In this article I want to look into the Defense class. This class is essential to Overwatch and your teams' composition. With the game launched, now is the time to decide which hero will suit your playstyle. So to help you decide I'm going to go through each hero in the Defense class and outline their abilites, weapons and when to use them, starting with Bastion.

Bastion

States:

Bastion has two states; Recon and Sentry. By default, Bastion is in the Recon state, which gives him the ability to move around with a sub-machine gun that holds twenty bullets. In this form, Bastion is a large target and has slow movement speed. Using one of his abilities allows him to switch into Sentry state. During this state, Bastion cannot move and becomes a turret holding two hundred bullets. While in this state, Bastion can look around three hundred sixty degrees and fire his turret weapon which deals massive damage to enemies.

Abilities:

Bastion’s first ability is touched on above. It is called Reconfigure, which simply switches Bastion from Recon state to Sentry state. His second ability is Self-Repair. This ability can be used to regain health points after Bastion has taken damage. During this ability Bastion cannot shoot or move, so make sure you are in cover as the ability can be interrupted if you start taking damage. Bastion’s ultimate is another change in state called Tank. Once in this state, Bastion fires missiles out of the barrel of his new form. Also, his movement speed is greatly increased and his damage output is even greater. Once the timer has finished on your ultimate, Bastion will return to Recon state, so try to time your ultimate finish when you’re not in a dangerous position!

When to use:

Bastion is a fantastic defense hero. With the correct positioning and the help of other teammates, Bastion can destroy the attacking team. During the open beta, the Reinhardt Shield and Bastion Sentry state was a common duo in choke points in the maps. On attack, players have chosen to play Bastion due to his high level of damage output. However, due to his state changes and becoming immobile during sentry state, I found players were being caught out repositioning to ensure they have the maximum damage output in sentry state. If you want to take Bastion on the attacking side, he is best positioned on a moving payload in sentry state with a Reinhardt shield taking most of his incoming damage.

Mei

Weapons:

Mei’s primary weapon is her Endothermic Blaster. When the player uses the primary fire button, the Blaster fires a beam of ice at enemy players. This jet of ice doesn’t cause a lot of damage. However, if the players aim stays true, the enemy player will become slowed and will eventually freeze in position. Her secondary fire shoots out an Icicle which deals a decent amount of damage to enemy players. However, the damage does fall off when at range.

Abilities:

The first ability which Mei has access to is her Cyro-Freeze; this will encase Mei in an ice block, making it impossible for her to take damage. While in the ice block, Mei will regenerate one hundred health points. Mei’s second ability is Ice Wall. When activating, the player can see a line on the floor where the wall will spawn. This wall can block off a pathway from the enemy team. Also, if the enemy team decides to cause the wall damage, the player will be rewarded with blocking points. Mei’s ultimate is Blizzard. This ultimate isn’t a high damage output but it has a big area of effect and if multiple enemies are in the zone they will be frozen. If timed well and, and if you have good teammates to take out the enemy team once they are frozen, this ultimate can be one of the best in the game. It is very similar to Zarya's ultimate where, if your team isn't there to support you with the execution, the ultimate is pretty useless.

When to use:

Mei was a popular choice in the open beta due to her win ratio in one versus one fights. Her ability to freeze heroes in place for a couple of seconds, leaving them exposure for the kill, was a great counter for heroes such as Tracer, who rely on their speed to avoid enemy players. Mei is more effective on Control maps as her ultimate can cover a large amount of the capture point. This can make for an easy retake or claim for your team. Mei does have to be careful of a good Widowmaker, as she can one shot kill Mei with a headshot. Also when playing Mei, you have to be mindful of her movement speed and the fact she has no escape abilities. Due to this, her effectiveness on payload maps is lessened as she has the ability to win one on one fights, but she doesn’t have the damage output or mobility to push a payload forward. Also, once her ultimate has been deployed, it cannot be moved. This may be thrown in front of a moving payload and, by the time the ultimate has finished, the payload has already gone past.

Torbjorn

Weapons:

Torbjorn’s primary weapon is his Rivet Gun. This gun has two firing options. With the primary fire button, the Rivet Gun fires one bullet at a time with a slow travel time and a significant bullet drop at distance. The secondary fire is shotgun-like which uses more ammo than the primary fire and causes more damage at close range, with the spread increasing at distance. Torbjorn has a secondary weapon which is his Forge Hammer. This hammer is mainly used for repairing and upgrading Torbjorn’s turrets, but it can be used as a melee weapon.

Abilities:

The first ability Torbjorn is able to use straight after spawning is his turret. Once placed in an area, the turret will spawn at level one. The level one version of the turret has a small amount of health points and a slow rate of fire, so if you have time whip out your forge hammer and upgrade it to level two. Once it's level two, the turret has double the health points and a higher rate of fire. Once at level two, the turret cannot be manually upgraded by the player anymore. To achieve level 3 on the turret, the player has to activate their ultimate, but more on that later. Torbjorn’s second ability is to provide Armor Packs for the rest of his teammates. To do this, the player has to collect scrap metal from the environment which will be dropped by heroes being eliminated and your turret, if it is destroyed. Once you have collected fifty scrap, which is two pieces, you can throw out an Armour pack which will increase your team mate’s life by a small amount.

Now for the ultimate ability named Molten Core. This ultimate not only has an effect on Torbjorn himself but also his turret. Once activated, the turret will achieve rank three, giving the turret more health points and increased fire rate. This can have a devastating effect to an enemy team push, making short work of low health point heroes. During Molten Core, Torbjorn’s Rivet Gun rate of fire also increases if you can get up close and personal with the secondary fire. This combination can make short work of most heroes.

When to use:

When on the defense and defending a capture point, Torbjorn is a very strong pick. However, this is all dependent on your placement of his turret; if placed in an area where the turret is slightly covered but can still contribute to damaging the enemy team, you can be a key asset to the team. Without his turret up, Torbjorn is a weak hero at best with his low rate of fire weapon and slow movement, so keeping your turret alive while running around the environment and picking up scrap metal is essential. Torbjorn is a massive advantage when defending if your positioning is good, whether this be with the Turret or Armour Packs. Placing Armour packs at your spawn is a decent tactic as teammates will see them straight away. However, a common tactic was to leave the packs on the capture points so during fights your teammates would pick them up, which could turn the fight into their favour. Torbjorn is a difficult hero to use as he is all about positioning and timing; if you mistime your Molten Core ultimate, it can take a while to fully charge if the enemy team take down your turret. Good timing of Molten Core, however, can turn a fight into your team's favour. Personally, I have found it most effective when the enemy team is pushing a capture point or payload closer to the final destination, as this is a perfect time to pop the ultimate with your team mates supporting you with heal or a shield for your turret. This can stop the enemy team from taking the point or progressing down the map.

Hanzo

Weapons:

Hanzo’s iconic Storm Bow is his weapon of choice. Holding down the primary fire will increase the arrows damage output. However, drawing the bow will massively decrease Hanzo’s movement speed. This can lead to him becoming an easier target for the enemy's Widowmaker or Hanzo, if you are slowly peaking a corner with a bow at full pull back.

Abilities:

His first ability is his Sonic Arrow. Once fired at a surface, the Sonic Arrow will emit a pulse which detects enemies for your whole team to see. This ability is a great asset for your team and yourself. However, when using this ability, think of where your teammates may want to have vision assistance; this may be a specific point in the map or a flanking route to see if it’s clear to attack. One of the main benefits of this ability is that you and your team can see the enemies through walls and this can be great when combined with Hanzo’s ultimate. Hanzo’s second ability is his Scatter Arrow, which splits into many others and will bounce off any solid surface. These arrows cannot headshot the enemy players. Another passive ability which Hanzo has is Wall Climb. This is a simple ability which allows the player to climb walls by holding down the jump button. His ultimate is Dragonstrike, which is probably the most iconic ultimate in the game, with the two spiralling dragons coming out of his bow and travelling towards the enemies’ positions. There are some key elements to this ultimate, firstly, the ultimate can pass through walls which can be great in close quarters and take your enemies by surprise. Due to the loud audio and the huge dragons coming your way enemies can easily dodge the ultimate if seen. The dragons will continue in a straight line until the edge of the game world. The ultimate isn’t an instant kill if it comes into contact with an enemy, it takes health points off at a high rate. This also includes shields as the dragons will pass through the shields. However, remember that the dragons will do no damage to a Tobjorn’s turret or a Symmetra’s teleporter.

When to use:

Hanzo is a viable pick on most maps. He has a decent damage output if the player connects with the standard arrows. Hanzo can be seen as filling the Offensive, Support and Defense hero if used correctly. Firstly, the Offensive side of Hanzo is if a player has good aim and can judge the flight of the arrow for the long range engagements. When close and personal with the ability of Scatter Arrow, a Hanzo can engage multiple enemies and win. In terms of Support, Hanzo can provide the vision of select areas with the Sonic Arrow, which can provide teammates with routes to exploit or enemies to single out and take out. Hanzo’s strength is defense overall, as his Sonic Arrow can give your team key information on where the enemy team is attacking. His Scatter Arrow can be used to finish off enemies who run into small rooms, going to pick up health after an attack. While his Dragonstrike can make ensure the enemy team doesn’t push and buy time for your teammates to get into position or get back to the capture point.

Junkrat

Weapons:

Junkrat’s main weapon is his Frag Launcher. This weapon fires out explosive grenades at your enemies and has good range to attack from a distance. The grenades will explode on impact with an enemy player or will detonate on the third bounce off any solid surface, meaning you can bounce these grenades into your enemies’ path without them being seen.

Abilities:

Junkrat’s first ability is his Concussion Mine. This mine has the ability to knock you and your opponent back by quite some distance. Not only does it knock your opponent back, it also deals a good amount of damage. This mine is a perfect escape tool for Junkrat; if an enemy player is shooting you from behind, quickly drop a mine in their direction using your secondary fire button, to launch yourself and possibly them out of the way. This ability can also be used by Junkrat to gain access to areas he can’t normally access. This may be a roof or part of the environment which require Wall Climb or a Grappling Hook to get too.

His second ability is Steel Trap. This ability is very similar to Widowmaker’s Venom Mine. If triggered, the enemy player is held in the trap for three seconds and has damage dealt during the entire time they are trapped. If the Trap is destroyed, the player is alerted to this. This can be an indication that an enemy player is trying to flank your team.

Using these abilities together is a common thing in the Open Beta. By setting a Steel Trap on top of a Concussion Mine, if a hero with two hundred health points or less was caught in your trap, you set the mine off and they would be dead.

Junkrat has one final passive ability which is Total Mayhem. This is triggered when Junkrat is killed. He drops frag grenades on his body which deals three hundred damage to any hero close enough.

Junkrat’s ultimate is Rip-Tire. This ultimate can be a fantastic damage dealer but it can also be a huge let down. Once activated, the player has no control over Junkrat. Instead, they have control of the Tire which has been spawned. This Tire can deal a huge amount of damage to multiple heroes in a fairly big area. However, the current issue while using this Tire is that the enemy team can shoot and destroy the Tire with ease, as it only has one hundred health points. Also, further issues with the ultimate is how loud the Tire is. Once activated, it is very hard not to hear the incoming Tire.

When to use:

Junkrat is mainly used on Defense as he can spam his frag grenades into choke points of the map and cause the enemy team a lot of hassle. Mainly, Junkrat was used on Control maps as he can spam the capture point area with a lot of frag grenades from a distance, when your team is about to push in. Once on the point, Junkrat is vulnerable due to the lack of escape mechanics he has. If your Concussion Mine is on cooldown you can pretty much guarantee your death.

Junkrat can be used on Attack side as well, however, there are better hero options. He is great at taking out Defense heroes with shields or who are stationary such as Reinhardt and Bastion. The ability to bounce the frag grenades off walls can mean you can get the grenades behind a shield, or effect a Bastion’s health without him seeing you.

Junkrat is best used from the back line and spamming his grenades into choke points with maps. Mainly, the aim is to take out support heroes and inflict damage on as many heroes as possible.

Widowmaker

Weapons:

Widow’s primary weapon is her Widow’s Kiss. This gun has two firing modes: by holding down the primary fire button without aiming down the sights, the gun is a sub-machine gun with a small spread. However, aiming down the sights is where Widowmaker’s damage output is at its strongest. Once aimed down sight, there is a percentage increase on how much damage the bullet does. The charge can reach a maximum of 100%. As soon as the player fires or un-scopes, the charge is reset to zero.

Abilities:

Widow’s first ability is her Venom Mine. This mine can be placed on any surface of the environment. This mine can be destroyed by the enemy team, which will send an alert to the player once it has been destroyed. There is also an alert once the mine has been triggered. If an enemy triggers the mine, the enemy player will slowly lose a small amount of health for a small duration of time. This can easily kill an injured enemy hero.

The second ability is Widow’s Grappling Hook. This ability is key for any Widowmaker, as this can get her into positions other heroes can’t access. Also, this ability can be used to escape a situation if required.

Widow’s ultimate is Infra-Sight. This is basically a wall hack for you and all your teammates. Once activated you and your team can see the exact positions of the enemy team through walls and other obstacles. This ability can be used to great effect when planning a push or holding on to a point.

When to use:

Widow is primarily used on the Defense side of any map. She can give a lot of information to her team on enemy positions and movement. Her abilities can also be used to detect when an enemy is on a flanking mission, as the mine will indicate once it has been destroyed or triggered. Her damage output is also a key element to her being picked. Currently, a one shot to Zenyatta’s chest will kill him if the charge is at 100%. Widow can make short work of a lot of low health point heroes while also contributing a lot of damage to tank class heroes.

On the Attack side, a Widowmaker can be used to counter defense heroes such as Bastion and Torbjorn, due to both having to be stationary to cause a lot of damage, either with Torbjorn's turret or Bastion in sentry state. Due to her high damage output with a fully charged shot, she has the advantage over a Hanzo. When picking Widow on the attack side, your aim should be to take out the support heroes at the back of the defending team and winning the sniper battle. By using her abilities, it ensures that the defending team doesn't try to push around the back of your attack. You should use your ultimate to help your team and not just yourself.

In conclusion, although these heroes are classified as defensive heroes, they can be used effectively on the attacking side as long as they are used correctly and your team supports you. Some of my personal favourite heroes are in this classification as they are versatile and fun to play with.

See you on the battlefield heroes!

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