Winston Synergies and Matchups
Table of Contents
On this page, we list the good and bad matchups for Winston. More specifically, we list the heroes that Winston synergizes well with, the heroes that counter Winston, and those that Winston is strong against.
The other pages of our Winston guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.
Winston's Synergies
D.Va & Winston
The dynamic duo of dive compositions, D.Va is an
almost necessary counterpart to Winston's playstyle. D.Va can use her
Boosters to follow Winston as he makes a dive on an enemy player with
Jump Pack. Once there, D.Va can use her
Quad Cannons and
Micro Missiles to deal supplemental damage to Winston's
Tesla Cannon. If Winston's
Projected Barrier is destroyed, D.Va
can use her
Defense Matrix to help Winston stay alive long
enough to finish a kill or get out with Jump Pack. All that to say, D.Va
and Winston are a perfect match for any team composition looking for
quick-striking and hard-hitting characters.
Sombra & Winston
Sombra is a fairly decent flanker, but her true ability
shines when using
Hack. Unfortunately, Hack can be difficult to pull off
when an enemy is free from distraction. Luckily, Winston is a great distraction.
If Sombra and Winston communicate, Winston can launch into the air with
Jump Pack, distracting an enemy long enough for Sombra to get off a
Hack. Once Winston lands on the enemy, his
Tesla Cannon mixed
with Sombra's
Machine Pistol can make quick work of enemy DPS and
support heroes who cannot use their abilities thanks to Hack. Once the kill is
secured, the duo can go back to their respective safe places (Sombra's being
wherever her
Translocator is, and Winston's being with the rest of his
team. This plan of attack is extremely frustrating for enemy players, and the
duo can arguably pull of this attack without other heroes. Therefore, Sombra is
a great pick with Winston in traditional dive compositions
or hybrid compositions.
Mercy & Winston
Mercy is good with Winston for two reasons. First, she has high
single-target healing thanks to her
Caduceus Staff. Second, she can
fly to Winston with
Guardian Angel should Winston find himself in
trouble. Although Mercy is not guaranteed to make it into enemy territory and
back alive, she arguably has the best chance of doing so while
simultaneously giving Winston a good amount of heals. Other heroes lack in
one of two of these categories, either they cannot keep up with Winston
(Ana, Moira, Zenyatta, Brigitte), or they can
cannot keep Winston alive due to their lackluster single-target healing
(Lúcio). Therefore, Mercy is arguably the best hero for the job.
Genji & Winston
Genji is another flanker that gains a lot from
Winston's presence on the battlefield. Although Winston typically has a tough
time finishing enemies, Genji is an expert at finishing combos thanks to his
Swift Strike and
Shurikens. If Winston uses
Jump Pack onto
high ground, Genji can use his
Cyber-Agility
to get into the fight in a matter of seconds (something Tracer lacks
when playing with Winston. Lastly, Winston's
Barrier Projector helps
Genji stay alive when he is using
Dragonblade.
Winston Counters
Reaper & Winston
Reaper is a direct counter to Winston for a number of reasons. First,
Reaper's
Hellfire Shotguns deal massive amounts of damage, which can
either shred Winston's
Barrier Projector or Winston's 500
hit points. Second, Reaper can be used to defend
objectives or allies, which means Winston will
have a tough time bypassing Reaper's reach if he babysits allies. Third,
Reaper's passive,
The Reaping, makes him
nearly impossible to kill when Winston and Reaper are
dueling. Fourth, if used offensively, Reaper can easily
infiltrate the enemy backline and deal more damage
to Winston's allies than he can deal to Reaper's allies. Fifth, Reaper can
take down a Winston using
Primal Rage fairly quickly, and has nothing
to worry about if Winston attempts to trap him in a corner.
Roadhog & Winston
Roadhog is a decent counter to Winston for the same reasons as
Reaper, but their are two additional things Roadhog can do
that make him even more devastating. First, Roadhog can use his
Chain Hook to disrupt Winston's attack or retreat. If Roadhog
can get it off fast enough, he should be able to hook Winston if
he fails to throw down
Barrier Projector fast enough.
If Winston does put down Barrier Projector, Raodhog can take out
the barrier in 3.5 seconds on his own. Once
the barrier is destroyed, Winston is a hard-to-miss Chain Hook target.
The second reason Roadhog is so good against Winston is his
Whole Hog
ability. When Winston uses
Primal Rage in an attempt to attack allies
or stall an objective, Whole Hog can cut into
Winston's plans. Roadhog can either trap Winston in a corner and nullify his
ultimate by killing him, or he can push him away from his allies and nullify
his ultimate by zoning him.
Pharah & Winston
You cannot kill what you cannot reach, which is exactly why Pharah is
a direct counter to Winston. While Winston's
Jump Pack allows him to
reach Pharah for a couple of moments, it is right back down to the ground for
Winston while Pharah continues to control the skies. While Winston thrives off
of coordinated team efforts, he is massively countered by coordinated team
defenses. With Pharah patrolling the skies, she can tell her team where
Winston is and who he is looking to jump on before
Jump Pack takes
him to his final destination. After warning her team, Pharah can rain down
rockets on the enemy team who does not have a main tank
defending their ranks.
Brigitte & Winston
Winston's main goal is to distract enemies from doing their job,
unfortunately for Winston, Brigitte's job is to heal for her team
while thwarting the opposition's attempts to kill her. Although Winston's
Tesla Cannon can travel through enemy barriers,
Brigitte's 250 hit points allows her to
tank the damage. Additionally, she can use
Inspire to heal herself and
others, effectively cutting down Winston's overall DPS. She can use her
Shield Bash to stun Winston once he lands, and her
Rally ensures
that her and her team can withstand anything Winston can produce.
Winston Is Strong Against
Genji & Winston
Genji is a fantastic flanker thanks to his
mobility. His
Cyber-Agility makes him a difficult
target to hit, but Winston's
Tesla Cannon auto-locks, meaning aim is not
a factor for Winston. Therefore, focusing Genji as he attacks allies is simple
to do, and if he uses
Swift Strike to get away, Winston can chase with
Jump Pack. When Genji uses
Dragonblade, Winston's
Primal Rage can knock Genji away from his target, breaking his combo
chain and forcing his ultimate to be wasted.
Widowmaker & Winston
Winston is strong against any hero who requires peace and quiet to do their job.
Thanks to Winston's
Jump Pack, the peace and quiet that
Widowmaker needs is easily nullified. Once Winston is on Widowmaker, it
is only a matter of time until she succumbs to his
Tesla Cannon. If she
has her
Grappling Hook to escape, Winston can follow up his own attack
with another use of
Jump Pack. This game of cat and mouse will either end in
Widowmaker's death or her displacement from a vantage point, and either way,
Winston comes out ahead.
Zenyatta & Winston
Zenyatta's lack of mobility,
self-sustain, and damage against
barriers makes him a high-value target for Winston.
If Zenyatta is split from his team, Winston
can make quick work of him with little to no repercussions. Winston can also
use his
Primal Rage to focus Zenyatta, either killing him or forcing
him to use his
Transcendence at an inopportune time.
About our Author
Mournflakes is a flex Grandmaster Overwatch player who boasts a career high SR rating of 4433. His favorite heroes are Roadhog, Soldier: 76, and Ana. He has played Overwatch since its initial release, and has put over 700 hours into competitive play. When not writing guides, you can catch Mournflakes streaming on his Twitch channel.
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