I can’t help but notice all of the increased hate Hanzo is getting as of late. I thought perhaps I might voice my 2 Overwatch currency points on it a little bit. Who knows, maybe I can bring another perspective to things and help some understand another way to view things.
When I first started playing OW in Apr 2020, Hanzo was one of the most troublesome heroes for my friends and me. We kept losing so many games if the enemy had a Hanzo, and I wanted to know why he was so tough for us to deal with, and to do that, I decided to go from playing almost exclusively Soldier 76 to trying out Hanzo for myself, to learn his ins and outs, so I could figure out how to counter him; you know, learn his strengths and weaknesses to play against it better. I started out doing quite awful, but slowly started to pick up on where to be, how to aim, how the arrows flew etc. After that, I was hooked. He was so much fun to actually play. I think what made him the most fun for me is his wall climb and air dash/jump abilities, and not having to always be out in the open to score kills.
I now have almost 900 hours on Hanzo. Down below are some of my best potgs I’ve been able to save over the last couple of years (which include a few OW1 clips, but tbh, Hanzo hasn’t changed a whole lot in the last 3 years in his mechanics or play style.) I will leave it up to you to determine if these clips are … “bleh, typical Hanzo luck”, or perhaps these clips may help in showing you that I’m personally convinced there’s a threshold requirement of skill that is needed to excel at a level that makes him so frustrating to play against at times, compared to just ‘annoying luck’ or ‘low skill’.
I’ve played against countless Hanzos myself. Trust me, I can tell when I’m playing against a great one, or someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, or someone who’s trying hard but doesn’t quite have it down yet, and everything in between. I don’t recall ever saying to myself after a match “DARNIT! I lost because their Hanzo got lucky throughout that game!” I’ve always ended up saying “Welp! I lost because their Hanzo was insanely good throughout the entire match, and they were better than me at the game.” And matter of fact, that very thing happened just last night: losing to an excellent Hanzo.
In fact, when there is a Hanzo player on the other team who is not as good at the game as I am, they virtually NEVER win against us, and if they do, it’s NEVER because they just ‘got luckier than me’. But it also comes down to way more than just the way his bow works and the damage he can output. When I lose to other Hanzos, they don’t just have extremely good aim. They have EVERYTHING it takes to make a good Overwatch player. They have incredible enemy/ally awareness. They have extremely good movement and control of their character. They know when and where to utilize their skills for offense and defense. Map positioning is insane. Game sense and knowing when to back off from fights, you name it. They are just all around GREAT players at the game. And they are choosing to play Hanzo, I can only assume, because they like how Hanzo plays, and are having fun. I would almost bet money if they switched characters, they would still destroy me. And who knows, maybe even destroy me more… I chalk it up as I lost because they are just plain simply better at the game than I am.
Yes, trust me, after 900 hours, I am fully aware that Hanzo can get lucky shots and even lucky 1 hit kills. But, with near certainty, I can also say that EVERY single non hit-scan hero (mei, torb, zen, kiriko, you get the drift) has gotten nearly an equal amount of lucky headshot kills on me as a hanzo has against me. And yes, even a Widow has now and then gone for a shot on someone and missed and hit me in the head and one shot killed me from full across the map not even knowing I was there - because they had bad aim, and I was wrong place wrong time. To be honest, I get more annoyed at the random headshot kills from these other heroes than I do when a Hanzo gets a random headshot on me, which I can say is actually not all that common. And you know why? Read the next paragraph.
Now, I’m not trying to throw my friends under the bus, I’ve won hundreds and hundreds of games with them on my team. But when there’s a decent Hanzo player on the enemy team, and I am having to be extra careful of my map positioning, a couple specific of my friends are CONSTANTLY complaining that they are getting one shot by their Hanzo. Just how many times has this Hanzo 1 shot them in matches like these? Sometimes 3-5 times each. No exaggeration. Both in the same game, complaining in tandem. How many times had this same Hanzo 1 shot me or our other random squishy ally on our team? Zero. None. You know why? Because I am aware of how Hanzo works. I know how he needs to aim to obtain those head shots. I’m always paying attention to where he is, and where his arrows are landing behind walls so I know where he’s looking. I know his weaknesses and his strengths and how he’s likely using his sonic arrows for vision and where and when. My friends don’t play Hanzo. They don’t know what it takes to get these headshots. In these matches, they complain to me he’s getting lucky shots on them over and over, and I am watching my friends’ movements and they’re not being careful and not playing the map’s positionings to defend against it.
I digress. Whatever the case though, please do let me know what your thoughts are on these potgs, and if you feel like I was just lucky in them, well, that is your right to believe. I personally think the ‘xatmamune’s highlight insane flick 22 08 06 19 57 13’ was incredible and is one of my favourites. When the Genji was killed in that moment, they weren’t mad. They were actually praising how insane that shot was all the way to the end of the match and afterwards. Not once did they blame my ‘luck’ on it. ‘pinpoint devastation 23 03 20 23 59 36’, ‘xatmamune’s just don’t miss 22 09 25 22 45 00’, and ‘xatmamune’s dismantling enemy team 22 04 03 19 35 56’ are also up there because landing multitudes of shots in a row and getting multiple kills in a row is so satisfying.
One big reason I love these potgs is because I think all but ONE kill was planned and could be considered lucky, and that was on a Moira turning a corner behind her Rein that dropped his shield in that moment. Other than that, every headshot was aimed. It’s just an awesome feeling when you aim the shots, and they connect where you want them to. That Widow or Tracer in the far back? Yep, I aimed at them. That Mercy or Echo zipping through the Air? Yep, calculated shots. That Reaper or Sombra or Genji aggressing me? They need to learn their place. 
Enjoy, and let me know which ones you liked the most. This is the first time I’m showing these videos publicly. FYI These are in order of most recent to oldest:
pinpoint devastation 23 03 20 23 59 36
xatmamune’s dismantling enemy team 22 04 03 19 35 56
hanzo annihilation complete 23 03 14 23 28 22
Hanzo mess you up 23 02 16 18 25 49
quintuple dragon destruction and evacuation 23 02 16 18 16 47
quintuple dragon 22 10 18 22 17 52
xatmamune’s just don’t miss 22 09 25 22 45 00
quad dragon 22 10 15 00 35 48
xatmamune’s highlight insane flick 22 08 06 19 57 13
xatmamune’s double shutdown 22 06 20 19 05 12
xatmamune’s sextuple dragon 22 05 30 21 18 07
xatmamune’s dismantling enemy team 22 04 03 19 35 56
xatmamune’s triple kill 22 01 31 20 07 06
Epic Hanzo Flick Shot (sorry for poor quality, was still learning the recording software)
Xatmamune POTG denied 21 08 27 20 34 59
Xatmamune POTG 3v1 21 08 27 20 36 27
