Tracer is part of a phenomenally successful game. Overwatch has sold millions and continues to entrance gamers around the world with its colourful graphics, incredibly fast gameplay and ultra-realistic combat. It’s also a game where you can’t really aim properly unless you play the sniper.

It’s not just a pretty game, either. It’s groundbreaking. Never before in the history of gaming has an FPS title appealed to children as young as eight. It’s cute and it’s funny. And when it was released it almost (but not quite) managed to wean millions of twelve-year-olds off Call of Duty. You see, Blizzard said there's no blood (apart from the bits with blood in it) in Overwatch, so kids can play it. And the headshots? That’s just part of growing up.

Tracer was probably the very first Overwatch character anyone saw. She’s cute and funny too. And she has a Dick Van Dyke cockney accent to die for. She’s also lethal, and able to bend time and generally make everyone else’s game a mess. The other characters in Overwatch have their own histories and legends, but Tracer has a ton of backstory.

For example, how could a cold-blooded killer who regularly dispatches enemies with a headshot possibly be so chipper? Why is she the character that gets all the cool skins? And is she alive or dead? We can’t answer the first question, but we have some thoughts on the others.

20 Russia Just Isn't A Fan

via: youtube.com

Russia is big, and it has some beautiful parts to visit, as well as a proud history. Just a shame it hates Tracer.

This is a hate that was sprung from love. An Overwatch webcomic featuring Tracer and her girlfriend was not released in the country. This is because the Russian authorities deemed the comic (which showed Tracer and Emily kissing) to be ‘gay propaganda’. And gay propaganda (even when it features a super cool heroine who talks like the Artful Dodger) is illegal in Russia.

The webcomic was called ‘Reflections’ and we’re pretty certain it didn’t turn millions of readers gay. But Russia could not take that chance. Blizzard pulled the comic away from Russian eyes before it became a problem. Looking on the bright side, at least the webcomic didn't feature a scene where Junkrat and Roadhog kiss (they’re just good friends).

19 A Former Titan

via slashgear.com

Games get cancelled, and sometimes really awesome games are cancelled. Titan was one of the most anticipated Blizzard titles of all time. It was a huge MMO game that allowed players to have non-combat jobs in space alongside the rather more exciting prospect of being able to shoot anything with a pulse (in space).

Just to make this clear, you literally had a job, a day job in the game, the twist being that you could be called up at any moment to go and fight the enemy.

Tracer was based on one of the classes in Titan, called Jumper (other classes included Ranger, Titan, and Juggernaut). That class was originally male. The final transformation into Tracer by Blizzard is (currently) the only shred of evidence the world has that Titan ever existed.

18 She’s Dead (Nearly)

via: qtoptens.com

Tracer is not a living character in the game. However, to truly understand what she is, we highly recommend you spend five years at college learning about particle physics. It's that complicated.

Lena Oxton was a test pilot who had a call sign of ‘Tracer’. Her plane disappeared during a flight and everyone presumed she was dead. She reappeared, suffering from something called ‘chronal dissonance’. This meant she would disappear in time, or something like that. In any case, she was a ‘living ghost’.

Naturally, a gorilla called Winston designed a ‘chronal accelerator’ that allowed her to anchor in the present and also control time. Seriously, a gorilla (he can talk as well).

By the way, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for Physics went to three scientists, for ‘decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves’. We can only assume the gorilla was shortlisted.

17 The Butt Of Controversy

via: forbes.com

Even before Tracer was allowed to become the heroine she is today (and one of the most popular characters in the game) she was a problem. And that problem was all about her bottom.

There are numerous ‘victory poses’ in the game. And Tracer had one, for a few days, where she looked over her shoulder at the player. This was criticised because it was viewed as being a sensual image. Blizzard listened to the criticism.

One critic, writing on the game's Beta feedback forums, commented: ‘What about this pose has anything to do with the character you’re building in Tracer? It’s not fun, it’s not silly, it has nothing to do with being a fast elite killer. It just reduces (Tracer) to another bland female

While there were hundreds of voices on the forum saying this was an overreaction, Blizzard removed the pose.

16 Hoarding All The Event Skins

Via: Youtube.com

Not only is the game safe enough for twelve-year-olds, it also allows those twelve-year-olds to play dress-up with a group of highly-trained killers. Everyone’s happy.

Tracer has had the most skins so far. Events in Overwatch often give players the chance to gain skins for characters. It’s by no means democratic or random in any way. And Tracer has come out on top with the new looks and styles.

Mercy, Roadhog, and Zenyatta have a good number of skins from all events too. But no one has as many as Tracer (according to some very angry people on the Internet forums). We didn't count her skins, unfortunately, because we were busy having a life, but the general consensus online is that she has more than anyone else. And she is pretty much guaranteed at least two every event.

15 Wear A Helmet

via: esportsedition.com

Okay, we all know how ridiculously hard it is to pull off a headshot in most games. Granted, if you’re twelve years old and haven't left your bedroom for three days straight, you’re probably pretty good (as well as being excellent at insulting other player’s mums on COD). But for the rest of us, the headshot is a prize, a lucky shot. The Grail, almost.

This is especially true in Overwatch, where, as we all know, the sniper is the only character class who is able to aim down a scope. But wait, what’s this? There is a whole community of people out there who play Tracer and are expert at... headshots.

Apparently, headshots are incredibly powerful if you use Tracer. However, we haven't quite logged up the two thousand hours of playtime required to master this skill.

Anyway, if you ever take a headshot from Tracer, you’ve lost.

14 A Born Leader

via: paulinepfrance.deviantart.com

Tracer was chosen as the game’s official mascot by Blizzard. She hasn’t been featured as such really (she wouldn’t take too kindly to being classed as something that usually means a guy in a bear suit at a football game), but it’s there. Everyone knows she is the ‘face’ of Overwatch.

If you want to spend your next thirty minutes in Forum Hell seeing what people think about this, be our guest. If not, here’s the skinny on Tracer as a mascot.

Blizzard seems to have chosen her because she is young, and therefore appeals to the age range they have aimed the game at (toddlers upwards, basically). There has also been some speculation that Blizzard wanted a gay character, and she fit the bill.

At the same time, she doesn’t lead the team (a gorilla does). She isn't the most played hero ever (that's Genji).

Go figure.

13 The Eyes Have It

via: youtube.com

Tracer has come a long way since the game started. But she’s come an even longer way since before the game was even released.

Blizzard did not go out of their way to allow people to play a Beta version of the game because they felt it was too ‘rough’ and ‘unattractive’. It certainly isn't either of those two things now, but one particularly interesting fact has come to light recently.

In a very early build of the game, it was literally grey and disgusting, with just a few shapes and one character, Tracer, running the build. However, it was nothing like the Tracer we all know and love. In fact, she raced around the levels shooting lasers out of her eyes.

Yes, we know. That should definitely be some kind of Tracer upgrade in a future DLC. But we can’t see it happening.

12 A Trace Of Tears

via: dailydot.com

The girl has been through a lot. Besides being (kind of) dead, she has also seen some horrible moments in the lore of the Overwatch story. Much of it simply wasn’t pretty. You may well cry in a minute.

The best example of the tough times she has known comes with Doomfist’s origin story. Doomfist (not a pleasant chap, but playable in the game) fights the strike team headed up by the gorilla. The gorilla watches as Doomfist gets rid of Genji as if he is a mere annoyance. Then Tracer squares up. It doesn’t end well.

Doomfist pulls of her time chronal device thingy, in a rather savage fashion, and she starts disappearing. This all happened in the past, children, so you can have sweet dreams tonight. Then Winston (the gorilla in an Iron Man suit) attacks Doomfist. The video ends there (presumably so the gorilla can have a banana or something ).

11 Destined For Greatness

via: Deviantart (dandonfuga)

The massive appeal of Tracer has created an entire movement of fans, legions of kids (and plenty of adults) who are desperate to show their love for the hero.

This has meant lots of interesting things have happened, from cosplay to tattoos. But one of the best products of fandom has been the artwork online.

Is it good? Of course not. Well, some of it is. There have been special fan art attempts uploaded since her kind of legitimate birth in Heroes of the Storm. And that really surprises us, because we only know two people who have played that game. And they’ve stopped playing.

If you want to get a feel for the good stuff that’s been produced over the years, check out the DeviantArt stuff. Some of it is truly artistic. And some of it is just plain exploitative.

10 The Great Quotes Of Overwatch

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Tracer, like the other characters in the game, has plenty of quotes and one-liners that make her who she is. Bearing in mind the fact that she is the poster hero for the game, she comes up with some truly sensational lines. It’s quip after quip with Tracer.

However, there is one quote that Tracer comes up with that is more of a hindrance to her than most people think. Aside from all the usual banter, the quote ‘Bombs away’ is essentially a cue for her enemies to blast her to smithereens.

Her sticky bomb attack is so powerful that when she unleashes it, she has to leave the area quickly. So when you hear her with this quote, there are two things you may have to focus on.

If you’re on her team, leave. If you’re on the opposite side, leave and then find Tracer while she’s most vulnerable.

9 Blizzard Has A Soft Spot For Her

via: clickcouch.com

Over the last few years, if there is one company (apart from EA) that has received the most criticism from gamers, it’s Blizzard. They’ve been accused of being money-grabbers, and at times they have come across as being shameless thieves (or idea stealers). Just look at Hearthstone, then look at Magic, and you’ll get the idea. The two games are basically the same.

However, people can’t accuse them of being hard on Tracer. To them, she could quite easily have become just another character, like that Gorilla thing. Instead, they have erected a lovely statue of her at Blizzard HQ. You can’t miss it. It’s gigantic.

Yes, people come from far and wide to take a look at the statue for hours (or at least as long as they have before security come along and quietly taser them). It’s a fitting tribute.

8 Marvel Meets Blizzard

via: rorschachthemighty.deviantart.com

This debate has been raging for a number of months now. A lot of fans out there think Tracer belongs in some variant of the Marvel universe, simply because she has characteristics and behaviour that lend themselves well to that particular arena.

Don't hold your breath for a movie, but just remember that Tracer quite easily fit into a comic book (albeit one created by Blizzard) and she has enough one-liners to sit alongside wisecracking heroes like Deadpool (yes, we know he’s not a pleasant chap) or, more likely according to some fans, Spider-Man.

Yep, Tracer has been compared to Spider-Man a lot. She has his speed, has a colourful and bright costume, and always has a positive slant on things. And that’s Spider-Man, most of the time.

7 Her One Weakness

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If you’ve played Tracer for a long time, eventually you will be able to play to her strengths. It is important that she moves quickly, zipping around the maps at the speed of light. This is one key area of difference and the one that top players use to rack up those high scores.

But put her in a long-range firefight, or even a medium range one, and she’s on the back foot. This is because she’s fairly rubbish at a range. So players are bearing this in mind when she’s is utilized.

This works best in certain game modes, and if you’re playing Control, for instance, use her speed to get up close behind the enemy and zap them into next week. Then, use her speed (again) to get out of trouble.

Just don’t ever expect her to shoot someone on the other side of the map.

6 The Map She Was Born To Rule

via: youtube.com

Tracer has weaknesses. She’s super cool and all that, but certain situations and places in the game are just not friendly to her. When it comes to game types, she is pretty good at all of them in the hands of a skilled player. Her ability to move quickly makes her perhaps one of the best flankers in the game.

Regarding maps, you have to tread a little carefully. Some maps are better than others. There’s nothing worse than finding yourself in a tight spot with Tracer because you’ve been pinned down in a choke point. Her lack of big firepower and any real defense makes her vulnerable.

However, top players always come back to one map in particular when talking about Tracer being a good choice. Oasis is a popular map anyway, but with Tracer’s play style it’s a godsend. Just don't stand still, whatever you do.

5 The Secret To Her Training

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Okay, no matter how hard you try and no matter how many years you train at combat, you’re never going to learn how to warp time. Unless you are good friends with a gorilla called Winston.

Tracer learned her incredible combat skills (including her absolute inability to be any good at long range combat) from a chap called Genji. Yes, that Genji.

Whilst in training at Overwatch headquarters, Winston chose Genji to be her sparring partner. We can only assume that her sparring session involved plenty of jumping and running, as well as intense study in the dark arts of talking like a Pearly Queen. In any case, she learned to fight with him, and her skills have been showing parts of this education ever since.

So next time you see Genji in a match, you should be able to spot, er... traces of Tracer.

4 Giving Other Players A Breakdown

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Tracer has the potential to bring absolute meltdown to a game. This is quite understandable because she moves around like a hummingbird. Or to be more precise, like a hummingbird that has imbibed more than the recommended amount of energy drinks.

Essentially, her mad speed of movement and her inability to stay in any place (or timeframe) for long means that most players find it to be a living Hell to have her around. And that sometimes applies to teammates too.

Criticisms in various forums (we’re looking at you, Reddit) always seem to focus on ways to kill her or ways to block her out of a player’s mind. Obviously, her speed and her Ultimate make her most annoying to opposing players. To the point of despair.

It’s all understandable. We do have some advice for players who can’t beat her though. Get more practice in. She isn't going away.

3 Flip It And Reverse It

via: youtube.com

You know back in the days of long-playing records (for anyone who wasn’t alive then, they were big black discs that played music) when people would reverse songs to hear subliminal messages? Tracer’s kind of part of that right now.

Or rather, if you reverse play her rewind sound and then speed it up, and play it back at half speed, you hear an actual song. It’s a bit of an Easter egg, but the good news is that there are plenty of videos out there which show you the result. You don't have to buy super high-quality audio equipment to get the effect.

And the song is pretty cool. What’s really interesting here though is the idea of Tracer being so hyper that she has a song playing in her head that you can only really hear when you literally warp time.

2 That Big Tracer Theory? Sorry...

via: youtube.com

A huge and wonderfully convincing fan theory about Tracer surfaced a little while ago. Everyone who loved the character took it on board and pretty much became convinced that it was true.

The theory is that Tracer was immortal. This was accepted by a horde (obvious Blizzard link there) of fans. They lapped it up, probably because they needed something to hold on to when they realized that Tracer is basically a semi-ghost type character.

However, one of the writers for Overwatch poured cold water on that idea pretty quickly. The lead writer for the game, Michael Chu, squashed the rumor by saying she was not immortal, or ‘effectively immortal’. No, we don't know what that means either.

So she doesn't age even though she flies back and forth through time. That doesn't make her immortal though.

1 She's Basically A Slave

via: youtube.com

Now, this is one of these long-developed fan theories that has not been given any weight by Blizzard or any other party, so we’ll send it out there. Once you see what it is, we think you’ll realize we may be onto something.

For all of this to work, you have to basically accept the fact that Winston (the gorilla) is actually an evil character. The theory says that Winston, and Overwatch in general, has attached the chronal accelerator to her so that she can be controlled. She is, therefore, a slave, someone Winston uses and can get rid of whenever he needs to.

Of course, it could just be that Winston wanted to save her life and keep her in one era, but it does seem a little weird that she has to wear that thing all the time or disappear...