'Overwatch' hero spotlight: How to suck less with McCree
Want help with a different hero? Click here to check out our master Overwatch guide, where you'll find links to tips and strategies for each hero in the game.
Each Overwatch hero is a special snowflake.
Different guns, different abilities, different movement speeds, different quirks. Learning to excel with one hero doesn't mean you've mastered Overwatch.
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Playing a hero the "right" way only gets you so far, of course. Positioning, team formation (on both sides) and overall skill level are still important; you can play a hero perfectly and still lose. But you probably won't win until you learn to play whoever you're using right.
We've got you covered. Read on for tips, strategies and ideal maps/modes to help you suck less at using Overwatch's six-shootin' cowboy counter-flank, McCree.
Ability breakdown
Primary weapon: Peacekeeper. A classic six-shooter. Deals moderate damage at medium range with a low rate of fire. 6-round clip.
Secondary fire: Fan the Hammer. McCree rapidly fires every remaining shot in his clip, with reduced per-bullet damage. Most effective at short range against large targets due to wide bullet spread.
Combat Roll: McCree dives a short distance in whichever direction he's moving and automatically reloads Peacekeeper. 8-second cooldown.
Flashbang: McCree lobs a short-range grenade that explodes on contact, temporarily stunning any enemy caught in its small blast area. The stun inflicts light damage, interrupts any current action and leaves the affected enemy immobilized for one second. 10-second cooldown.
Ultimate ability: Deadeye. McCree lines up a series of high-damage, rapid-fire shots that can't miss their targets. The time it takes to lock onto an enemy is dependent upon their health, and requires line of sight. McCree is vulnerable to enemy fire during the (maximum) 6-second lock-on window.
How to McCree
McCree is a close-range scrapper. He's built as a flanker but is really best-suited to mid-range DPS with a focus on countering enemy flankers.
As McCree, you worship at the altar of a single ability combo: Flashbang + Fan the Hammer. Master this and you can shut down any uncoordinated push right when the enemy thinks they're going to pull it off.
Flashbang stops any incoming threat in its tracks, including enemies that may be in the clutches of an Ultimate casting. The 1-second stun time might not sound like much, but it's all you need to activate Fan the Hammer.
Assuming all of this plays out at close range and you keep your shots on target, Hammer can immediately put down any non-tank, hard stop. Use Combat Roll to quickly reload and Hammer again when you're facing larger enemies, or if you don't land a kill with the initial burst.
To have an easier time nailing the stun, aim for the ground with Flashbang. Especially when you're facing faster enemies. It's easier to catch a target in the blast than hit them with the grenade directly.
When you're not dealing with flankers, Peacekeeper's standard single-shot fire provides serviceable damage at medium range. McCree is a real threat when he's directly backing up the front line tanks.
The only time you'll want to operate solo is when Deadeye is ready. McCree's eyes glow brightly while the lock-on phase of his Ultimate is active, making him an easily spotted priority target for the enemy team.
Thus, it's best to activate Deadeye when you're out of plain sight -- you have limited movement during lock-on -- and in a flanking position.
A target is locked when the crosshairs turn red, and the idea is to hold fire until you have as many locks as possible. Just be ready to fire as soon as someone spots you, as McCree is very vulnerable
Best maps/modes: McCree is especially effective on Control maps due to the close-quarters play. He's a strong hero for attack scenarios in general, and while he's outclassed on defense by the likes of Mei and Symmetra, his ability to bring down Reapers, Tracers and Genjis is worth remembering.
Topics Blizzard Entertainment Esports Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
