Defenders take on many different forms in Overwatch, all of which are difficult to kill. But there are those who stand out most among the crowd thanks to the mountainous obstacles that they are. One prime example of this is Torbjorn. This portly engineer relies on his red-hot rivet gun, ginormous Forge Hammer, and a Turret that doesn’t know when to quit.
Torbjorn’s range and defensive capabilities make him one of the most difficult heroes to go up against in Overwatch. His Rivet Gun is bad enough, with its long-range accuracy and ability to fire a short blast of molten metal, he’s a damaging powerhouse. His solid constitution along with that gun are already a threat, but it’s his forging skills that take the cake.
Torbjorn is able to build a turret, which is nothing new to shooters. However, this upgradeable turret is ridiculously powerful, capable of locking down entire lanes, taking a ton of damage, and even getting a rocket launcher attachment. It has proven to be the bane of enemy advances, and if placed in just the right spots can shut down maps and clinch a win for Torbjorn’s team.
If you do happen to get this engineer on the run, he can boost his armor for a short time to stand toe-to-toe with you or make a getaway back to the safety of his turret.
Thankfully, Blizzard didn’t make him completely unstoppable. You just have to know how to break the little guy down.
Countering Torbjorn
The Turret Must Die
You would think that focusing on Torbjorn would be the way to go, but in all actuality it’s the turret that causes most of the problems. It has a decent amount of health (600 points), can be repaired, and does not stop shooting. Making matters worse, even if you kill Torbjorn, if the player doesn’t switch heroes, the turret stays. Explosive attacks from someone like Pharah or Junkrat are very useful. You’ll often find Torbjorn standing with is turret, so you may even take out two birds with one stone provided the splash damage is just right. You can alternatively focus on Torbjorn first, creating a window after he dies where the turret cannot be repaired.
Speed. Specifically, Tracer’s Speed.
Tracer’s Blink can get you in close and then get you out rather quickly. This can allow you to place a Pulse Bomb on the turret dealing a large amount of damage and potentially taking out Torbjorn in the blast as well. Other fast characters are useful as long as they can flank the turret and focus on Torbjorn before moving on.
Barriers
Zarya is able to create a personal or projected barrier that completely absorbs enemy fire and charges her weapon. This makes the Turret’s damage inconsequential, allowing you to walk up and take it out. Winston can even drop a shield right in front of the turret to allow the entire team to fire upon it while taking zero damage. Reinhardt’s Barrier Field can take up to 2,000 points of damage. While he can’t attack while it’s out, your entire team can stand behind and light both Torbjorn and his turret up.
Teamwork
Distractions, shields, flanking, anything that can be done with more than one person is perfect for taking out Torbjorn. Reaper is particularly good for this as he can draw the turrets attention then go into Wraith mode leaving it firing at a ghost. That should buy ample time to deal with the machine. But there are many other alternatives that essentially serve to divide and conquer Torbjorn and his forged menace.
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