Playstyle

Genji is highly offensive flanker who makes use of a mobile kit in order to wreak havoc behind enemy lines. Due to his unique kit, he can perform well in many different compositions, but he thrives when playing with characters that promote aggression, such as Zarya or Zenyatta. Genji has a high skill cap and, due to that, feels extremely rewarding once mastered. Once you perfect his combos and learn to engage properly, you'll become a force to be reckoned with in competitive play.

Pros:

Extremely mobile
High close to mid-range damage
Can escape fights easily
Super fun due to his active playstyle
Can demolish enemy teams after lots of practice

Cons:

Semi-slow charging ultimate
Takes a lot of practice to perform
Poor long range damage
Doesn't do much to tanks
Doesn't synergize with many teams

Abilities

Cyber-Agility (Passive)

Grants Genji the ability to double jump
Genji can climb walls

This passive is extremely useful as it allows Genji to position himself either above or behind the enemy team. Furthermore, the double jumping in team fights will make you highly evasive, so I recommend doing this constantly. This can make your left click a bit harder to aim, but allows you to dish out damage with your right click while not taking damage yourself.

If you want to learn all the useful flanking routes I highly recommend watching this video.

Shurikens (Left Click)

28 Damage Per Shot
Shoots 3 Projectiles in a line
Can headshot

This ability won't see much use compared to your right click, but it's good in some niche situations. Since it shoots projectiles in straight line, you can use it to spam out corners and hopefully charge up your ultimate. In addition, versus heroes that have big hit boxes, such as Roadhog, or aren't mobile at all, you can use this instead of your right click, as you'll hopefully hit all 3 shots. I'd recommend doing this only at long to mid ranges, as your right click is strictly better at close range.

Fan of Blades (Right Click)

28 Damage Per Shot
Throws 3 Projectiles in an arc
Can headshot

This makes up a major portion of Genji's damage, as it excels at close range. Try sneaking into the backline and using this close range on low health or priority targets. Since the ability fires in an arc, if you are melee range of the target you can hit them with all 3 shurikens, dealing massive damage. Since you are close to the target anyway, aiming for a head is a good choice and will deal over half the health of any damage or support hero if all three projectiles connect. While Genji isn't a great tank buster, a well-aimed Fan of Blades at close range will eventually wear down even the tankiest of heroes.

Swift Strike (Shift)

50 Damage
8 Second Cooldown
14 Meter Range
Eliminations reset the cooldown

This ability is a huge part of what Genji is, as it allows you do deal damage to an enemy and still escape safely. If you feel confident that you can survive for a few seconds without this, you can use it to dash into a squishy hero that doesn't have an escape, score an elimination, and then dash out of the fight. Genji is great at snowballing due to the fact that once you get a kill you have the option to latch on another target. Distracting, or killing, the enemy backline is the best use of this ability, and with practice you'll learn how to properly engage. This ability also comes in handy when it comes to flanking, as its long range will allow you to position yourself behind enemy lines.

Deflect (E)

Reflects attacks in front of Genji for 2 seconds
8 Second Cooldown
Have to aim reflected shots

This ability is one of the reasons Genji has such a high skill cap. Proper usage of this ability can decide whether you live or die, and can even turn around teamfights. Keep in mind that beam abilities, such as Zarya's Particle Cannon, Winston's Tesla Cannon, Symmetra's Photon Projector, and Mei's Endothermic Blaster will go right through this. The hit box on this ability is extremely large, but it won't protect you from shots coming for behind you. Backpedaling out of bad situations with Deflect up is sometimes a better choice than just running out. When sheathing Genji's Dragonblade, the Deflect animation will be cancelled, so don't use it at the end of your ultimate. Now let's go over how to properly use your Deflect in many different matchups.

Widowmaker: This one will take some practice, but can end up working like a charm. It usually takes Widow around a second or two to aim, and she must stand fairly still while doing so. If you still have time to react while she has her sights on you, stand still to bait her shot, then quickly Deflect. Reflecting this back on her can deal massive damage, or even score you a free kill if it headshots.

Soldier: Soldier doesn't have much to deflect, as his left click comes in burst of small damage, but reflecting his Helix Rockets can be useful. He'll most likely only using this at you if you are fairly close, which makes reflecting it back at him even easier. Even if you miss the shot, he has no more damage to burst you down with, and you should get a free kill. I wouldn't recommend trying to Deflect his ultimate, as the duration is much longer than yours and most likely won't kill him.

Zarya: Reflecting Zarya's Graviton Surge is possible, but not very likely to happen. Zarya's ultimate is much like Hanzo's, it starts off as a deflectable projectile, and then blossoms into the black hole. The voice line doesn't happen until it is almost fully activated however, and the travel time is much faster. If you are quick enough, or lucky enough, you can Deflect the second you see her shoot out a red orb, and this should reflect her ultimate. If it happens too quickly and you still haven't used your Deflect, you should use it now, as the enemy team will be looking to clear your team with heavy amounts of damage and hopefully you can mitigate some of it.

Ana: You'll want to use Deflect versus Ana in situations where you're chasing her down, and her only chance of escape is using a Sleep Dart. Although you may not hit her with it, at the very least you should score a free kill.

Reaper: Reaper needs to be close to you to deal damage, so reflecting the damage from his shotguns back at him can be devastating. However, the better use of your Deflect versus Reaper is against his ult. Death Blossom fires bullets out in a circle, so if your teammates are behind you or close to you on the left or right, they have a much higher chance of survival. This most likely won't kill Reaper, but you may save a team fight.

Roadhog: I wouldn't recommend going toe to toe with a Roadhog, but cancelling his hook can make it a bit easier. It is on a shorter cooldown then Deflect though, so you shouldn't stay in the fight long enough that he can get a second one. Much like against Reaper, deflecting both his close range shotgun blast, and ultimate can deal some nice damage while reducing your teams damage intake.

Hanzo: Deflect gets put to good use versus Hanzo since all of his abilities shoot some form of projectile. Hanzo is usually looking to fight at medium range, and if you can reflect an arrow back at him he'll either be dead or close to it. At close range, Deflect's huge hit box will send back a Scatter Arrow shot at the ground in front of you, hopefully bouncing back right toward the Hanzo. It's actually not as hard as you think to reflect a Hanzo ult, as it has quite the charge up time. Once the voice-line starts, you have about a second to get in front of him, and another half a second to start deflecting. Dragonstrike starts as a basic arrow and shoots forward eventually turning into a dragon. You need to be deflecting while it's still in its base form.

Reinhardt: Your Deflect obviously can't send Reinhart's melee attacks back at him, but it will make them deal no damage. Additionally, if you are sitting at a chokepoint on attack, you should try to deflect Reinhardt's Fire Strike. This will slow down the rate at which he charges his ultimate, and hopefully increase the rate at which you get yours.

Bastion: Bastion dishes out huge amounts of damage, so he makes a perfect target to deflect into. Try to flank him, so you don't have to use your Deflect until you are melee range of him. Once in position, if he starts firing Deflect while running in front of him. If he doesn't immediately stop, he'll instantly destroy himself. You can also send back the projectiles from his ultimate, but I suggest you run instead of trying to do that.

Pharah: Pharah is immobile while channeling her ultimate, so you can dash in front of her during Rocket Barrage and Deflect. This should prevent your team from taking damage and kill her instantly.

McCree: The first use of Deflect against McCree is versus his Flashbang. If timed correctly, you eliminate his one chance of escape and stun him at the same time. There is a small hit box above your Deflect in which McCree can still land his stun, so beware if you are playing versus a skilled McCree. The most common use of Deflect against McCree is his ultimate Deadeye. You can wait a second or two until he is locked onto your teammates and then run in front of it and deflect. This should kill McCree and save your team. His ultimate fires from his right to left, so if you are at long range keep that in mind.

Tracer: This is more of any extremely niche usage over anything else, but you have about a 0.5 second window to reflect Tracer's Pulse Bomb. No one is that fast, but you may end up either predicting it or getting lucky.

Dragonblade (Q)

Attack with your sword for 6 seconds
Deals 120 per swing
Resets Swift Strike on ability use

When you decide to use this ultimate, you should have either have a priority target in your range or the ability to get there. When you cast Dragonblade your Swift Strike will be reset, so you can easily engage from mid-range by dashing in. Two slashes should deal with most supports and damage dealers, allowing you to continue to slash and dash through the enemy team. Since Swift Strike resets on kills, you can easily jump from target to target dealing massive damage. If possible, you need to clear the enemy Mercy first, which shouldn't be hard due to how squishy she is. If you team has an Ana, try to get her to Nano Boost you. The increase in damage will make you one shot any hero with 200 or less health, and the speed makes you unmatched in mobility. Zarya's Graviton Surge also pairs well with Dragonblade since you can hit multiple targets per swing, and hit through Reinhardt's shield. Due to its short 6 second duration, it's not advised to try killing tanks as it will use up almost your whole ult.

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Common Ability Combos

While Genji's combo has been nerfed in the past, there are many more that still prove effective today.

Get Close>Double Jump Over Enemy>Right Click Headshot>Dash Down Onto Them>Melee - This will deal 136 damage even if you only hit one of your shurikens.

Dash Through Enemy>Ultimate>Slash Them>Dash Through Them - This deals 206 damage and gives you yet another dash.

Right Click 3 Times> Dash>Melee - Depending on how many shots hit and if you headshot, this should kill any 200 health hero at close range.

Good Matchups/Counters

A lot of the information from proper Deflect usage should apply here, but hopefully this will guide you on whether or not to play Genji versus the enemy team and give you a short explanation on how to deal with them. All of these good matchups/counters can vary depending on skill of both you and your opponent, so take them with a grain of salt.

Good Versus:

Soldier: Soldier is fast, but his only chance of survival against you is landing his Helix Rockets. If you either deflect it or he misses, you can then take the opportunity to pick up a free kill.

Bastion: Either spam him down with your left click or deflect his damage back at him.

McCree: Try to either not be in range of his Flashbang or just deflect it. After this just double jump and spam him out with your right click, finishing with your dash.

Widowmaker: Use your passive and shift to get behind her and then just spam her out with your right click, as she can't do much here.

Torbjorn: If his turret is up just try to continuously fire at it with your left click until it dies. If the turret is dead, or Torbjorn is not near it, just stay medium range so you can't get one shot by his shotgun and you should eventually kill him with your right click.

Junkrat: Don't get baited into his trap. Stay medium range so you don't get hit with his left click and he shouldn't be able to get away.

Supports: I'm putting this all into one explanation because they all play pretty much the same. Run into the back line and start spamming with your right click. If they are Zenyatta or Ana, Deflect until you close in on them and then Swift Strike to them. After that, you can just continue to spam right click until they die.

Pharah: Deflecting her projectiles back into her is tricky to do, but once she's out of the air she can do nothing versus you. Either left click if she isn't super high up, or right click her on the ground. If she's low, you can always just dash her even if she's in the air due to its semi-long range.

Don't Pick Fights With:

Roadhog: His hook has a lower cooldown then your Deflect, so eventually you'll get pulled.

Reinhardt: Even if you can eventually wear him down, you could've easily taken out more priority targets in that time. If you do choose to fight, double jump over his shield and try to headshot him down.

Zarya: With Zarya's shield, you'll just end up charging her energy. If you do choose to fight her, try to stop firing when her shield is activated then keep jumping around spamming right click and dashing through for the finish.

Winston: Stay away at all costs. Your Deflect will not help you with his primary fire, and if you dash away he can jump to follow you. Additionally, he can shield himself from your projectiles.

D.Va: D.Va has a huge hit box, but most of the time she is just fighting you to distract you from the rest of her team.

Mei: Mei can freeze you through your Deflect as well as stall you with her Ice Block. It's almost never worth it to try to box a Mei as you'll expend a lot of time doing so.

Any hero not mentioned here is either a decent matchup, or too dictated by the skill of the player for an explanation to be useful. If any situation you should be using the basic combos in this guide and staying mobile at all times.

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When You Should Play Genji

After practicing for a while, you'll find that Genji can perform well in most scenarios as you can change up your style of play. However, for people just starting him, I recommend only playing him on attack and taking time to learn the best flanking routes on each map. Look at the matchup list in this guide and see what the enemy team has and it should help you in most scenarios. Genji becomes much better if your team has one or more of the following: Zarya, Zenyatta, Ana, Winston. Zenyatta and Winston can provide Genji a platform to play even more aggressively, while Ana and Zarya's ultimates combine extremely well with Dragonblade.

Further Resources

I hope this guide has transformed you into a pro Genji, but if you still have more to learn here are some great resources that might help you do so.