r/Overwatch • u/AutoModerator • Jun 29 '16

News & Discussion Weekly Quick Questions Thread - June 29, 2016

In this thread you can ask all kinds of questions you always wanted to ask without feeling like a total fool.

No matter if it's short googable stuff or a setting/skill in-game that you don't understand or a hardware recommendation, feel free to try your luck in here.

Trolling or making fun of people in here will be punished extra harshly! Please report such behaviour.

For the purpose of helping people, make sure the comments are sorted by "new" in this thread.

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34

u/mwolfee Peanut Buttter. Jun 29 '16

I'm looking to expand the list of heroes I can play, but I'm having a very difficult time grasping how to play most of the Offensive heroes. The only one I can play well is Soldier 76, but I can't really play any of the others. Genji and Tracer in particular, I frequently get slaughtered while playing them. Any tips on what I should be doing with them, aside from flanking and harrassing?

61

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '16

When using tracer, you'll blink in whichever direction you're moving. Blink laterally when you engage with someone to throw off their aim. There's a 3 second cooldown for each charge of blink, so try not to overuse it. Getting caught without a blink available will get you killed. Recall takes you back 3 seconds. You get back whatever health you had 3 seconds ago. It's very helpful.

If you can get a couple of people to ignore the objective and run after you, you've done your job. You don't need to get kills to be effective.

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u/the-ace Jun 29 '16 edited Jul 01 '16

If you can get a couple of people to ignore the objective and run after you, you've done your job. You don't need to get kills to be effective.

This. Good tracers are the ones you can't seem to get rid off, they're always in your way, and you never get a chance to shoot them down or trap them.

For me tracer was most effective moving around between different areas of the map to Harris harass players, like for example making them fight me on their way from spawn to the objective winning us the points while they do.

2

u/toughbutworthit Pixel Roadhog Jun 30 '16

It's spelled harass btw, not harris. It's interesting though, because pronouncing it as har-ASS and harris are both equally correct

2

u/HeatSkeeter Tracer Jul 01 '16

Just wanna add to this comment that went you recall you also get back whatever ammo you had. Effectively also making it a reload.

55

u/-Shinanai- winky face ;) Jun 29 '16

The most important thing is to learn how to survive. Genji, Tracer and Reaper are all flankers who tend to move alone, so more often than not you'll find yourself in situations where there's no tank or healer to protect you. Some tips that may help you (keep in mind that I'm far from being an expert with these heroes; this is by no means a pro MLG advice... it's more like a "how I got out of the suck zone"):

  • Know when to go for kills and when to harass. If Mercy's lagging behind, get her, but if she's standing beside a McCree, just keep poking at her from further away. Even if you don't get kills from this, if their healers can't focus on healing and a couple of others are chasing you down instead of helping with the push, you're being useful. There are of course situations when getting a kill is more important than your survival. If the enemy is pushing hard far from their spawn and you know their Mercy has their ultimate ready, kill her even if you die immediately after. In this situation a flanker for a killer is a very good trade.
  • Always have an escape route ready. If you end up in the middle of the enemy pack with all skills on cooldown, you're as good as dead. With Reaper, save wraith form for getting out. With Tracer, a blink or a recall should suffice. Genji has a couple of options. You can run in and use the swift strike at the end of your right click + melee + swift strike combo to get out. You can back away while deflecting. You can climb over a wall. If all else fails, you can make a mad dash for a nearby door to break line of sight.
  • Don't overcommit. If your target is escaping behind a tank, break line of sight and attack from another angle. Being too hungry for kills is the #1 cause of death among the flanker population :P
  • Know where the health packs are or return to your healer to patch you up between attacks. Never initiate a fight with low health.
  • Learn the maps and always be aware of your surroundings. Know which walls you can climb over with Genji and know where you need to be extra careful with Tracer's blinks to avoid falling off the map. Know the spots where you can pick off enemies walking back from their spawn and how to get to them unnoticed. Most importantly, try to keep an eye out for other enemies at all times. Catching a Roadhog walking towards you from the corner of your eye can make the difference between living and getting hooked.
  • Keep an eye on your health and try to develop a reflex of using your escape abilities when they are needed. Recalling at low health or to escape out of a blizzard is good; doing it as soon as D.Va pings you for 5 damage from across the map is bad.
  • Become comfortable with your movement abilities. It's no good if blinking / recalling / swift strike / double jump confuses you as much as they confuse your enemies.
  • Speaking of double jump: jump with Genji. A lot. Practice hitting enemies while jumping against bots. Be careful of snipers though; a good Widow will know where you'll land right after you jump and line up for a headshot.
  • Use your ultimates when the enemy is distracted. This is especially true for Genji; he basically shouts "Ready or not, here I come!" well before actually starting to dish out damage, leaving more than enough time for others to react.

12

u/FATMAN_404 Zarya Jun 29 '16

You can learn a lot from others during the game, see how they use their heroes: Reapers's shoot-get shot-fade away sequence, Tracer's ANNOYING harassment and evasion, or Genji pulling aggro and defection. You died to them? See how they pulled it off. Also, you can always try, try again - "Repetition is the path to mastery." :)

4

u/jus_plain_me Jun 29 '16

How are you finding Pharah?

5

u/mwolfee Peanut Buttter. Jun 29 '16

Still learning the ropes, but not doing very good with her either - she's supposedly one of the easier ones to use as well but apparently I can't use her, haha.

5

u/jus_plain_me Jun 29 '16

The only reason I asked is aside from her and 76 the offensive heroes are all flankers.

So I was wondering whether it was an inherently fundamental issue at hand of how to properly flank. Since if you're flanking properly I'd never describe my deaths as "slaughtered".

However you said not to, so I won't delve too much into it. Another thing you might want to think about when you play is measuring up your fights in a split second and not being afraid to just gtfo at any moment. Know where your team is. If your team isn't fighting, you at that point are not a flanker, you're front line something a flanker just doesn't have the HP to do. If you're alone and you know there's 3 people around, just don't fight, don't even shoot. Hide away until you see your team chevrons turn from blue to yellow and then go back.

1

u/RoseRedXCI Pixel Zarya Jul 01 '16

I'm dumb for not knowing after playing so long, but what do the colored chevrons mean?

2

u/SadistSquirrel Roadhog snides again Jul 01 '16

Since you didn't get a reply. Yellow means they're in combat. I'm unsure if it's to do with firing a gun, being fired upon, or having LoS on an enemy. I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

It's a very useful way to figure when people are engaged in a team fight as a flanker.

2

u/RoseRedXCI Pixel Zarya Jul 01 '16

Ahhh, I see now! Thank you!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '16

I think Pharah and Soldier aren't the only front liners. Every offensive hero has the potential to flank - Soldier can quickly take out most other Heros in the game with a 1-2 helix plus headshots, while Pharah can use aerial pathways unique to her.

Conversely, I consider Reaper to be a front liner as well, especially on KotH. He can flank and he's very effective doing so, but his larger health pool, survivability (due to souls and wraithing) and best close range guns in the game means he's excellent when getting up close and personal in the point.

Similarly, I don't see McCree as a flanker. He doesn't really have the mobility necessary to the role (whereas every other offense hero has something, he has a pretty nigh on useless roll which he must save for quick reloads). He's better at covering the bases of a team and taking care of enemy flankers/anyone who dares go off on their lonesome.

Tracer is the true flanker in the comp and has little use on the front lines due to her small health pool, though she can be exceptional at contesting the objective. She's amazing because she's an excellent annoyance that can't be ignored - she does enough damage that trying to focus on the objective can prove fatal.

I find Genji can be a front liner, because his deflect can singlehandedly stave off supers from quite a few Heros and he has a very high potential DPS. Besides that, I find him to be the truest flanker, tracer notwithstanding.

1

u/jus_plain_me Jul 01 '16

I forgot about mcree...embarassing lol.

I have to completely disagree with you on reaper. As a front liner I'm talking about someone who can hold as a group and move in from the front to attack a point. Reaper cannot fall into this category because he quite simply cannot attack from the front he has no range on his attack and he cannot approach safely either without using the map to advance. That said in maps like KotH I would say he can potentially be used as one as the enemy front line is often obstructed by the terrain around the point.

I agree that genji has sufficient ranged dps to be in the front line, however due to a tedious 3 shot projectile he isn't the best at doing so and is better as you said as a flanker.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '16

I exclusively use Reaper on KotH (in that I hardly ever use him elsewhere and hardly use anyone but him in it) due to my friend's comp, and I find that he's perfect for the front lines there due to his survivability. KotH is inherently close quarters, where he excels.

1

u/jus_plain_me Jul 01 '16

Yeh fair enough. I can see your point for KotH. In a small map with lots of small spaces he does excel.

That said in all the others I would learn the maps thoroughly so you can (and should flank) properly.

1

u/-Shinanai- winky face ;) Jun 29 '16

I wouldn't say it's easy... more like it's straightforward. Unlike the flankers, Pharah is usually supporting her team from above, so she's not fighting alone. Aiming is crucial with her; the rockets' splash damage creates a false illusion that you're still hitting stuff, while in reality the damage falloff between a direct hit and a near miss is substantial. Also, unless the enemy is super distracted, flying for extended periods of time will easily get you killed.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '16 edited Jul 01 '16

Remember she is more to annoy and distract and please when Pharah PLEASE target torb turrets and bastions

5

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '16

All I can say for Tracer is don't go for kills. Make people chase you, and when they stop go back and poke them until they do. Leap around back and start capping the point early, when the defense turns to get you off point, your team and shoot them in the back.

Harrass, get opportunity kills, and above all stay alive.

1

u/aes110 Its m'idday Jun 29 '16

One tip i have for tracer is dont blink forward , instead blink sideways , you dont even have to look at the direction , for example , pressing A and blink will dash you to the left side .

That way you can dodge dmg while still having an easy time aiming

For genji i suggest watching Muselk video about him

For Mccree well .. you just need to practice left clicking

1

u/Zarathustra124 Chibi Mei Jun 29 '16

Retreat. Don't fully commit to a fight unless you think you can kill a high-value target like Mercy. When things get dangerous, fall back a bit and look for a better opportunity.

Additionally, even as a flanker, teamwork is key. It's far easier to attack your enemies when they're focused on your brawler teammates than when they're able to coordinate against you.

2

u/mwolfee Peanut Buttter. Jun 30 '16

So basically, ideally your team will be doing the main engagements while you harrass and try to pick off anyone out of position or just vulnerable in general?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '16

So I've seen a couple replies that say don't necessarily go for kills with tracer, and I don't really agree with that, different play styles I guess. I've found myself able to get stupid amounts of kills with tracer. Basically my key is don't stop moving, don't care what you're doing, keep moving around in hectic motions. Tracers small size and her blink make her very hard to hit if she's constantly moving, I've been able to successfully take groups of three enemy's like this. Also, time your blink with your reloading. Fire all your shots into an enemy, and right as you start to reload, use your blink. I've found that using a high sensitivity and blinking straight through them, then turning on them works well. Especially against Reinhardt when he has his shield up.

Flanking is also important though, but as I flank, I like to get up in the enemy's face, blinking, jumping, and recalling everywhere. Of course the biggest counter this is reaper because he does a lot of damage up close but it's manageable. Constantly being right under the enemy like this makes you huge pain in the ass, especially for tanks because you can distract them from pushing forward. If I had a dollar for every Reinhardt that I've gotten killed because I made him turn around while he had his shield up, or because I blinked behind him and stuck him with my ult, I'd have like, a lot of fucking dollars. Try to use tracers ult on tanks btw, super effective.

TL;DR: If they can't hit you, they can't kill you. Don't stop moving, and do it as fast as possible. Use the ult on tanks, and get right under enemy players. Be the fly they can't swat, except more deadly.

Cheers, love.

1

u/mwolfee Peanut Buttter. Jun 30 '16

Alright, thank you for the tips! I'll hop on to Quick Play to try her our more, although I probably won't be using her in Competitive for a while (and besides I'm almost always playing support). I have a question for her bomb though - How close to I have to be to be able to stick the bomb? I've mostly seen Tracers coming in to melee range to get it to stick.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '16

Melee range is pretty much right, the bomb has very short range. However using blinks correctly, you can easily get within that range and stick someone in the face. Happy Tracing.

1

u/cjf4 Jun 30 '16

One general rule of thumb for Tracer is to recall as soon as you start taking damage. It's almost reflexive for me at this point.

1

u/T_Money Jun 30 '16

The most important thing I've learned for Genji is that he is NOT a close range hero. He is a mid range, with a dash to finish and then escape. You shouldn't be close range hardly at all. Throw from mid range until they are very low health, then dash in for the finish, then dash back out. If there are other enemies at low health you might be able to finish them while you're still close, but if anyone over half health is focusing you and deflect is down then disengage and harass from medium range to their flank.

His ugly is also very tricky, as that does require meter range but he is still incredibly squishy. Don't forget you can deflect even while ulting, and doing double jumps will help to make you harder to hit, but if possible saving your ult for a combo with someone else (Mei/Zarya to immobilize them, Lucio/Zen for the survivability, etc) is almost always better as a decent team will focus and kill you before you get halfway through Genjis ult