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Blog entry by Velma Goold

Overwatch Character Guide: D.Va, Soldier: 76 and Lucio

Overwatch Character Guide: D.Va, Soldier: 76 and Lucio

When it comes to defense heroes, no one has the potential to rack up kills quite like Torbjörn, the bearded Scottish turret-builder. Armed with the Rivet Gun and the Forge Hammer, Torbjörn is the type of character that requires a small amount of practice to master, but once you understand his mechanics, you really understand his mechanics, so to speak. His main weapon, the Rivet Gun, sports two distinct firing methods. The first is a medium-to-long range single projectile that has a slight arc to it, though it still is highly accurate considering its relatively strong damage output. Torbjörn's secondary firing method functions similarly to a shotgun, firing shrapnel over a short distance with a moderate spread. As you can probably guess, using the primary firing method at a distance and the secondary firing method at close range is going to net you the most damage and kills.

McCree's main ability, Combat Roll, is exactly what it sounds like: a forward tumble in whichever direction he's facing. Aside from the fact that this can get McCree out of the way of a great deal of enemy fire, it also automatically reloads the Peacekeeper, which allows for a particularly devastating secondary fire-Combat Roll-secondary fire combo. His other ability, Flashbang, is a throwable stun grenade that locks foes in place. Not only is this wonderful at stopping quick characters like Tracer in their tracks, but they also make for particularly easy kills with McCree's clip-emptying secondary fire. Finally, McCree's ultimate, Deadeye, allows him to slowly lock onto the heads of enemies in the area, guaranteeing a kill during a full lock-on (basically, it's a straight up mark-and-execute maneuver). This is best utilized from behind a skirmish when there are multiple enemies on the screen. It's worth noting that McCree is one of the hardest characters to use effectively, so don't be alarmed if it takes you a bit of practice before you become a cowboy master.

Ignoring a required Day One patch that's larger than the actual game, it seems best to acknowledge a major flaw right at the outset: Bastion. Yes, there are many ways to counteract this character. The most obvious being attacking from the rear. However, one cannot attack from the rear when the enemy converts into a turret, his back to a wall. In turret form, this thing can chew through a shield and tank in seconds, and take down most players before anything can be done. Should the opposing team be controlling every avenue of ingress with multiple Bastions, the situation devolves into hopelessness.

With Overwatch, the charming hero shooter from blizzard seasonal Update, launching this week, we want to make sure that you’re as prepared as possible to help your team dominate. Overwatch’s main focus is clearly on the interplay between its dynamic characters, so in order to become competent, you’ll need to understand how every character works. Throughout the week, we’ll be publishing guides on each of the twenty-one launch heroes, three at a time, with the hopes that you’ll be able to recognize certain patterns on the battlefield.

Despite what my love of recent independent titles like Hyper Light Drifter , Firewatch and The Banner Saga 2 might suggest, I have a strong history with games of a more bombastic persuasion. My most played game of all time, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, found a way to capitalize on the combination of my love for multiplayer chaos and my susceptibility to addictive feedback loops. Granted, I would never claim that Modern Warfare 2 is some sort of godlike game, but there was something about its complete lack of balance and downright brilliant map design that tapped into a very specific portion of my mind.

With Overwatch, the charming hero shooter from Blizzard, launching this week, we want to make sure that you're as prepared as possible to help your team dominate. Overwatch's main focus is clearly on the interplay between its dynamic characters, so in order to become competent, you'll need to understand how every character works. Throughout the week, we'll be publishing guides on each of the 21 launch heroes, three at a time, with the hopes that you'll be able to recognize certain patterns on the battlefield.

Everyone's favorite peanut butter-loving scientist gorilla also might be the greatest distraction in all of Overwatch. Winston is a great character for those looking to play objectives, but not due to high damage output from his main weapon or his abilities; simply put, the best Winston players will utilize his abilities to pull opponents off of the objective, freeing teammates to either attack or defend in peace. Despite his weapon, the Tesla Cannon, boasting fairly weak damage, it automatically and continuously connects with any foes who are in Winston's immediate area. For this reason, it's the single-greatest way to defeat Tracer, as her abilities can't get her out of the way of this weapon (unless she leaves battle). This is also a fantastic weapon for capturing objectives, as you'll be able to do damage to multiple enemies at one time.

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