Advantages

Hugely powerful single and area attacks.

Healing Factor and Berserker Rage are two of the best passives in the game.

Her attacks ignore the targets’ defense stats.

Disadvantages

Low initial stats.

Mediocre defensive capability.

Berserker Rage forces her to attack certain opponents.

If X-23, or Laura to be more informal, looks familiar, she should: in the comics, she is a female clone of Wolverine. I actually find her more effective in most battles than her illustrious “brother.” She inflicts heavy and sometimes huge damage, and adds to those a number of nasty debuffs, from Bleeding to Ravaged, Hemorrhaging and Fatal Blow. And her two passives, Healing Factor and Berserker Rage, make it tough to kill her out and equally tough to survive her attacks for long. Overall, I consider her one of the best bruisers in the game.

Her attacks all center on Bleeding. Her first attack inflicts both Bleeding and Ravaged, which increases the damage done by Bleeding, and even adds Shred, which counts towards non-Bleeding targets. Her second attack, her only area attack, inflicts both Bleeding and Hemorrhaging, causing even more damage after she strikes. Her third attack exploits her previously inflicted debuffs, almost always hits for Critical damage, and can inflict stunning damage on an opponent who is already bleeding. Her fourth attack is used to “assassinate” an opponent, inflicting Fatal Blow on any target low on health except for Bosses, who suffer huge damage nonetheless.

Like Wolverine, she heals automatically during battle, rendering her tough to kill out. But her second passive, Berserker Rage, puts her a notch above most other heroes. This is triggered randomly when an opponent attacks her, causing her to achieve “Trigger Scent” and, subsequently, Berserker Rage. She inflicts more damage on the target that “triggered” her, and can attack other opponents if they are also bleeding. This is similar to Wolverine’s own Berserker Rage passive, but in my opinion Laura’s is more effective. (When you launch her area attack with Berserker Rage in effect, she has the chance to follow that attack with single strikes on each of the separate opponents. She can obliterate an entire team of opponents in one ferocious attack.)

It’s hard to think of disadvantages for her. Her initial stats are low, so she won’t inflict huge damage at low levels, but even at low levels with few ISO chips, she can still more than hold her own, mostly because of her debuffs and her high critical rates. Not having Ranged attacks limits her effectiveness to a small degree. She is not as defensively adept as many Bruisers. And when she is Berserk, she is forced to attack the opponent that Triggered her, no matter what you, the player, want her to do. That really is about it for downsides.

PVP: X-23 is used regularly in PVP, though like all Bruisers, she has trouble surviving because of the high number of powerful Blasters on opposing PVP teams. Opinion is divided among veteran players on the effectiveness of a “bleed” team, but if you favor this kind of team (I sometimes do), then she is an essential component. Running her with Wolverine, Elektra, Sabretooth, Tigra or Black Panther (to name a few of the many possible choices) will create a powerful and synergistic pair of heroes for your agent to use. Like many heroes, the AI (artificial intelligence) does not use her well on defense, so she is not the best choice for your defensive team.

Alternate Uniforms: She has one alternate which is not currently available, the Horseman/War alternate from a recent Special Operations. I was lucky enough to obtain this as a Scrapper (the alt also comes in Bruiser class), and am absolutely enamored of it. Laura as the Horseman of War adds Warbringer to all her teammates and herself, heightening their ability to attack. Her first attack adds Blind Rage as a debuff, lowering her opponent’s ability to defend. Her third attack adds the feared Paragon Exploiter, inflicting additional damage on opponents with a number of debuffs hanging on them already, and her fourth attack is Stealthy, making it harder for targets to anticipate and dodge her assassination attempt. In her own right, X-23 is a fearsome hero; as the Horseman of Death, she is truly amazing.

Strategy Suggestions

X-23 is pure mayhem, but her offensive attacks are more efficient when used properly. Usually you’ll start off with her first attack to inflict Bleeding and Ravaged, bt if you’re facing opponents with no Blasters (or Bruisers if you’re using the Scrapper alt), the area attack is also an excellent opening move. After that, attack single targets with either the third, massively damaging attack (which often kills out the target) or the fourth assassination strike if their health is already low.

If the Horseman alt ever goes on sale, run, do not walk, to buy it in either Bruiser or Scrapper flavors, or even both. It really is that good. The attack strategy is pretty much the same for the Horseman alt as the regular uniform, but the effects are even more devastating.

Go back to the Heroes by Class page.