Overwatch 2 has been released free to play, replacing the original Overwatch. With the free-to-play release, it's no surprise that there is an influx of new players looking to check Overwatch out. With so many heroes to choose from, it can be tough to know which Heroes will be best to use and what they even do.
If you're new to Overwatch 2 and interested in playing Hanzo but don't really know where to start, this is the guide for you. You'll be going toe-to-toe with the pros in no time.
Hanzo's Team Role
Hanzo's role in Overwatch 2 is Damage. This means his main responsibility on the team is to get as much damage to enemies as possible. He doesn't necessarily have to get the most kills but should be getting a lot of assists as you off enemies from afar so your team can finish them off. Also, by getting in high damage with this role, you can push enemies back and force them to heal or disengage from a fight, losing momentum. This helps your team to push objectives and move enemies off them.
Hanzo's Weapon And Abilities
Hanzo has a Weapon called the Storm Bow. The longer you hold down the shoot button the stronger the arrow will be and the further it will travel. It's a single-shot bow and is usually best used at a distance. You can shoot it quickly up close, however, the shots won't be fully charged so will not do as much damage.
Hanzo's first ability is called Storm Arrows, which shoots the next five arrows in rapid fire, these are shot at reduced damage but landing all the shots is enough to kill. This is an ability best used in close range if you are rushed by an enemy or need to get in close to help the team. You can do damage with these from range and still be effective enough to finish off enemies that have low health.
Another ability is the Sonic Arrow, which is a singular arrow that has a radar on it. It lights up enemies in red and reveals their positions to the whole team. This arrow is great to use if enemies are stacked up in a room or around a corner so when your team is rushing in they can see exactly where the enemies are.
The final ability is Lunge, a double jump that pushes you forward or up if by a wall. It's activated by pressing jump again while in the air. It's great for assisting with traversal across the map and allows you to get up to higher places for sniping from afar, paired perfectly with Hanzo's other Passive, called Wall Climb.
Positioning is essential in the Damage role as you want to make sure you're keeping constant pressure on the enemy team while remaining far from harming yourself, and this Passive ability allows you to jump up walls and climb them, so paired with the double jump, you can really climb up high to get the best vantage spots.
Hanzo also has an Ultimate Ability called the Dragonstrike. This launches a Dragon Spirit in front of him that damages any enemies it passes through, if the enemy stays within the Spirit it can kill them. The great thing about this Ultimate is that it will continue to travel across the whole map from where you fired it. Dragonstrike can be used through walls because, well, spirits can pass through walls, right?
Pair this with your Sonic Arrow to take out enemies cowering behind cover or preempt where the enemies will be and it will pass through buildings hitting anyone inside them. Just bear in mind when summoning the Dragonstrike from afar that it can be seen easily and therefore dodged easily. If you fire it through a wall from close range and catch the enemy unaware then this will do the best damage.
This ability is best not fired in the open near enemies because of the fact it takes a couple of seconds to summon, and you can be killed while doing it. Because it passes through walls you are best firing it from around a corner out of sight.
How To Play As Hanzo
When it comes to playing as Hanzo, you are going to want to sit back and pick off enemies from behind your teammates. He isn't really a character you can push right in with unless you have to finish off weakened and distracted foes, and you have the Storm Arrows that can help you with an up-close battle.
However, the regular arrows will struggle to outshoot other Heroes in the game, even if they're quickly fired. When using Hanzo you need to try and aim for headshots, especially when you have the bow drawn all the way back, as this causes maximum damage and can even get you a one-hit kill.
Hanzo is a great Hero that you can pair with most other heroes on your team because of his range. The only thing you would want to think about is not having too many long-range damage heroes on the team, because otherwise no one is getting up in the other team's face and stopping them from progressing. So if you already see Widowmaker and Ana on your team, maybe pick Tracer so you can get stuck into the action.
You are going to want to utilise the Lunge ability and the Passive climbing ability to help you get up high and start pushing enemies back from range. With the long-range ability of Hanzo, you are going to help your team a lot by weakening enemies enough to be finished off by your teammates.