Overwatch first teased the character Doomfist over a year ago in an animated cinematic, and after a long wait, players have finally gotten their first taste of Doomfist. Unfortunately, for a lot of  Overwatch players, that taste is Doomfist smashing them straight into a wall for a nearly instant kill.

Doomfist's devastating Rocket Punch ability can easily catch players off guard, and if they're unlucky enough to be near a wall, it can deal 250 damage. Never mind that once Doomfist is up close, he can upper cut, seismic slam, and show off the true power of his Hand Cannon shotgun.

Because of his high damage and high mobility, Doomfist can seem like a serious threat. However with the right tactics, death at the hands of a rampaging Doomfist can be avoided. Here's how to keep his fist from hitting your face so much.

Listen for the Rocket Punch

When Doomfist charges up his Rocket Punch, it makes a telltale sound. If you hear this sound but don't see Doomfist anywhere, you should avoid going around any corners and may want to stay right where you are. Peeking out to see where Doomfist is can give him the opportunity to land the exact punch he was hoping for.

If you already see Doomfist and hear him winding up the Rocket Punch, try to make sure he won't knock you back into a wall. Rocket Punch is only lethal to a full-health character if he knocks an enemy into a wall, so if you see and hear it coming, try to find somewhere with open space behind you.

Keep Your Distance from the Fist

Doomfist has high mobility, but he has to use his abilities to traverse great distances quickly. If you keep your distance, once he reaches you, he'll be forced to wait for his skills to cool down before he can attack you. With only 250 health and a big hitbox, Doomfist is easy prey when his abilities are on cooldown, and his Hand Cannon isn't very useful outside of close quarters.

DPS characters with ranged attacks may struggle to fight Doomfist if he gets close, but at a distance, it's easy to take him out. Widowmaker spells death for Doomfist if he can't close the gap quickly, and a few shots from McCree can shut Doomfist down. Pharah may have a hard time hitting rockets on the agile Doomfist, but it should be easy to avoid his abilities by staying up in the air.

An added bonus from fighting Doomfist at a distance is that he won't be generating shields while he tries to reach you, so he'll be an even squishier target if you deal with him before he lands a hit on you.

Don't Rely on Barriers

Hiding behind Reinhardt's, Orisa's, or Winston's barriers is not what it once was. Since Doomfist can penetrate barriers by dropping down with his ultimate or smashing through with Rocket Punch, the barrier will only help you avoid his Hand Cannon and maybe Seismic Slam.

As a DPS hero, players should still rely on keeping their distance, even if a barrier is between them and Doomfist. As a tank, be prepared for Doomfist to charge, and coordinate with your team to try shutting him down when he does.

Hold Onto Your Crowd Control Abilities

Doomfist's abilities may be powerful, but two of them come with long cooldowns, and his Rocket Punch requires a one-second charge before it reaches full potency. On top of that, he has to move in a straight and predictable path to hit an enemy with Rocket Punch.

If you have a crowd control ability ready, you can quickly deal with a Doomfist that comes charging in. As Roadhog, if you see a Doomfist lining up a punch at you, you can throw a hook straight in his direction knowing he'll either get caught by it if he comes at you, or he'll use the punch to evade. An Ana who notices the charge early may also be able to put him to sleep, and a Junkrat could put a trap in his path and then clean up with a few grenades.

If Doomfist has already jumped into the fray and gotten up close with his fist, a McCree flashbang can stop him in his tracks. Since he has a huge hitbox, it's easy to follow up the flashbang with Fan the Hammer to kill Doomfist on the spot.

Be Ready to Use Evasive Abilities

If you pay close attention to what abilities Doomfist uses when he's coming toward you, you'll have a good idea on how you can safely avoid him. If he uses his upper cut, he won't be able to reach high locations again for seven seconds, so abilities like Widowmaker's grappling hook, Genji and Hanzo's climbing, or Junkrat's concussion mine jump can get players to a safe place for that time. Doomfist can only get so high with his upper cut, so getting extra height with evasive abilities can ensure safety for even longer.

Doomfist's Rocket Punch doesn't go as far as it once did either, which means using a Genji Dash or Tracer Blink to create some quick distance can mean the difference between zero damage and a quick death. These abilities are especially useful if Doomfist initiates his ultimate.

Mei has a few abilities that can help her avoid Doomfist. Her ice wall can carry her to higher ground or block Doomfist's Rocket Punch. If she sees a punch coming, she can also use Cryo-Freeze to avoid damage entirely. But staying frozen for four seconds is a bad idea, since Doomfist will be ready to Rocket Punch again or start a combo if you wait until the ice breaks on its own.

Finish off Doomfist Quickly

There are three reasons to finish Doomfist off as quickly as possible when engaging him. The first is that his Rocket Punch cools down in only four seconds, and if you've avoided his first punch, the last thing you want is to get hit by his second.

The second reason is that he'll gain shields during the fight if he lands any of his abilities on you. With enough hits, he can have tank-level health, and he'll have a much easier time knocking you around. Preventing that will make him far easier to kill.

The third reason is his mobility. Just as Doomfist can come flying out of nowhere, he can quickly escape a battle if his abilities come off cooldown. If you see him use his Rising Uppercut and Seismic Slam to engage your team, try to kill him within seven seconds so he can't retreat.

Boop Him to Interfere with Combos

His Rocket Punch might be a serious threat for squishy characters, but for tanks, the biggest threat is his ability to chain attacks together into dazzling combos. Doomfist can destroy a full-health tank by knocking them into the air, punching them into the distance, and then crashing onto them with Seismic slam, all while sprinkling in shots from his Hand Cannon.

Characters like Lucio and Pharah can try to throw Doomfist off and break his combo by using their boop abilities: Concussive Blast for Pharah, and Soundwave for Lucio. With good timing and direction, this can put Doomfist off track, or even see his abilities send him flying off the edge of the level.

Try a Torbjorn to Lock Him Down

Not only can Torbjorn use armor packs to protect himself from getting one-shot by Doomfist, but he can set down a turret that will make Doomfist's life hard.

Doomfist can't punch Torbjorn's turret into walls, which the amount of damage he can quickly do to the turret. If the turret is in a hard-to-reach location, it may also force Doomfist to use abilities to reach it, thus lowering his chance to gain a shield, do damage, and escape. And since the turret has longer range than Doomfist, it can chip down his health as he tries to reach it.

To top it off, Torbjorn's Rivet Gun packs a punch of its own, with the potential to kill in two shots if his shotgun-style Rivet Burst lands enough pellets on Doomfist's large hitbox. Torbjorn can even hide behind his turret to avoid Rocket Punch and make short work of Doomfist.

As a final bonus, just having Torbjorn's turret around can force a Doomfist to play more carefully, and prevent him from sneaking around for cheeky kills on your team.

Once you've learned to avoid death at the hands of Doomfist, it's time to learn how to dominate with Doomfist.

Overwatch is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.