Skip to main content

Speed kills if you're playing as Tracer in 'Overwatch'

Whether you’ve seen her on the cover of Overwatch or maybe just for a split second before a nasty kill, Tracer is easily Overwatch‘s fastest character. Thanks to her pulse pistols in hand and her sporadic blinks and recalls, she can leave opponents wheezing after her trail. While Tracer is quite a powerful character, her skills can also be difficult to hone. If you’re a frequent Tracer player or a newcomer with an itch for momentum, these five tips will help you win with the lovable speedster.

Know the map

Tracer_KnowMap
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tracer’s mobility can become lifesaving, not only for you but for your teammates as well. Getting to know maps and becoming familiar with their entrances, exits, and health spots can quickly take you from being a bad Tracer player to being a good one — and the bad ones are really easy to spot. Starting blinks near health packs, engaging enemies and recalling to health can save your life as easily as jumping into chaos and recalling to safety can. These different angles can help you do what Tracer does best — take out low-health enemies in the backline while dominating all corners of the map.

Be a distraction

Tracer_distraction
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When you understand that being on the cover of the game doesn’t mean Tracer is the star of the game is when the victories will rain in. Tracer isn’t meant to take on enemies head-on from the start of their health to their finish. Your role is to be as annoying as her high-pitched ad-libs can become, darting across the map and pulling enemies off their objective and in your direction. Engage your enemies in goose chases, be strategic with your blinks, and even add a few eliminations. There’s a reason why you hate good Tracer players on the other team — because they keep bothering you and won’t quit. Ease the weight of the battle off of your teammates so they can stay on task. Be that annoying fly that just won’t leave until the job is done, and soon her annoying features will be one of your top attributes.

Know your enemies

Tracer_KnowEnemy
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just as the diverse character selection Overwatch offers is what makes it so fun to play, it’s also what can make you tired of dying or ultimately staying alive. Get to know your enemies and base the way you engage them on their characteristics. Tracer is very low on health, almost as low as a support character. Players like Reaper, Roadhog, and McCree are your worst enemies. If you see them, do what you do best: shoot first, then run — pick them off from different angles and make their job way more difficult.

Recall to full health — or any health at all

Tracer_health
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The best part about Tracer is being able to blink forward at blazing fast speed, then pull back when you want to. What many players don’t know or often forget is that when you recall, you also recall to the health you had on your first blink. Building a habit of recalling can save you in life-or-death situations, whether it’s back to full or partial health. Recalls can even pull you out of rare enemy traps like Roadhog’s hook if you’re quick enough.

Flanking is crucial

Tracer_Flank
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tracer is meant to move, so that’s what you need to do. Don’t ride on the payload, don’t hide behind the control point — move out across the map and wreak havoc. Flanking is one of the best things you can do as any attack player in Overwatch, but Tracer is just particularly good thanks to her speed. Attacking from behind can become one of your best strategies and probably your favorite once you see how easy it is to get kills this way. Be careful, though, as enemies will learn and adapt to a Tracer who keeps coming the same way. Flank at one angle, then another the next time, and soon you’ll be the game’s MVP.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Joshua Smith
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Just another not so ordinary kid living this thing we like to call life.
The best Power Armor in Fallout 4 and where to find each set
Fallout 4 key art featuring the power armor suit hung up in an armory.

From the very first Fallout game, the Power Armor has been every wastelander's dream to pilot. This hulking suit of armor can make your normally squishy Vault Dweller nigh unkillable in Fallout 4. But there's more than just one type of Power Armor, and each one has different stats and requirements to wear. Not only that, but some you might find one piece at a time and need to build yourself, while others can be found as a complete set. If you want to make even a Deathclaw think twice about attacking you, only the best Power Armor will do. Here are the best suits in Fallout 4 and where to find them.
Raider Power Armor

This is the only Power Armor in Fallout 4 that even a base-level player can wear right off the bat. While that's great, it does mean it's the weakest option out there. The best stats you can get with it are 500 damage resistance, 250 energy resistance, and 1,050 radiation resistance for a total rating of 1,800. It's great for the early game if you can snag one, but is quickly outclassed by everything else on this list. A guaranteed spawn for this armor is in the cave right beside Skylanes Flight 1665 on your map.
T-45 Power Armor

Read more
3 great Xbox Game Pass titles you should try this weekend (April 26-28)
The current gen version of Fallout 4.

This has been a pretty busy week for new releases, with the likes of Another Crab’s Treasure, Stellar Blade, Sand Land, and more coming out. Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s video game subscription service, has also had quite a busy week. Three games in particular stand out as must-plays this weekend for those who want to delve a bit further into the service rather than spend money on a new game.

One is an excellent single-player Star Wars game from 2023 that you might have missed because of how busy last year was for big releases. Another is a new real-time strategy game that earned buzz on Steam in the lead-up to its release. Finally, there’s a Bethesda Game Studios classic that just received an Xbox Series X update that you can experience free of charge via Game Pass. If you're looking for a new game to start this weekend, but don't feel like buying something new, give any of these a try.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Read more
Save $400 on this Razer gaming laptop with an RTX 4060
A game playing on the Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop.

For a gaming laptop that will be able to handle the most demanding games, you're going to want a machine that's as powerful as the Razer Blade 14 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card. It's understandably expensive, but you can currently get it with a $400 discount from Razer that drops its price to an even $2,000 from $2,400 originally. We're not sure how much time is remaining before this offer ends though, so if you want the savings, you're going to have to complete your purchase as soon as you can.

Why you should buy the Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop
The Razer Blade 14 is capable of challenging the best gaming laptops with the help of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, which offers excellent efficiency and strong ray tracing performance. Combined with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor and 16GB of RAM that's good for gaming, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need, not only will you be able to play the best PC games without any issues, but you'll also be prepared for the upcoming PC games of the next few years.

Read more