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Overwatch Guide: Hanzo Info and Tips

Learn the way of the bow and master Hanzo with this Overwatch guide!
This article is over 8 years old and may contain outdated information

Hanzo is the expert bow user in Overwatch. He has many tricks to help the team out or take out enemies. It takes patience and time to get good at aiming with his bow, but players that go the extra mile are rewarded with a character that can terrorize the enemy team.

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If you love bows, climbing walls, and want to shout Ryuu-ga, Wa-ga-te-ki-wo, Ku-ra-u, Hanzo is for you. I’m going to go over some info on Hanzo, as well as give some tips on playing him.

This guide will cover everything about the hero Hanzo in Overwatch including:

  • Hanzo Basic Info – A little of Hanzo’s background and descriptions of his abilities.
  • Hanzo Combat Tips – Tips for using Hanzo effectively. 

Hanzo Basic Info

Hanzo used to belong to the assassin clan, Shimada. He was the eldest son of the head of the clan and would take his father’s place one day. At a young age, Hanzo trained in martial arts, bowmanship, and learning the ways of the criminal empire his family became. He showed a natural talent for all of these and was set to become a great leader for the Shimada clan.

This all changed when his father died and other members urged Hanzo to get his brother, Genji, to take a more active role. An argument started over this, and eventually a violent battle. This led to Hanzo believing he killed his brother.

After everything, Hanzo eventually abandoned the clan to travel the world in search of redemption. 

Abilities
  • (Passive) Wall Climb – Jump at walls to climb them.
  • Storm Bow – His main weapon shoots arrows from his bow.
    • Holding down the button will launch the arrows further.
  • Sonic Arrow – Shoots a special arrow that reveals enemies for a short time within the area of the arrow.
  • Scatter Arrow – Shoots a special arrows that splits into multiples arrows that ricochets on impact. 
  • (Ultimate Ability) Dragonstrike – Shoots an arrow that turns into a deadly dragon spirit that deals massive damage to all those it passes through.

Hanzo Combat Tips

Hanzo is a defense character which means his main job is to defend objectives. He is a sniper like Widowmaker, though works differently.

  • Scatter Arrow ricochets of surfaces
    • I know it says it in the description but this is important to know.
    • You can shoot the Scatter Arrow at a wall behind the enemy or in a room that you can’t see clearly to hit them with the arrows. 

Overwatch Hanzo info

  • Sonic Arrow can damage enemies
    • Sonic Arrow is great for showing enemy location, but it can still deal damage.
    • If you can, you might as well hit someone with the arrow so you can damage, or potentially kill, someone while showing the location of other enemies.
  • Dragonstrike can go through all obstacles 
    • This is very important to know because even though Hanzo’s ultimate is strong, it is obvious and easy to dodge if you just shoot it out in the open when people can see you.
    • The best method is to use Sonic Arrow to find the enemy locations, then shoot the ultimate from behind a wall or in a room.
  • Remember to climb walls
    • Like any character in Overwatch, knowing and using each ability effectively makes you a better player and Hanzo is no different.
    • Climbing walls lets you escape or get a better vantage point to shoot people.
    • It can also save you from death if you fall off the map, but near a climbable surface.
  • Practice aiming
    • It takes time to get used to aiming with Hanzo since his arrows go in an arc and not a straight bullet like Widowmaker.
    • Finding out the different distances and how long you need to charge the bow will go a long way.

That’s all I have for my Overwatch Hanzo info and tips. Let me know if you have any questions!


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Author
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Synzer
After gaming for 25 years, Synzer leveraged his vast knowledge of RPGs and MMOs into a job as a games journalist, covering the games he loves. Five years later, he's still writing about Kingdom Hearts, Pokemon, and Knights of the Old Republic. Synzer has a bachelor's degree in English and creative writing. You can see him in action on his YouTube channel (https://bit.ly/2F97BrR) and Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/synzergaming).