Playstyle

Tracer is a unique hero who utilizes a hyper mobile kit in order to stay aggressive. She requires close range, but has exceptionally high burst damage. This makes her an amazing tool for quickly dispatching targets. Her mobility is unmatched, giving enemies no chance of escaping her deadly pistols. Success with Tracer comes down to decision making and proper Blink usage, which makes up part of her fairly high skill floor. A well-practiced Tracer can be nearly unkillable, meaning she can be played effectively at even the highest levels of the game.

Pro's

Extremely Mobile

High Burst Damage

High Skill Ceiling

Viable at any rank

Con's

Low Health

Have to be fairly close range

High Skill Floor

Lackluster on defense

Abilities

Pulse Pistols (Left Click)

Fires extremely fast (20 shots per second)

3-12 damage per shot

Only effective at a fairly close range

Tracer's primary fire can deal tremendous amounts of damage at close range, but is tricky to aim. Tracer needs to be mobile at all times, so you'll have to get used to aiming while moving constantly. Fortunately, its spray pattern is super precise, which assures you'll be dealing consistent damage once you've practiced. This ability is also fantastic against tanks such as Roadhog and Winston, as their large hitboxes will allow you land every shot with ease. This damage will also charge your ultimate very quickly, making Tracer a great pick for dealing with pesky tanks. The major downside of Pulse Pistols is that they do negligible damage at longer ranges. This makes it difficult to kill any hero who can gain a high ground advantage.

Blink (Shift/Right Click)

Blink 7 meter range in any direction

3 charges

3 second cooldown per charge

Can Blink in any direction

This ability uses a charge system, meaning you can use multiple Blinks back to back to cover large distances. This allows to Tracer to do things that other heroes can't, such as crossing the gap on Volskaya Industries. Tracer is fragile, and relies on proper Blink usage to survive. Blink has two common uses, juking and flanking. Juking with Blink is as simple as knowing when you need to avoid incoming damage. Blink works in any direction, so use it to move sideways when trying to evade attacks. When blinking backwards certain shots will still hit you, so moving sideways is more consistent. Without Blink up you're in a pretty bad spot, so managing your charges is important. If possible you want to have at least one charge up at all times, so if you used all three to flank you should wait for them to recharge. Managing charges really just comes down to practice; you'll eventually know exactly what you need to Blink away from, so you'll end up using it more sparingly. The second use of this ability is flanking. This basically just entails knowing the different routes of each map, and choosing the proper one. This can also be learned from just playing the game, but there are several videos that can assist with this.

Recall (E)

Go back 3 seconds in time, returning you to your original health, ammo, and position

12 second cooldown

Rewinding takes 1.25 seconds

Removes debuffs

Recall is another utility skill which works perfectly when you run out of Blinks. After a short delay, you'll return to the same position and life total you had 3 seconds ago, meaning you can expend all your mobility to kill an enemy, then Recall to get away. The small delay before Recall activates makes you immune, so you can use this ability right before you take fatal damage. This is commonly used an emergency button when you're completely out of options, but it does have a few alternatives uses. To avoid taking damage from your own ultimate you can use Recall to get out of the blast zone. You can also make an enemy follow you with Blink, and then Recall to completely ditch them.

Pulse Bomb (Q)

Quickly throws a sticky bomb

Deals 400 damage to targets stuck

3 meter range (damage done reduced depending on range)

Explosion can kill Tracer

Unlike most ultimates, using Pulse Bomb to kill just one target is completely fine. This ult charges very rapidly, so you should use it whenever it's up. The bomb is considered a projectile, so learning it's timing is key to consistently sticking enemies. Your highest chance of success with this ability is blinking in, chucking it at an enemy, and then using Recall so you don't blown up yourself. Sticking this onto an enemy isn't necessary for it to deal damage, but landing a kill without doing so is quite difficult. You should try to focus either tanks or supports since they have the most impact in teamfights. Tanks are also much easier to stick due to their large hitboxes. Zarya's Graviton Surge works great with this ability, so make sure to combo with her.

Matchups

In this section, we have every hero matchup broken down into 3 categories. The "Good" represents any matchup where Tracer is usually advantaged. The "Bad" are heroes you should generally avoid. The Neutral are 50/50 matchups, and will completely depend on the situation. These matchups are subject to change depending on the scenario and skill level of each player.



The Good

- Torbjorn: You have to be slightly cautious when fighting Torbjorn's turret, as it requires two clips of your pistols to kill. If no one else on your team can kill it all you have to do is attack it, Recall, and then fire at it again. When fighting against Torbjorn without a turret just be sure to keep some distance. At close range his right click will behave just like a Reaper shotgun, so you have the chance of getting one shot. If Torbjorn is camping his turret all you have to do is throw a Pulse Bomb on it to quickly snatch a free kill. This matchup is extremely simple, just don't facetank his turret for too long.

- Winston: Avoid getting directly jumped onto, as it will deal a major chunk of your health. After this the matchup becomes extremely easy. Abuse his huge hitbox to deal massive damage, and stay away from him when he uses his shield. Picking a fight with Winston is almost never an issue, and is a great way to quickly charge your ultimate.

- Reinhardt: As long as you stay away from his hammer, Reinhardt can't do much to you. Blink behind him and start harassing, if he chooses to turn around then he is leaving the rest of his team without a barrier.

- Mercy/Zen/Lucio/Ana: All the supports are fairly simple to take down. Against Zenyatta and Ana you have to be slightly cautious about taking hits, but once you connect they don't stand a chance. Blink in and try to side step their shots, especially Ana's Sleep Dart. Lucio is a bit annoying to deal with due to his passive healing, but eventually you can wear him down. Mercy stands no chance against Tracer. You need to find her and kill before she can Resurrect.

- Bastion: Use your Blink to get behind Bastion, then either headshot or Pulse Bomb him. This matchup comes down to how well you can avoid attacks while you get close, and his lack of mobility assures a kill if you can get to him.

- Junkrat: Watch out for Steel Trap, since it's really the only chance Junkrat has of killing you. Stay away from narrow corridors where you can't avoid his grenades. Junkrat's damage is very inconsistent, and versus Tracer it's near impossible to hit shots if you're juking correctly.

- Roadhog: Roadhog can seem a bit scary to face at first, but once you can consistently juke his Chain Hook you'll start dominating. Roadhog has a giant hitbox like Winston, so try to aim for his head. This will ensure crazy damage, and your ultimate will charge at ridiculous rates. If he ever stops to heal, take the opportunity to land a free Pulse Bomb. This might not one shot him depending on his health, but he'll take massive damage.

- Symmetra: Symmetra's only real advantage over any other hero is her Teleporter, and Tracer can completely negate that advantage. If the enemy team has a Symmetra, your job immediately switches to Teleporter hunter. Tracer's mobility makes this job extremely easy to do. Just be careful of dashing into narrow corridors, as a six stack of turrets will nearly one shot you.





The Bad

- McCree: McCree is hands down the best counter to Tracer. You can't get close to him without risking getting hit with a Flashbang. All it takes is one stun and a headshot to send you back to spawn. If the McCree opts to use Fan of the Hammer after stunning you make sure to be spamming Recall. There's a small chance that he didn't use it fast enough, and you might be able to survive it with a small sliver of health. Your best bet is to either avoid McCree altogether or wait until he's already used his Flashbang.

- Pharah: Unless Pharah is improperly managing her flight you won't be able to deal much damage to her. Usually she's high enough in the air that Pulse Pistols just aren't very effective. If you really want to focus a Pharah, try to catch her when you know she doesn't have any cooldowns.

- Soldier: Biotic Field allows Soldier to mitigate most of Tracer's burst damage, meaning he can survive longer than most other damage heroes. Soldier's primary fire is extremely easy to aim, and his Helix Rocket's will nearly one shot you if he lands it. He's not your worst matchup, but he also isn't someone you want to constantly be picking fights with. A mediocre Soldier will get destroyed by Tracer, but anyone experienced with him will give you a run for your money. If you still want to brawl with him, try to bait out his Biotic Field before the fight. Without his healing, he'll have a much harder time surviving your damage.

- Mei: Mei is a very similar matchup to Soldier. Mei can stall you for a long time, and all it takes for her to kill you is a lucky headshot with Icicle. While Mei isn't your worst matchup, the time it takes to kill her is usually better spent elsewhere.



The Neutral

- D.Va: D.Va really has no chance of killing you, but her Defense Matrix makes it extremely annoying to kill her. If she doesn't have it up then she's essentially an ult charging station, but usually you should just avoid her to save time.

- Zarya: Tracer's bursty damage means you have to be careful to not accidentally give Zarya charge. If you avoid charging her then Zarya becomes a punching bag, but with full energy she can melt right through your small health pool. Simply stop firing when she shields, and then chase her around until she's dead. Zarya's a pretty good matchup, but you shouldn't go out of your way to focus her.

- Reaper: Don't get too close to Reaper, because a well-placed hit from his shotguns has the potential to one shot you. Reaper has to be even closer then you do, so try to stay mid-range against him at all times. Don't use Pulse Bomb on a Reaper who still has his Wraith Form, it will still get stuck on him but he won't take any damage.

- Tracer: It's almost never worth it fighting another Tracer unless you're much better than them. If you both keep blinking away whenever you get low, the fight will last forever. In these situations, just let the rest of your team handle her and move on to more priority targets.

- Hanzo: Tracer is pretty good against Hanzo, but you be very careful of Scatter Arrow. Usually you'll be fighting pretty close, and this is when it's most effective. All you have to do to beat Hanzo is Blink when he shoots at you, but this can get much harder depending on how good he is.

- Widowmaker: Most people would say that Tracer counter is Widowmaker, but this isn't the case if she stays on high ground. Certain maps will make this matchup easier, and some will make it harder, it really just depends. If you every catch Widow on the ground you can quickly dispatch of her, just be sure to juke so she can't snipe you.

- Genji: Genji is the only hero that comes close to matching Tracer's mobility, and this allows him to survive for quite a while. In a straight up fight Tracer has the advantage, but if he gets to high ground you can't do much. Usually this matchup doesn't go anywhere, and one of you will end up retreating to save time.

When To Pick Tracer

Tracer's flanking based playstyle is best utilized on attack, where she can ignore chokepoints and rush the enemy team. She's a strong choice in any attack scenario, but she truly shines on King of the Hill. These maps are usually wider, with more flank routes and less strict choke points. The constant brawling on KoTH further bolsters her effectiveness, as it enables her to pick off distracted enemies. Tracer feels lackluster on defense, where enemy teams often stay grouped up. This makes it extremely dangerous when trying to flank. Defense is also focused around holding specific chokepoints, and many heroes can do this much better then Tracer. If you're an experienced Tracer you can still perform well here, but it's usually better to just play a different hero. Try pairing Tracer with teammates such as Zarya or Zenyatta. These heroes will both help you stay safe while being aggressive.

How To Practice

Expanding your knowledge of flank routes is a simple way to improve on Tracer. In order to dish out damage Tracer needs to get close, and learning alternative routes will help you do that safely.

When it comes to aiming on Tracer you should practice both landing basic shots as well as your ultimate. Fortunately, custom games are a great way to do so. This guide shows you how to improve accuracy by fighting Ana bots. Ana can't headshot, so by enabling headshots only you can safely practice against a moving target. Tracer's spray pattern is extremely pinpoint, so you have to be aiming precisely to dish out damage. Finding a sensitivity you're comfortable with makes this much easier. It needs to be fast enough so you can still do a full 360, yet slow to maintain good control. Comfortable sensitivity varies from person to person, but I recommend somewhere around 800 dpi/7 in game sensitivity for Tracer. If you're used to playing at a higher sensitivity try lowering it step by step, eventually you'll grow used to the slower sensitivity and notice a major increase in accuracy.

The biggest mistake Tracer's make is playing over-aggressively. By design she's an aggressive hero, and sometimes that can make you play recklessly. Before you engage try to keep in mind where the rest of your team is in case you need to retreat. Never come at an enemy from the front, always use some sort of flank routes. If you are continuously getting picked off there is probably a reason, try to decide what it is so you can avoid it in the future. As with any flanking character, knowing when to engage is key to being successful. Try to be actively thinking when you play, and eventually it'll be involuntary.

There's no "best cross hair" to use since everyone's aiming style is unique, but a lot of Tracer players use the circle, usually in a bright color. The circle's a fairly accurate marker of where your spray will hit, and the bright color will allow your cross hair to stand out against any backdrop.

Conclusion

When pushing in ranked Tracer is an amazing hero to have in your arsenal. She won't be ideal in every situation, but she fits her specific niche extremely well. Thanks for reading this Tracer guide, and I hope it's helped you blink circles around the competition.

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