Last week we covered Ashe, the tough cowgirl and leader of the Deadlock gang in Overwatch. This week we will be saddling up with McCree, the closer-ranged hitscan of the duo. McCree’s flashbang adds a lot of options to the table, but sometimes he feels like a sittin’ duck. You can dish out some serious damage with the cyborg cowboy, but first you have to make sure you’re in the right place. Let’s review your footwork in this week’s Overwatch Positioning Guide

Effective range

McCree operates in the closest range of all the single-shot DPS heroes. While Ashe stands at 30 meters and Widowmaker has near infinite range, McCree suffers damage drop-off past 20 meters. Despite this, he can dish out more consistent damage than the other two. You can measure range in game if you have 18 seconds to spare before a round. His Combat Roll ability takes him 6.25 meters forward, so 3 of those roughly represent his effective range.

Don’t be afraid to play closer, though. Combat Roll is a decent disengage from most encounters. You’ll need to be closer anyways if you want to get value out of Flashbang, which has a maximum range of 7 meters. McCree performs very well on Overwatch maps with lots of corners and tight spaces. This type of map geometry allows him to take the enemy by surprise.

Peeling with abilities

Flashbang is an incredibly useful ability. It’s not just for swatting pesky Tracers or interrupting ultimates. Positioning yourself close to your backline can help them defend from flankers. If you’re able to keep your supports alive, your tanks will have a much easier time providing you with range to shoot from.

Your frontline can also be helped by Flashbang. Toss it over an aggressive Reinhardt’s shield and your team may be able to take him out. If you know he has Earthshatter, the grenade may cancel his ultimate without it landing. Plenty of other frontline abilities can be interrupted. Roadhog’s Take a Breather, Wrecking Ball’s Piledriver, and Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp are worth mentioning. If your enemy gets no value from their cooldowns, your team will have an easier time winning fights.

McCree’s Combat Roll ability gives him a limited amount of peel for himself, and instantly reloads his gun. Don’t underestimate the strength of disengaging from a duel and moving back to your team. You don’t always need to eliminate an enemy in Overwatch, sometimes just occupying their attention and denying them space works just as well.e.

Watch out for heroes like Winston and D.Va. While Combat Roll can be strong, it only moves you 6.25 meters. Both Winston and D.Va can still deal full damage to you in that range and will quickly take you out.

Compositions and matchups

McCree is incredibly strong when used to deny space. If you have a Reinhardt and Zarya tank composition, you can help by slowing down enemy advances. Often, if an enemy gets within the range of Flashbang, your tanks can follow up on the stun and remove them from the objective. While flanking may get you results on unaware teams, it is easy to recognize and punish at higher ranks. A good rule of thumb is to be 1 cooldown away from your team. For McCree, that means a Combat Roll away. Try to take the high ground when you can.

While McCree may seem good against Dive, he is easily dove on once he has used Flashbang. While you may be able to dispatch a single Tracer or Genji, Dive tanks can deal with the damage. To counter Dive, McCree needs to play tightly with his team and not go on wild backline adventures. If you don’t have solid frontline tanks and the enemy is running a Dive composition, avoid playing McCree. Your roll won’t give you enough distance to return to your team.

The take-away

McCree is not a lone gunman type of Overwatch hero. He will give you the best results when you work with your team, rather than solo. Try and use Flashbang to support your teammates defensively and offensively rather than going for solo picks. And remember, that consistent damage and staying alive gives you a stronger advantage than a single pick, swiftly followed by your own demise.