Overwatch Open Beta Available Right Now

• written by Krist Duro
Overwatch Open Beta Available Right Now

The world needs heroes like you. Battle wages across the planet, with teams of heroes clashing in city streets, ancient temples, and towering factories.  It’s been a while since you’ve been on the frontline, though, so we ripped out the most important pages from your Overwatch Training Manual: 

HOW TO BE A HERO RULE #15

Choose Your Hero, Form A Team

Overwatch has 21 playable heroes to choose from. You can switch heroes at any time during a match. Overwatch features a variety of unique heroes, from an augmented soldier vigilante, to a katana-wielding ninja cyborg, to a relentless adventuring climatologist, and so much more! No two heroes are the same. But to succeed as a team, you need the right balance of heroes from the four main classes: offense, defense, support, and tank.

Meet the Heroes.

HOW TO BE A HERO RULE #74

Aim Your Weapons at the Enemy

Do you remember how to pull a trigger, hero? Left click to fire your primary weapon. Right click to fire your slightly stronger secondary weapon. Yes, now you’re getting the hang of it--there may just be hope for you yet! If you press F1, the key bindings for other important controls, including your special and ultimate abilities will appear. Let’s take Soldier 76 for example, pushing F1 will reveal this vigilante’s arsenal of tactics and lethal abilities:

This is the set of tools you must master in order to unlock your hero’s full potential. 

HOW TO BE A HERO RULE #11

Win the Objective

Pack up your gear, you’ll be traveling across the globe on important missions with your comrades. There are four types of game matches: Escort, Assault, Control, or Assault/Escort. Learn more about these team-based objectives, like the Temple of Anubis or Hollywood, here.

If you ever get lost in the fray of battle, just follow the Attack or Defend markers on screen to guide you to the action. Remember to coordinate with your team to effectively capture critical objectives or defend your team’s control over the battlefield.

HOW TO BE A HERO RULE #4

Play/coordinate/move/fight with your team

Overwatch is a team game. That means you’ll rarely (if ever) get as far on your own as you will with the help of the five other people playing with you. You need your comrades and your comrades need you. Communicate with your teammates to gain the upper hand against your foes. Trying to push into the enemy defenses to seize that last objective? If you have Reinhardt on your team, it’d be a good idea to ask him to lead the charge so the rest of you can hide behind the safety of his massive shield. Or maybe Zarya is the one tanking for your team. In that case, you’ll want to wait for her signal to prepare your most devastating attacks and aim them towards the center of her Graviton Surge ultimate ability. Proper coordination is the key to unleashing these kinds of devastating “wombo combos.”

HOW TO BE A HERO RULE #32

Stay on the Move, and Stay Out of Sight

Don’t be a sitting duck! The biggest mistake you can make in a shooter is standing still – well, unless your Bastion. Or maybe Torbjorn. Staying in one place gives the enemy a chance to line up the kill shot. A moving target is a hassle for ranged heroes. Mobility is an ally that closes the gap between your hero and your target. Always be running, strafing, crouching, jumping. Don’t forget to use alleyways, alcoves, ledges and other hidden routes on the maps to your advantage, and sneak up on your enemy to win the objective.

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