The first time I saw the Overwatch trailer, I knew I’d have to give Torbjörn a shot. I always love playing pet classes, and Torbjörn is the closest you get in Overwatch.
Thankfully, Torbjörn lived up to what I expected. He’s a solid defense character, and his turret can rip enemies to shreds if placed correctly. He can also be used very effectively on offense, although you need to be more strategic with your playstyle and turret placement.
After a few hours of playing with this him, here’s some advice on how to help you get featured on those Play of the Game videos after each match.
First, let’s talk about his roles and abilities.
Torbjörn Basic Info
As a defense hero, Torbjörn is best utilized to defend a position. His turret, once upgraded, does a lot of damage and can take a few hits from most characters before going down.
Torbjörn himself can do decent damage too, though. His rivet gun isn’t something to scoff at, as it allows you to shoot downrange or pump shotgun blasts into an enemy in your face.
He carries around 2 weapons — one to upgrade his turret (and melee if necessary), and his rivet gun.
Abilities
- Scrap Collector (Passive): When characters die, they drop pieces of scrap. Torbjörn picks them up when he gets close, and the scrap is used for this abilities — namely, his support ability.
- Build Turret: Torbjörn’s turret is what makes him unique- — it’s the reason why you play him. It doesn’t do much damage at level 1, but a few swings of your hammer upgrades it to level 2, where it starts to get dangerous.
- Armor Pack: Torbjörn uses some of the scrap he’s collected to drop an armor pack for allies. He can also pick it up himself.
- Molten Core (Ultimate): Torbjörn basically goes crazy and causes his turret to do the same. His armor and attacks get a huge buff, and if he has a level 2 turret in place, it gets an additional 500 hit points and a massive attack upgrade as well.
Torbjörn Combat Tips
Torbjörn excels at defense, but that doesn’t mean its the only role he can play. Used correctly, he’s a great asset to almost any situation (assuming the rest of your team is balanced, of course.)
- Turret placement is everything. The best place to put a turret is where it can get the jump on enemies, without them doing the same. Putting it in a corner or just inside a doorway gives it protection from getting flanked, allowing it to focus on a critical passageway or area.
- Place the turret before the enemy shows up. The downside of Torbjörn’s turret is that it takes a few seconds to upgrade from level 1 to level 2. If you’re trying to do that in the middle of a firefight, both you and the turret are gonna get smashed.
- Don’t forget to throw out that armor. Sometimes it’s easy to focus on your turret and forget about your armor ability. Since you’ll be collecting scrap anyways, make sure to toss armor to your buddies when they pass by.
- Protect your team’s flanks on offense. Most of the games I’ve lost while on offense were due to the defense pinning us down. Sometimes we could barely leave the starting area! When this happens, Torbjörn could help slowly push the defense back. If your teammates can hold off the enemy long enough to get your turret to level 2, it will help clear the area and protect your sides so you can move up.
- Babysitting is for teenage girls. Don’t hang out with your turret — it’s a big boy and can handle itself. Even though it may need a little healing after coming under fire, you can do more damage by attacking from a different angle. Your enemy can’t shoot in both directions at once!
…well, most players can’t, anyways. I hate you, Reaper.
- Use your shotgun… it rocks. I tend to use the long-range rivet shooter 90% of the time, as I usually keep my distance from other heroes. But when someone does decide to get in my face, the shotgun blast (L2 on PS4) makes them regret it.
That’s all I’ve got for my Overwatch Torbjörn tips. To wrap it up, I wanted to show you this video I found. I haven’t been able to successfully do this yet, but hopefully one day I’ll get a Reinhardt that cooperates!
