Engage Pharah at long range to minimize direct hits. Position yourself strategically to maintain line of sight. Predict her movements to land shots effectively. Coordinate with teammates to focus fire on her. Utilize cover to protect yourself and reposition when needed. Swap heroes if necessary for better counters.
Understanding Pharah
Dealing with Pharah as hitscan heroes in Overwatch requires a strategic approach and a good understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. Pharah is a flying hero with a rocket launcher that deals significant splash damage, making her a formidable opponent from the air. Hitscan heroes, on the other hand, have weapons that instantly hit the target without projectile travel time, such as Soldier: 76, McCree, or Widowmaker.
Positioning and Awareness
When facing Pharah as a hitscan hero, it is crucial to maintain good positioning and awareness of your surroundings. Pharah players often try to take advantage of high ground and use their aerial mobility to gain a better vantage point. As a hitscan hero, position yourself in areas where you have clear lines of sight to the sky and can easily spot Pharah's movements. Keep an eye on the sky and listen for her rocket jump jets to predict her location.
Communication and Team Coordination
Effective communication with your team is essential when dealing with Pharah. Coordinate with your tank and support heroes to create a strategy to counter Pharah's aerial threat. Tanks like D.Va or Sigma can help mitigate Pharah's damage by applying pressure from the ground or using their abilities to protect the team. Supports like Ana or Baptiste can provide additional utility and healing to sustain the hitscan heroes during the fight.
Counterpicking and Hero Swapping
In some cases, it may be necessary to counterpick to effectively deal with Pharah. Heroes like D.Va, Soldier: 76, or Ashe can be strong counterpicks against Pharah due to their abilities to contest her in the air or deal consistent damage from the ground. If you are struggling to handle Pharah as a hitscan hero, consider swapping to a hero that can apply more pressure or provide better crowd control against her.
Aim and Accuracy
One of the key skills required when facing Pharah as a hitscan hero is aim and accuracy. Pharah's aerial movements can make her a challenging target to hit, especially with hitscan weapons that require precise aim. Practice your tracking and flick shots to improve your accuracy against Pharah while she's flying in the air. Predict her movements and lead your shots to land more consistent hits on her.
Ultimate Management and Timing
Understanding Pharah's ultimate ability, Barrage, is crucial when dealing with her as hitscan heroes. Barrage is a high-damage ultimate that can quickly eliminate targets if not dealt with promptly. Save your crowd control abilities or ultimates that can interrupt Pharah's ultimate to prevent her from getting value from it. Develop a sense of timing and use your abilities effectively to shut down Pharah's ultimate before it becomes a threat to your team.
Adaptation and Patience
Dealing with Pharah as hitscan heroes may require patience and adaptation throughout the match. Be prepared to switch up your playstyle or hero pick based on the enemy team composition and Pharah's effectiveness. Stay calm and focused on your aim, and don't get discouraged if you're having trouble dealing with Pharah. Learn from each encounter and adjust your approach to gradually improve your performance against her.