In the last two patches, McCree has received some buffs that will see his pick rate rise. This McCree guide aims to help you maximize those buffs and make you a deadshot with this cowboy. First, let’s look at McCree’s bread and butter: his Peacekeeper.
McCree Guide: Peackeeper
Type: Single shot hitscan
Damage: 21-70
Ammo: 6
McCree’s main method of dealing death is his trusty revolver: the Peacekeeper. This single shot revolver makes this gunslinger the scariest duelist in the game.
Pros: Accuracy and damage
The best thing about McCree’s sidearm is that it’s a hitscan weapon. Hitscan weapons are naturally more accurate than their projectile counterparts because the player only has to line their crosshairs over their target and pull the trigger. This makes McCree particularly effective against mobile targets like Genji, Pharah and Tracer. Combine his gun’s hitscan nature with its base damage and you get one of the deadliest weapons in Overwatch.
Cons: Range and ammo
Unfortunately the Peacekeeper does suffer from damage falloff when firing at enemies beyond 22 meters. Also, because the Peacekeeper is a revolver it only has six shots, which means McCree has to kill his targets in six bullets or less, a task that is easier said than done.
Key tip: Tracking
Due to his limited number of shots, McCree has to make every bullet count. This can be hard to do when your targets are moving and you’re dodging shots. One thing you should practice is tracking. Tracking is basically attempting to keep your crosshairs on the enemy at all times. What helps with tracking is to lead your targets, read their movements and sometimes firing at where they are going to be.
Some would argue that McCree players should focus on flick-shotting instead of tracking. Flick-shotting is basically flicking your crosshair to the target and firing. It’s an effective technique, but it requires hours of practice to master because it’s essentially instinctual aim.
McCree Guide: Fan the Hammer
Type: Rapid fire hitscan
Damage: 13.5 – 45
Ammo usage: Up to 6 rounds
Fan the Hammer is the secondary fire of McCree’s revolver which rapidly unloads all the shots left in the Peacekeeper.
Pro: Rapid DPS
Fan the Hammer is great for dealing out massive amounts of damage in close range. A full burst from Fan the Hammer will kill anything with 200 or less health.
Cons: Unruly and short range
Although Fan the Hammer is great for dealing out damage it is hard to control and only really good at close range.
Key Tips: Mind your ammo and body shots
Fan the Hammer uses the ammo that you currently have in your revolver. This means that if you fire three single shots and then Fan the Hammer, you will only fire three shots with the ability. Also, this ability can’t deal headshots, so it’s best to aim for the body to maximize damage.
McCree Guide: Flashbang
Type: Splash Projectile
Damage: 25
Maximum Range: 5 meters
In the most recent patch, McCree got a much needed buff to his Fflashbang. Now, in addition to its 0.7 second stun, Fflashbang has an added slow effect.
Pros: Quick stun and interrupter
Flashbang is quick to use, leaving McCree’s hand in half a second. An added bonus of Flashbang is that it can be used to interrupt channeled ultimates like Pharah’s Rocket Barrage and Reaper’s Death Blossom. Flashbang can also be used to force Reinhardt to drop his shield.
Cons: Short range and stun duration
Although Flashbang is great for quickly stunning enemies it’s bad at keeping them stunned. Flashbang’s stun doesn’t even last a full second and it can only be used in close range.
Key Tip: Flashbang followup
There are two methods to follow up on a flashbanged target. The first, and easier one to do, is to use Fan the Hammer on the stunned target. The second is to land a head shot on the stunned target. It doesn’t really matter which method you use as long as you get the frag.
McCree Guide: Combat Roll
Movement Speed: 12 meters per second
Maximum range: 6 meters
Cooldown: 8 seconds
If things start getting hairy à la spaghetti western, McCree can use Combat Roll for a quick dodge in the direction he’s moving.
Pro: Immediate reload
When using Combat Roll McCree reloads his Peacekeeper. This is great if you find yourself in a sustained fire fight and need a quick reload. Also, due to Combat Roll’s instant reload, it’s possible to chain two bursts of Fan the Hammer together for a huge burst of damage.
Con: Really short range
The short range of Combat Roll limits its use as a movement ability. Combat Roll is great for giving McCree that extra burst of speed to get behind cover. Outside of that the best use of the ability is for reloading his Peacekeeper.
Key Tip: Defensive ability
The thing to keep in mind about Combat Roll is that it is a defensive ability. While it can be used to engage and chase enemies, it’s best used to retreat and reload.
McCree Guide: Deadeye
Type: Rapid fire hit scan
Damage: 250 per 1 second casting
Duration: 6 seconds
McCree’s Deadeye was buffed in the previous patch, the patch that changed Roadhog. The previous version of Deadeye took 0.8 seconds for the cowboy to lock on to targets. Now, it only takes 0.2 seconds for targets to begin locking on. Also damage accumulated over the first second of lock on was buffed from 20 damage to 80. These changes made Deadeye more useful.
Pro: Rapid instakills
A full Deadeye lock on is a guaranteed instakill, with some notable exceptions. And due to the fact that McCree can lock onto multiple targets, that means potentially multiple instakills.
Cons: Vulnerability and easily avoided
The cons to Deadeye are that it leaves McCree vulnerable while channeling and it is easily countered. When using Deadeye, McCree walks slowly, making him an easy target for the enemy. Also, as with every ultimate, the enemy gets a sound cue that tells them when it’s “high noon.” This allows them to break line of sight by getting behind cover or a barrier.
Key Tips: Combo or flank
Some of the best ways to use Deadeye are to combo it with Reinhardt’s Earthshatter or to use when flanking. In the video above, Deadeye was used from a flanking position. This allowed the enemy team little time to locate McCree or get into cover. Deadeye can be a powerful ultimate but it requires more set up than most other ultimates.
That’s it for McCree. Hopefully this guide helps improve your McCree play. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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