Ashe’s scoped fire rate is 1.4 rounds per second.
NC damage - 85 (119 DPS)
Ashe can jump while scoped in. Widow cannot. Ashe does have a “fall off” range modifier and a lower crit modifier (2.0x vs. Widow’s at 2.5x).
When calculating fall off damage. Ashe = Widow at about 49 yards. Anything less than that and Ashe becomes significantly more powerful than Widow, unless we’re talking about critical dmg. In that case however it comes done to semantics like player skill, power ups, and the actual effectiveness of their sights at a give range. I’d argue Ashe is easier to be consistent with, regardless of skill level.
TDLR; Ashe does increasingly more scoped damage than Widow inside of 49 yards. And when you consider her dynamite and fire rate, she is even more powerful.
Since when did Widow become a VERY long range ONLY character?
Widow is, and will be, the preferred choice of highly skilled players who want the headshot damage. They are two different heroes that fill two different roles despite the similarities in their guns.
widow has allways been about headshots, 300 dmg headshots isn’t anything to sneeze at.
and widow can use grapple to launch herself into the air, it’s just really risky, it is a very risky move against any sniper.
but look at it this way, if you pocket an ashe with mercy, she can kill 200 hp targets much more effeciently than widow, but that is only when she is being pocketed, a widow can pull that off without a pocket.
and then you have the bloody reload times on ashe that just makes her damage so much more important that she hits her shots or else she hasn’t contributed at all or very low in a fight.
the biggest thing ashe has imo is b.o.b. it’s a cc, it’s point presence, it’s damage, it’s area denial. especially point presence which snipers really suffers from.
DPS isn’t the big thing here, Widow can insta kill everyone but tanks, Ashe cannot. It’s several orders of magnitude harder to HS + BS than it is to just HS alone.
Have you been paying attention? Ashe with double/triple damage boost (Mercy/Ana + Zen + Orisa) in the rare chance there isn’t a GOATS comp, is devastating at higher levels of play. More so than Widow.
Because a good pro Widow is an even better Ashe with a CC knockup, an Overtime delay ult that still forces enemy teams behind walls for 10-15 seconds, the ability to fight back with both mobility and damage at the same time, and an answer to being dived upon…
We’re fast approaching a repeat of closed beta No Hero Limits Overwatch weeklies, where damage boosts and hitscan reigned supreme. Instead of double McCree, it’s now going to be Ashe + Widow.
In all FPS eSports titles with hitscan snipers and countersnipers, it’s been documentedly easier for the countersniper to bodyshot > headshot (in that order).
Bodyshot guarantees aim punch, which throws off sniper aim to the point where you can finish up with a headshot (if at all necessary…)
Citations;
Halo - DMR vs Sniper Rifle, Battle Rifle vs Sniper Rifle, Pistol vs Sniper Rifle
Counter-Strike - Scout vs AWP
Gears of War - Boltok vs Longshot
Call of Duty - Semi-Auto Rifle vs Bolt Action Rifle
Team Fortress 2 - Stock Shotguns vs Snipers
Tbf though if you’re playing Widow and the enemy team has an Ashe you play long range more often, reason being Widow completely outclasses Ashe as a long range sniper. She can’t even one shot Widow and she will always be Ashe’s#1 counter.