We want you to be the best Pharah that you can be!
If you are new to Pharah then let us be the first to welcome you to playing this awesome Hero. If you are experienced with her and looking for an edge over your opponents then jump down to the Tips and Tricks for the more advanced strategies and tactics.
Old-school Quake players may feel themselves tearing up a little when they first jump on Pharah. She's a rocket jumping, rocking blasting, aerial death dealer who can dish out area effect damage while disrupting the enemy. Her blasts push them around when they hit.
The travel time on the rockets takes some getting used to, but once you do... hoo boy... you can take down many opponents without fear of any retribution as you hover in the air filling their face with rocket after rocket. Pharah's "E" also pushes opponents, making anyone who stands too close to an edge easy prey. That well on Illios? See ya! It's a long way doooooooown.
Pharah is potent on attack, but also a capable defender that can disrupt the back line of the attacking team or fire down on a Reinhardt who seems to always have his shield up for a push.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
| Great counter to Bastion or Torbjorn's turrets. | An easy target while "hovering" |
| Can deliver spike damage. | Ult is strong, but easily countered. |
| Incredible mobility | Easy target when indoors. |
| Excellent flanker. | Takes practice to "time" your rockets. |
| Can contribute on any map. |
Ripped apart by Soldier:76 and Widowmaker. |
Story
Pharah's mother was a member of Overwatch. Wishing to follow in her mother's footsteps she joined the Egyptian army, rose through the ranks and was prepared to become a member of Overwatch. Unfortunately, before this could haappen, the Overwatch program was disbanded.
With Overwatch no longer an option, she went to work for Helix Security International, a private security firm. It was here that she learned to fly the Raptora Mark VI, her experimental battle suit and it was here that she earned the callsign Pharah.
Abilities
Hover (Hold Space Bar) - Pharah can hover in mid air for as long as her jetpack contains fuel. She cannot hover forever so make sure to land in a safe location.
Tip - Useful after using Jump Jet to stay aloft for long periods of time.
Rocket Launcher - Pharah's primary weapon. Fires a ocket that deals 13-80 damage in a blast radius with 120 damage for a direct hit. This is great for dealing with stationary targets such as Torbjorn's turrets or Bastion as well as applying constant pressur to an area.
Tip - You can hurt yourself with your own rockets. You can also "rocket jump" into the air (taking 40 damage) to save your Jump Jet ability.
Jump Jet - Allows you to quickly gain altitude putting you above your enemies. This allows you to get a good angle for firing your rockets. Long ranged direct hits will almost never happen, so you are going to want to aim for their feet, allowing the splash damage to work its magic.
Tip - Jump Jet can get you to some hard to reach places and perches in the game. Experiment and show Widowmaker that she isn't the only one who can snipe from above.
Concussive Blast - Fires a rocket from her writst that knocks back any enemies that comes close to. Likewise can move Pharah out of melee range when needed. A great tool for knocking enemies away from Reinhardt's shield, or off the map.
Tip - This can also be used to blast opponents off the map to their death. If they are too close to an edge, let them have it.
Barrage - Delivers a continuous salvo of mini-rockets directly in front you. You can turn, but cannot move up/down/left/right while channelling your ultimate. Massive damage in an AoE but you are easily killed if you are spotted. Try to surprise you enemies with a deadly Barrage.
Tip - You're an easy target while firing off your ult. Make sure you have the element of surprise.
Strategy
Pharah is all about being disruptive. She can take out entrenched Bastions, turrets and any Hero that can't shoot her high in the sky with ease.
On attack she can disrupt the defender's back lines, making the lives of Bastion, and Torbjorn players a misery
Tip - It only takes three shots to destroy a Bastion. You outrange him. Enjoy!
On defence, Pharah can chew through Reinhardt's shields and easily get behind the frontlines forcing them to focus on her rather than on pushing a payload. Her ability to get to high "sniping" spots allows her to rain down rockets on most Heroes with impunity. Not many can actually shoot back up at her if she is well placed.
Time your ultimate to coincide with Zarya's, Reinhardt's or Mei's. Once the enemy team is incapacitated you can take them all out.
Don't understimate the ability of your Concussive Blast. Moving a sniper at the last moment might save a teammate.
Matchups
Like every Hero, Pharah has good and bad matchups. Soldier and Widow are her greatest threats while she can easily deal with Junkrat, Reinhardt and other short range Heroes.
|
Hero |
Threat |
|---|---|
|
Widowmaker: A headshot kills you. Avoid hovering or staying in plain sight with her around. |
10/10 |
| D.Va: She can get to many of the same perches as you. Her E blocks your Ult. | 6/10 |
| Genji: His mobility and abilty to snipe can wear you down. He can reflect your Ult. | 6/10 |
| Soldier 76: He's built to kill you. Kill him first. | 9/10 |
| Mei: Surprisingly annoying since she can snipe. In confined spaces she owns you. | 6/10 |
| Hanzo: He can one-shot you. Keep moving or he will make you wish that you did.. | 7/10 |
Tips
This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Pharah play. We'll continue to add to the list and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here.
Here's a tip for Volkskaya Industries while Defending Point A.
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Watch Overwatch 06 30 2016 17 04 53 13 DVR GIF on Gfycat. Discover more GIFS online at Gfycat.
You shouldn't have to melee often, but if you do...
Gameplay Commentary
Pharah Aiming Tutorial and Guide
Grandmaster's Guide to Playing Pharah
Masters Level Play VoD
1. Stay above the fight. You're much more vulnerable on the ground and especially in confined spaces like rooms.
2. Fire away. You don't need direct hits to do damage. The AoE will damage and push your opponents around.
3. On maps like Hanamura and Volkskaya you can "roof surf" by using your Space Bar to keep from falling down into the fight.
4. Don't "hang around" in one place too long. You're an easy target for a sniper or Soldier: 76. Keep moving.
5. Get behind the enemy Reinhardt's shields to either melt him or force him to turn opening himself up to your team.
6. Flank, flank. flank. On Volkskaya Industries as the attacking team you can fly around the left side of the map from your initial spawn point completely bypassing the choke where your enemies are undoubtedly setup.
7. Flank, flank, flank. On Hanamura as the attacker you can fly across to the left side of Objective B where you be a distraction firing onto the objective and bouncing up to the back walkway. There is also a large healthpack in the room on the left side to heal you back up should you need it.
8. Use your E to knock enemies off the map. Nepal and Illios are great map series for this. On Anubis you can displace opponents holding the high ground at the first choke.
9. On Numbani use your Jump Jet to get up to the walkways where you can rain down rockets without hovering. Just keep jumping from walkway to walkway to stay ahead of your enemies.
10. You can't really go toe to toe with anyone on the ground. Keep your distance and whenever possible stay above the fight.
11. You outrange Torbjorn's turrets. Punish him.
12. Use concussive blast on the ground or vertical services to help you escape or just to give you a second more of lift.
13. Use a mic and act as a scout for your team. You can get to vantage points that many of your teammates can only dream of.
14. Communicate with your team before you use your ultimate. A Zarya ult to set things up plus her "bubble" on you will make a huge difference.
15. To launch people farther as Pharah, get them airborne first. Fire a rocket at them and then immediately fire your concussive blast to push them across the map. Timing is everything and your rockets travel slower than concussive blast, so practice a bit in custom until you get the timing down.
16. You usually want to avoid being "indoors" or in small spaces, but that also happens to be where your ultimate is most effective. A flank behind the enemy into a small hallway or room can set you up for a game changing ultimate. Remember, you aren't trapped in there with them. They are are trapped in there with you. Justice rains!
17. Use concussive blast to break up "shielded" positions. Knocking Reinhardt off the ledge leaves his team open to attack.
18. Don't fly out in the open. You are incredibly easy to kill. Be sneaky! Attack from different angles.
19. Choose targets that you can kill quickly. You are too vulnerable to sit in the open plinking at a Reinhardt.
20. Prioritize targets that are a threat to you. In most cases you can kill them, giving you free reign over the map.
I'd love to add your tips and strategies for Pharah! Comment below!
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