I’ve been seeing a lot of misconceptions around hitscan heroes. Some players ask for all of them to be nerfed, which does not make sense. Since Ashe and Widowmaker are not the only hitscans in the game. Which is often what people are referring to when addressing all hitscans.
Why I see this as an issue
I see this as a bit of a problem because hitscans like D.Va and Sombra don't need nerfs. So I don't think it is right to call for every hitscan to be nerfed since it will include heroes like them as well.I also see a lot of augments happen because people are unsure which hitscans someone is referring too. Which also leads to a lot of vague terminology and inconsistencies.
Now I am not saying my terminology is correct or word of law. However I do think it is better than terms such as “main hitscan” which is too vague. Or even just “hitscan” which is not very accurate. I also have reasons for the names I used to differentiate the hitscan types.
So what is a hitscan?
Explanation as to what is a hitscan
Contrary to popular belief hitscan is not a type of role, such as sniper or flanker. Instead it refers to the shooting mechanics of various weapons. Which means they instantly damage whatever you are looking at instead of traveling to a spot like projectile weapons.Here is a list of every hero with a hitscan attack:
| Tank | DPS | Support |
|---|---|---|
| D.Va | Ashe | Ana |
| Wrecking Ball | McCree | Baptiste |
| Widowmaker | ||
| Bastion | ||
| Reaper | ||
| Soldier: 76 | ||
| Sombra | ||
| Tracer |
Pinpoint vs Spread
We also got to keep in mind that there are two different types of hitscan weapons.Explanation as to what are pinpoint and spread weapons
The first being pinpoint, which are hitscan weapons that do not have a spread angle. This means they go directly where you aim with no built in spread modifier what so ever.The next is spread, which are hitscan weapons that have a spread angle. Meaning they will never shoot perfectly straight and will even build up the spread for some weapons.
I bring this up because when players talk about all hitscans, they are actually referring to just pinpoint hitscan. Such as Widow, Ashe and McCree.
Here is a list of every hero with a pinpoint and spread attack
| Pinpoint | Spread |
|---|---|
| Ashe | Ashe |
| Ana | Wrecking Ball |
| McCree | Bastion |
| Widowmaker | D.Va |
| Baptiste | McCree |
| Reaper | |
| Soldier: 76 | |
| Sombra | |
| Tracer | |
| Widowmaker |
Notes:
Explanations as to why some weapons are classified the way they are or why some things are left out
How is Ana a hitscan?
Now I know what you are thinking. How is Ana a hitscan when she shoots projectiles? Well you see she only shoots projectiles when unscoped. When scoped all her shots become hitscan.Why Soldier: 76 does not have pinpoint
Soldier: 76's first three shots are very accurate. However it is actually not pinpoint since it still has a spread, it is just very low.Why no beams?
Beams are actually their own clarification of weapon mechanics. They also function differently than hitscan. This is why beam heroes such as Zarya, Sym and Moira are not considered hitscan heroes.Conclusion
Basically saying thank you
I hope you enjoy this post and let me know if I made an error.
Most of my info comes from: Weapon - Overwatch Wiki
It is a very interesting page and I do encourage you to check it out if you are interested in how OW weapons function.
As a S76 main, it does feel off-putting when people say “nerf hitscans”, since not all hitscans are equal. At all