If you aren’t a fan of aiming in Overwatch and love playing aggressively, Winston is a great hero for you. He loves diving onto squishy enemies and zapping them to death, then making an escape by leaping out at low health. Here are his abilities and how to use them to win games.
Tesla Cannon
Winston’s primary fire is very easy to use, but it doesn’t deal a lot of damage. He fires electricity at all units in a cone in front of him that deals 60 damage per second. It has 100 rounds per clip and uses up 20 rounds per second. You should use this gun to get some damage on squishy targets. Since the damage is unavoidable, it adds up quickly. His Tesla Cannon is extremely useful against heroes like Genji and Lucio who are generally tough to land shots on.
Jump Pack
This is Winston’s leap. It’s on a six-second cooldown and does up to 45 damage when he lands on an enemy. You should always try to save Winston’s leap to escape if possible and find other ways to get to enemies. Never leap into enemy territory if you don’t have your Barrier Projector. Remember that if you leap in without protection, you will almost certainly die. Save the leap for escaping and chasing down low-health enemies unless you are coordinating a dive with your teammates.
Barrier Projector
Winston’s Barrier Projector deploys a 700-health dome-shaped barrier that lasts for nine seconds if it isn’t destroyed. This barrier is extremely useful for diving and allows Winston to safely use his Tesla Cannon from behind cover. Winston and his Overwatch teammates can go in and out of the barrier to avoid damage. This barrier also blocks key ultimate abilities like Reinhardt’s Earthshatter and D.Va’s Self-Destruct. Be sure to save it if you suspect the enemy may have an ultimate you need to block.
Primal Rage
Winston’s ultimate, Primal Rage, heals him for all his health and adds an additional 500 health on use. His primary fire becomes an AOE melee attack that knocks enemies back, and his Jump Pack cooldown is dropped to two seconds. You should never use Primal Rage at full health; wait until you are weak during a dive to use it, and then knock enemies back to disrupt them. You can also use it to get environmental kills near ledges. Make sure to spam your Jump Pack as well to get around.
Winston is a great pick for aggressive Overwatch team compositions that want to dive the enemy’s squishy heroes. He works well with heroes like D.Va, Wrecking Ball, Tracer, Genji, and Ana who can help him dive. His mobility and his barrier make him a strong hero for getting in and dealing damage to enemy healers and DPS.
