'Overwatch' hero spotlight: How to suck less with Roadhog

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.

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 healer-hunting flanker-killer, Roadhog.

Ability breakdown

• Primary weapon: Scrap Gun. A slow-firing shotgun that deals high damage to anything directly in front of the blast. Damage drops significantly after a short distance. 4-round clip.

• Secondary fire: Scrap Gun slugs. The gun performs exactly the same except it fires a medium-range slug that travels slowly in a straight line and deals high damage to a single target. When the slug reaches the limits of its range it explodes outwards, dealing the same spread and damage as Roadhog's primary fire.

• Take A Breather: Roadhog drinks from a flask that restores 300 health over 1 second. He is immobilized and susceptible to damage for the duration. 8-second cooldown.

• Chain Hook: An inverse grappling claw that Roadhog can use to hook and reel in single targets, briefly stunning them. Covers distances on the longer side of medium range and deals light damage on impact. 6-second cooldown.

• Ultimate ability: Whole Hog. Temporarily gives Roadhog's Scrap Gun and chaingun-style attack that fires continuously -- with moderate recoil -- for six seconds, dealing as much as 5,000 damage during that time. Whole Hog fires in a spread and knocks back any enemy it strikes.

How to Roadhog

Roadhog is an unusual tank. He has the health pool of a hero that's built to be on the front lines but his lack of damage mitigation -- he has nothing like Reinhardt's, Winston's or Zarya's shields -- and range of abilities make him more suited to flanking.

If you're leading with Roadhog's gun all the time then you're doing it wrong. The Chain Hook is your most potent tool thanks to its ability to pluck single enemies right out of their ranks. Once someone is stunned in front of you, a few Scrap Gun blasts can then finish the job.

Treat it like a rapid one-two punch, especially when you're dealing with foes like Reaper, Mei or Zarya, all of whom have defenses against surprise close-range attackers. Start jamming on the fire trigger while the hook animation plays out, at least until you learn to nail the timing.

Roadhog's ideal hook targets are support heroes and flankers, since they're usually protected and/or operate out of sight. Drag healers away from their backup and flankers away from your teammates, then silence them before help can arrive.

Take A Breather allows you range further from your team's healers since you don't just have to rely on health packs. That kind of freedom is essential for Roadhog, who does most of his damage along the side and rear flanks of enemy lines when he's operating in an offensive role.

Strike from building interiors whenever possible. The close quarters make you a tougher target when you hook an enemy hero, and they also work to your Scrap Gun's advantage if someone tries to root you out.

Whole Hog may be the most misunderstood Ultimate in Overwatch. Yes, it is a large gun that dishes out up to 5000 points worth of damage over six seconds. But that doesn't mean it's a team-killer.

Roadhog's Ultimate is better used for zone control. The pellets it fires are too spread out to do a lot of damage, but each hit pushes the enemy further and further away. If they're pressing into a zone you're trying to control, Whole Hog will beat them back.

That's not to say you can't do damage. If your Ultimate is ready and you wander into a small space with multiple enemies in close proximity, Whole Hog can be a beast. Especially if you can position it so the enemy team's backs are against a wall.

Best maps/modes: There really isn't any mode or objective in Overwatch that a high-health flanker like Roadhog is ill-suited for. His worth largely depends on team makeup. You won't want him as your only tank in defend scenarios, for example. He's also going to be less helpful if you've already got flankers like Reaper or Tracer in the squad, though he can counter either when they're attacking. Roadhog's strength is his diversity, so use him to address weak spots in your lineup.