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How to Play Cloak & Dagger

10 December 2024

Cloak & Dagger is one of the best heroes you can play in Marvel Rivals. There, I said it.

As a Strategist, the superhero duo is suited for a healing/support role, but when needed, they can deal an insane amount of damage. In fact, in the right hands, you can top both the damage and healing meters!

Marvel Rivals Hero Tier List: All Characters Ranked

A breakdown of every hero currently in Marvel Rivals

Our Marvel Rivals guide for Cloak & Dagger will run down their abilities, offer tips and tricks, and help you dominate the battlefield.

Cloak & Dagger Abilities

Cloak & Dagger’s unique hook in Marvel Rivals is that you’re playing two characters: one best suited for defense (Cloak) and the other for offense (Dagger).

On the surface, Cloak & Dagger seems like one of the more difficult heroes to play in Marvel Rivals. Their in-game difficulty is listed at three out of five stars.

Given the importance of utilizing both their forms, this makes sense; they’re not as simple as someone like The Punisher, who simply aims and shoots at anything that moves.

Let’s run down their abilities:

Ability	Description
Lightforce Dagger (Dagger)	Normal Attack. Unleash a bouncing Lightforce Dagger to damage enemies and heal nearby allies. The projectile features an attraction effect, pulling in the closest target to the crosshair and creating a spell field upon impact. This spell field provides a healing effect. Does 15 damage per round, 10 healing per hit, and 18 AOE healing per hit at a range of 8 meters.
Eternal Bond	Ultimate Ability. Perform three rapid dashes, healing allies, and damaging enemies along the path. Creates a cylindrical spell field with a 4-meter radius and 15 meters in length. Leaves a persistent spell field that does 30 damage a second and 220 healing a second. Each dash lasts for five seconds.
From Shadow to Light	Passive. Cloak & Dagger can inject light and dark energy into Moon Knight to create a Light & Dark Realm where Moon Knight can become Invisible. Provides a 15% healing boost.
Shadow’s Embrace (Dagger)	Instant cast. Transforms into Cloak.
Veil of Lightforce (Dagger)	Instant cast. Deploy a Veil of Lightforce to heal allies upon touch and grant them a Healing Boost. The spell field advances along the casting path. Healing is boosted by 15%. Lasts for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 12 seconds.
Dagger Storm (Dagger)	Instant cast. Launch a volley of daggers, creating a Healing Over Time field in the impact area. Heals for 55 a second and lasts for 6 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Darkforce Cloak (Cloak)	Normal Attack. Inflict continuous damage on an enemy. Attacks will target the nearest enemy to the crosshair, dealing 75 damage a second. Range of 20 meters. Infinite ammo, unable to crit.
Light’s Embrace (Cloak)	Instant cast. Transforms into Dagger.
Terror Cape (Cloak)	Instant cast. Deploy a Veil of Darkforce to damage enemies upon touch, applying Blind to narrow their sight and Vulnerability to amplify damage received. Visibility is obstructed for enemies beyond 10 meters, lasting for 1.5 seconds. Deals 55 damage. Also makes enemies vulnerable by 20% for 3 seconds.
Dark Teleportation (Cloak)	Instant cast. Enshroud nearby allies in the Darkforce Dimension, plunging them into the Phased state, making them untargetable and invisible to enemies, and granting them a Movement Boost. Range is 10 meters, lasts for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 12 seconds.

Cloak & Dagger Offensive Strategies

Knowing when to be aggressive is crucial for performing well with Cloak & Dagger. Despite their label as a strategist, don’t be surprised if you find yourself gunning down the enemy team in the right situation.

Let’s go over some tips to know when to play aggressively.

Terror Cape does more than blind the enemy. They take damage and make them vulnerable, which results in them taking even more damage. This is an effective way to pick people off and I have finished off every low enemies by hitting them with Terror Cape.
Cloak does a lot more damage than you realize, and all you have to do to land it is to keep an enemy within your reticle. Your attack never needs to reload, and you can hold down the trigger to keep firing. You’ll need to be smart and not dive deep into enemy territory, but you can solo a surprising amount of Duelists.
While it seems like Dark Teleportation is great for setting up ambushes, it’s really helpful to sneak away undetected. If you’re in danger, you can become invisible and sneak back to safety. This lets you make a run at the enemy with your allies but also allows you avoid dying.
Dagger may be the more defensive hero, but she can still pick off enemies from a distance with her attacks, so she can use it to chip away at the enemy backline or enemy heroes flying through the air.

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Cloak & Dagger Defensive Strategies

As much fun as it is to top the kill count with a healer, don’t forget that you’re, well, a healer. Given the nature of people’s tendency to autopick DPS heroes, there’s a chance you’ll be the only hero in the game.

While Cloak & Dagger thrives as the secondary healer, you’re still capable of keeping your team alive and well on your own.

If you use your E to throw out a heal on Dagger and shift into Cloak, you can immediately use his E to blind people. The two abilities do not share a cooldown. This allows you to heal up your team, distract the enemy, and flip the battle into your favor.
Your ultimate will heal your allies in addition to damaging enemy heroes. Use it to place the pools in places that benefit your team. The healing is just as important as the damage!
It can be frustrating when your team is always moving out of the Veil of Lightforce cast. To compensate, work together to aim the heal where your teammates will be moving to, not where they currently are.

Cloak & Dagger Team-Up Abilities

Team-Up	Heroes Needed	Description
From Darkness To Light	Moon Knight	Cloak & Dagger can inject light and dark energy into Moon Knight to create a Light & Dark Realm where Moon Knight can become Invisible.
Cloak and Dagger

Team-Up

Heroes Needed

Description

From Darkness To Light

Moon Knight

Cloak & Dagger can inject light and dark energy into Moon Knight to create a Light & Dark Realm where Moon Knight can become Invisible.

Cloak and Dagger

Cloak & Dagger has the one Team-Up ability. It may not seem like much, but proper usage can help clinch a victory.

You’ll be able to make Moon Knight invisible. At first glance, this isn’t that big of a deal since he’s such a nimble hero.

However, allowing Moon Knight to get into the perfect position for his ult can Ace the enemy team. Work together with your Moon Knight and you’ll secure them MVP.

Cloak & Dagger Counters & How to Deal with Them

You’re a healer, which means the best counter will be an assassin-style Duelist. Iron Fist and Spider-Man are public enemy number one.

Honestly, though, Cloak is surprisingly well-equipped to deal with them. Throw out a Terror Cape and attack them. You’d be surprised at how often you win this one-on-one match-up.

The important thing here is proper positioning. Never be too far away from your team, and always be moving. If the enemy can isolate you and initiate a combo, you’re toast.

Honestly, the biggest worry from the enemy is a diving Venom. Given his tanky nature compared to Duelist dive heroes, you won’t be able to take him down alone.

Inversely, enemy snipers such as Black Widow or Hawkeye are effective at dealing with you from a range, so be on your toes if you see them on the battlefield. The best bet there is to keep moving and not get hit.

Best Team Comps With Cloak & Dagger

I’ve gone back and forth on who the best healer is in Marvel Rivals, only to realize that the true answer is a healing comp of Luna Storm alongside Cloak & Dagger due to their strong healing profiles.

Teaming up with Jeff the Land Shark is also effective, given his ability to dish out heals (including those helpful heal bubbles he leaves on the ground), be evasive, and eliminate the enemy team with his ult.

Working with a Vanguard like Venom or Hulk gives you a nice, beefy target for your heals. They’re also excellent at initiating combat, so you can follow their lead as Cloak when it’s time to be aggressive.

Any good team comp needs that assassin-style character like an Iron Fist or Spider-Man. They’re excellent counters to the snipers I mentioned above, Black Widow and Hawkeye, who are looking to counter your effectiveness.

Finally, round out your team with a top-tier Duelist. The Punisher seems like an obvious fit, but he’s best on a team with Rocket, and I’m not sure Rocket works well as a Strategist with Cloak & Dagger.

Instead, you’ll ideally want someone like Hela or Moon Knight, who are just well-rounded damage dealers. Wolverine is a solid option, too, as he’s well-equipped to soak your heals.