Overwatch Character Guide: D.Va Soldier: 76 And Lucio

Obviously there are a million different team compositions and ways to play Overwatch, but what are the core trends you're seeing with the best players. In other words, if someone is looking to get really good at Overwatch, what do they generally have to do?

When D.Va's mech is out of hitpoints, she ejects and is able to roam the stage as a quick 150 HP hero equipped with a Light Gun, which is accurate at all ranges but isn't super strong from a damage perspective. The main point of the Light Gun is not necessarily to get kills, but to survive and build up D.Va's ultimate meter in order to get a brand new mech. Unlike when her mech explodes, D.Va's default ultimate, Self-Destruct, allows her to eject from her mech, causing a massive explosion and giving her the opportunity to instantly summon another. What's more, this ultimate can be used in combination with her Boosters, creating a massive, horrifying moving explosion of destruction.

There are certain characters in Overwatch that lose their effectiveness when solely used for killing, and Reinhardt is firmly in this camp. If you've spent any time watching or playing Overwatch, you'll recognize this massive sheild and hammer wieldimg knight from a mile away. Reinhardt is one of the lucky few characters that has two distinct weapons, one offensive and one defensive. His Rocket Hammer does massive amounts of damage to anyone who falls inside of a given swing, though it should be noted that these swings are exceptionally slow in the grand scheme of things. In addition to the Rocket Hammer, Reinhardt also utilizes the Barrier Field, his iconic light shield that can reflect up to 2000 hitpoints before retracting. Not only does this shield automatically retract when it runs out of HP, but it also recharges when it's not in use and Reinhardt is much slower when using it. For these reasons, it's best to save up your shield for when you're right on top of a payload as a member of the attacking team, as this is where the Barrier Field is easily the most effective.

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 twenty-one launch heroes, three at a time, with the hopes that you’ll be able to recognize certain patterns on the battlefield.

Mei's first core ability, Cryo-Freeze, encases her in a chunk of ice, both protecting her from further damage and healing any missing health over time. It's imperative that any Mei players keep this ability ready to go for whenever she is close to death, as it can essentially become a 'Get out of jail free' card during particularly brutal battles. Her second ability, Ice Wall, is one of the most iconic hero abilities in Overwatch, and you've almost certainly come across it dozens of times during your time on the battlefield. This ability allows Mei to place a massive wall of ice (pretty self-explanatory) onto the battlefield, which impedes enemy progress and can save a great deal of lives. If you find yourself capturing an objective and want to give your team a bit of extra breathing room, this is a sensational battle-forcing ability. Finally, her ultimate, Blizzard, is a large area-of-effect ability that functions similarly to the primary firing method on the Endothermic Blaster, only in a much larger circular area. Not only does this do damage over time, but it can freeze enemies entirely, making it really simple for your teammates to come in and finish off the job.

Arguably the toughest character to be proficient with in all of Overwatch, Symmetra can generate some heart-stopping victories for her team when used successfully. It's important to note that she is the one Support character whose role does not focus on healing, so it's totally okay to run dual Support heroes when she's on your squad. Her main weapon, the Photon Projector, address here functions very similarly to a traditional flamethrower in that it fires a continuous beam of damaging energy. However, what makes the Photon Projector special is that it latches onto the nearest enemy when fired in their direction, with its damage increases the more that its beam is in contact with them. Its secondary fire, although extremely slow, has the ability to unleash massive damage. It's essentially a charged shot that slowly projects a massive ball of energy in the direction of the reticle, and it's a perfect way to hang back behind your team while still assisting them in pushing the enemy squad back.

Zarya's weapon, the Particle Cannon, has two distinct firing modes that both gain additional attack power based off her use of her two defensive abilities. Her main firing mode is a short-range laser that maintains a straight line of fire and consistent output, which is outstanding for doing a great deal of damage to those who get within range. The bad news about this firing mode is that it's completely ineffective once an enemy gets too far, though Zarya's secondary allows her to fire an energy grenade in a fairly shallow arc. Both of her abilities allow her to create damage absorbing energy shields, which then directly increases the power of her Particle Cannon based on the amount of damage absorbed by said shields. The Particle Barrier allows Zarya to protect herself from oncoming fire, and it lasts significantly longer than her Projected Barrier, which can be placed on a nearby ally. Finally, her ultimate, the Gravitron Surge, pulls all nearby enemies into its aura and does a small amount of continuous damage to everyone trapped inside. The best Zarya players charge right into battle, activate their Particle Barrier and then stay behind one other ally, allowing for the simultaneous use of the Projected Barrier.