Overwatch Character Guide: Tracer Roadhog Junkrat

Perhaps the slowest character of the bunch, Roadhog is a Ramattra tank guide in every sense of the term. With 600 hitpoints, Roadhog has the highest health count of any of Overwatch's heroes, and he puts that to good use with his Scrap Gun, a shotgun-like weapon with diminishing power based on range. If you choose to play as this beer-gutted savage, you're going to want to be right up in the action at all times, as one shot from point-blank range will take out pretty much any other hero. Of course, this also means that he's fairly vulnerable to snipers, as he's a massive target that can't really fight back against enemies that are out of range of his weapons and abilities.

The thing is, playing nearly one-thousand hours of Modern Warfare 2 during my freshman year of college (sorry mom) burned me out on multiplayer games for a long time. Make no mistake, I've loved a great deal of multiplayer games over the years, but they always seem to either only stick with me during the first couple of weeks or fade out of my consciousness after I submit a review. Granted, this is partially due to the perils of being a multi-platform gamer with single-platform friends, yet there hasn't really been a multiplayer game since 2009 that has burrowed into my brain quite like Infinity Ward's last great game.

Without a doubt, Zarya is the Overwatch hero that most players seem to completely forget about. This is actually pretty hilarious considering that she's one of the most rewarding and useful characters on the entire roster. Add in the fact that a lack of Zarya players means that there's a general lack of experience at countering her attacks and abilities, and you have all the makings of a potential monster until the rest of the player base figures her out.

There's a number of good explanations as to why Overwatch is such a fantastic game, but none greater than Blizzard's clear emphasis on making a shooter that feel awesome to play. Every character is immediately readable, meaning that the more that you play, the more knowledge you gain and, thus, the more your strategy evolves. Throughout my time with Overwatch, I have yet to encounter a dropped frame or a moment of lag, despite having every graphics setting maxed out and the servers existing in a beta state. Its shooting is as tight as a Call of Duty or Counter-Strike game, and the sheer number of colors on screen at any given moment finds a way to fill me with glee during even those frustrating moments when your team is getting throttled. Outside of playing Overwatch at the past two PAX Easts, it found a way to completely fly under my radar, and I couldn't feel dumber for brushing it off. At this moment, the only negative thing that I can say about it is that I do not want to spend a moment playing it on a console, as Overwatch feels far too good with a mouse and keyboard.

Junkrat's abilities aren't going to do as much damage as his Frag Launcher, but they're exceptional strategic items when used properly. Not only does his Concussion Mine allow him to place a remote detonated explosive, enabling perfectly-timed kills when used patiently, but it also functions as a super-jump when used underneath Junkrat. Considering most opposing players don't expect to see Junkrat flying a story or two into the air, using the Concussion Mine as a movement device not only functions as a way to throw enemies off their game, but it also allows you to access areas that foes won't necessarily expect grenades to rain down from.

With all of that gushing out of the way, I'd like to pinpoint the exact moment where I realized that Overwatch was a special experience, at least for me. While the PC audience is far more knowledgeable about team composition than its console counterparts (as a result of sheer time played), I found myself on a team where the other five players thought it would be a good idea to choose three Tracers and two Reapers. If you don't know anything about Overwatch, you should know that a balanced team consisting of offense, defense, tanks and supports is going to succeed far more often than one where every player is in one category. Considering that Tracer is the squishiest offensive hero and Reaper is an offensive character that isn't going to be able to do damage at range, I found myself at a loss. Generally when I'm attacking a central control point, I enjoy picking someone like Junkrat, whose bouncing grenades can cause absolute chaos. Unfortunately, this hero was out of the question, as my more casual teammates would not be able to succeed without a healer. It's for that very reason that I chose Mercy, who can beam health into any allies that she aims her staff at.

If you're looking to dig your teeth into a hero with an exceptionally high variance between high and low-level play, then look no farther than Mei. If you were to take a poll of everyone's favorite and least favorite characters, assuming that you're speaking to players who have sampled each of them, then it's likely you'll find equal amounts of Mei-haters and Mei-lovers. Her main weapon, the Endothermic Blaster, has two distinct firing modes that can take out even the strongest enemies when used in combination. By clicking the left-mouse button (or pulling the right trigger), she can continuously fire a stream of frost, which will both do damage to enemies and eventually freeze them in their tracks. Its secondary firing mode charges up a massive icicle, which does an insane amount of damage upon contact. Needless to say, the Endothermic Blaster has the potential to be ruthless against long-range foes while also making it relatively easy to deal with faster characters like Tracer and Genji.