Unfortunately most people instantly call you a troll and thrower if you pick Torbjörn in competitive, but they are foolish! Torbjörn can be a really strong defensive force with his Turret, and even without it he is capable of dealing insane damage, be it long range or close range thanks to his Overload ability. Playing him on the attacking side is absolutely viable on some maps.

Let us help you become a better Torbjörn player with these tips, and hopefully competitive players will soon realise the hidden potential this hero truly has.

General tips

Your Rivet Gun has no damage falloff, meaning that you can actually kill a Widowmaker with a single headshot + bodyshot combo using your primary fire. This is a really important aspect of the hero, practicing your aim with the primary fire is key if you want to fully utilize Torbjörn. Do not forget to always spam chokes.

The secondary fire of your Rivet Gun is basically a Reaper shotgun with slower rate of fire. It is also possible to headshot with it, so don’t be afraid to stay close to enemies around corners, especially since your character model is really small, so hitting you is not as easy as it might seem.

Your Turret is a really big part of your damage output, so you want to have it up all the time. This, however does not mean that you want to stay close and repair it with your hammer. Place it in a way so you create cross-fire, so the enemy have to choose between killing you or the Turret. You want to reposition it in-between teamfights, and you can stand in front of it with your Overload activated to block incoming damage if needed.

Overload is an insanely strong ability, make sure you use it efficiently. For one, using it straight away after respawning will help you reach the fight sooner. Apart from this, you have to think about defensive and offensive options as well. Melting Tanks with your alternate fire buffed up by Overload is child’s play, but you also need to think about the instant extra armor it provides, it can save you from death.

Hero specific tips

Your Molten Core is a really strong area-denial tool, using it at the right time can win you teamfights. In general, you want to use your ultimate as soon as the enemy team engages your objective. Your main goal is not to go on a killing spree, but to slow down the enemy push. Prioritize slow moving tanks with the lava, they can melt in mere seconds.

Is Attack Torbjörn viable? Well, there are one-trick Grandmaster players who got there by playing Symmetra and Torbjörn on attack, but we would not recommend it necessarily. A good Soldier, Pharah or Tracer are usually going to outshine a pro Torjbörn on attack. However, if you find success with specific offensive strategies, make sure to stay friendly with your team and explain to them what you want to do, otherwise they are just going to assume you are trolling or throwing on purpose.

Placing your Turret near the enemy spawn point before the gates open is not a useful technique as Torbjörn any more. You can charge your ultimate a little bit if you are lucky, but the cooldown on placing a new Turret is too long currently, if the enemy team is experienced they are going to push you before you can set up a new Turret.

Using Molten Core disables you from using other abilities. Pay attention to this and make sure you have your Turret placed beforehand, and also activate your Overload for the extra movement speed and survivability while shooting your lava.

+1

When facing enemy heroes who have yellow armor, it is usually better to shoot them with your primary fire to get rid of it faster and save ammo before committing to your alternate fire. Dva or Reinhardt is a great example.

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You can use your Turret to block incoming Reinhardt charges, Roadhog hooks and the likes. The timing is tricky and this should be used as a last resort.

We hope these tips give you a better understanding on how to properly utilize Torbjörn’s kit. Don’t underestimate his offensive potential, he can be an absolute beast with efficient Overload usage. We would also recommend to look up the best possible Turret positions online, and don’t forget: Hard work pays off!