Overwatch: 15 Ultimate Ability Fun Facts

Much of Overwatch’s lasting appeal comes from the wide array of battle-changing ultimate abilities. Below is a list of fun facts and niche interactions between each character’s ult and other abilities/situations in the game. Hopefully, you’ll be able to learn something new from this list. GLHF!

1. Junkrat’s Riptire will do 600 damage when it explodes on the ground but only 400 damage when it explodes midair.
2. D.va’s Defense Matrix ability can eat enemy ults including Zarya’s (before it lands on the ground), Mei’s (before the little robot activates), Hanzo’s (before the arrow transforms into the dragons), Tracer’s (as long as the bomb is still flying through the air), and most other projectile/hitscan ultimates. However, it cannot destroy Junkrat’s Riptire.
3. Roadhog’s Whole Hog is excellent for knocking enemies into pits (for example, on Nepal: Sanctum). It’s also great for keeping enemies off of a payload or a point during overtime.
4. McCree’s Deadeye can begin locking onto enemy players after they have been resurrected by Mercy’s ult. If the enemy has a sneaky Mercy who frequently revives her team after a full wipe, McCree provides a great means of cleaning up the fight in your favor. However, be aware of enemy Genji players who can begin deflecting prior to losing their invulnerability.
5. Mei can place her wall under an ulting Hanzo to displace the Dragonstrike arrow upwards.
6. If you fire Soldier’s Helix Rocket during his Tactical Visor, it will lock onto enemies, but it will not follow them. It will simply travel to their last known destination when fired. For this reason, try to use it when foes aren’t moving side-to-side. Instead, try using it when they are close to walls or are moving directly away from you.
7. Widowmaker cannot see an invisible Sombra during her ultimate, Infra-Sight.
8. Sombra can hack the following ultimate abilities and cancel them mid-duration: McCree’s Deadeye, Pharah’s Barrage, Reaper’s Death Blossom, Hanzo’s Dragonstrike (can be stopped mid-cast before the arrow comes out), Torbjorn’s turret with/without Molten Core, Roadhog’s Whole Hog, and Lucio’s Sound Barrier (cannot stop it mid-animation but will strip the shield from all affected players). Sombra cannot hack: Genji’s Dragonblade, Soldier’s Tactical Visor, Bastion’s Tank Form, Junkrat’s Riptire, Mei’s Blizzard, D.va’s Self-Destruct, Winston’s Primal Rage, Ana’s Nano Boost, Mercy’s Resurrect, and Zenyatta’s Transcendence.
9. You can use Tracer’s Pulse Bomb mid-Blink, meaning that you can Blink forward toward a target while throwing Pulse Bomb for a much faster stick.
10. Orisa’s Halt! ability can be used to pull an enemy Reinhardt off the ground so that your own Reinhardt can use Earthshatter on the enemy team, unhindered by the opposing Reinhardt’s shield.
11. If a Reinhardt uses Earthshatter against another Reinhardt’s shield, the ability will be blocked, as most people are aware. However, if the defending Reinhardt drops his shield only a split second after blocking it, he and whoever is standing behind him will still be affected. Keep your shield up for a long moment after blocking an enemy Earthshatter. Also, other types of barriers (such as Orisa’s Protective Barrier and even Symmetra’s Photon Barrier when it touches the ground) can block Earthshatter.
12. Zenyatta’s Transcendance can be countered in a number of ways. Ana can throw her Biotic Grenade on his allies to prevent them from being healed, D.va, Tracer, McCree, and Junkrat can use their ults to one-shot most heroes, and Widowmaker can still land headshots to instakill most non-tanks. Many characters can also out-damage his healing ability when they are Nano Boosted – examples include Pharah and Reaper when using their own ultimates.
13. When a Reinhardt on your team uses Earthshatter, it’s generally not a good idea to follow up on his victims using Winston’s Primal Rage. By knocking foes around, you’ll also be knocking them away from your allies who could have otherwise killed them.
14. Orisa’s ultimate ability, Supercharger, stacks additively with Nano Boost but does not stack with Mercy’s damage boost.
15. When using Ana’s Sleep Dart on an ulting enemy, channeled abilities will be canceled while self-buffs will remain in effect if the player is awoken before the ability’s duration ends. For instance, using sleep dart on an enemy Soldier will prevent him from making use of his ultimate while he sleeps, but if he is awoken while it is still active, he can continue using it again. However, using Sleep Dart on a channeled ability like Roadhog’s Whole Hog or McCree’s Deadeye will cancel the ability.