Editor note: this game mode is not available on the live servers yet. It is expected to become available after the next patch.

The release of the Arcade lobby on the Overwatch Public Test Realm has given players access to a brand new gamemode, Mystery Hero 1v1s. This mode pits players against each other using random heroes on a map with no health pickups, and no rules except the first player to win 5 rounds is declared the victor. Each round will feature a different hero from the Overwatch roster, and every duel is a mirror match - meaning both players will play the same hero. It's a test of skill and strategy, and it demands that players have an understanding of how each hero functions. Today I'm offering you the tips and tricks that you should know for every playable hero in the mode, giving you the highest chance of success in each matchup.

OFFENSE HEROES

Genji

Genji has no sustain, so every bit of poke you land is important. Harass with shurikens in order to give yourself a small advantage. While you are at range, you can safely Deflect without fear of it being exploited. As you move closer to one another, it’s time to start relying on your most consistent damage tool - Swift Strike. Swift Strike offers 50 damage if you tag your enemy with it, and it cannot be deflected. Dash first, dash accurately and remember that you can dash through a Deflect to give yourself time to avoid the enemy dash. When the enemy is low on health, keep your distance and wait for your dash to finish the job, as a low health Genji can still combo you out with headshots and his dash.

McCree

As with Genji and all other heroes that lack a way to self-heal, poke is the key to victory. There’s a little less nuance to McCree though - the more accurate hitscan player will usually win. If you are not confident in your aim at mid-range, use the high ground and cover to try get yourself in distance for the Combat Roll/Flashbang/Fan the Hammer combo. It’s a gamble, but if you are against a more accurate opponent it’s probably the best chance you have. If you feel like you have the range advantage, keep your distance at all costs, and stay near cover that you can use between shots.

Pharah

Pharah tests your proficiency with projectiles and ability to predict enemy movement. Stay in the air, changing direction often and using your hover jets at random intervals to make yourself harder to predict - keep in mind, however, that changing direction or hovering too often will cause you to effectively stay in one place, making you an easy target. An easy shot you can land is done by waiting until an enemy is running out of hover jet fuel - you can aim at the ground where they will land for easy splash damage and follow up shots. If you are in that situation yourself, use your Concussive Blast to knock yourself back from your landing position to avoid taking a hit and give yourself time to get back in the air.

Reaper

Reaper does have his own form of self-healing, but it’s of no use in a 1v1 simply because the round is over after a kill has occurred. Treat him as if his sustain did not exist, and aim to poke - even at longer ranges where the damage is minimal. When you spawn as Reaper, you want to immediately Shadow Step up to the high ground where you can spot out an enemy and begin poking first. As with McCree, weave between cover between shots and try eke out small advantages as you close the distance for the finishing shots. If you are ahead, don’t get too close - stay outside of close range so that you won’t accidentally get one shot. Play the Reaper matchup slowly and take your time, unless you are losing - then get in close and go for the throat, as you’ll need to play to your win conditions.

Soldier 76

The Soldier 76 mirror match is slightly more complicated - both of you have access to on demand healing, and a mix of sustained and burst damage. Trade using your Pulse Rifle’s primary fire, and remember that your Helix Rockets deal 120 damage - you only need to do 40% of the enemy Soldier’s health if you can land the Rockets. Use Helix Rockets to finish an enemy, not to initiate a fight, or you will encourage the enemy Soldier to drop their Biotic Field. This matchup is a test of your ability to track and quickly dispatch an enemy before they have chance to heal back up. If the enemy Soldier drops his heal early, wait it out and then engage, dropping your Field at the start of the fight - it should give you enough of an advantage to win a forced trade, as long as you can remain accurate.

Sombra

When playing Sombra, hold on to your stealth until 5-10 seconds into the round, as it’s likely that the enemy Sombra will use it early on and appear while you are still stealthed, giving you the advantage. Machine Pistol has a surprisingly long range, so feather your trigger to control the bloom and poke from a distance once you have line of sight. An important step is to keep track of the enemy Sombra’s Translocator. A common tactic is to place a Translocator in a flanking spot and then engage in close quarters only to swap to the flank, to counter this you need to stay aware of where the enemy Sombra’s translocator is so that you can fire at that spot as soon as you see her teleport animation. Hack is really not useful in this matchup because in close quarters the better tracker will win the fight, so don’t waste precious seconds trying to hack and risking having it cancelled. The same goes for Thermoptic Camo - don’t use it mid fight unless you are desperate for an escape and have a wall between you to give yourself time to re-cloak. Remember that once you are under 50% health, the enemy Sombra will have a permanent wallhack - so don’t attempt any surprise attacks.

Tracer

The Tracer matchup is very experience dependent, but there are things you can do to turn things in your advantage. Do not use Recall too easily - if you are taking damage that won’t kill you, let it go through and return fire until you are close to the Recall 3 second limit. This 1v1 will be decided by who fails to regenerate health with Recall - focus on staying near 150 HP and punish the enemy Tracer once her Recall is on cooldown. Blinking side to side can help throw off the enemy Tracer, but make sure you are compensating with your aim for the hops you are going to take, so that you can stay locked on and dealing damage while evading.

DEFENSE HEROES

Bastion

Bastion 1v1s are surprisingly grindy for the most part. Your initial positioning should be on the central high ground, so head up and transform - it could net you a free win if the enemy Bastion is not sure of their positioning. Keep your ears open for sounds of movement, if you don’t hear anything then you can slowly start to move forward and locate the enemy Bastion. Don’t be afraid to take a little damage - your Ultimate will charge just as fast using self-healing as it will by dealing damage. If you are confident in your tracking, try force a Recon mode 1v1. Transforming into Sentry mode and firing will kill faster than the Recon configuration without headshots, so this tactic can be used in open areas where there is no cover for the enemy Bastion to hide from your turret form.

Hanzo

The Hanzo mirror match is very skill dependent, but there are still a few things you can do to swing the odds in your favor. At the start of the round, lob a low-charge Sonic Arrow across the map, aiming for the trajectory to land somewhere around the pavilion outside the enemy spawn. This should give you a bit of free information about the enemy Hanzo’s location, giving you the chance to land your first shot for free. Remember that you can use Scatter Shot relatively reliably up close, but at longer distances it can be used to get free poke damage if you land a lucky bounce off a nearby wall. Aside from that, stay mobile, lead your shots and once you have landed your first hit, aim for center mass since it’s a guaranteed kill and a larger target than the head.

Junkrat

Junkrat 1v1s are similar to the Pharah mirror matches, as they are both dominated by your ability to lead and predict shots. Focus on forcing your opponent into a corner or tight room where you have easy cover, but don’t move in and out of a doorway too often as that can put you in a really easy to hit position. Junkrat’s Concussion Mine is a reliable source of damage in this mode, dealing 120 that can be very difficult to avoid, so use it often. Traps can be used in doorways, as part of a bait-and-one-shot tactic that can be used in an emergency or after taking a solid hit and fearing death by Concussion Mine. High ground is your best friend in these matches, maintain it at all times for a useful advantage.

Mei

As with the McCree duels, you have two approaches when playing Mei vs Mei. The first option favors players who are more comfortable with their ability to land Icicles from a distance, and the focus is on keeping your distance and maintaining high ground. Try to find an angle that will let you keep track of a Mei that ducks behind cover to Ice Block, so you can land a right click as the enemy Mei emerges. Your Ice Wall should be used to keep the enemy Mei outside of close range, or prevent her escape if you have her low and with Ice Block on cooldown. The second approach is to get up close and try and go for the freeze kill. A clever trick for this playstyle is to force the freeze race and then go into Ice Block after around a second, before either of you ends up frozen. Quickly exit the Ice Block and continue freezing to take the enemy Mei by surprise and lock her down - then follow it up with an Icicle to the face for an easy win.

Torbjorn

The Torbjorn mirror is a pretty fun one to play out, and it relies on careful movement and positioning to win. If you are caught out in the open without armor up, you will take irreparable damage that will severely lower your odds of winning. Wait until you have your first armor pack before searching out the enemy Torbjorn, and start the round by getting a Level 2 turret up on the high ground to punish an impatient enemy. Right-click wars are a gamble with Torbjorn, the safest and most effective strategy is to poke with your Left Click in order to shred through an opponent’s defenses or take down their turret to give yourself more time to aim. Be liberal with your turret placement, drop it down at the edge of the balcony or around a corner, even if it will only net you a small amount of damage before it’s destroyed. Remember that Torbjorn’s projectile has a trajectory, so you can hit a turret that is out of sight, as well as take down an enemy Torbjorn that is standing behind his own turret.

Widowmaker

When it comes to dueling with Widowmaker, ability overcomes strategy. Adept flick-shotters and players with grapple-shot skills are vastly favored in the Widowmaker matchup, since it only takes one successful hit to put an enemy out of commission. A common cheese tactic is to grapple jump into the air using the top of the spawn door, then quickly scoping to try and land a fast headshot on the enemy Widow. Even missing and hitting the body is a huge advantage, as this means your follow up shot can hit anywhere and still secure the kill, even if you miss the headshot. It’s a fun shot to take, and worthwhile from a strategic perspective - but be aware that more experienced Widowmaker players will shoot you out of the sky before you have time to get charged up in scope. If the fight progresses into close or mid-range, you can use your Venom Mine to sneak damage through by placing it on a nearby obstacle, or simply aim for a bodyshot and follow up with a few rounds from your unscoped rifle if you are struggling to hit that critical headshot.

TANK HEROES

D.Va

As a hero without a way to regenerate life outside of calling a new Mech, D.Va mirror matches are generally characterised by full blown aggression. Go on the offensive as soon as you see the enemy D.Va, and don’t lift up for a second. Move slowly into close range, and don’t bother with your Defense Matrix - the delay between activating the Matrix and getting back on the damage is enough to cause you to lose a fight in Mech form. Always aim for the head to maximise your damage, and don’t stop firing until the enemy Mech is destroyed - if you started hitting first and also kept attacking for the longest, you will win this fight. Once D.Va is out of her Mech, depending on your remaining health you need to be very careful. Zero Suit D.Va deals a lot of damage, and every hit you take puts her close to regaining a full health Mech, which can quickly turn a fight around. At 100-150 health, you can afford to trade with D.VA outside of her Mech and hit her low, but lower than that you need to play more strategically or you’ll risk losing to a fresh Mech. Use your Defense Matrix to block her damage and Fusion Cannons or Boosters when she is reloading to punch through damage. Even if you need to eject, you should have dealt enough damage to reliably win the trade before she has access to a new Mech.

Reinhardt

In a Reinhardt duel, most players begin with a Fire Strike and charge - this is actually your perfect opportunity for a counter attack. If your opponent Charges from a long distance, predict his line and strafe it, throwing a Fire Strike either during his Charge or at his destination, then line up your Charge to slam him into the wall he stopped at. You’ll also have time to throw one melee attack after your Charge, so if you landed the Fire Strike you’ll be rewarded with a flawless victory. If the enemy Reinhardt doesn’t take the long-distance charge, prepare for a pretty intense fight that will be focused on landing as many Fire Strikes as possible. Don’t stay too close in case of a random Charge or melee hit, be meticulous and focus on landing those Fire Strikes - he can’t regenerate health, so you can afford to take your time.

Roadhog

Roadhog is one of the more common mirror matches to occur in games, so players tend to have a bit more experience with it. The usual advice is ‘don’t hook first,’ and for good reason. If you hook first, you can get the damage from a hook, left click and a melee at the end. If you are on the receiving end of the hook though, you can left click, hook, left click and melee - which is essentially a guaranteed kill, so being patient with your hook is ideal. That being said, if you can kill the enemy Roadhog with just a hook and left click, for example after landing a previous left click or right click from a longer distance, you can hook first in the knowledge that your follow up shot will secure the kill. ‘Don’t hook first’ only stands true if the enemy Roadhog is at max health, so keep that in mind - and keep an eye on how many shots you have left, you don’t want to be throwing a hook without at least one more shot ready to go.

Winston

It’s easy to think that a fight between two Winstons pretty much comes down to luck, but there’s actually one easily overlooked mechanic that can swing a fight in your favor. Two Winstons will likely damage each other at the same rate using the Tesla Cannon, but Winston’s Jump Pack deals extra damage on impact which can be enough to be the difference between a win and a loss. While you should be focused on tracking your opponent with Tesla Cannon, try to position yourself in the open where the enemy Winston can’t use his Jump Pack into a nearby wall and land near you. That way you avoid the damage, and can focus on using your own Jump Pack against him to squeeze out some extra damage and swing the fight in your favor. If you are on the high ground and you think the enemy Winston is going to try jump up to you, a good strategy is to jump directly into the air once you see him begin to launch - he’ll likely land where you were, and you can land straight back down on top of him, evading the impact damage from the enemy Jump Pack while replying with your own.

Zarya

Rather than being characterised by aggression, Zarya fights are focused on effective use of your Particle Barrier. For the most part, you should be focused on using your Particle Cannon’s primary fire as this gives both the most DPS and the most control over when you are dealing damage. Avoid attacking while your enemy is using their Barrier, and focus on strafing her attacks. Once their barrier falls, activate your own to catch damage and give yourself Charge for your counterattack. Focus on tracking your opponent with the Beam until you are on low ammo, at which point you should use one shot from the secondary mode to get the most damage possible out of your remaining ammo. The more damage you negate, the faster you will shred through the enemy Zarya’s energy, which is very important as you need to burn through her passive shield before you can start reducing her health. You can disengage after a fight if you managed to reduce her health below 200 during it; you will have the advantage in the next fight since she will not be able to reach the full 400 health again after her shield recharges.

SUPPORT HEROES

Symmetra

Symmetra duels are comparable to those with Torbjorn - it’s a game of positional advantages and forcing trades as soon as they become favorable. Place two turrets at your preferred doorway, and prepare further turrets in your enemy’s blind spots. You can take down an enemy turret with a single uncharged Energy Ball, so take them out where possible and try tag your opponent. If there are no Sentry Turrets nearby and you have damaged your opponent more than they have damaged you, immediately engage with your Photon Projector - you will deal identical damage to each other over the duration, so the player with the least amount of health will die first. Be careful not to spend too long chasing after an enemy you have tagged with your Sentry Turrets or right click, as they may have regenerated their shield, turning the trade into a gamble.

Zenyatta

In a Zenyatta 1v1, you have access to a regenerating shield that takes up most of your health pool. This means the first 150 damage you take can be regenerated if you aren’t taking a favorable trade, so disengage when appropriate and channel your right click to discourage a chase. Zenyatta’s Orb Volley is useful at mid to long ranges where it can graze an enemy and give you an immediate advantage for a follow up Discord and left click, but don’t rely on it during a trade as Zenyatta's primary fire is far more reliable. The focus during this mirror should be on maintaining your Discord Orb - don’t be afraid to take a hit if it means you gain the wallhack and damage amplification from Discord Orb, as you can regenerate that health and push the advantage before the Discord Orb expires. Discord Orb will stay on an enemy until they have been out of sight for 3 seconds, so get ready to fire another one off before beginning your attack, as damaging a Discorded target offers a very favorable trade.

The missing support heroes Lucio, Mercy and Ana are all currently disabled in Mystery Hero 1v1, so they aren't available to play. As for the rest of the hero roster, hopefully the strategies I shared will help you pave the path to victory in your upcoming duels!

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