Overwatch: best attack team composition

Don't hold back. These team compositions will shed rivals in all three modes.

Overwatch: best attack team composition

We continue our series on team composition with a look at a lethal attack group. You can find previous comps looking at a best overall team and a defensive team here.

Blizzard’s design aspiration for fluid team composition and hot-swapping heroes becomes rather more necessary during attack. Which is putting things lightly.

My intention this time was to outline an Attack team comp that would serve most players under general circumstances. That approach has served defending very well, and my teams successfully hold fort using a core Defence comp. The difficulty with Attack is that the goal involves breaking down something that’s already established, which can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack – while having your butt shredded by an errant Reaper or Tracer.

And so, rather than list a six-hero roster, let’s instead look at smaller hero units that work best together, serving a specific purpose depending on whether you’re being shut out, hunted down, or blatantly have no clue as to why that objective marker is remaining red.

Another way to look at this, being brutally honest, is that if these players are taking care of business, the rest of the team can basically offer support as best it can. This isn’t exactly an MLG winning strategy(!), but in the most part it should keep you in with a fighting chance.

TAKING CONTROL

Consider this your rapid-response unit. It’s especially effective in games of Control where both sides rush claim objectives before locking them down.

Winston (Role: Tank, Difficulty: Medium)
Why Winston: He deals high damage to multiple foes and is agile enough to present a difficult target. Though his Barrier Protector is short-lived, it buys vital seconds for the rest of the team to assemble and get organised. With Primal Rage, he can clear a room.

Basic Job: Be a menace, hang with Lúcio and offer your Barrier Protector at every available opportunity. Have weaker enemies chase you onto the objective, providing a distraction for Tracer to do her best work, before shielding teammates and frazzling over-keen visitors.

Lúcio (Role: Support, Difficulty: Medium)
Why Lúcio: Before a rival team has chance to get into preferred positions, Lúcio can speedily throw them into disarray with his Sonic Amplifier while at the same time providing healing support with Crossfade. His main advantage is rushing teammates to the objective point.

Basic Job: Rush teammates to the objective point! After that, stay close to Winston and close down solitary rivals, ideally bouncing them off the map. Lúcio’s method of attack is also defence; weakening rival teams’ chances by eating away at their time to form up.

Tracer (Role: Offense, Difficulty: Medium)
Why Tracer: From the victim’s point of view, Tracer appears from anywhere at any time, and while she won’t take you down in one pass, it’s perilous to ignore her sustained efforts. Players are invariably forced to call for assistance, breaking up their organisation.

Basic Job: Use Winston/Lúcio as a mobile base camp, returning to them to recover and gain temporary support – also to assist in capturing the objective in Control! Meantime, with one eye on ‘base camp’, scoot around harrying lone wolves, and especially Mercy or Zenyatta.

ESCORT EXPRESS
These guys will keep the payload trucking, helping to take charge and remain in possession. Right now, it seems bullet proof… not necessarily rocket proof.

Reinhardt (Role: Tank, Difficulty: Easy)
Why Reinhardt: The foundation of most successful payload delivery teams, owing to his obvious attributes that shield himself and the team. The responsibility lies with the broader team to watch Reinhardt’s back, but we’ve clutched so many victories upon his shoulders.

Basic Job: Get on the payload, stay on the payload, but don’t be in a rush to jump on it in the first minute. Reinhardt players need to read the whole situation as well as any Mercy player, shielding the line-of-sight heroes from turrets and snipers. Less haste, more speed.

Lúcio (Role: Support, Difficulty: Medium)
Why Lúcio: While he doesn’t make the payload move faster, having Lúcio around enables fellow heroes to seize the opportunity as soon as it arises. Once on-board his health-regen Crossfade is a constant benefit to Reinhardt shielded McCree, Soldier: 76 and Hanzo.

Basic Job: It’s obvious, it just isn’t that easy. Lúcio is kept busy pushing the payload along but at the same time rushing down enemies likely to mount the vehicle. Help Tracer and Reaper with take-downs nearby, but the priority is to watch Reinhardt’s back and maintain health.

Soldier: 76 (Role: Offense, Difficulty: Easy)
Why Soldier 76: He can fire from range, using Helix Rockets to weaken turrets and snipers, then finish them off with the rifle. His Biotic Field, with a cool down of 15 seconds, supports Lúcio’s health-regen efforts. He can sprint to and fro the payload to assist Reinhardt.

Basic Job: Eyes on the road ahead, you’re essentially the payload party’s on-board spotter. Call out Pharah, Widowmaker, Torbjörn… any threats that you can do something about straightaway, or call in support to finish the job. Remember to use that Biotic Field!

DPS ASSAULT
Rush a fiercely guarded position with this crew, taking advantage of the roads less travelled such as windows, corridors and underground routes into the objective.

McCree (Role: Offense, Difficulty: Medium)
Why McCree: Defence comps favour turrets, snipers and wraithlike hunters, all of which a strong McCree player can take in his stride. He can Flashbang Tracer or Reaper before fan-firing to finish them off. Deadeye dismantles groups, even if they’re just running to hide.

Basic Job: Choose targets wisely, be aware of what’s in front, beside and behind, weaken foes from range, contribute to eliminations if you can’t get the final shot. Give defenders something to think about from left/right channels rather than marching through the middle.

Genji (Role: Offense, Difficulty: Hard)
Why Genji: The Shimada brother can clamber walls to gain access to locations locked-off to the likes of Soldier: 76 and Tracer. From here he can terrorise defending parties caught off-guard, and harry them out of their comfort zone. He can trash Bastion in a split second.

Basic Job: One-man army? The truth isn’t far off. Excellent Genji players fear very few heroes in one-on-one situations, artfully deflecting sustained fire and ultimates. It’s not something that can be explained in a few words. You can’t just be average with Genji.

Bastion (Role: Offense, Difficulty: Easy)
Why Bastion: On attack, especially? He’s back up for the heroes on point (up front) and can swiftly turn the tide of contested objective, in games of Control or Assault. He’s too much of a target in payload now, but a surprising menace for defenders relying on Mercy plus Tanks.

Basic Job: Provide DPS support from range in Recon before moving in to configure Sentry. Watch the skies for Mercy and Pharah, observe the opposing team’s favoured channels for ushering in Roadhog, Bastion and Zarya. Remember that it’s called Recon for a reason.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
As soon as your defences have been rumbled and the other team has taken charge, you are no longer defending but attacking. Disband the defending heroes at the very next respawn, consider the smaller units mentioned above to meet the attacking task at hand. This might seem obvious, but many teams fail during Defend simply because the tide has just turned.

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