Ashe

Ashe
"My business, my rules."
Real Name	Elizabeth Caledonia "Calamity" Ashe
Status	Active
Age	39
Nationality	American
Occupation	Thief, Gang Leader
Base	Deadlock Gorge, Arizona, USA
Affiliation	Deadlock Gang
Voice	Jennifer Hale (English) Olivia Nicosia (French) Nana Spier (German) Tania De Domenico (Italian) Meiko Kawasaki (Japanese) Mabel Cezar (Brazilian Portuguese) Alejandra Delint (American Spanish) TK (Mandarin(China) Cian Sin-yu(Mandarin(Taiwan)) Danai Querol (European Spanish)
Cosmetics	Cosmetic page
Quotes	Quotation page
Role	Damage
Health	200

Ashe is a Damage hero in Overwatch.

Overview

Ashe is a hero of Overwatch. She is the leader of the Deadlock Gang and a rebellious gunslinger who's not afraid to get her hands dirty.

Ashe quickly fires her rifle from the hip or uses her weapon’s aim-down sights to line up a high damage shot at the cost of fire-rate. She blasts enemies by throwing dynamite, and her coach gun packs enough punch to put some distance between her and her foes, or gain some air to leap to hard to reach places or for an aerial shot. And Ashe is not alone, as she can call on her omnic ally B.O.B. to join the fray when the need arises.

Abilities

The Viper

Type

Weapon (Hip Fire)

Effect Type

Hitscan

Ashe's semi-automatic rifle fires quick shots.

Damage:

20 - 40

Falloff range:

20 to 40 meters

Headshot:

✓

Rate of fire:

0.25 second recovery
(4 shots per second)

Ammo:

12

Reload time:

0.5 seconds (initial animation)
+0.25 seconds per bullet
3.5 seconds (Full reload animation)

Spread angle:

Max: 1.85 degrees

• Details

Ability details:

• Ashe reloads The Viper one bullet at a time in rapid succession, instead of all at once.
  • The more bullets used in the magazine, the longer it takes to fully reload.
  • If the reload is cancelled before completion, some ammo is still replenished based on how many bullets loaded into the gun, instead of none at all.
• Unlike most weapons, The Viper is semi-automatic instead of fully automatic.
• Spread resets after 1.5 seconds since the last unscoped shot. Spread starts on the 3rd shot and reaches its maximum upon the 6th shot.

The Viper

Type

Weapon (ADS)

Effect Type

Hitscan

Ashe can use her aim-down sights for a more damaging, precise shot.

Damage:

37.5 - 75

Falloff range:

30 to 50 meters

Headshot:

✓

Rate of fire:

0.65 second recovery
(~1.54 shots per second)

Ammo:

12

Reload time:

0.5 seconds (initial animation)
+0.25 seconds per bullet
3.5 seconds (Full reload animation)

Spread angle:

Pinpoint

Move. speed:

-25% penalty

• Details

Ability details:

• Ashe can jump while aiming down sights.

Dynamite

E

12 seconds

Type

Ability

Effect Type

Arcing projectile

Ashe throws an explosive that detonates after a short delay or immediately when shot. The explosion from Dynamite also lights enemies on fire, dealing damage over time.

Damage:

Explosion: 20 - 50
Burn: 100
Self: 50%

Cast time:

2 seconds

Duration:

5 seconds (burn)

Area of effect:

5 meter radius

Projectile speed:

25 meters per second

• Details

Ability details:

• Damages self, but the damage is halved.
• Can be shot at with The Viper or Coach Gun to detonate immediately.
• The burn also affects barriers and turrets, and is removed immediately upon taking a Health Pack.
• After Ashe throws the dynamite, there is a 0.55 recovery period before she can use The Viper or Coach Gun.

Coach Gun

LSHIFT

10 seconds

Type

Ability

Effect Type

Shotgun (hitscan)

Ashe blasts enemies in front of her, knocking them away and propelling herself backward for added mobility.

Damage:

6 per pellet
90 per shot

Headshot:

✕

Bullets per shot:

15

Max. range:

9.4 meters (self-knock back)

• Details

Ability details:

• The bullets do not need to hit anything in order to apply the knock back to Ashe.

B.O.B.

Q

2240 points

Type

Ultimate Ability

Effect Type

Hitscan (arm cannon)

Ashe summons her trusted omnic sidekick, B.O.B., who charges forward and knocks enemies into the air, then lays down suppressing fire with his arm cannons.

Damage:

Charge: 120
Arm cannon: 112 per second, 14 per bullet, 1092 overall

Rate of fire:

8 bullets per second

Health:

1200

Duration:

10 seconds (after collision)

Max. range:

70 meters (charge)
40 meters (arm cannons)

Move. speed:

15 meters per second

• Details

Ability details:

• Ashe passively generates 1% Ult Charge every 4.48 seconds.
• B.O.B. appears slightly to the right of Ashe and lands 5 meters in front of her, then charges in the direction Ashe is looking at. Once B.O.B. bumps into an enemy or a wall, or travels 65 meters, B.O.B. halts and begins shooting nearby enemies like a turret.
  • If B.O.B. bumps into an enemy (or enemies), B.O.B. inflicts 120 damage to them and flings them into the air.
  • If a charging B.O.B. collides with Charge, Rocket Punch, Shield Bash, or another charging B.O.B., both participants get knocked down for 2 seconds.
  • B.O.B. automatically uses Symmetra's Teleporter if it's in his path.
• B.O.B. can be healed, buffed (e.g. Nano Boost), and debuffed (e.g. Hack).
  • If B.O.B. is hacked, B.O.B. becomes inactive for 5 seconds.
• B.O.B. is treated as an additional player when contesting/capturing objectives, and for Wrecking Ball's Adaptive Shield.
• Damaging or healing B.O.B. does not give ultimate charge, but damage boosting as Mercy does.
• Ashe can still gain ultimate charge while B.O.B. is active (but not by the damage dealt by B.O.B.).

Strategy

Strength

Ashe is a hero who requires good mechanical skill to be played effectively. Her weapon, the Viper, is quite powerful at long mid-range, particularly when the player uses her ADS (aim-down-sight) alternate fire. Dynamite is a dangerous, versatile ability that can be used to threaten space (such as narrow hallways and chokepoints) and deal decent damage in its radius, as well as inflicting a damage over time debuff. Uniquely, Dynamite can be detonated early by shooting it any time between when it's thrown and when its fuse runs out. Her Coach Gun serves as both a defensive "get-off-me" tool (like Lucio's Soundwave) and a potent mobility option (like Pharah's Concussive Blast). Finally, her Ultimate ability calls out her omnic sidekick B.O.B., who rushes in, knocks enemies in the air, and then grounds himself to shoot enemies, much like a turret.

Weakness

Though dominant in midrange, Ashe suffers in close combat. Her primary fire, while quite fast, deals only mild damage, and Coach Gun is on a lengthy cooldown. Most of her abilities require good follow-ups, such as detonating Dynamite and making quick shots after jumping with Coach Gun. Dynamite can be rather tricky. While it deals impressive damage over time, it will also damage Ashe if she's too close to the blast. Overall, Ashe is best played close to her teammates, so she can have backup available if she is being harassed. B.O.B., though incredibly strong, can easily be countered by the enemy team, as he can be hacked, slept, and stunned in the same way he can be boosted by a friendly team.

Weapons & Abilities

• The Viper: Ashe's primary weapon. It has two firing modes: a primary fire that shoots rapidly from the hip at reduced damage, and an ADS (aim-down-sight) secondary fire that deals potent damage at a much lower fire rate.
  • Despite its power, an ADS headshot is not enough to one-shot 200 HP enemies, dealing only 150 damage.
  • The Viper has a unique reloading mechanic. Rather than doing a whole clip like most of the cast, Ashe reloads one bullet at a time (at roughly the same rate as her hip-fire). Try to reload often, as you don't want to be caught in a fight where you can't afford as many shots.
  • Its primary fire is rather weak, best suited to finishing blows and harassing enemies who step out of position.
• Dynamite: Ashe throws a bundle of lit dynamite in front of her in a shallow arc. When detonated, it will explode and burn enemies. Uniquely, it can be detonated before its five-second fuse by shooting it with either the Viper or the Coach Gun.
  • Dynamite is designed so that it will automatically fall on the player's crosshair the moment they can act. Provided you don't move the crosshair (or move backwards; forward is fine), you could throw dynamite and immediately hold primary fire to instantly detonate it in front of you.
  • The arc it travels at is unusually floaty, which makes it quite easy to predict where it will end up. Positioning your crosshair where the dynamite will land rather than trying to track it may be easier for long-range Dynamite shots.
  • Its blast radius is rather small, but the burst damage and debuff are quite powerful. Throwing it into or slightly above a cluster of enemies and detonating it will usually get the most value out of Dynamite.
  • Dynamite will bounce off of shields (like Reinhardt's Barrier Field).
  • Dynamite tends to get stuck on slopes (like the rooftops on Eichenwalde), so it is best to not rely on geometry to get it where you want it.
  • Dynamite can be deflected by Genji, and this will switch its "ownership" to him, causing it to inflict full damage on you.
• Coach Gun: Ashe whips out a shotgun for a strong, close-range blast. Additionally, it deals impressive knockback to enemies and propels Ashe away from the blast.
  • The knockback from Coach Gun is consistent across its hitbox, but the damage lessens the further away from Ashe an enemy is.
  • Coach Gun is best used for burst mobility and disengagement, not direct damage. That said, it can still serve as a good final blow if you have no other options.
  • Its burst mobility is very versatile, as it can allow Ashe to cross gaps she wouldn't normally be able to jump (by blasting horizontally) or reach high ground in a similar fashion (by blasting towards the ground).
  • The Coach Gun, despite shooting individual pellets, cannot deal headshots.
  • If the shot is deflected by Genji, it will knock you back twice as far. This can throw you off the map if you're not careful.
• B.O.B.: Ashe's ultimate ability calls her omnic butler, B.O.B. into the fight. He has three stages: a charge forward, an uppercut that throws enemies up into the air, and a stationary "turret" mode, where he shoots at enemies within his line of sight.
  • B.O.B. can almost be considered another player, as he can be healed, buffed, and debuffed in any way a player could be. Be mindful of this when using B.O.B. during a fight.
    • A common, powerful tactic is to use Ana's Nano Boost on B.O.B.
    • By the same token, an enemy Ana can neutralize B.O.B with Sleep Dart.
  • B.O.B.'s uppercut is the perfect opportunity for Ashe and her team to line up shots on enemies in the air.
    • Any hero with 200 HP can be immediately killed with an ADS head shot after they are flung into the air. A body shot will leave them with 5 HP.
    • It is also a good setup for a dynamite detonation.
  • B.O.B. can contest — and capture — objectives as well as move payloads.

General Strategies

Use B.O.B Smartly! Don’t just throw him into the enemy team: line B.O.B up for his cannon to do damage and delay them, as the enemy team can counter your B.O.B quite easily. The line of sight you are facing when calling out B.O.B is very important, as it can lead to B.O.B running clean off the map or into a unfavorable position.

Match-Ups and Team Synergy

Tank

Hero	Match-Up	Team Synergy
D.Va	You should never try to 1v1 D.Va in close range, her high health is really difficult to tear through single-handedly as Ashe and she can Defense Matrix a lot of your shots. If she tries to dive you, do not try to Coach Gun her away while her Defense Matrix is up or she is using Boosters as she will not be knocked back. Simply wait for her cooldowns to end before using Coach Gun to maximise the distance between you two. In addition, you can one shot the pilot with a scoped headshot so if you or your allies de-mech the D.Va try to headshot the pilot as she ejects.	(To be added)
Orisa	Instead of wasting time trying to destroy Orisa's barrier, throw a Dynamite over it and shoot it when it's over the barrier to burn any enemies playing behind, applying pressure and potentially eliminating any weak targets. Against Orisa herself, she's very easy to headshot but just be wary of Fortify, which will significantly reduce your damage and make her immune to Coach Gun knockback or B.O.B.'s knock-up. Engage onto her after she's used Fortify for the best chance at taking her out.	(To be added)
Reinhardt	Do not waste time trying to destroy the barrier, instead throw a Dynamite over it and detonate it as soon as it is over the barrier to get maximum value. In addition, you can use a vertical Coach Gun to avoid Charge and Earthshatter. Other than that, never 1v1 Reinhardt in close range, because his barrier can stop your shots dead and he can kill you very quickly with just 3 swings. Instead, focus on helping your allies take him out with Dynamites and well placed shots. You can try to shoot at him from an off angle to force him to turn his barrier towards you and allow your team to push.	(To be added)
Roadhog	As long as you stay outside of Roadhog's Chain Hook range, you should be able to win this match-up or at least force him to use Take a Breather or reposition. Make use of high ground, and Coach Gun him when he hooks an ally to throw off his aim and prevent any follow-up shots from landing. In addition, if Roadhog is using Whole Hog, you can try to displace him with Coach Gun and prevent him from hitting your team with it.	(To be added)
Sigma	Similarly to Orisa and Reinhardt, throw your Dynamite over Experimental Barrier and detonate it mid-air rather than wasting time trying to destroy it. Other than that, keep out of Sigma's primary fire range, and he's little trouble. If you need to, you can use a vertical Coach Gun to dodge Accretion or Coach Gun him if he's trying to use it on an ally to displace him and mess up his aim. If he kills one of your tanks with Gravitic Flux, summon B.O.B. to assist your team.	(To be added)
Wrecking Ball	Try not to 1v1 Wrecking Ball in close range unless he's low of course. He can typically outgun you and his armour and health is difficult to tear through as Ashe. You can Coach Gun him at the apex of his piledrive when he dives onto you or an ally. Ashe is incredibly effective at clearing Minefield with either Dynamite or B.O.B. Toss a dynamite or B.O.B. into the minefield to clear a path for your team. Just be wary that sending B.O.B into the minefield will chunk a large portion of his health away.	(To be added)
Winston	Use Coach Gun on Winston when he's using Leap because you can keep him suspended in the air where he's an easy target to gun down. Keep this in mind if he dives onto your or nearby allies as you can severely mess up his attack. However, a lot of Winston players tend to drop their bubble while using Leap; in this case, just Coach Gun yourself out of his range. Calling B.O.B to protect your team while he's using Primal Rage is really effective; send him into the allies Winston is trying to attack and you can force him to disengage or seek out other targets, reducing the effectiveness of his ultimate.	(To be added)
Zarya	There's not much to the Zarya matchup: as long as you stay out of her beam range she's not a threat as you can easily dodge the secondary fires at range. The main tip is to use Dynamite after you see her use her bubbles for maximum value. It's also critically important to keep high energy Zaryas away from your team by just poking from a distance and forcing her to retreat. If she gets 3 or more allies in a Graviton Surge you can summon B.O.B. to help your team after you die.	(To be added)

Damage

Hero	Match-Up	Team Synergy
Ashe	The Ashe vs Ashe matchup simply comes down to who wins the raw aim duel. Detonate dynamite onto her for a damage head-start and if she's being pocketed by a healer, especially a Mercy, try not to take the duel. If she sends B.O.B. into your team, send yours into theirs and focus their B.O.B. so your B.O.B. survives and hers will get no value.	(To be added)
Bastion	Fighting Bastion comes in two flavors. With your strength at a distance you can safely pressure Bastion in Sentry Mode with some distance and line of sight on a just sliver of its body. Positioned well this will allow you to continuously damage it while also keeping you from being shredded by its Sentry fire. Recon Mode Bastion on the other hand is a large target with a distinct head and a weapon ill-suited to a straight gunfight with you beyond close range. Should Bastion work its way behind you and your team and switch to Sentry mode your one chance is likely to use your Coach Gun to get away from it and/or behind cover. Once safe try using your Dynamite's damage over time effect to, if not shoo it away, mitigate any repairs it attempts on itself.	(To be added)
Doomfist	Never let Doomfist sneak up on you, because it's difficult for you to react in time to save yourself. Coach Gun him away from you when he uppercuts you or uses Seismic Slam, and use a vertical Coach Gun to dodge Rocket Punch. On the flip side, Doomfist is an easy target if he's not going for you; his big hitbox and lack of abilities to combat you at range make landing shots child's play./small>	(To be added)
Echo	Your scoped shots are hitscan so you are a natural counter to Echo's flight; however it is difficult to headshot her while she is using the ability so just settle for bodyshots to force her out of the sky. If she lands multiple sticky bombs on you it is vital that you Coach Gun yourself out of Focus Beam range, or you'll die very quickly.	(To be added)
Genji	When you use Coach Gun on a deflecting Genji, you don't knock him back but gain extra knockback at the cost of some damage, so don't be afraid to do it unless you're already low. Ideally you want to Coach Gun him away after he uses Dash so he can't close the distance on you soon after. Keep this fight at medium range and you should have an advantage. Also, if he's going to dash into you with dragonblade, throw a Dynamite at your feet and Coach Gun it when he dashes in. This way you knock him back and detonate dynamite on him, preventing him from getting a dash reset as well.	(To be added)
Hanzo	Try not to take a duel with Hanzo. Although you both play at similar ranges, he can one shot you with a headshot, burst you down with Storm Arrows or gain a peeking advantage with Sonic Arrow. If you feel like he misses a lot of arrows feel free to duel him, just don't get too confident, because you move slowly while scoped and he might just land a headshot. You can try to flank the Hanzo and open up by detonating Dynamite onto him to make him one-shottable with a headshot or to make bodyshot damage very threatening to him.	(To be added)
Junkrat	Junkrat is one of Ashe's easiest targets. At range all he can do is try to spam grenades, which are easy for you to dodge and hard for him to land, while your scoped shots can kill him in a matter of seconds. Even if he tries to close the distance with concussion mines, he's incredibly easy to headshot out of the sky or Coach Gun if he actually gets close. Just don't let him sneak up on you, because he can one shot combo you with a grenade and concussion mine.	(To be added)
File:Icon-mccree.png McCree	There are no fancy tips for dealing with McCree as Ashe, it really just comes down to the range of the duel. Up close, McCree will almost always win with his Flashbang-Fan the Hammer combo and slightly higher health. However, at longer distances Ashe has the advantage because McCree's Peacekeeper will start to fall off while your scoped shots will not. Just don't take the fight too far or your gun will start to fall off too and while his damage will be significantly weaker, neither of you will be doing enough to actually kill one another. To put it simply, only take mid range duels with McCree because you'll have a natural advantage.	(To be added)
Mei	Mei's icicles do the same damage as your scoped shots, however your scoped shots are much more accurate at range, so like most match-ups, just keep your distance. If she's trying to freeze you, you can attempt to Coach Gun her out of range and land some scoped shots before retreating. Even if you get frozen, if you get the Coach Gun off, it will be very difficult for her to hit the follow-up icicle as you'll be falling through the air. If she uses Ice Block, throw a Dynamite next to her and detonate it as soon as she comes out to deal some free easy damage, and this should be obvious, but Coach Gun yourself out of Blizzard if you're ever caught in it.	(To be added)
Pharah	Because your scoped shots are hitscan, you counter Pharah while she's in the air, so if she's ever in rage, it's as simple as gunning her out of the sky. If you confident in your skills with dynamite, you can throw one at her and detonate it mid-air for additional pressure. If Pharah tries to flank you, can easily react with Coach Gun because her jetpacks are pretty loud, and remember to Coach Gun back onto the map if she boops you off. She's also very easy to kill while using Barrage as long as she's not firing rockets at you.	(To be added)
Reaper	Like with all close range heroes, Reaper is not a threat to you at range, and is easy prey. He only becomes a problem when he tries to flank you; try to react with Coach Gun. However, some good Reaper players with use Wraith Form to mitigate the Coach Gun, in which case, if he follows you, you're screwed, as your unscoped shots do little in comparison to his shotguns. You can also try to force his Wraith Form by detonating Dynamite onto him as he wants to use it to cleanse the burning effect. Other than that, be wary that Reaper can easily tear through B.O.B.'s health if B.O.B. is focusing someone else.	(To be added)
Soldier: 76	A good Soldier player will typically always win the 1v1, but to increase the chances of your victory, try to hold high ground over him and be as far away as you can so he has to control his recoil a lot more. Also, do whatever it takes to dodge a direct hit of Helix Rockets, it does a lot of damage and if even if you have to use Coach Gun, just do it, it's definitely worth it. If he's holding his Biotic Field, throw Dyanmite onto it, even if you don't detonate it it can force him to run away from his healing pad because 9 times out of 10 he wants to avoid the damage.	(To be added)
Sombra	A single scoped headshot or a couple scoped bodyshots will often be enough to make Sombra use her Translocator to flee. Even should she successfully hack you it will always force Sombra into a comfortable range for you to fight from with at least one of your firing modes. Keep your rifle loaded as much as you can when you know Sombra is on the field, as your long reload means being hacked with few bullets remaining will often end in death.	(To be added)
Symmetra	It's easy to shoot her sentry turrets when they're flying towards their destination and dynamite can clear a sentry nest in milliseconds so make sure you do that before your team pushes. Your dynamite is also powerful against her teleporter strategies, if she's teleporting multiple people detonate dynamite on it when they're coming through to tag them all. Against Symmetra herself, all she can do at range is spam secondary fires, and you don't really have to worry about her flanking: mostly she will be helping out her team as a utility based damage hero.	(To be added)
Torbjörn	You can destroy Torbjörn's turret with 4 scoped shots, so try to jiggle peek it while firing to minimise the damage you take. You can also throw a dynamite onto the turret to try and disincentivize him from repairing it. Against Torb himself, you can typically beat him in a ranged duel because his shots are projectile and his hitbox his fairly big. An important tip is to throw off his Molten Core placement by knocking him back with Coach Gun; 90% of the time you will cause him to misplace a lot of lava which will prove incredibly valuable in messing up his ultimate.	(To be added)
Tracer	Tracer is really difficult to fight as Ashe, if she catches you off guard she can easily one-clip you before you can react, and Coach Gun is not effective because she can use blinks to close the distance rapidly. Her erratic movement makes close range duels really difficult, so your best hope is to land a scoped headshot, because you can one shot a full health Tracer. However it's much more reliable to just position on high ground where she can;t reach you or do much about you.	(To be added)
Widowmaker	Widowmaker is pretty much your hardest counter as Ashe. Most of the time, she plays outside of your dynamite range and far enough that your scoped shots will do a lot less damage. So while it takes you multiple shots to kill her, it takes her just one headshot, which becomes easier for her with your slow movement while scoped. Never take a duel if she's out of your range, but even if she isn't, a good player can still beat you in a mid range duel if she has enough time to charge her shot, therefore use the element of surprise and a quick combo for optimal chances of victory. The two best combos are scoped headshot into unscoped shot or dynamite into scoped headshot.	(To be added)

Support

Hero	Match-Up	Team Synergy
Ana	(To be added)	(To be added)
Baptiste	(To be added)	(To be added)
Brigitte	(To be added)	(To be added)
Lúcio	(To be added)	(To be added)
Mercy	(To be added)	Your high damage at mid-range makes you a good choice for Mercy to boost without straying too far from the rest of your team. Up close your Coach Gun is excellent to peel Mercy's would be killers away from her.
Moira	(To be added)	(To be added)
Zenyatta	(To be added)	(To be added)

Story

Ashe is the ambitious and calculating leader of the Deadlock Gang and a respected figure in the criminal underworld.

Ashe has an organized mindset. This affects her ideas of how her organization should be run, to how relationships should work. Her relationship with Jesse McCree is "way more complicated" than a simple label, though could be described as a "love-hate" type of relationship.

Background

“	Funny. They say there's no honor among thieves. But that's not how things work around here. If you cross me, or if you break your word, there'll be hell to pay. You can count on it.	„
	~ Ashe

Ashe's early criminal record

Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe grew up in Texas on a large estate. Born into a wealthy family who came from "old money," Ashe grew up surrounded by privilege. Her parents were highly sought-after business consultants and coaches for powerful CEOs around the world. Though her parents paid little attention to her (mostly leaving her in the care of the family’s omnic butler, B.O.B.), they ensured that Ashe had every opportunity to succeed. Because of their absence, Ashe grew to have a contentious childhood, getting into trouble at school, and spending her time shooting bottles on the family estate. A loner, Ashe spent a lot of time talking to B.O.B. (even if he was apparently incapable of talking back).

As a teen/young adult, these demeanors led to being temporarily incarcerated. On the day of her graduation, she was arrested yet again, which caused her parents to disinherit her from the family fortune. To steal back what was rightfully hers, Ashe teamed up with B.O.B. A chance meeting with a local ruffian named Jesse McCree, and an impromptu string of crimes committed together opened her eyes to her true calling. The satisfaction of outwitting her targets and the thrill of getting away with it set her on the outlaw path. Not only had she found something she enjoyed, she'd found something she was good at. As a criminal, the idea of making a name for herself appealed to her. She and McCree never dated; according to McCree, Ashe wasn't his type, as per her wealth. McCree knew how to "push her buttons" better than anyone else.

Ashe founds the Deadlock Gang

Ashe, McCree, and two others formed the Deadlock Gang. She formed it out of a rebellious act against her parents, as given her wealth, she certainly didn't need the money. Ashe started to make a name for herself with bigger and more extravagant heists. While the Deadlock Gang wasn't the first gang to plague the American Southwest, Ashe declared that the gang would be "bigger and better" than its rivals, that they would "write their legend." Ashe found that she excelled as a leader—not only was she good at organizing heists and being a career criminal, but years of watching her parents coach and run their businesses had imparted her lessons on how to run a criminal enterprise.

Leader of the Deadlock Gang

The gang's rapid rise to prominence put them at odds with the other criminal organizations in the American southwest; the encounters often became violent. After years of skirmishes and bloodshed, Ashe called the heads of the major groups together, seeing the potential to grow the influence of all. She used what she’d learned from her parents’ business to bring order to these groups. Her proposal was that the gangs could work together (or at least, not work against each other). Her principles: keep your word, don’t work with the law, respect each other’s territory, and always punish betrayal. No longer having to focus her energies on squabbles with the other gangs, Ashe began writing her name across the American Southwest with a string of audacious heists and operations that has placed her at the top of most-wanted lists and cemented her legacy as an outlaw legend.

McCree ended up being captured in an Overwatch sting operation, and ended up joining Overwatch. Following the news, Ashe kept a picture of McCree...on the dartboard of her hideout.

Reunion

“	Jesse McCree. It's been a while. You promised you'd write. Well Ashe...I've been kind of busy.	„
	~ Ashe and McCree

Ashe on her heist

Years after McCree's departure, Ashe and the gang planned a heist of a hypertrain crossing above Route 66 at 11:55 AM, having received an anonymous tip that it was full of military ordnance. They destroyed the bridge, causing the train to plummet onto the road, giving them easy access to the cargo. While loading their hover dolly with the goods, however, the plan took an unexpected turn when McCree emerged from the dust. At Ashe's suspicion that his presence was not a coincidence, McCree confirmed that he had sent the tip about the train knowing that she couldn't resist, and all he wanted in return was a specific crate, telling Ashe that she could have everything else. However, he refused to elaborate on what it contained. Becoming interested in what was inside after opening the crate and taking a look, Ashe prepared to drive off the disappointed McCree, which led to a standoff, and subsequently at the stroke of noon, a gunfight. Despite being outnumbered, McCree was able to hold his own, though Ashe and her crew managed to pin him down with their gunfire. However, McCree got the upper hand with a pack of grenades that Zeke had dropped on the ground earlier in a panic, shooting them mid-air and incapacitating the gang.

Ashe bound up

Upon waking up, Ashe found herself and her gang bound on their hover dolly just as McCree was placing B.O.B's head onto it. McCree activated the dolly and sent it down Route 66, but because Ashe had turned down his deal, had removed all the loot they'd loaded onto it beforehand. Despite Ashe's yells, threatening to have B.O.B. rip off his other arm, McCree just ignored her. Further down the road, having had time to cool down, Ashe bitterly reflected that she should have just shot him the moment he turned up, conveniently ignoring the fact that her greed was responsible for their ending up with nothing. To add insult to injury, McCree zoomed past the dolly on Ashe's own hovercycle, ignoring (or not hearing) her as she shouted after him.

Achievements

Name	Icon	Description	Reward
Short Fuse		Kill an enemy by shooting Ashe's Dynamite from at least 30 meters away in Quick or Competitive play.	Pixel
Served Up		Get a killing blow as Ashe on an enemy knocked into the air by B.O.B. in Quick or Competitive play.	Cute

Trivia

• Ashe is Hero 29 and the eighth new hero added to the game.
• Ashe was announced by Jeff Kaplan live from the opening ceremonies of Blizzcon 2018, alongside Echo, who Kaplan stated 'needed a little more time'.
• Ashe's nickname, Calamity, is possibly a reference to famed American frontiers-woman Calamity Jane.
• B.O.B. will wave back to Ashe if she waves at him in-game.
• Ashe appears to have a special connection with roses, as she has a rose shown on every skin: Default+Rare+Posh: tattoo on left arm | Thorn: roses all over | Gangster+Mobster: an actual rose on her hat | Jungle+Safari: a (wind)rose on her scarf and on BOB's back
• A Funko Pop Ashe figurine is available.
• One can earn a 'Lifesaver' highlight by saving BOB's life.

Development

Ashe concept iteration

Mobster Ashe concept art

Safari Ashe concept art

Ashe and the rest of the Deadlock Gang members were originally created for the Reunion animated short by project director Jason Hill and storyboard artist Mio del Rosario. At the time she wasn't intended to be a playable hero, but rather one of the enemies for McCree to battle, conceived as a female member of the Deadlock Gang with long white hair wearing a duster, wide-brimmed hat, and wielding a lever-action rifle, who would be accompanied by a giant omnic bodyguard and other gang members. During the storyboarding process they found the character to be exceptionally compelling, often coming to the forefront of scenes; realizing that there was something special about her, they decided to further flesh out her character design and backstory. Senior concept artist Jungah Lee produced several iterations of the character in order to hone in on a unique silhouette and color palette that conveyed her youthful appearance and outlaw nature without overlapping with the likes of Reaper and McCree, settling on a final design that married the Western cowgirl and biker themes. Lastly, they shortened her hair by giving her a unique asymmetrical bob, both to sharpen her silhouette and to avoid having to simulate flowing hair.

At around the same time, Geoff Goodman and the game design team were interested in developing a new weapon-focused Damage hero, as the two other post-launch Damage heroes they released, Sombra and Doomfist, were both ability-focused. Upon seeing the early concept and storyboard art for the character, several designers independently came up with their own hero proposals, with the inclusion of B.O.B. being one of the only universally agreed upon ideas. Ashe's final kit revolved heavily around her lever-action rifle, deciding that, like McCree's similarly anachronistic revolver, it would be an extremely powerful, highly personalized weapon. To that end they gave it two firing modes, allowing her to rapidly fire from the hip for her primary fire, or to use iron sights with a reload between each shot for her secondary fire. Additionally, they gave the rifle a unique and satisfying reload mechanic, with Ashe reloading one bullet at a time in a dynamic loop that can be interrupted to resume firing. Her Coach Gun was designed mainly to create distance between her and her enemies, though it can also be used for mobility and trick shots. Ashe's Dynamite ability, originally conceived as a cluster bomb, was designed to be a versatile, high damage ability that is difficult to use.

Her Ultimate, B.O.B., was very technically challenging to implement due to memory and performance restrictions, and almost resulted in Ashe being scrapped, as the team was adamant about B.O.B. being included as part of the hero. Unlike the AI-controlled turrets in the game, B.O.B. is treated more like an additional teammate, and can be healed, buffed, and debuffed accordingly, and can also capture or contest objectives. For a time the team experimented with having the game treat him as a full teammate, but ran into balance issues and bugs.

Balance Change Log

Patch

Description

12 Jan 2021

The Viper

• Aim-down-sights damage reduced from 80 to 75
• Aim-down-sights recovery time reduced from 0.7 to 0.65 seconds

Developer Comment: Ashe being able to eliminate 200 health enemy heroes with one headshot while assisted by 30% damage boost became too dominant, especially when combined with the other improvements to her weapon. We are lowering the maximum damage but also the shot recovery time to keep her overall damage output relatively the same.

24 Sep 2020

Dynamite

• Explosion damage reduced from 75 to 50

Developer Comment: Ashe is still a bit too powerful, but we'd like to keep her rifle feeling impactful so we're taking some power out of her Dynamite ability.

31 Aug 2020

The Viper

• Max ammo reduced from 15 to 12
• Aim-down sights damage reduced from 85 to 80

30 Jun 2020

Dynamite

• Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds

Developer Comment: With recent improvements to Ashe's weapon her overall damage output has increased significantly. Toning Dynamite down will lower her overall damage while keeping her damage output focused on her rifle.

19 May 2020

The Viper

• Now reaches max zoom halfway through Ashe's aim down sights, instead of at its conclusion

6 Apr 2020

The Viper

• Magazine size increased from 12 to 15
• Shots no longer queue up the next shot if pressed slightly before recovery has finished
• Unscoped shots to reach maximum spread increased from 4 to 6
• Unscoped shots can now be fired much more quickly after firing a scoped shot
• You can now start reloading much more quickly after firing a scoped shot

13 Aug 2019

The Viper

• Reload time per round decreased from 0.3 to 0.25 seconds.

Developer Comment: Ashe's full reload time felt overly restrictive. However, a long reload time is intended to balance out the power of her gun, so we want to be careful not to eliminate that completely.

11 Dec 2018

B.O.B.

• Bob will now have a golden tint when Ashe equips her golden weapon

Developer Comment: Our final technical audit on Ashe’s character package allowed us to implement a feature we talked about several times during Bob’s production. Making him part of Ashe’s golden weapon is a great way to celebrate our favorite Big Omnic Butler and let players show off their hard-earned Competitive Points each time they summon him onto the battlefield

13 Nov 2018

New Hero: Ashe (Damage)