Our goal is to help you be the very best Symmetra player that you can be.   


Symmetra is a Support Hero that's good on a few maps. Her ability to shield allies combined with her Teleporter for transporting her team to the battlefield is invaluable. Although she can't provide healing, it's her Teleporter that truly defines her playstyle. Her low health pool and poor primary weapon mean that she isn't a combat class. Instead and similarly to the Engineer in Team Fortress 2, she uses Sentry Turret's to soften her targets before she finishes them off.

Unlike the Engineer however, she can place up to six Mini Sentry Turret's which can stick to any surface. These Sentry Turret's don't deal enormous damage by themselves but in a cluster they can quickly cut down an enemy Hero and if Symmetra is there to support them, most players won't last long against them. Unfortunately her Sentry Turret's can die in a single hit so it's imperative that you place them out of sight and look after them when you can.

Finally, the nature of Symmetra's design dictates she has a relatively passive playstyle. Once you've planted your Sentry Turret's and shielded your allies, the only thing you can really do is poke with your alternative fire from afar or attempt to melt close range enemies. It's not for everyone.

Pros

Cons

Her Teleporter is very strong on some maps

Her Teleporter and Shield Barrier are her main bonus to a team. 

She has reasonable shielding that aids in damage mitigation

Her playstyle is incredibly passive

Her Sentry Turret's are excellent for area denial

Her Photon Projector is pretty terrible against almost every Hero (unless they're stationary)

Her alternative fire can be effective at zoning out enemies and can bypass shields

She offers very little outside of her ultimates.

Story

Satya Vaswani grew up in Hyderabad, India. By her recollection, it was not a pleasant environment to grow up in.

Following the Omnic Crisis, the Vishkar Corporation of southern India began the laborious process of creating new, self-sustaining cities to house the nation's displaced population. One such city, Utopaea, was created using radical hard-light technology that enabled its architechs to shape the city's streets, utilities, and living spaces in the blink of an eye.

After she was identified as one of the few capable of becoming a light-bending architech, Satya was plucked from extreme poverty and placed in the care of Vishkar's Architech Academy, never to return home. Isolated and lonely in her new life, Satya immersed herself in her education and training. She quickly grasped the applications of the technology and was one of the top students in her class. Satya approached hard-light manipulation differently than her peers, with their more procedural, mechanical constructions, instead weaving her constructs in the motions of the traditional dance of her homeland.

Though she was one of Utopaea's top architechs, the Vishkar Corporation saw far greater potential in Satya's abilities. Giving her the moniker "Symmetra," Vishkar sent her on clandestine missions around the world to uphold its corporate interests and expand its influence into other countries.

Abilities

 

Strategy

Symmetra is a strange one when it comes to strategy because her playstyle is so passive. Sure you can dive in against enemy Heroes and use your primary fire, but you'll die instantly. The best advice I can give is to not only stay near your team and keeping sentries up, but to poke regularly with your alternative fire. Although you're highly unlikely to hit someone directly (unless it's Reinhardt approaching you with his barrier up) its value is in zoning people so they're forced to move. Alternatively her orbs are invaluable at destroying Torbjorn's turret as they cannot be stopped.

As for her Sentry Turret's and placement of her Teleporter, they're both closely linked. Placing a Teleporter down as quickly as possible is key and maintaining its uptime can quite comfortably win you a match. Likewise, Shield Barrier is a huge boon to any team. Having her Sentry Turret's in locations where they'll regularly damage enemies allows you to charge your Ultimate faster (when your Teleporter isn't active). Placing Sentry Turret's in difficult locations, or on your flanks will also ensure your team can't be ambushed without you being alerted. Considering most players will shoot your Sentry Turret's as soon as they take damage from them, they're a brilliant alarm for you and your team (you'll see the red destruction icon on your screen). On the subject of Sentry Placement, try to ensure they aren't visible but clustered so that when an enemy does walk through a door or around a corner that they'll take immediate damage from multiple Sentry Turrets. Clustering them in this way and making the most of the fact they slow enemies, can allow you to pickup a handful of kills. If possible, placing them above doorways or on high ceilings works well. 

Finally, always stay near your team. I can't emphaise this enough. As long as you can see them and quickly run to them if needed, you'll be fine. If you decide to constantly venture out by yourself however, Reaper, Tracer and McCree will regularly put you down. 

Matchups

Heroes listed here are particularly challenging for Symmetra. While those listed can still be killed, they pose a particularly difficult challenge for her so be sure to take extra care. 

Hero

Threat 

Tracer: Her speed, Ultimate ability and recall make her a constant threat. She can comfortably zip past your Sentry Turrets, plant her bomb and destroy your Teleporter without any worry. As for killing her 1 on 1, it's near impossible unless she's A) Terrible or B) Almost dead herself.

9/10

Genji: Similarly to Tracer, his speed combined with his mobility make him a nuisance. 

9/10

Reaper: An ability to bypass your Sentry Turret's with Wraith Form as well as a teleport means that he's a constant threat to you, your team and your Teleporter. His damage is also incredibly high and will burst you down in seconds.

9/10

Soldier 76: His ability to heal combined with his rapid damage can cut you down near instantly. It also means that he can quickly destroy your Sentry Turret's in a heartbeat and still survive. If he turns on his Ultimate, it's game over. 

9/10

 

McCree: He might be slower than other Heroes, but McCree can still kill you instantly. A well timed Flashbang followed up with a couple headshots will end your life quickly.

8/10

Pharah: Her ranged poke can comfortably destroy your Sentry Turret's while she can blow up your Teleporter almost instantly. Combined with her mobility and there's little hope of ever killing her. 10/10

 

 

Tips

This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Symmetra play. We'll continue to add to the list as required and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here. 


How to charge your ultimate in less than 10 seconds. 

 

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Top 500 Symmetra Guide

 


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Step-by-Step Guide to Symmetra

 


Grandmaster Symmetra Tips

 


Grandmaster Symmetra Tips for Temple of Anubis

 


1. Always find ways to use your Photon Shield. 

2. Keeping your Teleporter active is key, so placing it off the beaten track but close to the front of battle is key. Most maps have "quiet" spots that make ideal locations. Learn them. 

3. Your Sentry Turret's are best used in clusters of three or more for maximum damage. Hide them in close quarter areas or above door frames. 

4. Your alternative fire is great for zoning out enemy players or firing at a static Torbjorn turret. You should repeatedly use it as often as possible when attacking or defending.

5. You will be notified when one of your Sentry Turret's is killed. Use this as an alarm for the direction enemies are attacking from. 

6. Your primary fire requires charge to be effective.  Charge it on Mei walls, Winston shields, etc. 

7. You don't earn Ultimate charge if your Teleporter is active. It's imperative once it's destroyed that you get the charge back as quickly as possible by damaging enemy players with your weapon or Sentry Turret's. 

8. Always stay near your team. Symmetra struggles to kill any Hero by herself so you'll need them to protect you. 

9. Symmetra can bypass shielding with her orb - utilise this against tanky Heroes such as Reinhardt. 

10. You can often build 20% Ult just by placing a nest of turrets at the opponents' spawn when the game starts.  

11. You are an excellent Genji counter, able to melt him in about 2 seconds. 

12. Build your ultimate by firing through Reinhardt's shield.  Not only do you damage the shield, but the damage to Reinhardt gives you a double burst to ultimate charge. 

13. Photon shield can block ultimates.  (Earthshatter, D.Va's Self-Destruct, High Noon, etc.)

14. Orbs are a sniper's nightmare.  Widowmaker can't see through them and though they are slow moving they are an excellent means of harassment. 

15. Photon Shield is an excellent way to push through a choke.   Combined with Orisa or Reinhardt and your entire team should be able to move through just about any uncomfortable choke. 

 

 


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Last Updated: May 18, 2017

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