One of the most important things in battle is to establish control over your space not just on land, but the skies. This is a fact of modern warfare that applies to Overwatch as well. Enter Pharah, the jet-packing Egyptian with a rocket launcher and bird’s eye view of the battlefield. This Pharah guide features tips and tricks to help you establish air superiority and control your space. But before you can rule the skies you have to learn how to stay there.
In order to be effective, Pharah, needs to stay airborne, a simple task made difficult by her low fuel reserves. This means that Pharah has to be smart when using her jetpack. So, in order to maximize your fuel reserves, you must feather your hover button.
Pharah Gameplay: How to stay airborne
What helps is if you get to maximum height early on at the start of the match. Watch the video below to see how to reach maximum height quickly with Jump Jet and Concussive Blast. You can also use the explosion from your rockets to propel yourself upwards. From there it’s all about feathering your hover button and using your Jump Jet when it’s back up to refuel.
Pharah Gameplay: Concussive Boost Jump
Though if you do find yourself having to land to refuel, aim for rooftops and high ledges. One of Pharah’s biggest strengths is her verticality and being on the ground sacrifices that strength.
Now that we know how to keep in the air, now it’s time to cover who to look out for.
Hit scans like Soldier 76, McCree and Widowmaker are the largest threats to Pharah in the sky. Sure it’s possible for any character to take out Pharah in the air but the three mentioned have an easier go of it. As Pharah, you have to be aware of where these three are because they are your biggest threats.
The general tip for facing them as Pharah is to use the tops and sides of buildings for cover while airborne. Though if you find yourself airborne with no cover try and position yourself directly above them. Generally, people have a harder time hitting things directly over their heads.
It is possible to deal with McCree and Soldier safely from long ranges because they suffer damage fall off. So if you have good aim with your rockets this is the safer option. Though keep in mind that your rockets also suffer from damage fall off as well. Yet the true terror for any Pharah is a decent Widowmaker because she suffers no falloff damage and has the range advantage.
Always remember to keep an eye out for these three as Pharah, and if they shut you down then consider switching heroes. It’s not the end of the world if you have to switch heroes. In fact, the beauty of Overwatch is the ability to switch heroes in reaction to what’s happening in game.
We’ve covered how to fly, Pharah’s biggest threats and now it’s time to look at target priority.
Since Pharah is a DPS she essentially has the same target priority as her other DPS counterparts. This means that she should prioritize enemy healers and DPS before tanks. That’s the general rule though it really depends on the situation.
If an enemy tank has low enough health or is an enemy D.Va flying into your face, obviously you should prioritize them. There will also be times where she will have to prioritize taking down turrets or barriers to help her team proceed. So while it’s advised to prioritize enemy DPS and healers that’s not always the best course of action.
Pharah Gameplay: Boop
Though one thing that sets Pharah apart from other DPS is her Concussive Blast. Concussive Blast is great for booping enemies off ledges, so Pharah should be on the lookout for those opportunities.
When it comes to actually hitting people with her rockets, the best advice is to lead your targets. Your rockets have a travel time so it’s best to aim where your enemy is going and not where they are. And since the rockets have splash damage you don’t have to be precise.
Close counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and rockets. Though direct hits from all three hurt a hell of a lot more.
Finally, keep in mind that even if you aren’t getting a lot of direct hits as long as you’re up in the air and peppering the enemy with rockets, you are splitting the enemy’s focus between you in the air and your team on the ground.
Hope this Pharah guide helps you achieve air superiority. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Featured Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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