy who just spent their ultimate is at or near zero. That is the single largest window in the game, and it lasts the 45 to 60 seconds it takes to rebuild.
They stopped fighting. An enemy who retreats to a corner is often charging the last few percent on passive. A dive target that disengages is a dive target about to spend something.
Their hero is cheap. Venom needs 3:47 of doing nothing. That is one long fight. Treat a Venom ultimate as a resource that comes back every push, not once a match.
The exceptions worth memorising
Bruce Banner converts 150% of damage. Hitting Banner is nearly three points of ultimate per point of damage. If you must shoot him, kill him — do not chip.
Monster Hulk converts nothing and runs on a 12-per-second clock. His ultimate is unavoidable and unpredictable by output, so track it by elapsed time only.
Devil Dinosaur hands 40% of incoming damage back to the attacker as energy. Attacking him is charging him.
Deadpool has no energy bar. He earns Style Rating to S Rank, loses it on death, and has a 60-second cooldown after using it. He is the only hero whose ultimate is reset by killing him.
The full 53-hero cost list is in the ultimate economy guide, the charge mechanics are in how to charge ultimate faster, and the answer to a charged enemy ultimate is usually the counter dive comp page.