by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

Tracer has never been a dominant part of the Meta but she has a sneaky good win rate and she is a lot of fun to play.

In the right situation, Tracer can cause chaos in the enemy backline. She is at her best when she is able to zip in and pick off vulnerable targets with a well-timed Pulse Bomb, so pick Tracer when the enemy team is lacking in crowd control.

We are going to focus on an aggressive playstyle by selecting talents that help Pulse Bomb charge faster and increase its single target damage.

Abilities

Blink (Q): Dash towards an area. Stores up to 3 charges.

Melee (W)

: Deal 254 damage to a nearby enemy, prioritizing Heroes. Gain 5% Pulse Bomb charge when using Melee against an enemy, and 10% against Heroes.

Recall (E): Tracer returns to the position she was at 3 seconds ago, refilling her ammo, and removing all negative status effects from herself.

Reload (D)

: Tracer can Basic Attack while moving, and after attacking 10 times she needs to reload over 0.75 seconds. Tracer can manually reload earlier by activating Reload.

Managing your Blink charges is the first step to playing Tracer well. The more Blink charges you have available the more dangerous you are. Not only can a well-timed Blink get you out of trouble, but much of Tracer’s power comes from her ability to Blink in and secure a kill when the opportunity presents itself. Try to avoid using Blink unless you are going for a kill or need to get out of danger.

Recall is also a key escape tool that you want to have available as often as possible. Recall removes negative effects like Living Bomb, Bone Prison, and even Pyroblast. Take a look at the enemy comp before the game starts to identify if there are certain abilities you should save Recall to avoid.

You want to be aggressive when there is a chance for a kill and otherwise play fairly cautiously. Avoiding unnecessary risks while Pulse Bomb is charging will ensure that you have Blink and Recall available when you really need them. Having to use Blink or Recall while laning is a clear sign that you are playing too recklessly.

The Build

Level 1: Pulse Strike – Increase Melee’s Pulse Bomb Charge from 10% to 20% against Heroes.

Level 4: Untouchable – Takedowns increase your Basic Attack damage by 2%, up to 30%. These bonuses are lost on death.

Parting Gift used to be the standard at this tier but for this build we want the stacking damage that Untouchable provides since we are going to be focusing on Takedowns. Keep in mind the bonus is lost on death, making proper use of Blink and Recall even more vital.

Level 7: Jumper – Increases Blink’s charges by 1.

Level 10: Quantum Spike – Pulse Bomb deals an additional 10% of the primary target’s maximum Health.

Sticky Bomb is also a good choice but since this build is focused on picking off vulnerable targets we are going with the extra single target damage from Quantum Spike.

Level 13: Leeching Rounds – Your Basic Attacks against Heroes heal you for 20% of their damage dealt.

If you find that your team is lacking wave clear then go for Bullet Spray, otherwise, the extra healing from Leeching Rounds gives you a nice bit of extra sustain. When you aren’t flanking and harassing the backline, poking away at the front line with auto-attacks is a great way to keep your health nice and high.

Level 16: Sleight of Hand – Reduces Reload time by 50%. This equals 20% more damage per second.

If you have the skill and APM’s then you might want to go with Locked and Loaded, which has a higher win rate, but I prefer to keep it simple with Sleight of Hand and devote my extra attention to spotting weak targets.

Level 20: Total Recall – Recall also heals you equal to the amount of Health you lost during that time.

The health reset from this talent allows you to be aggressive with your dives and still have enough health to go right back in a second time.

The plan is simple:

1. Charge up Pulse Bomb
2. Blink in and target an enemy squishy with your W and auto-attacks
3. Attach Pulse Bomb to said squishy
4. Recall/Blink to safety as target blows up
5. Rinse and repeat

While your Pulse Bomb is charging you can poke away at the front line or harass the enemy flanks. Always be moving and vary your approach angles to keep the enemy guessing.

Securing kills is your primary goal, but getting the enemy to focus on you and chase you around is also a win. Causing chaos and disrupting the enemy team will open up playmaking opportunities for your team.

If the enemy team is worried about you then you know you are doing something right.