Champion review: Beta Ray Bill
EdisonLaw
Member Posts: 8,422 ★★★★★
Beta Ray Bill
It’s Billin Time Summoners,
It’s been 10 years and in those years, we have wanted a very special champion to join the contest, and he is finally here, the Korbinite ally of Thor, wielder of Stormbreaker, Beta Ray Bill himself. Today in this review we will go over his animations, damage output, his utility, his signature ability, his best uses and my overall opinion.
Animations: 10/10. Beta Ray Bill looks so amazing visually. The Stormbreaker strikes, the lightning especially, the movements, they all fit together perfectly with his mighty basic and special attacks. Also if you aren’t aware, he has a secret special 3 with Thor where he dual wields Mjolnir and Stormbreaker together to release a massive blast. I think it’s the coolest secret SP3 besides Onslaught vs Professor X and Lady Deathstrike vs Wolverine.
Damage: 10/10. In 2024, many champions are either strong defenders for War and BGs, such as Bullseye, Serpent, Arcade, and Dust, or they offer solid utility with moderate damage output, like Arcade, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Bullseye. Beta Ray Bill, however, stands out as a pure damage dealer, and not just any damage dealer—he's an exceptional one. Aside from the Serpent and possibly a fully ramped Northstar, I believe Beta Ray Bill is the top damage dealing champ of 2024 as of yet. His damage mechanics are reminiscent of Quicksilver. Each of his basic attacks has a 10% chance to passively Shock the opponent for 25 seconds. While these Shocks do minimal damage on their own, they explode when they expire, delivering a burst of energy damage. The key to maximizing his damage is to stack as many Shocks as possible using Special 2, then use medium attacks to increase the expiration of the Shocks and then unleash Special 1 just before the Shocks expire to trigger a massive burst of damage. This rotation is most effective in short fights.
For longer matchups, Beta Ray Bill can significantly amplify his burst damage with up to three Fury buffs from SP1, as well as up to five Intensify buffs, which are gained by charging the heavy attack. He also shares a hold heavy into a special intercept mechanic similar to Scorpion, but with a twist—he has AI manipulation to aid this process. Below four Intensifies, the opponent is intimidated; at five, they become infuriated, making them more aggressive and easier to intercept. Additionally, all buffs are paused for 20 hits, and when Bill is charging the heavy, he goes unstoppable. On a r3 7* Bill, I’ve seen the burst deal over 1 million damage.
What's impressive about this rotation is that once the damage is dealt, the Shocks remain, as every special attack refreshes all Shock passives. This allows you to use up to three SP1s for three Furies in extended fights, then return to the heavy charge cycle, rinse, and repeat until the opponent is down. Against Shock-immune opponents, Beta Ray Bill can utilize his Special 3 to gain a Resonance buff. Resonance functions similarly to Reverb, first introduced with Northstar, acting as the physical counterpart by allowing Beta Ray Bill to deal bursts of energy damage with each attack. However, I would not recommend relying on this ability, particularly in Battlegrounds where time and health are important. It's best to avoid Shock-immune matchups in BGs. That said, in War and questing, Resonance can be useful, especially against certain tough defenders with rocky characteristics (you probably know who I mean).
Utility: 8/10. While Beta Ray Bill may offer less utility compared to Serpent, he compensates with significantly higher damage output. Nonetheless, his utility is still quite impressive. First, his first medium attack pulverizes any Armor Up effects on the opponent and deals a burst of damage. Pulverize, an ability first introduced with Captain Marvel (Movie), instantly removes Armor Ups without applying an Armor Break, meaning it can bypass Armor Break immunities like those of Colossus. This is particularly useful against many Tech champions who are immune to Shock effects while they have an Armor Up. Beta Ray Bill can remove that Armor Up with Pulverize, allowing him to apply his Shocks effectively. Additionally, when facing Tech champions or when he becomes immune to Shock or Power Drain effects, Beta Ray Bill gains a Steady buff, which bypasses Glancing. This is specifically designed to counter the troublesome defender, Future Ant-Man, as Bill can also pulverize any Nano-Armor Up that Future Ant-Man generates. When Beta Ray Bill is Power Drained, he gains a Power Gain passive, which grants him a bar of power over 0.5 seconds, though it has a 24-second cooldown. Finally, on his heavy attack, Beta Ray Bill gains a powerful Grit buff that bypasses Unstoppable effects. This buff, first seen on debuffs, is potent as it bypasses class disadvantages, debuff immunity, and other conditions where the opponent is immune to Slow or Ability Accuracy Reduction. Like mentioned above, Bill may not be a utility machine like Serpent or Bullseye, but his utility is fairly strong and useful in a variety of matchups and situations.
Signature Ability: 8/10. Beta Ray Bill's signature ability is definitely worth the investment. First, it increases the potency of his burst damage by up to 40%. The damage mentioned earlier—where Beta Ray Bill dealt 1 million burst damage—was achieved with an unduped champion. With the signature ability maxed, you could potentially boost that damage by up to 40%, bringing it close to 1.5 million. This kind of damage could easily one-shot opponents like LoL Red Hulk and every single boss in act 8 (except for the corrupted bosses of course). Additionally, the cooldown on his heavy charge Unstoppable effect is reduced by up to 10 seconds, from its original 24 seconds. When this effect is active, it provides up to 100% damage reduction, making it even safer to charge heavy attacks and avoid taking damage.
Best Matchups/Uses:
- Future Ant-Man: As mentioned, Beta Ray Bill is essentially designed to be a hard counter to this defender. His Steady buff prevents Glancing from triggering, he is immune to Power Drain, and even if Future Ant-Man gains an Armor Up, Bill can pulverize it, making him highly effective against this opponent.
- Red Skull: Beta Ray Bill is also an excellent counter to Red Skull. Similar to his approach with Future Ant-Man, Bill can pulverize any Armor Up that Red Skull has. His Grit buff allows him to counter Red Skull’s Unstoppable effect from SP2. Additionally, Bill’s immunity to Power Drain is a big advantage, but be cautious—even Power Drain-immune champions can still take direct damage from hitting Red Skull’s block.
- Nimrod: Bill counters Nimrod in much the same way he counters Red Skull. Nimrod’s SP2 Unstoppable effect can be bypassed by Bill’s Grit buff. Additionally, Bill can easily pulverize Nimrod’s Armor Up buffs and is immune to his Power Drain, making him a strong counter to Nimrod.
- Other Tech Champions: For champions like Omega Sentinel, Guillotine 2099, Captain America Sam Wilson, Iron Man, Hulkbuster, and Iron Man IW, Beta Ray Bill can easily pulverize their Armor Ups, making him highly effective against these Tech opponents.
- Thing/Korg: These rocky champions are effectively countered by Beta Ray Bill’s Grit buff, which bypasses their Unstoppable effects. However, since both are Shock-immune, you’ll need to rely on SP3s to maximize damage against them.
- Unstoppable Mechanics: Beta Ray Bill can easily bypass Unstoppable mechanics from nodes like Aspect of War, Annihilus, and other similar scenarios, thanks to his Grit buff.
- Shock-Immune Champions: Bill’s primary damage comes from Shock and burst damage, so facing Shock-immune champions like Doctor Doom, Mole Man, Korg, Shocker, and Maestro can significantly impact his damage output. While he still has strong Fury buffs from SP1 and the Resonance buff from SP3, these options are less ideal for maximizing his potential.
- High Energy Resistance: Since most of Bill’s big damage is energy-based, champions with high energy resistance, such as Photon and Bishop, can slow him down considerably. Unlike with Shock immunity, Bill has fewer options to work around high energy resistance.
- Buff Control: Beta Ray Bill heavily relies on his buffs for utility, increased burst damage, and overall safety. Mystic champions or nodes that can remove or nullify buffs will significantly slow him down, as buffs are central to his performance.
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Beta Ray Bill is an exceptional champion in 2024, primarily known for his massive damage output, making him one of the top damage dealers of the year. While his utility may not be as extensive as some other champions, it is still effective, particularly against Tech champions and those with Unstoppable effects. His ability to pulverize Armor Up buffs and bypass various defensive mechanics makes him a valuable asset in both War and questing scenarios as well as competitive Battlegrounds. However, like any champion in MCOC, Bill has his weaknesses. Shock-immune and high energy-resistant opponents can significantly hinder his damage potential. Additionally, he is heavily reliant on buffs for both damage and survivability, meaning champions or nodes that control or nullify buffs will pose a challenge for him to face. Overall, Beta Ray Bill is a formidable champion who excels in the right matchups, offering a blend of high damage and tactical utility that makes him a strong contender in various content types. Careful selection of his matchups can allow him to shine, delivering devastating damage and countering some of the most challenging defenders in the game.
Thoughts? Any questions or comments?
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Comments
I need to get BRB
Surprisingly he was on BG roster of my rival.
But he didnt pick Beta 7 stars
I'm enjoying him as well!
I will get the 3 stars on arenas for my collection
And after when he enters featured 6 stars 👍
Pulverize is as good as advertised, but I am slightly disappointed with the Glancing counter ability. I was hoping it would more generally counter glancing, but it seems to be highly geared towards Future Antman. Future Antman's glance annoys me much less compared to other champion's versions. Heck, I was hoping that Bill would make any Antman fights less annoying.
Also I used your screenshot as I don't have the 7*
But his overhype transitioned into downfall right away 🥲
Beta Ray Bill I only can say about, fighting him on BG...
Not a real menace...his specials are ok to dex.