Hanzo hasn't evolved much since his inception. And that's just perfect for the gamers who love using him. As games tend to devolve into deathmatches more often in Overwatch 2, players who stick with Hanzo have more opportunities for both success and failure.
Hanzo will always be something of a "go big or go home hero" in Overwatch 2. Hanzo's damage will rarely top the charts, but his kill count should usually be first on the leaderboards. Get him into the best situation possible so that he becomes the difference-maker he can be.
Playstyle
As a sniper, Hanzo should obviously be as far away from the action as he can be while still getting off a clean shot. His slightly-arcing arrows are hard to land but deal good damage to the body and fatal damage to the head unless the target is one of the best tanks in the game.
Playing Hanzo is a mix of hit-and-run and probing. Hanzo can make it so he sees around corners. He can use this information to stay out of sight, get behind or to the side of teams, then fire off some intelligent shots and run away before his opponents can react.
Abilities
Storm Bow
- Hold to charge, then release to launch arrows further.
New gamers to the franchise might want to play with Hanzo early on. Sniping can be difficult, but he's rather simple. His main attack, and the one that will be in play most of the time, is the Storm Bow. Hold the attack button to pull the arrow back, then release it when a good shot reveals itself.
Sonic Arrow
- Reveals enemies for a short time upon impact.
The sonic arrow is both an arrow and a locator. If players hit the ground or a wall, it will reveal everything around it for a few seconds. However, if they hit a player, then the locator will reveal both that player and everything around them wherever they go.
Storm Arrows
- The next five arrows fire instantly at reduced damage.
The reduced damage can scare players away, but think of this as maximizing a brief window for headshots. Each shot still has a chance to kill most opponents outright. Land one or two at all, then go back into hiding.
Wall Climb
- Jump at walls to climb up them.
Hanzo needs creativity on his side. Because his arrows don't do much damage to shields, he needs to get above and around the frontline to target the more vulnerable targets. Use elevation to Hanzo's advantage.
Lunge
- Double jump.
The double jump adds a horizontal element to the game opened up by Lunge. Hanzo can get to locations that few other heroes can get to. Better still, he can get there without blowing any cooldowns. In a rough spot,t his can also be used to escape from danger.
Dragonstrike
- Launch a deadly dragon spirit that devastates enemies it passes through.
Hanzo's ultimate ability is one of the more difficult ultimates to use in the game. It fires a very slow cylinder that makes its way across the map. Those caught in the radius take immense damage, but it is easy to dodge without some assistance.
Tips & Tricks
As previously mentioned, Hanzo should be looking for clean attacks far away from the fight. Perhaps the best tip is to explore every map a bit. Players have many creative areas to safely snipe from. When the opponents figure out what's going on, move to another spot.
Hanzo is more about kills than damage. Players need to develop their affinity for headshots. If they aren't necessarily natural, play with teammates that have slows, stuns, and disables that can give Hanzo the open look he requires to be one of the best DPS heroes.
Combos
- Mei
Slow enemies are easy to score headshots on. By targeting whoever Mei is attacking, Hanzo can suddenly feel like headshots are guaranteed. When mei uses her ultimate, Hanzo can then either keep shooting or use his own ultimate.
- Mercy
Nobody is going to doubt Mercy's chops as one of the game's best support heroes. But she gets to another level when helping out Hanzo, turning his regular body shots into potentially fatal hits when she amplifies his damage. Also, she can accompany him into dangerous areas, then get herself out of trouble without getting caught.
- Zarya
There are many heroes that combo well with Zarya, but perhaps none are as deadly as Hanzo. Even if he's not close by, Hanzo can aim his ultimate at Zarya's ultimate and be assured that the enemy team will be wiped out.
- Bastion
Nobody blasts down shields quite like Bastion can. With shields rendered ineffective, suddenly Hanzo is able to stay out of harm's way and continue to line up headshots without the fear of going behind enemy lines. More time shooting and less time sneaking around translate to faster ultimate charges and more headshot kills.
- Roadhog
If Roadhog throws a hook out, aim where the player he catches will be and fire a shot. Roadhog is almost lethal on his own with his hook combo, any help at all from Hanzo will mean either of the two allies will wind up scoring a pretty simple kill.
Advantages & Counters
Not all tanks have shields and those who lack them become very easy kills for Hanzo. Pharah, Echo, Mercy, and other flyers make for somewhat simple targets as their predictable aerial movements can be timed out by a superior archer. Torbjorn's turret doesn't have Hanzo's range and can be wiped out with minimal effort.
If tanks without shields aren't an issue, tanks with shields do have Hanzo's number. Unpredictable and mobile characters, such as Genji, Tracer, or Lucio are virtually inescapable once they catch up to Hanzo. Winston's health pool, shields, and mobility add up to Hanzo's worst hard counter.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.