Reinhardt in Overwatch
If you’ve been looking for the perfect tank/support character in Overwatch, you’ve come to the right place. Reinhardt is packed with great defensive abilities, as well as high HP to let him absorb damage and protect his team while moving forward. He’s equipped with a Rocket Hammer, which happens to be one of the strongest melee weapons in the game. Even though it’s a little slow, the Rocket Hammer swings in a wide arc in front of him, damaging anyone foolish enough to stand near you. You can also move while swinging the hammer, allowing you to change the direction and focus of your swing.
Reinhardt also has a very useful Barrier Field, perfect for protecting allies and pushing ahead to the objective. When activated, you’ll enter third-person mode and will be unable to deal any damage. With the Barrier Field active, you’ll have to rely on the rest of your teammates to deal damage while you absorb enemy fire as the tank. The shield will absorb up to 2000 points of damage, and serves as a great counter to Bastion’s and Torbjorn’s turrets. Your allies will be able to fire through your shield as well, making your team a literal walking tank. However, do note that the shield will not block Symmetra’s Photon orb projectiles.
If you want to be more offensive, Reinhardt has a Charge ability which allows him to fly into enemies and pin them against walls. If you manage to pin an enemy to the wall, this will deal a massive amount of damage to them. When outside of combat, you can also use Charge to get back to the battle quickly. A good strategy to consider is swinging your Rocket Hammer once the Charge is over so that you can deal some good damage before your enemies recover from the assault.
Reinhardt also has a Fire Strike ability, which is his only ranged attack. This allows him to shoot fire projectiles from his Rocket Hammer, and even pierce shields. This means that you can attack enemy Reinhardts even if they have their Barrier Field up. It can also come in handy against enemies on high ground, including Pharah and Widowmaker. Reinhardt doesn’t have great mobility, so Fire Strike is really useful for getting to enemies that you can’t physically reach. Fire Strike has a pretty short cooldown period, so be sure to use it whenever you can.
Lastly, Reinhardt’s ultimate ability Earthshatter is perfect for stunning enemies right in front of you. This ability can’t pierce shields, but it will damage and stun enemies in front of you for a couple of seconds, allowing your team to steal a few easy kills. It works really well with other AoE ultimate abilities like D.Va’s self-destruct and Pharah’s Barrage.
