Widowmaker - "One shot, one kill." - Real Name: Amélie Lacroix, Age: 33 Role: Defense
- Occupation: Assassin Class: Sniper
- Base of Operations: Annecy, France
- Affiliation: Talon
Widowmaker is the prime sniper of the heroes Overwatch currently provides. She has the capability of outputting the highest single-shot damage in the game at a whopping 150 damage, and every landed shot is just as satisfying as the last. First we will look at strengths and weaknesses and when you should pick Widowmaker.
Strengths- Highest single-shot damage potential in the game. (With the capability of “One shot, one kill”-ing Tracer and Zenyatta with a fully charged shot).
- Very powerful ultimate providing utility to her entire team via vision of enemies through walls and obstructions for 15 seconds. It sets the rest of her team and herself up for coordinated strikes against unsuspecting enemies.
- Excellent mobility with her grappling hook and her small hitbox grant Widowmaker easy escape from danger, keeping her alive to snipe away for more of the game.
Weaknesses- Often rushed and targeted in game to force close-medium range combat, making her much less effective of a hero pick.
- Because of her weak body and her inferior close-range combat, she can not do much in the way of securing objectives on her own.
- Her position is given away from the first shot, and because there are limited elevated areas from which to snipe, she is easy to locate, causing need for constant repositioning and taking herself away from the fight.
When to play Widowmaker
Widowmaker's strength lies primarily in a defensive position, and she is
only viable when the player can consistently get kills. If you spend most of your time missing targets, not securing kills, or getting chased around hthe map, you are effectively forcing your team to fight 5v6, and that will come to show as the game progresses. Your best bet at that point is to change your pick to counter those exhibiting aggression against you as Widowmaker to balance out the fight. As fun as it is to snipe people off all day, if you can not do it effectively, do not remain in that role as a hindrance to your team.
That being said, she can absolutely be effective in nearly any defensive lineup. If you have a lineup that consists of mostly heroes who make up a strong frontline (A tank with a support and close-medium range damage-dealers), then it is safe to pick Widowmaker. If you have too many heroes already who would stay on the backline alongside you such as Hanzo and possibly Torbjörn, your team will be hard-pressed to defend against coordinated attacks. Sniping is good, but only when there is a frontline to keep the enemy team at a distance for you.
On the offensive side of point capture and payload maps, Widowmaker is really... sub-par. That's not to say that you won't get kills with her, because you almost certainly will, but since your team is the one that wants to progress forward, it is a lot harder to do that when sniping from the offensive position, as the enemy team defending can make sure they're covered while defending the point/payload with relative ease, leaving you to spend most of your time trying to position yourself for kills and not most of your time getting important kills. This, again, effectively leaves your team fighting 5v6, which is sometimes bearable on the defensive side, but is exponentially more detrimental on the offensive side. Long story short, unless you are a Widowmaker god (and even sometimes then), there is a better hero choice for you while on the offensive.
On point control maps Widowmaker can really be a hit or miss hero pick. She will be close to useless defending the point itself, as the enemy can easily rush the point and make sure she is reduced to fighting at close range. Defending the point from some sniper nest on the map is usually mildly effective at best. Most of the capture points themselves are obstructed from long-distance view by walls and other objects, making a long-range sniper close to useless at taking out enemies defending their point. The verdict here is that it is safe to pick Widowmaker if your team has the point and you can defend it from somewhere else on the map, but if your team does not have control, it is wise to employ a close-range or tankier hero to fit your team's current needs to aid in capturing or recapping the point.
Abilities![]()
Widow's Kiss (LMB, RMB): This is the bread and butter of Widowmaker. This is what makes her the archetypal sniper of Overwatch. What is the cherry on top of this whole enchilada is that they provided her with a viable close-range option. They could have left her alone with just a sniper rifle and just had her "deal with" escaping and avoiding close-range fights, but they gave a decent enough automatic rifle built inside this nifty little gun that has a little punch to it. The real point to Widowmaker lives in the right-mouse-button of Widow's Kiss. The sniper. It does a quick zoom in, and in one second, charges to 100%, which equals out to 150 points of damage. There is not a whole lot of thought for this ability, but it does require precision, especially for those juicy headshots which double the max damage for a total of 300 damage per fully charged critical hit. It is almost always worth waiting for the full charge unless picking off things like Symmetra's defense turrets or already damaged heroes. Excelling in precision firing quickly is what makes or breaks a Widowmaker player, and it is a technique that requires practice to remain at max efficiency.
Another strategic facet of Widowmaker's sniping is target selection. With most of or the whole enemy team in view, you need to prioritize based on highest threats to your team, health of the targets, and dangers to you. Support heroes are often a top priority, they have lower health, and taking them out of the fight increases the chances your team has in a fight. Beyond that, the targets are those damage-dealers that are less resilient. The targets who would be considered more resilient are Soldier: 76 with his heal, Torbjörn with his armor, Mei with her heal, and Reaper with his heal and mobility. Bastion technically falls in this category, but as he is usually a stationary target that can hold your team back, he is higher priority than the others in this category. If none of the above are available, that leaves damaging tanks, which, even if that is all there is to shoot, is still worth damaging. Dealing damage is always better than sitting and waiting for a better target!
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Grappling Hook (LShift): Grappling hook is the pinch of mobility thrown into Widowmaker's kit. Its primary function is to reach those "sniper nests" around the map, propelling Widowmaker from position to position to put her targets in view. Mastering the positioning of Widowmaker is another necessity for playing her effectively. Her survival depends on it, securing kills depends on it, and your team depends on it. It is important to keep in mind that most sniper nests are obvious, and the enemy team will be well aware of your position most of the time, especially if you are busy shooting at them. Along with this, it is also important to always be on the lookout for a jetpacking Pharah or a teleporting Reaper, as those are dangers to most positions you can get yourself in as Widowmaker. Never let yourself feel safe and comfortable in a position. Move around frequently. A sniper who changes positions is a sniper who doesn't get caught.
To that point, there are times where you just
do get caught, and that is the other side of the grappling hook coin: escape. If you just suspect a flank, if you have a Pharah raining pain down on you, if you have a bad feeling in your gut, never hesitate to use it to escape. Even if they weren't coming for you, it's still a reposition which is never really a bad thing. (Unless, of course, you reposition yourself straight into the enemy team. Don't do that.)
If you are just making your way around the map, the grappling hook has utility in just speeding up movement. You can target the ground ahead of you or a wall ahead of you to get back to things that much faster. It is also worth noting that the cooldown is not triggered on Grappling Hook unless it makes contact with something, so if you happen to whiff with it, you can reuse it again quickly.
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Venom Mine (E): This ability is where the finesse and individual preference will come into play. Its primary and intended use is as a warning of enemy movement near you. You throw this mine down on some (hopefully narrow) pathway that leads to your sniping nest, and you have a warning on your HUD that signals whether your mine was triggered or destroyed. Either way, it means somebody has seen your mine and knows your near. The mine does apply 75 damage over 5 seconds, so it softens up most targets fairly well before they reach you. It is then your strategic choice to stay and fight whoever it might be close-range, or await their arrival with your sights on the pathway, or escape. It is always a good idea to have an escape plan ahead of time so you don't need that time to figure it out if it comes down to you grappling away. The seconds it could take to figure it out are seconds in which you can be killed.
The above is the standard and recommended way to use this ability, and should be used most often. Other options are in close-range fights to always throw it out to boost your damage, or, as you can throw the mine a fair distance, positioning yourself in such a way that allows you to throw the mine into the enemy team from above to supplement your team's damage. If you are being ambushed and it looks like you can not escape or will die for whatever reason, throw the mine down at your feet or somewhere between you and your attackers to ensure they are afflicted by its poison to either kill them or at least damage them as you die, leaving them for your team to clean up and pick off.
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Infra-Sight (Q): Widowmaker's Ultimate ability, Infra-Sight, is extremely powerful and provides a strong temporary advantage for herself and her team. Information is ammunition in Overwatch, and that is the entirety of this Ultimate ability. It helps Widowmaker line up headshots, helps the rest of her team flank or avoid being flanked, and in general boosts her team significantly. It forces the enemy team to sit on the defensive while its generous durations ticks down, providing key opportunities for your team to advance.
If you can land your shots (which, if you can't, you shouldn't be playing Widowmaker), your Ultimate ability charges at a decent rate. There is hardly ever a bad time to use the ability, and it is recommended to use it as often as possible so you can begin charging it up again right away. The more often your team has that information, the more often you have the tactical advantage.
Widow's Kiss (LMB, RMB): This is the bread and butter of Widowmaker. This is what makes her the archetypal sniper of Overwatch. What is the cherry on top of this whole enchilada is that they provided her with a viable close-range option. They could have left her alone with just a sniper rifle and just had her "deal with" escaping and avoiding close-range fights, but they gave a decent enough automatic rifle built inside this nifty little gun that has a little punch to it. The real point to Widowmaker lives in the right-mouse-button of Widow's Kiss. The sniper. It does a quick zoom in, and in one second, charges to 100%, which equals out to 150 points of damage. There is not a whole lot of thought for this ability, but it does require precision, especially for those juicy headshots which double the max damage for a total of 300 damage per fully charged critical hit. It is almost always worth waiting for the full charge unless picking off things like Symmetra's defense turrets or already damaged heroes. Excelling in precision firing quickly is what makes or breaks a Widowmaker player, and it is a technique that requires practice to remain at max efficiency. 
Grappling Hook (LShift): Grappling hook is the pinch of mobility thrown into Widowmaker's kit. Its primary function is to reach those "sniper nests" around the map, propelling Widowmaker from position to position to put her targets in view. Mastering the positioning of Widowmaker is another necessity for playing her effectively. Her survival depends on it, securing kills depends on it, and your team depends on it. It is important to keep in mind that most sniper nests are obvious, and the enemy team will be well aware of your position most of the time, especially if you are busy shooting at them. Along with this, it is also important to always be on the lookout for a jetpacking Pharah or a teleporting Reaper, as those are dangers to most positions you can get yourself in as Widowmaker. Never let yourself feel safe and comfortable in a position. Move around frequently. A sniper who changes positions is a sniper who doesn't get caught.
Venom Mine (E): This ability is where the finesse and individual preference will come into play. Its primary and intended use is as a warning of enemy movement near you. You throw this mine down on some (hopefully narrow) pathway that leads to your sniping nest, and you have a warning on your HUD that signals whether your mine was triggered or destroyed. Either way, it means somebody has seen your mine and knows your near. The mine does apply 75 damage over 5 seconds, so it softens up most targets fairly well before they reach you. It is then your strategic choice to stay and fight whoever it might be close-range, or await their arrival with your sights on the pathway, or escape. It is always a good idea to have an escape plan ahead of time so you don't need that time to figure it out if it comes down to you grappling away. The seconds it could take to figure it out are seconds in which you can be killed.
Infra-Sight (Q): Widowmaker's Ultimate ability, Infra-Sight, is extremely powerful and provides a strong temporary advantage for herself and her team. Information is ammunition in Overwatch, and that is the entirety of this Ultimate ability. It helps Widowmaker line up headshots, helps the rest of her team flank or avoid being flanked, and in general boosts her team significantly. It forces the enemy team to sit on the defensive while its generous durations ticks down, providing key opportunities for your team to advance.
