How to Play Orisa – Overwatch
Orisa is the newest character to be introduced into the world of Overwatch, and already she appears to be a very powerful foe. This tank is classified as a front line defender in the same vein as Reinhardt, as both heroes are most effective when helping hold a choke point or push a defense forward. However, unlike Reinhardt, Orisa’s barrier is not locked to the character model itself, meaning you can constantly launch it forward to help your team advance. She is also outfitted with the ability to take less damage and become immovable, meaning any “boop” or displacement effects will not work when this power is activated.
For those looking for some more thorough Orisa tips, we’ll break down each of her abilities and how best to play this new Overwatch hero.
Fusion Driver
How to Play Orisa Tips
The Fusion Driver is Orisa’s primary weapon and is a medium distance rapid fire weapon that is capable of cutting foes in Overwatch to ribbons. This high tech chain gun will slow Orisa down while she’s firing and is a projectile weapon, meaning you’ll need to lead your targets a little. Her rounds aren’t slow, but if you want to consistently apply damage to foes you’ll need to learn the rhythm of her projectile speed. Make sure to practice against highly mobile targets like Genji and Tracer.
Additionally, the Fusion Driver has a massive clip (150 rounds) which means you will need to break the habit of reloading frequently. This ensures that you can consistently pour on damage without leaving yourself open to counter attacks from enemy teammates. The Fusion Driver, much like Bastion’s Sentry Configuration, is fantastic for suppression so feel free to cut off entire routes by firing down range from behind your barrier.
Fortify
How to Play Orisa Tips
When activated, Orisa becomes impervious to displacement effects regardless if they’re base abilities or ultimates like Whole Hog. She will also receive a slight damage resistance buff, making her harder to kill. One of the most important things to learn about Fortify is to not just spam it haphazardly every time it’s up. You will want to be more reserved with this power, since it can help change entire engagements around.
Being immune to boop effects means that Orisa players can take more hazardous routes, like the bridges in Li Jiang Tower’s Garden map, without fear of being knocked to their death. However, using this to counter abilities like Whole Hog will be key as it allows the Orisa player to neutralize the enemy while still holding the objective. This not only means his attention will be focused on you, but ensure your teammates can get to cover. Try to bait enemy attacks out with this move by standing near a precarious edge and then activating it right as they try to knock you into a bottomless ravine.
Halt!
How to Play Orisa Tips
Halt! is a very, very powerful Overwatch ability and mastering it can be the key to victory in some cases. Halt acts as a mini Graviton Surge that can pull multiple enemies to a central energy orb that’s fired by Orisa. Unlike Graviton Surge, this is a very slow moving projectile, meaning you can time your pulls to drag foes either out from behind cover or into pits.
This displacement ability is exceptionally jarring, so don’t feel obligated to use it only when your opponents are near an edge. Throwing their aim off for a second could mean life or death, so use it to disorientate foes when in a fire fight. Additionally, this move works wonders when couples with other heroes’ ultimates like D.Va’s Self Destruct. Since everyone just typically hides right behind a corner, try waiting until the last second and then use Halt! to drag them out into the explosive radius. Halt!’s best strength is the level of creativity that can be implemented, so feel free to experiment whenever possible.
Protective Barrier
How to Play Orisa Tips
Protective Barrier gives Orisa the ability to fire a large curved shield that will go stationary at the area you launched it towards. This barrier has 900 health and will begin cooldown as soon as you place it on the battlefield. This is a powerful tool for not only support choke points but for locking down entire side entrances. Let me be clear, Orisa is not a replacement for Reinhardt but should be used as a supplement for teams that are running either a heavier defensive composition or one focused less on diving right onto their targets.
Your Protective Barrier should always be out, but make sure to not haphazardly place it around the map as that will simply be a waste. A fun trick is to place the shield in front of Bastion or a long distance fighter like Soldier 76 as this will allow your Reinhardt to not feel tethered to these specific heroes when guarding an area.
Supercharger
How to Play Orisa Tips
Orisa’s ultimate is insanely powerful when used correctly, allowing her to place down a a conductor that boosts the damage of all her allies in the vicinity. This will be indicated by blue tethers between them and the action Supercharger, so try to not place it out in the open. While the effect won’t transfer straight through walls, hiding it around a corner is a great was to keep it from being destroyed.
Do not use this ultimate carelessly. It’s fantastic for both initiating a push or stopping one on an objective. Try to not use this ability in the middle of a fight as that will not guarantee its effects are used to their fullest potential and it’s unlikely you will be able to place it in a safe area. Try opening with this ultimate in tandem with a support one like Sound Barrier to ensure a maximum amount of damage can be outputted by your team. Also, this stacks with Ana’s Nano Boost, meaning you can basically turn anyone who’s affect by Ana’s ultimate into a killing machine.
With some practice you should be able to manhandle your opponents in no time with this powerful anchor tank. Just remember that characters like Sombra will be your biggest headache. Orisa is an ability driven hero so always keep your eyes open for hacks. With Sombra also getting a buff, players should fully expect her to show up more in the competitive meta. Try to listen for her decloaking ability when you’re using this tank, and don’t get outmaneuvered by her and similarly quick opponents.
Those are all our tips on how to play Orisa. Now if you excuse us, we need to go crush some more cars while escorting old ladies across the streets in Overwatch.
