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Winston
"A better world is possible today!"

Real Name
Winston
Aliases
S. Paceape[1]
Birth
June 6th
Age
31
Occupation
Test subject (formerly)
Scientist
Adventurer
Base
Horizon Lunar Colony (formerly)
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Affiliation
Lucheng Interstellar (formerly)
Overwatch
Crispin Freeman[2]

Dee Bradley Baker (as a baby) (English)

Frantz Confiac (French)
Matti Klemm (German)
Dario Oppido (Italian)
Atsushi Imaruoka (Japanese)
Lim Chae-heon (Korean)
Jorge Vasconcelos (Brazilian Portuguese)
Sergey Chikachev (Russian)
Meng Xianglong (Mandarin (China))
Fu Shuang(Mandarin (Taiwan))
Arturo Casanova(American Spanish)
Francisco Javier Martínez (European Spanish)

Cosmetics
Cosmetic page
Quotes
Quotation page
Role
Tank
Health
225 (Open queue)
375 (Role queue)
Armor
250
Character Video

Winston is a Tank hero in Overwatch. He is one of the 21 heroes included in the game's release on 24 May 2016.

Overview

Winston wields impressive inventions—a jump pack, electricity-blasting Tesla Cannon, portable shield projector and more—with literal gorilla strength.

Abilities

Role: Tank
Hero-ability-circle
TankIcon
Type
Passive Ability
Reduces knockbacks and critical damage received. Less ultimate generated by healing and damage received. Increases base health in Role Queue game modes.

Ability details:
  • Reduces the speed of knockbacks received by 25%
  • Ultimate generation is reduced by 40%.
  • Reduces the total damage received from critical hits, such as headshots, by 25%.
    • Weapons with a lower 1.5x headshot modifier ignore this damage reduction completely.
    • The effectiveness on abilities that deal critical damage through other means than headshots is ambiguous: Ability-reinhardt5 Earthshatter and Overrun icon Overrun are affected by the damage reduction, but Ability Sombra Virus Virus and Volatile Chaingun icon Volatile Chaingun's forced critical hits against burning targets are not.
    • The reduction stacks additively with other modifiers affecting damage taken.
  • All tanks have 150 more health in Role Queue. The amount of armor and/or shields remains the same.


Tesla Cannon
Key mouse 1
Hero-ability-circle
Ability-winston1
Type
Weapon
Effect Type
Beam Beam (multi-target)
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Electric frontal-cone weapon.
Damage:
70 per second
Headshot:
Ammo per shot:
20 per second
Ammo:
100
Reload time:
1.7 seconds animation
Max. range:
8 meters
Spread angle:
45 degrees
Winston’s weapon fires a short-range electric barrage for as long as he holds down the trigger.

Ability details:
  • Damage per second: 70 while firing (52.24 overall w/reload)
  • Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector and Ability-winston2 Jump Pack can be used without interrupting fire.
  • Ignores armor damage reduction.

Example Video


Tesla Cannon Alt Fire
Key mouse 2
Hero-ability-circle
Ability-winston1
Type
Weapon
Effect Type
Hitscan Hitscan
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Hold to charge, release to fire focused electricity
Damage:
15 (min charge)
50 (max charge)
Headshot:
Ammo per shot:
4 - 12
Cast time:
0.3 seconds (to min charge)
0.85 second (to full charge)
0.75 recovery
Max. range:
40 meters
Projectile radius:
0.33 meters
Winston's weapon fires a medium range electric beam after being held.

Ability details:
  • Damage per second:
    • 13.81, continuous fire at minimum charge
    • 31.25, continuous fire at max charge
    • 16.13, continuous fire with max hold
  • The amount of ammo drained increases as the ability is charged, up to 12.
    • Maximum charge is however reached already at 10 ammo mark.
  • The cannon automatically fires 1.5 seconds after reaching maximum charge.
  • Ability-winston2 Jump Pack can be used while charging without interrupting it.
  • Pressing primary fire cancels the charge, and activating Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector or using melee resets it.
  • Charging is interrupted if Winston is stunned or knocked down.
  • If the charging is interrupted or reset through any means, any ammo that went into charging the shot is consumed.
  • Ignores armor damage reduction.

Co-op details:
  • Secondary fire chains up to 4 additional nearby enemies, dealing depreciating damage each chain.


Barrier Projector
E
Hero-ability-circle
Ability-winston3
12 seconds
Type
Ability
Deploy a protective energy dome.
Barrier health:
650
Cast time:
None
Duration:
8 seconds
Area of effect:
5 meter radius
Winston’s barrier projector extends a bubble-shaped field that absorbs damage until it's destroyed. Allies protected by the barrier can return fire from within it.

Ability details:
  • Cooldown starts immediately after activation.
  • Barrier becomes active after a 0.13 second delay.

Example Video


Jump Pack
LSHIFT
Hero-ability-circle
Ability-winston2
5 seconds
Type
Ability
Effect Type
Area of effect Area of effect
Movement Movement
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Leap forward into the air. Landing on an enemy damages them.
Damage:
50 – 1
Headshot:
Cast time:
None
Area of effect:
5 meters radius (max)
1.3 meter radius (falloff start)
Movement speed:
30 m/s
Knockback speed:
10.1 m/s (landing)
7.2 (mid-leap)
Winston launches into the air, damaging enemies he lands on.

Ability details:
  • Cooldown starts immediately after activation.
  • The damage scales based on distance to target upon landing.
  • Enemies that collide with Winston mid-leap take 1 damage.
  • Enemies that are hit by the impact or collide with Winston mid-leap are knocked back.
  • Winston can use (and charge) Tesla Cannon, melee and Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector and Ability-winston4 Primal Rage while leaping.
  • After using Jump Pack, a standard melee attack right before landing will cancel the melee animation while the damage of the attack is still applied. While the visual animation of the melee is cancelled, Winston still is unable to use his Tesla Cannon until 0.5 seconds after he used the melee attack. This makes using melee right before landing no more or less efficient than interrupting the Tesla Cannon with melee attacks while grounded.
  • View angle and use of directional inputs affect the jump length.
    • To perform particularly short jumps with the Jump Pack, look straight ahead and press and hold backwards right before using the ability. To jump straight up, look straight up and press and hold backwards right before jumping.

Co-op details:
  • Landing damage increases while in the air, up to 250% more damage over 2.5 seconds.


Primal Rage
Q
Hero-ability-circle
Ability-winston4
2050 points
Type
Ultimate Ability
Effect Type
Melee Melee
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Gain immense health, but you can only leap and punch enemies.
Damage:
50 (melee)
Headshot:
Rate of fire:
1 swing per 0.656 seconds
Health:
700 max health, fully restore HP
Cast time:
0 + 0.7 seconds
Duration:
10 seconds (transformation)
Max. range:
4 meters (melee)
M. speed buff:
+30%
Knockback speed:
25.7 m/s (melee)
Winston embraces his animal nature, significantly boosting his health and making him very difficult to kill, strengthening his melee attack, and allowing him to use his jump pack ability more frequently. While raging, Winston can only make melee and Jump Pack attacks.

Ability details:
  • Winston's maximum health is increased by 700 and his health and armor are fully restored upon activation, resulting in 1100 total hit points (1250 in role queue): 900 health (1050 in role queue) and 200 armor.
    • This HP restoration does not count as healing, and cannot be prevented by anti-heal effects.
    • If Winston has more than 200 health (350 in role queue) at the end of the duration, it becomes 200 (350 in role queue). If he has any armor, it is transferred over. (E.g. 700 health, 50 armor becomes 200 health, 50 armor. 550 health, 0 armor becomes 200 health, 0 armor.)
  • Ability-winston2 Jump Pack's cooldown is reset upon activation and when Primal Rage ends and lowered to 2 seconds while Primal Rage is active.
  • Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector and Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon cannot be used during Primal Rage.
  • Melee attacks during Primal Rage have a wide arc and greatly increased knockback.
    • The swings alternate direction, starting counter-clockwise.
    • The hitbox of the attack lingers slightly longer at the end location of the swing.
  • Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon's ammunition is restored when the ultimate ends.
  • Primal Rage's movement speed buff does not count towards global movement speed buff cap.

Example Video


Hero-specific options

Setting name Options Description
Primary Fire cancels Secondary Fire On (default) Pressing Primary Fire interrupts charging of Secondary Fire, preventing it from firing.
Off Primary Fire cannot be used while charging Secondary Fire.
Toggle Secondary Fire Off (default) Secondary Fire fires when player stops holding the button.
On Secondary Fire fires when player presses the button again.
Relative aim sensitivity during Primal Rage. 1% ... 500% (default: 100%) Multiplier to base aim sensitivity during Primal Rage.

Strategy

Strengths

Winston is one of the game's most mobile Tanks, capable of crossing vast distances in a single leap to bring the fight to his enemies. His Tesla Cannon can't be blocked by a general barrier, given its splash effect, making it very dangerous to most low-health heroes. The agility provided by his Jump Pack makes him a persistent menace that can easily disrupt any enemy team through constant harassment. Barrier Projector is his method of defense for himself or his teammates for a short duration. With the barrier being bubble-shaped, it can be one of the best barriers in the game. Primal Rage not only saves his life by increasing both his current and maximum health, it also greatly reduces the cooldown of Jump Pack and replaces his Tesla Cannon with melee attacks that can disrupt any enemy hit by it. He is of great use for diving into an open space and disrupting enemies.

Weaknesses

Much like Reinhardt, however, he is only capable of fighting at short range, and he is not nearly as consistently durable as the other Tanks. His damage output is considered to be lowest of its class, as any enemy healer will reduce the effectiveness of his weapon or even negate it. His personal barrier is very weak and has a very lengthy cooldown, not suited to be used as a main defensive tool. He has to make use of his Primal Rage to disrupt the enemies as much as possible; otherwise, it is a great ultimate battery due to his higher health and larger collision.

Weapons & Abilities

  • Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon: Winston's primary weapon. The Tesla Cannon causes continual damage in a cone in front of Winston as long as the primary fire button is held down.
    • The Tesla Cannon automatically targets any enemies who are within the cone. Even evasive targets like Tracer cannot avoid being damaged by Winston so long as they are within range of the Cannon.
    • The Tesla Cannon has fairly low damage compared to the weapons of other Tanks. It's best not to go head-to-head with other Tanks unless they're already low on Health.
    • Tesla Cannon is not blocked by barriers or Genji's Deflect.
    • Using melee attacks to repeatedly interrupt the Tesla Cannon fire does slightly more damage per second as simply firing the weapon. When attacking a single target, this technique is optimal for damage output, as it also conserves ammunition. The risk is that Winston needs to get closer to his target than he would usually have to, potentially making him miss out on damage if he loses track of his target.
  • Ability-winston2 Jump Pack: When activated, Winston performs a massive leap forwards. When he lands, he deals damage to all enemies in a small area and knocks them back.
    • With Jump Pack, Winston can easily reach distant enemies in a single bound. If your team is being harassed by Widowmaker or Hanzo, don't be afraid to leap onto them and take them out.
    • Jump Pack will immediately end if Winston collides with a solid object like a box or short wall when first activating Jump Pack. Make sure you have ample distance to vault over obstacles before using Jump Pack.
    • Once in the air, Winston has a small amount of air control, allowing him to curve around in the air. Use this to both evade enemy fire and to land on certain platforms.
    • Jump Pack goes in the direction Winston is looking, not straight in the air. Keep this in mind when trying to make longer jumps, as looking straight ahead will not get you as far.
    • Try to land as close the enemy as possible, as this does more damage and allows you to melee them immediately for a bigger burst of damage.
  • Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector: When activated, Winston drops a small projector that creates a bubble-shaped barrier, absorbing a certain amount of damage from the enemy team before being destroyed. The bubble is hollow, meaning an enemy inside the bubble can still hit Winston or his allies if they are also inside the bubble. The barrier will disappear automatically after a few seconds.
    • Barrier Projector does not inherit Winston's momentum. If he drops it while in mid-air with Jump Pack, it will fall straight downwards.
    • Winston can "dance" between the edge of the bubble in order to keep himself safe for its duration. When an enemy enters into the bubble, move outside of it so that the enemy has to exit the bubble to attack you. Once they do, move back into the bubble. This lets you deal constant damage while the barrier absorbs most of your enemy's damage.
    • The barrier is rather fragile for a shield, and is best suited to short-term blocking or breaking up a control point. Winston should not rely on this ability to be the only shield on his team, as Reinhardt and Orisa are much more effective.
  • Ability-winston4 Primal Rage (Ultimate): Winston's Ultimate ability. When activated, Winston transforms into a berserk ape, gaining a massive amount of maximum Health, greatly shortening the cooldown on Jump Pack, and changing his primary weapon into fast-hitting hand swipes that deal damage and knock enemies back a great distance. Winston cannot use Barrier Projector while Primal Rage is active. Winston returns to base maximum Health after Primal Rage ends.
    • Primal Rage causes Winston's Health to be immediately refilled to the new, higher value. Use Primal Rage when you're in danger of dying.
    • Primal Rage has rather low damage output for an Ultimate, but the knockback from his hand swipes is impressive. Use this with frequent jumps to disrupt enemies, lock them in corners and push them off objectives or the map.
    • Due to the lingering hitbox of the melee attacks, rotating Winston along with the swing can allow hitting enemies in a wider arc.
    • Jump Pack will immediately come off cooldown both when activating Primal Rage and when Primal Rage ends. This guarantees a safe entrance and exit to a skirmish.

General Strategies

  • Winston is a great Tank for new players. His Tesla Cannon automatically hits any enemies in front of him, minimizing the amount of aiming you need to do, and his Barrier Projector gives both him and his team extra survivability.
  • Winston's charged shot can be combined with Jump Pack and melee when diving an enemy, dealing a burst of up to 130 damage: Start charging Tesla Cannon's secondary fire slightly before leaping and try to hit the leap as close to them as possible. Upon closing the enemy, release the fire and hit them with melee right as you land.
  • Winston is a fantastic counter to mobile enemies like Tracer or Genji. The autohit nature of Tesla Cannon prevents them from dodging the constant stream of damage from Winston, and Barrier Projector gives Winston more than enough Health to deal with them. When up against a good player using Tracer or Genji, consider switching to Winston.
  • Winston excels at bypassing chokepoints and attacking control points. He can force a defending team to fall back and defend the objective, allowing your team to pass through the chokepoint. Use Winston when you need to be able to get into an enemy's backline and break them up.
  • Barrier Projector is weaker than Reinhardt's Barrier Field, though still capable of absorbing a good amount of damage. When it comes to guarding a chokepoint or an objective, Reinhardt is the better pick.
  • Don't stay in one place as Winston, as he's squishier than he seems. Use Jump Pack to constantly engage and disengage, retreating when you get low on Health. Memorize the location of large Health Packs, as this will help you get back to fighting more quickly.
  • Primal Rage is best used in cases where you need to force an enemy team away from a position. If they've heavily entrenched themselves in an area, use Primal Rage to knock them back so that your team has an opportunity to move in. Remember that you gain a massive amount of Health, and you fully heal to the new health pool when Primal Rage is used, so try to delay using it until you are low on Health to maximize the amount of time you spend in the fight.
  • Although Winston may seem as an easy class to play, he is quite difficult to master. Winston can be eliminated rather quickly if he jumps into a new area headfirst without teammates. Consider sticking with teammates and launching at solo targets like Widowmaker, Genji, Tracer, etc.
  • Winston is perfect for taking out Support heroes that are alone or have wandered from their team, so don't hesitate to go after them. Make sure you are quick, as the enemy will soon rush to save their Support.

Match-Ups and Team Synergy

Tank

Hero Match-Up Team Synergy
Icon-dva
D.Va
Should you encounter an enemy D.Va in her Mech, she will be a difficult opponent. While her Defense Matrix may be incapable of blocking your Tesla Cannon, its low damage will be easily outmatched by D.Va's Fusion Cannons and Micro Missiles, which are sometimes enough to burst you to death before you can use Jump Pack to flee. Even if you deploy a Photon Projector, a good D.Va can often straddle it just as well as you can. If you attempt to flee with Jump Pack, D.Va can chase you down and finish you off if you're low health. Typically speaking, don't approach on an enemy D.Va unless you're with your team or you're certain she's near death. Should you get her out of her Mech, though, she's easy pickings. Your Tesla Cannon will home in on even the jumpiest of D.Vas and quickly snuff her out. At a distance she can deal a lot of damage to you, but you can leap to her with Jump Pack, and with her mobility gone she's easy prey. Barrier Projector can block not only Pilot D.Va's attacks, but also a Self-Destruct if deployed at the right time. (To be added)
Icon-doomfist
Doomfist
Your Tesla Cannon is too weak to have an effect on Doomfist, especially because he can gain shields. Try to bait his Rocket Punch and use Jump Pack to dodge it, making him easier for you and your team to defeat. Try to avoid close-range combat by using Jump Pack to escape, and if he uses Meteor Strike, place a barrier at his landing location and attack him with your team from outside the barrier. (To be added)
Icon-orisa
Orisa
(To be added) (To be added)
Icon-reinhardt
Reinhardt
Although your Tesla Cannon will struggle to whittle through Reinhardt's high armor, it ignores his Barrier Field and pierces through it. Rather than harming Reinhardt himself, this is ideal for damaging any enemies clustering around a Reinhardt's barrier. You can use Jump Pack to ambush Reinhardt and those he's protecting. Should Reinhardt drop his barrier to attack you back, that will provide an opening for your teammates to press with an attack. As long as you can survive the encounter, you can flee with Jump Pack, heal, and return to heckle Reinhardt, as other than Charge he has no means of chasing you down. Should Reinhardt hit you with Charge, though, he will take out a huge chunk of your health, so should that happen it's important to immediately retreat. (To be added)
Icon-roadhog
Roadhog
Roadhog will prove to be one of your worst enemies. Your huge body and head hitboxes make you extremely vulnerable to Roadhog's Scrap Gun, which can potentially kill you in just two shots - and from greater range than against most heroes. Roadhog's enormous health total makes the Tesla Cannon do little more than tickle him, and his hook can pull you in and allow him to take off most of your health with a single combo. However, Barrier Projector can prevent you and your teammates from being hooked, and can even be used reactively in some situations to stop a hook, or to preemptively cover an advance that would otherwise be stymied by Roadhog's hook. Be wary, though, that Barrier Projector's cooldown is much longer than Chain Hook, meaning Roadhog will have plenty of opportunities to hook you before you can protect yourself again. Even in the miraculous situation where you catch a low-health Roadhog on the run, he can often use Take a Breather to nullify your Tesla Cannon's damage and restore his health. Try not to directly engage Roadhog, and if you know one is roaming about, save your Jump Pack to flee from him; if hooked, use Jump Pack to disengage immediately. Avoid diving onto characters being protected by Roadhog, as it will often result in your death instead of the death of your intended target. (To be added)
Icon-sigma
Sigma
While Winston is not the best character to confront tanks, you have a few advantages over sigma, Despite his high health, your Tesla cannon will ignore his Experimental barrier and his kinetic grasp, allowing you to do damage to him freely, your barrier can provide protection against his primary fire if you keep “dancing” around it, and since he lacks mobility, you can finish him off or retreat without much worries, still, be wary of accretion or gravitic flux, since accretion can cut off your momentum if you’re using jump pack and if you’re caught in gravitic flux, you’ll lose a significant amount of health. (To be added)
Icon-wrecking ball
Wrecking Ball
The only advantage you have over Wrecking ball is that you can easily clear his minefield with your Tesla cannon, since it targets multiple targets and the mines have low health, but otherwise Wrecking ball will hold an advantage over you in a direct fight, his Massive health makes your Tesla cannon a pathetic weapon against his quad cannons, should you retreat he can catch up to you easily in his ball form, Which he can also use to retreat easily, if you’re encountered by a Wrecking ball try to stick with teammates that can handle him better rather than fighting him on your own. (To be added)
Icon-winston
Winston
The Tesla Cannon's low damage output will cause a one on one Winston bout to be a long, drawn-out stalemate. Barrier Projector will do nothing to defend does nothing against each other's Tesla Cannons, so don't bother unless other you need to protect yourself from other enemies in the vicinity. Only bother to pursue an enemy Winston if he's on the brink of death; otherwise, stick with your team and don't waste your time. Multiple Winstons in a No Limits game can deploy multiple Barrier Projectors, resulting in a large area of protection.
Icon-zarya
Zarya
Zarya's lack of armor and lower health when compared to other tanks will allow you to kill her faster than you would most other tanks. Jump Pack can allow you to hunt Zarya down while she has low health, while she has no mobility options that can help her escape. Zarya does have you beat in firepower, though, and she will be able to out-damage you even at low energy. Stop firing when she deploys her Particle Barrier, otherwise all you'll do is increase her Energy. Her weapon can't attack you at a distance, but its range is superior to that of your Tesla Cannon, meaning you'll have difficulty avoiding her attacks without Jump Pack. With high Energy, Zarya can make short work of you even if you are inside the Barrier Projector. Zarya can be especially annoying if you leap in to finish off an enemy, only for her to throw a Projected Barrier onto your target, saving her teammate and potentially gaining some Energy. Only engage Zarya when she is at low health and low Energy. If you and your team are grabbed by Zarya's Graviton Surge, quickly deploy a Barrier Projector, as it can help soak up some incoming damage. (To be added)

Damage

Hero Match-Up Team Synergy
Icon-ashe
Ashe
Just like other snipers, Ashe is a good target to flank using Jump Pack. If she uses Coach Gun to try and create distance, use your Jump Pack again to attack her and use the "tickle-melee" combo to finish her off. (To be added)
Icon-bastion
Bastion
Bastion will have no trouble gunning you down due to your large hitbox, and your Barrier Projector's low health will do little to stop the bullet rain. Even if you can get behind Bastion, the Tesla Cannon cannot headshot, giving Bastion plenty of time to snap around and run you down. Unless protected by the likes of Zarya's Projected Barrier, you should never engage Bastion when he is in Sentry Configuration. You stand a better chance if you catch Bastion in Recon Configuration, but unless he's at low health, he can simply transform and gun you down. Even when you are using Primal Rage, Bastion can chew through a huge amount of your health. Avoid messing with Bastion as much as possible and let your more suitable teammates kill it. (To be added)
Icon-Cassidy
Cassidy
While Cassidy poses a threat at greater distances, Jump Pack will allow you to quickly close the distance. Cassidy's Flashbang and Fan the Hammer combo can still prove dangerous to you, but your high health should usually help you withstand the combo. Barrier Projector provides ample protection from Cassidy's Peacekeeper, and in close-quarters combat you can go in and out of the barrier to make it difficult for Cassidy to land his shots on you. In an emergency situation, you cal always use Jump Pack to flee from the fight; while you have to watch out for any Peacemaker shots he lands while you are midair, he has few means of pursuing you once you create some distance between the two of you. Take advantage of Cassidy's low mobility and your superior health, and you should do fairly well against him. (To be added)
Icon-echo
Echo
Much like Phara, there’s very little you can do to take Echo down, most of the time she’ll be out of your effective range, and when she IS near you where you can deal consistent damage, she can usually just use flight and flee without much trouble, using your jump pack to damage her while she’s airborne will do very little, so don’t bother unless you’re certain she’s near death, The most you can do is deploy your barrier, which will not last long against her abilities, if there’s an enemy echo, do not bother and leave her to your team. (To be added)
Icon-genji
Genji
You are by far one of the strongest counters to Genji. He can't Deflect your Tesla Cannon, which will automatically hit him as long as you are aiming slightly in Genji's direction. This in turn nullifies one of his greatest assets, that being his agility. If Genji is attempting to heckle you from a distance, your Barrier Projector should provide sufficient protection. If Genji attempts to flee from you with a Swift Strike, you can just use your Jump Pack to chase him down and finish him off, which is helped by Jump Pack having a shorter cooldown than Swift Strike. If Genji activates Dragonblade and you have enough health to withstand several sword swings, instead of fleeing attack back with your Tesla Cannon, which may kill him before he can kill any members of your team. (To be added)
Icon-hanzo
Hanzo
Hanzo fights best against low-health enemies at a distance; thankfully, you fit neither of those bills with your sizeable health and your ability to quickly ambush opponents and attack them at close range. While Hanzo can climb walls and dodge in the air, these mean little to your Tesla Cannon's ability to track wily opponents. One concern you'll need to worry about is the burst damage of his Storm Arrows; this can mitigated by dropping your Barrier Projector after leaping towards Hanzo and dancing back and forth between it. Hanzo's Sonic Arrow can alert himself and his team of your existence, which can be beneficial for timing shots on you, so be careful about peeking from behind corners. (To be added)
Icon-junkrat
Junkrat
Junkrat's Concussion Mine and Steel Trap can be easily destroyed by your Tesla Cannon, so long as you fire with your weapon before accidentally stepping on a trap. Jump Pack allows you to quickly approach Junkrat; without hus Steel Trap to defend himself, Junkrat is forced to fight in close-range. Your Barrier Projector will allow you to deal consistent damage to Junkrat in relative safety; if your barrier is on cooldown, though, his grenades will easily hit you due to your large hitbox. A few direct hits will melt your health away quickly, so try to only fight Junkrat if your Barrier Projector is ready; if you're caught by surprise by him, don't hesitate to use Jump Pack to retreat to your team, as Junkrat's ability to chase after you is limited. If a wounded Junkrat is retreating, weigh whether or not you believe he'll have regrouped with his team before jumping after him to finish him off. (To be added)
Icon-mei
Mei
What Mei lacks in mobility, she makes up for in being superior to you in close-quarters combat. Barrier Projector can protect you from both her primary and secondary attacks, but if you attempt to kill her up close with your Tesla Cannon, she'll almost always freeze you solid before you get the chance. Even if you get her near death, your last of burst damage means she can safely enter Cryo-Freeze to recover her health. While you are capable of taking a few frozen headshots from Mei and living, in a team fight you'll be much more susceptible to her team. If you know the enemy team has a Mei, be careful about where you leap so you don't end up running into her and getting cornered. (To be added)
Icon-pharah
Pharah
As Pharah maintains her high altitude, the only hope for you to attack is to use Jump Pack to jump towards her and deal some damage with Tesla Cannon. You will be mid-air for around 1 or 2 seconds, but this will rarely be enough to deal any significant damage. You also can't do anything against Pharah from a distance, other than putting up a Barrier Projector to shield yourself and your team. With enough firepower for Pharah and her team, though, your barrier will shatter quickly, so be cautious around her. Primal Rage's reduced Jump Pack cooldown can help you reach Pharah's heights if need be. (To be added)
Icon-reaper
Reaper
Reaper is one of your worst nightmares. He can tear through your health with only a few rounds of his Hellfire Shotguns, and being such a huge gorilla, you make for an easy target for Reaper to easily land all of bullets on you. You need to maintain a close range to damage enemies with your Tesla Cannon, and close range combat is Reaper's bread and butter. With higher firepower than you, higher health than average heroes, self-heal with The Reaping, and a reliable escape and pursue tool with Wraith Form, Reaper will win in any direct fight with you. Barrier Projector can't soak up Reaper's high damage as it has low health compared to the likes of Reinhardt's or even Orisa's barriers. You should only attempt to engage with a Reaper if he has low health, his Wraith Form is on cooldown, and you think you can finish him before he can start shooting you and regaining health with The Reaping. If you are forced into a fight with Reaper, deploy your Barrier Projector and weave in and out of it to hopefully avoid his attacks until you survive long enough to leap with Jump Pack to safety. Your ability to knock Reaper around during Primal Rage can keep him from landing close shots on you (or sometimes even knock him off a cliff for an environmental kill), but you shouldn't directly confront a group of enemies with Primal Rage when Reaper is among them, as even with your enhanced health he may be able to run you into the ground with help from his friends. (To be added)
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Soldier: 76
Soldier: 76's attack great range allows him to deal heavy damage to you at a distance, which is only made worse by your large size. Jump Pack can help you close the gap between you and Soldier: 76, and your Tesla Cannon can deal enough continuous damage to force him to retreat and regroup with his team. Should Soldier: 76 stand his ground and activate Biotic Field, though, he will be able to heal himself at a rate that renders your Tesla Cannon's damage null. Even if the tide turns in your favor, Soldier: 76's Sprint can give him the means to escape. With an accurate Jump Pack, jump, you can catch up and finish him off if he's weak enough. However, unless he's near death, you should instead use Jump Jack to escape and regroup with your teammates who will have a better time handling him. Barrier Projector can effectively protect you and your teammates from Soldier: 76's shots and his Tactical Visor, but be mindful of the barrier's low health and short duration. (To be added)
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Sombra
Should Sombra land a Hack on you from far enough away that your Tesla Cannon can't hit her, you'll be stuck with no mobility, no protection, and a weak close range weapon. That being said, the wide arc of your Tesla Cannon is often capable of disrupting Sombra's Hack before it can finish. A quick deployment of Barrier Projector can also cut her hack off, as Sombra is incapable of hacking enemies through Barriers. Hacked or not, in a 1 on 1 close range fight, your auto-aiming Tesla Cannon and your larger health should be sufficient to handle Sombra. Should she keep a good distance on you while you are Hacked, though, she might be able to gun you down due to your lack of attack range; in this scenario, it's best to try to hide behind cover, and if she chases you, you can ambush her at your preferred range. If you know where a Sombra is, you can use Jump Pack to ambush her and kill her, or in the very least force her to retreat with Translocator. Unfortunately Tesla Cannon won't home in on her while she is utilizing her Thermoptic Camo, meaning unless you hit her with a lucky punch (or if she attempts to activate it at point blank range, which will cause your Tesla Cannon to disrupt its activation), she can use it to escape. If you are Hacked during Primal Rage, your Ultimate won't be cancelled, but you will lose your Jump Pack, rendering you a far less mobile threat and making you easy pickings for the enemy team. In a nutshell, you will win most fights against Sombra so long as you don't allow her to ambush you. (To be added)
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Symmetra
Your auto-tracking Tesla Cannon can prove to be a nightmare for Symmetra and her Sentry Turrets. That being said, it's wise not to underestimate her; Symmetra's Photon Projector can quickly demolish your Barrier Projector, and doing so will help her achieve higher energy levels that she can then use to rip you apart. When fighting Symmetra, it's best to either kill her quickly or keep your distance and be ready to flee with Jump Pack; if you prolong a fight with her and let her power up, you won't be able to kill her before she kills you. Instead of hunting down Symmetra, consider jumping to areas where you know she has Sentry Turrets set up, destroying them with your Tesla Cannon, and escaping before she or her teammates can avenge them. (To be added)
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Torbjörn
Torbjörn's Turret can't do much to break through your Barrier Projector. If you use Jump Pack to land near a Turret and deploy a barrier to protect yourself, you should have little difficulty taking down the Turret before Torbjörn can retaliate. If the Torbjörn decides to sit by his Turret and repair it, you may end up taking more time do destroy the Turret, but you gain the benefit of being able to attack both the Turret and Torbjörn at the same time with your Tesla Cannon. Be careful if you don't have Barrier Projectile available; Torbjörn's alt-fire, especially when enhanced by Overload, can pack a mean punch, and you have large hitboxes that will a good number of bullets. If Torbjörn activates Molten Core near you, don't hesitate to use Jump Pack to get out of the general vicinity to avoid stepping in magma. (To be added)
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Tracer
Winston excels in fighting against mobile heroes due to the nature of his auto-targeting Tesla Cannon. Tracer is highly mobile but requires proximity to deal maximum damage; as your Tesla has low range but can track mobile enemies, this makes you a good counter to fend Tracer off. If Tracer is attempting to heckle you from a distance, Barrier Projector will protect you and your team, forcing her to either get closer into your ideal range or retreat. Jump Pack can help you chase down a Tracer attempting to flee while Recall is on cooldown. Don't get too cocky, though, as Tracer's firepower is still significant enough to kill you if she's brave enough to fight you at close range and mobile enough to stay out of your Tesla Cannon's range of fire. If you must, don't be afraid to use Jump Pack to jump to higher elevation where Tracer can't chase you. (To be added)
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Widowmaker
With your ability to leap into the enemy lines and your barrier, you serve an an excellent counter to Widowmaker, who can't hold herself as well in a close-range fight as you can. When you use Jump Pack to approach a Widowmaker on high ground, she will often fall to the ground expecting you to chase her, then use Grappling Hook to regain the high ground. Don't bother chasing her until Jump Pack is ready again; if she tries to be smart, you'll be able to just jump up in her face and heckle her again. At a distance, you have a clear disadvantage with your huge hitbox and low weapon range. Never peek around corners if a Widowmaker is nearby; instead, coordinate with your team so they know it's safe to push onto an objective when you dive in to heckle the enemy team's Widowmaker. Once your friendly Widowmaker activates Infra-Sight, you'll have a good idea of where all of your opponents are. This can make it easy for you to dive on lone Support heroes or snipers, and can also help you watch for enemy flankers such as Genji that you can easily fend away from your team.

Support

Hero Match-Up Team Synergy
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Ana
Some of your best match-ups are against snipers, and Ana is no exception. While she'll prefer to hide in the back line, you can constantly jump to her position with Jump Pack and deploy a Barrier Projector to protect yourself while firing safely inside it. Ana lacks any mobility options to escape you, but a quick Sleep Dart could incapacitate you long enough for her teammates to surround and kill you; it's best to prematurely activate Barrier Projector to avoid this situation. Be especially wary of Sleep Dart when you activate Primal Range, as you'll be a big easy target to be put to sleep. Her Biotic Rile can deal decent damage to you at close and distant proximity, but your high health should be able to withstand most of her attacks With Sleep Dart, when hit, completely stops his rage in both normal and Primal Rage (As long as her teammates don't wake him up). If you're expecting to be healed by your allies in a group fight, Ana's Biotic Grenade could ruin your plans; if hit by it, don't feel ashamed to use Jump Pack to flee if you're near death's door. Primal Rage's self-heal effect will also be disrupted by Biotic Grenade's effect, instead only giving you 500 extra health, so try not to trigger it during that time if possible. (To be added)
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Baptiste
Baptiste should not to be underestimated, he can lay down heavy damage output if he can land his shots, especially if he can land headshots on you, he can also easily gain high ground and regenerate his health with his abilities and his immortality field can give him enough time to finish you off if you’re not careful, if he is healing someone you’re currently attacking, it’ll be tough to actually do significant damage to your current target, however, when he deploys his immortality field try to sneak up to it, most people usually tend to stick close to the immortality field, and since your Tesla cannon can target multiple people at once, you can take this opportunity to gain ultimate charge, as well as dealing some damage to several people at once. (To be added)
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Brigitte
A duel with an enemy Brigitte will prove to be generally long, and resulting with the winner to be left in very low health, both of you have to be at close range to do damage, and while your Tesla cannon will easily lock onto her, her passive ability will make killing Brigitte a hard task, however, she has no means of disengaging or catching up to you due to her lack of mobility, so if the fight turns to your favor she'll have no means of escaping you, alternatively you can easily disengage if the fight isn't going your way with your jump pack. (To be added)
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Lúcio
Even with your constant mobility and auto-tracking Tesla Cannon, Lúcio can be one of the harder Support heroes to take down. Lúcio can negate some of Tesla Cannon's damage from his automatic healing, or he can use his Speed Boost to escape out of your attack range. He can also use Soundwave to push you out of your effective range, leaving Jump Pack as your only means of pursuing him. This will be ineffective while you're in your Barrier Projector, though, so you can activate it near him to continue your attack without getting knocked back. Lúcio's wall riding won't protect him much from your Tesla Cannon; if you can catch him in a corridor where you're forced into close quarters, you'll have the advantage. Sound Barrier's massive health boost will render your Tesla Cannon's damage completely ineffectual; however, as his team will need to gather up when Lúcio activates Sound Barrier, this can be an ideal situation to activate Primal Rage and smack all of your enemies away, splitting them apart and making them easy targets. (To be added)
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Mercy
An enemy Mercy should be one of your top priorities. She doesn't have a good escape mechanic outside of Guardian Angel to flee to her teammate (even it is just a friendly corpse). She can't protect herself if you ambush her, and even if her teammates attempt to body-block you, your Tesla Cannon can attack past them to continue whittling her health down. In a group fight, try your best to focus on Mercy rather than the enemy she's healing, as you'll never be able to outdamage the healing Mercy is distributing with her Caduceus Staff. Don't expect a knockback from Jump Pack or Primal Rage to be a confirmed kill, as her Guardian Angel ability can help her return to safety if she has a nearby ally. (To be added)
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Moira
As long as you keep fighting in close range against Moira, It’ll be an easy matchup, while she can use fade to avoid you, your jump pack can make it easy for you to catch up to her, your barrier projector will also block her primary damage, and while she can negate your damage with her healing orbs, You can still keep applying pressure on her, which’ll most likely lead to a retreat or her death. her primary fire is also pretty insignificant agains your large health, During coalescence do not bother trying to take her out with your Tesla cannon since the self healing of her ultimate provides completely nullifies your damage (To be added)
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Zenyatta
Zenyatta is one of the best tank killers in the game, which can make a fight with him difficult. His Orb of Discord will help him and his teammates tear through your high health, especially if he manages to land headshots. Orb of Harmony will negate half of your Tesla Cannon's damage to whoever it is applied to. You can use Jump Pack to reach Zenyatta's position and activate a Barrier Projector to fight Zenyatta on your terms. Without any escape abilities, so long as you can successfully keep yourself safe within your barrier, you should have no difficulty killing Zenyatta. The enemy Zenyatta will most likely be aware of this, and will try to be near enemies who can come to his aid and fend you off, so be cautious when jumping in to attack him. Transcendence will render your Tesla Cannon's low damage moot; however, Primal Rage can not only knock Zenyatta's teammates around, but also Zenyatta himself, which can help disrupt an enemy push during Transcendence. When diving enemies, try to stay in the line of sight of a friendly Zenyatta; not only will this ensure that you are receiving his healing to keep yourself safe from counter-attacks, but an Orb of Discord on your target will make your job much easier.

Story

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"Imagination Is The Essence Of Discovery."

A super-intelligent, genetically engineered gorilla, Winston is a brilliant scientist and a champion for humanity's potential.[3] Since a young age, he has shown limitless curiosity for the world around him, but also has a fondness for stories, especially those passed down from generation to generation.[4] By his own admission, he tends to overthink things, is a perfectionist, and tends to ramble.[5] As an ape among humans, he gets regular remarks on this subject, including references to old video games.[6] As a gorilla, his strength is exceptional.[7]

When Winston loses his temper, Winston becomes a raging ape. In his off-time, he enjoys peanut butter and bananas.[8] He has stated/joked that his love of the former is due to his genetic therapy.[6] Due to the amount of time he spent on the moon, he has to take supplements to keep his bones in good condition.[9]

Horizon Lunar Colony

Ah. The Moon. I grew up there, looking down at the Earth, dreaming about what life would be like. But I loved my time there. The scientists were my family. I learned so much from them. I had so many great memories. We were working together to build humanity's future amongst the stars. And of course, Doctor Winston. He was like a father to me. It was home. But it wasn't to be. Not everyone liked life on the moon. Of the tests, and the rules. The others hatched a plan. No more injections. No more experiments! Then the doctors, my friends... they were all gone. There was nothing left for me. I couldn't stay, and they didn't want me anyways. So I escaped to Earth, my new home. But they're still up there, and someday, we'll have to go back.
~ Winston, reflecting on his life on Horizon
Winston-infant

Winston as an infant

The Horizon Lunar Colony was established as a first step for humanity's renewed exploration of space. Among its residents was a group of genetically enhanced gorillas that were intended to test the effects of prolonged habitation in space.[3]

One gorilla, designated Specimen 28,[10] displayed such rapid brain development from the gene therapy that he was taken under the wing of Dr. Harold Winston, who taught him science and inspired him with tales of human ingenuity.[3] One day, after the young ape had stolen Harold's glasses, Harold showed the ape Earth just as they were over Africa, as it appeared from the moon[11] (prior to this, the ape had only seen the barren moonscape).[12] Harold told him to not see the world how it was, but how it could be.[11]

The young gorilla passed his days assisting with the scientists' experiments, watching the distant blue world outside his habitat window, dreaming of the endless possibilities that awaited him there.[3] He enjoyed life at Horizon, and regarded the human scientists as his family, and Dr. Winston his father,[13] who taught him science and engineering.[14] In time, he also became good friends with the hamster subject designated Specimen 8, or "Hammond".[15] Lexigrams were used as part of his education process,[16] and one day on Lunar New Year, Dr. Winston challenged the young ape to read Journey to the West. The gorilla's imagination was captured by the heroic monk Tang Sanzang and his ragtag group of disciples' quest for redemption. As a result, the ape was reminded of his younger days every Lunar New Year; Dr Winston telling him the story remained one of his most treasured memories.[4]

But his life was thrown into chaos when the other gorillas led an uprising, killed the mission scientists, and claimed the colony for their own.[3] With nothing left, and unwanted by his fellow gorillas,[13] the ape took on the name of his beloved human caretaker. So named "Winston," the ape built a makeshift rocket using Emergency Pod G-42,[15] using designs he'd found in Horizon's computer system. In truth, the rocket had been designed by Hammond.[17] Winston escaped from Launch Bay 14 to Earth, landing at Watchpoint: Gibraltar.[15]

Overwatch

Congratulations

Winston becomes a member of Overwatch

Having landed on Earth, Winston found a new home with Overwatch, an organization that represented everything he had come to admire about humanity. Winston was finally able to live up to the heroic ideal that had been instilled in him.[3] However, he knew that one day, he would have to return to his former home.[13]

While in Overwatch, Winston looked up to Ana Amari. Gabriel Reyes appears to have detested his presence within the organization.[6][11] Hollywood once asked him to feature in a movie.[6] While a member, he paid his taxes to the Swiss government.[9] Overwatch enforced restrictions on his research, and while Winston chaffed at this, he understood that a measure of caution was needed.[6]

WinstonPharah-ride

Winston gives Fareeha a ride

Winston met Fareeha Amari at least once when she was a child. He let her ride on his back, much to her delight.[18]

Tracer

Winston-chrono

Winston designs the chronal accelerator

Winston was responsible for designing the chronal accelerator, providing a solution to Tracer's chronal disassociation.[19] Winston would watch over Tracer's training at the Overwatch Headquarters, with the help of Dr. Ziegler, and believed that if she showed no signs of trouble, she would be ready for active duty.[20]

Graduation

After the King's Row Uprising, Winston became a member of the Overwatch strike team, alongside Tracer and Genji Shimada.[21]

Storm Rising

Remember, we need Maximilien alive. He's our only good lead on Talon.
I'm not the one you should worry about.
~ Sojourn and Winston during the operation
MercyGenjiTracerWinston

Winston and the rest of the strike team

Under the command of Captain Sojourn six years before the present day,[22] Winston took part in an operation in Havana alongside Mercy, Tracer, and Genji. Their objective was to apprehend Maximilien, who was travelling through the city in an armored convoy. The Overwatch team engaged, with Winston destroying a number of Talon vehicles. This included Maximilien's limo, but when Winston got to the wreck, he found that the omnic had fled. Tracer reassured him that he wouldn't get far on foot, but Sojourn warned them against overconfidence.

The team tracked Maximilien down. In exchange for leniency, he agreed to arrange a "meeting" with Doomfist,[9] informing them that Talon's leader would be in Singapore in three weeks.[23]

Doomfist

Primal punch! Gorilla from the moon saves the day!
~ A newspaper headline on Winston's defeat of Doomfist
Winston-roar

Winston, just prior to charging Doomfist

Overwatch acted on Maximilien's intel. Alongside Genji and Tracer, Winston fought Doomfist in Singapore. Winston initially tried to defeat Doomfist using his tesla cannon, but was ineffective, and he was sent hurtling. He eventually came to his feet, but not before Tracer and Genji had been incapacitated. Unleashing his primal rage, Winston charged Doomfist directly, and engaged him in close quarters.[24] Winston defeated Doomfist,[25] who was imprisoned. A newspaper article of the time coined the phrase "primal punch" (even though Winston didn't appear to have actually said that) when reporting on the event.[24] Years after the event, this catchphrase remained associated with Winston's actions.[25]

Post-Overwatch

Winston saw that the problems in the world were growing, and he saw Overwatch as the solution for everything. I don’t think Winston ever questioned why things had fallen apart. He loved it and needed it too much to see how it had damaged and changed us all.
~ Angela Ziegler

After the fall of Overwatch, Winston again went into seclusion, once again cut off from the world he believed in, but longing for the days of heroism to return.[3] In the years that followed, he saw that the world's problems were growing, and saw Overwatch (or rather, its return) as the solution to all of them.[26]

London Calling

S. Paceape...? Wonder who that could be. You at least might have some idea what to do to fix the grid.
~ Tracer after receiving Winston's package

When Tracer attempted to fix the grid of the London Underworld, Winston sent her a regulator.[1]

Recall

Winston? Is that you, love? Oh, it's been too long!
Yes. Yes it has.
~ Tracer and Winston after the latter sends out the recall order
Winston-recall

Winston after sending out the recall

While taking a break in his lab at Watchpoint: Gibraltar during the development of the barrier projector, Winston was pondering once again whether he should give Overwatch agents a recall order when the base came under attack by Talon operatives led by Reaper. With Winston distracted by Talon, Reaper infected Athena with a virus and attempted to download the Overwatch agent database, which would give the current location of any agent. Winston managed to best the operatives and Reaper, stop the download and quarantine the virus at the last moment. After the close call and restoring the system, he made his decision and initiated the recall. When Tracer received the signal she immediately called Winston, delighted to hear from him.[11]

WinstonTracer-LC

Winston and Tracer discuss matters

Winston told him about Reaper's attack, but their conversation was cut short, as Tracer was called aside to help the omnics in the Underworld. Winston called out to her, that the parts he sent were only meant to be temporary, but it was too late, as she rushed out of her appartment.[27]

Reunion

Don't suppose we have any more backup on the way.
Not this time. You'll have to settle just for me.
I'll take it.
~ Tracer and Winston reunite
WinstonTracer-LC2

Winston and Tracer reunite

Winston headed to London and met with Tracer in the Underworld, in the midst of fleeing omnics under the command of Kace. Her chronal accelerator gave out, but he arrived in time to use his barrier projector to protect both of them from the omnics' gunfire. He used his tesla cannon to incapacitate them.

Winston followed Tracer to the omnics she was helping (those not allied with Kace). She ordered Iggy and Lizzy to head to the Underworld's entrance, while she and Winston would draw his forces deeper into the Underworld. Heading in deep, they found Kace and his followers at the Underworld's grid. This presented a problem, for if they opened fire, they risked damaging the grid. Tracer suggested that she could get in close, but Winston pointed out that with her accelerator glitching, she wouldn't be able to.

WinstonTracer-LC3

Winston carries Tracer out of the Underworld

The scenario changed as Iggy led a group of omnics to confront Kace. Her speech got Kace's followers to drop their weapons. Kace, refusing to relent, fired his pistol at Iggy. Tracer used her accelrator to blink forward to intercept the bullet. She succeeded, but she was severely wounded, as due to the accelerator's malfunction, the bullet hit her over and over, rather than the damage being reversed via her usual rewind ability. Winston carried her comatose body out of the Underworld and got her to a hospital, where after eight hours in surgery, she pulled through.

A week later, Tracer had fully healed, and Winston had repaired her accelerator. He told her that he'd looked up what info he could on Kace, but hadn't found anything to suggest that he was connected to Talon. However, he did feel that there might be a tie to Null Sector. In better news, he reported that he and Lizzy had managed to repair the Underworld's grid. Which left the remaining question as to whether Tracer was ready for the next battle, to which Tracer responded in the affirmative.[28]

Are You With Us?

The people decided they were better off without us. They even called us criminals. They tore our family apart. But look around. Someone has to do something. We have to do something. We can make a difference again. The world needs us now more than ever. Are you with me?
~ Winston in his transmission
Winston-withme

"Are you with me?"

With the intent of reforming Overwatch, Winston prepared a speech to try and get its former agents to come back to the organization. After spending most of his day trying and failing to deliver it, Winston delivered the frank truth that while the world had turned against them, the state of the world showed the need for Overwatch to return.[5] Set to repeat on the Overwatch emergency frequency, the signal reached the damaged satellite dish at Ecopoint: Antarctica, and automatically brought Mei out of cryostasis.[29]

Day at the Museum

Alright, playtime's over. Get to cover.
~ Winston to Brian and Timmy
Winston-cine

Winston back in action

Sometime later, Winston got back in action when Reaper and Widowmaker attempted to retrieve Doomfist's gauntlet. Teaming up with Tracer however, he was able to stop the heist, and engaged in pursuit of the villains.[25]

Return to Gibraltar

Note: The timing of these events is unclear—Winston's meeting with Mei has to occur before Reflections, but the satellite launch can occur at any point post-Recall.

Winston-theatrical

Winston watches the satellite launch

As part of his intent to reform Overwatch, Winston returned to Watchpoint: Gibraltar, an old Overwatch outpost that had once stood guard over the Mediterranean. He intended to launch a satellite drone in an effort to restore Overwatch's communications network.[30] The drone was successfully launched, and he looked on with pride.[31]

While at Gibraltar, Winston met Mei, who had emerged from Watchpoint: Antarctica. She didn't stay long, instead seeking to re-establish Overwatch's ecological research network.[32] He suggested that she keep a journal, telling her that people would find her "unique" perspective interesting. Mei obliged.[33]

Reflections

Holidays are supposed to be a time for friends and family. But I'm short on both now. Still... I can't help but wonder how everyones's doing...
~ Winston
TracerEmilyWinston

Winston with Tracer and Emily

During the holiday season after Overwatch's recall, Winston invited Tracer to dinner with him in Gibraltar. Believing that Tracer had missed their gathering, Winston told Athena that they were likely alone again for Christmas. Athena sarcastically began "party mode," causing Winston to chuckle. He then reminisced over a photo of a young him and Dr. Harold Winston, and wondered how everyone else was spending the holidays. Before Winston began eating, Tracer arrived with her girlfriend Emily. Tracer endearingly apologized to Winston, calling him "big guy," before the three of them embraced in a hug. The three then began celebrating the holidays over a special meal.[34]

Blizzard World

WinstonTracerBastionTorb

Tracer and company see a Blizzard World ad

Alongside Tracer, Bastion, and Torbjörn, Winston watched an ad for Blizzard World.[35]

Zero Hour

Monsieur? Does this mean Overwatch is back?
Yes. Yes we are.
~ A police officer and Winston after Null Sector's defeat
Null Sector Titan

Winston faces down Null Sector

Over a year after sending out the recall, Winston's dream of a reformed Overwatch appeared to be faltering, as since sending it out, only Tracer and Mei had joined him in his group.[36] Regardless, when Null Sector attacked Paris, Winston, Mei, and Tracer headed to the city in the Orca. Mei asked if the three of them were enough for the mission. Winston assured her that if they stuck together, things would be fine, but looking at a picture of the original Overwatch group, commented that if they were going to show up, now would be a good time. Arriving over the city, Tracer told Winston to clear a spot for them to land, and that they'd be right behind him. He jumped out of the Orca, destroying multiple Nullifiers and allowing the craft to land. The trio made headway initially, but had to deal with the arrival of a Titan. Winston and Mei were both injured by its chest laser, and Tracer said that they couldn't stay here. Outnumbered and outgunned by the advancing omnics, Winston told Tracer to get Mei and the civilians to safety while he held off Null Sector. Mei weakly pointed out that he'd said that they'd stick together, but Winston stated that he'd be right behind them.

Modern Overwatch

Winston, leading the new Overwatch group

Winston faced down the omnics alone, but was saved at the last minute by Genji Shimada. The ninja was just the beginning of Overwatch members arriving to join the fight, including Reinhardt Wilhelm (accompanied by Brigitte Lindholm), Echo, and Angela Ziegler. The new arrivals were able to clear out the Nullifiers, but that still left the matter of the Titan. Winston had the idea of combining Mei's backpack (the power source of her blaster) with Tracer's pulse bomb. The plan worked, as Tracer was able to plant the modified explosive inside the Titan, freezing it, before the behemoth shattered. The day won, a police officer asked if Overwatch had returned. Taking his place as the group's de facto leader, Winston proudly declared that Overwatch had indeed returned.[37]

A New War

Trouble is cropping up all over the world. It's not just Null Sector.
A lot of lives are riding on what we'll do next.
We'll have to fight. One city at a time.
~ Winston and Mercy discussing the course of action
WinstonLucio

Charting the course of action

After Paris, Winston and the others traveled to Watchpoint: Gibraltar, which they used as their base of operations.[38] Winston installed a simulator in the base to help the team's new recruits master their skills, in preparation for their battles against Null Sector.[39]

As it turned out, Null Sector's attack on Paris was simply the prelude to a global invasion. Winston pointed out that Null Sector wasn't the only threat Overwatch had to deal with. He declared that they'd had to fight their way through one city at a time.[40] Winston sought to recruit Jack Morrison back into Overwatch.[41]

Prior to departing for Rio, Winston was contacted by UN Secretary-general Osei, who while appreciative of the grim situation the world found itself in, reminded Winston that Overwatch activity was still prohibited under international law. She gave him one warning to cease all activity, and warned Winston not to make an enemy of her. Late at night, he conversed with Tracer via texting, admitting that he was scared. He'd initiated the recall, which meant that whatever happened next, he was ultimately responsible. Tracer told him something that Emily had once told her—"do the right thing as hard as you can, apologize later." Winston thanked her for the advice. Later, Echo conversed with him via texts, confirming that the robots they'd fought in Paris weren't omnics, but rather non-sentient robots, and recently produced ones at that. Winston thanked her for the analysis.[42]

Resistance

WinstonTracerGenji

Winston and co. in Rio

Winston and the rest of Overwatch deployed to Rio de Janeiro when it was attacked by Null Sector. They teamed up with Lúcio and were able to blunt the initial attack, though Lúcio warned that as long as Null Sector's command ship remained airborne, the omnics would just keep coming. Formulating a plan, Winston and Mercy worked on getting the civilians to safety, while the rest of the team split up between keeping Null Sector busy and taking the fight directly to the command ship. The plan worked, and the command ship's core was destabilized. Winston and the team successfully made it aboard before the command ship was destroyed.[43]

With Lúcio in tow, Winston and the team returned to Watchpoint: Gibraltar, where they were greeted by Cole Cassidy and a small group he'd managed to wrangle up as reinforcements. Winston acknowledged their odds had improved, but stressed that they had to be tactical, as Null Sector's forces were too large to take on directly. On the subject of tactics, Cassidy pointed out that if they wanted to make this work, they had one last person to recruit—Vivian Chase.[43]

After the reunion, Winston used Ivory Tower Chat to converse with a group known as the White Hat Hackers. He needed their help in reactivating Overwatch's old satellite network. HarOLD_20XX told Winston that he should have news in a few hours.[14]

Liberation

WinstonSojournOmnic

Sojourn explains the situation to Winston

Winston and the rest of Overwatch deployed at Toronto, which was still under attack by Null Sector after days of fighting. After reuniting with Sojourn, she explained that Null Sector had control over most of the city, and were rounding up omnics. Overwatch commenced an op to evacuate the city. During the fighting, they saw Null Sector's Subjugators put strange clamps on omnics, incapacitating, and heard Ramattra's propaganda. While the city's civilians were evacuated, Toronto was lost, and there was no way to get the clamps off. Winston and Cassidy urged Sojourn to rejoin Overwatch, Winston reminding her of her tactical acumen, and Cassidy pointing out that Jack Morrison was off chasing ghosts. Sojourn reluctantly agreed to join, but reminded Winston that Overwatch had been shut down for a reason.[44]

Back in Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Winston restarted his communication with the White Hat Hackers. HarOLD_20XX directed Winston's attention to an old Overwatch satellite decommissioned by the UN, but he used a drone to restart it. To Winston's joy, this allowed him to see live footage from all over the world. However, HarOLD_20XX warned him against relying on the satellite too much, as the connection wasn't stable enough for long-term use. If it gave out during one of Winston's missions, people could get killed.[14]

Achievements

Name Icon Description Reward
Mine Sweeper
Ability-winston1 Destroy 10 turrets or traps using Winston's Tesla Cannon without dying in Quick or Competitive play.
Spray Winston Pixel
Pixel
Anger Management
Ability-winston4 Damage 5 enemies during a single use of Winston's Primal Rage in Quick or Competitive play.
Spray Winston Cute
Cute

Trivia

Winston-statue

The Winston statue

  • A statue of Winston was present at GamesCom 2015.[45]
  • A statue of a baby Winston holding the hand of Chris Metzen was presented to the latter as a gift to commemorate his retirement from Blizzard.[46]
  • A Funko Pop Winston figurine was released in June, 2016.[47]

Misc. Character Information

  • His screen name in Overwatch's computer system is WNSTN.[11]
  • Interactions between Winston and Wrecking Ball in Overwatch 2 indicate that Winston was close with (or at least attracted to) Hypatia.
  • The glasses Winston wears are the same ones that belonged to Harold Winston. Thematically, they represent the older generation (Harold) handing the world off to the new one.[48]
  • Winston has ordered products from BlankieCo.[42]
  • At some point, Winston personally took to the field at Route 66, supported by Ziegler.[40]
    • Note that this information appears to be exclusive to Hero Missions, which was cut from the game.

Cultural References

  • Primal Rage is possibly a reference to the 1994 game Primal Rage, which features two ape-like characters, one of which is named Blizzard.
  • Winston's Tesla cannon possibly gets its name from the Tesla Coil, an electrical resonant transformer circuit designed by Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891.
  • Winston's voice lines when he respawns, "once more onto the breach" is a possible reference to Henry V.

In Other Games

Development

Winston was one of the hardest characters to animate due to the numerous armor pieces he wears. His rage mode also presented problems due to the changes in movement animation.[51] His design was "top-down" (where developers start with story/art/flavor elements and develop abilities around those ideas afterwards).[52]

During development he was equipped with a flak shotgun.[53]

Media

Concept Art

Videos

Balance Change Logs

For more information, see Patch Notes.

Overwatch 2 PvP
Patch
Description

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Damage per second reduced from 75 to 70.
Developer Comments: Winston is one of the top performing tanks at the moment, though when considering how satisfying the individual abilities within his kit are, the Tesla Cannon secondary fire felt underwhelming for how long it took to charge, so it'll now be a bit more fluid. We also still want Primal Rage mode Winston to be killable, but adding some health to it will help avoid some of the extreme situations where it could happen too quickly.

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Secondary fire charge time reduced from 1 second to 0.85 seconds.

Ability-winston4 Primal Rage

  • Maximum health gained increased from 500 to 700.
General updates

Most damage-dealing projectile sizes have been increased by a new global modifier added to their base size.

  • +0.05 meters for hitscan projectiles with a high rate of fire or spread (e.g., Tracer's Pulse Pistols or Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns).
  • +0.08 meters for hitscan projectiles that are more precise (e.g., Cassidy's Peacekeeper or Soldier:76's Heavy Pulse Rifle).
  • +0.05 meters for travel time projectiles that are shotguns or have a very high rate of fire (e.g., Roadhog's Scrap Gun or Ramattra's Void Accelerator).
  • +0.10 meters for travel time projectile with a speed greater than 50 meters per second (e.g., Zenyatta's Destruction Orb).
  • +0.15 meters for travel time projectile with a speed less than or equal to 50 meters per second (e.g., Pharah's Rocket Launcher).
  • Very large projectiles with a base size greater than 0.5 meters have been excluded from these increases (e.g., Orisa's Energy Javelin or Reinhardt's Fire Strike).

Hero combined HP (base health/armor/shields) increased by 15-25%.

  • 150-175 HP heroes increased by 25 HP.
  • 200-300 HP heroes increased by 50 HP.
  • 300+ HP (Tanks) increased by 75-100 HP.
  • Each hero's precise health increases are listed in their patch notes below.

Ultimate Charge

  • All Ultimate ability costs increased by 10%.

Regenerative Passive for All Heroes

  • All heroes now regenerate 20 health per second after 5 seconds of not taking damage.

Quick Melee

  • Damage increased from 30 to 40.
Hero updates
  • Health increased from 200 to 225.
  • Armor increased from 200 to 250.

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Primary Fire damage increased from 60 to 75 damage per second.

Ability-winston4 Primal Rage

  • Punch damage increased from 40 to 50.

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Now ignores armor damage reduction.
Developer comments: Increasing the range of the alternate fire will give Winston some more flexibility in positioning while dealing damage from range.

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Secondary fire range increased from 30 to 40 meters.
Developer Comments: Winston’s Tesla Cannon ranged attack had a decently long charge time relative to the damage it deals. These adjustments will make it more responsive to charge and fire, which can be useful for situations such as finishing off low health enemies attempting to flee, or poking at enemies before leaping in. This comes at the cost of taking a longer time to recover after firing, which in some cases will be weaker as a burst-damage combo with Jump Pack and primary fire.

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Secondary fire charge time reduced from 1.2 to 1 second.
  • Secondary fire recovery time increased from 0.5 to 0.75 seconds.
Developer Comments: It's difficult to deal full damage with Winston's leap due to needing to land almost directly on the enemy hero. Increasing this range will improve its consistency.

Ability-winston2 Jump Pack

  • Damage radius before falloff begins increased from 1 to 1.3 meters
  • Base health in Role Queue modes remains the same at 350
  • Base health in non-Role Queue modes reduced from 350 to 200

Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector

  • Health reduced from 700 to 650

Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector

  • Projector health reduced from 800 to 700

Ability-winston4 Primal Rage (Ultimate)

  • Ultimate cost increased 10%

Developer comment: The change to Winston's secondary fire enables him to use it more often without sacrificing as much of his primary fire. We want his secondary fire to feel less restrictive to use and more fluid like his kit.

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Secondary fire ammo cost reduced from 20 to 12
  • Base armor increased from 150 to 200

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • New Secondary Fire
  • Hold Secondary Fire to charge, release to fire a 30-meter range jolt of electricity
  • Deals up to 50 damage
  • Costs up to 20 ammo

Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector

  • Barrier Projector health increased from 650 to 800
  • Barrier Projector duration reduced from 9 to 8 seconds
  • Cooldown reduced from 13 to 12 seconds

Ability-winston4 Primal Rage

  • Ultimate cost increased by 10%

Overwatch 2 Co-op
Patch
Description

Ability-winston1 Tesla Cannon

  • Secondary fire now chains up to 4 additional nearby enemies, dealing depreciating damage each chain.

Ability-winston2 Jump Pack

  • Landing damage now increases while in the air, up to 250% more damage over 2.5 seconds.

Overwatch 1
Patch
Description
  • Base Armor/Health has been redistributed from 100/400 to 150/350

Developer Comment: With this change Winston will be slightly more resilient against shotguns, beams, and weapons with a high rate of fire.

Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector
  • Duration increased from 6 to 9 seconds
  • Health increased from 600 to 700

Developer Comment: Winston’s barrier often feels unreliable as a protection tool since it can be destroyed so quickly. Raising the health and duration should allow for him to apply pressure and protect his team more consistently.

Ability-winston4 Primal Rage
  • Now restores ammunition after completion

Developer Comment: The change removes the need to immediately reload after a long duration ultimate.

Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector
  • Now displays a health bar

Developer Comment: This change will help both Winston's allies and enemies know how much more damage his shield can absorb from oncoming attacks.

Ability-winston3 Barrier Projector
  • Ability cooldown now starts when the barrier is placed, instead of when it ends

Developer Comment: This change should help Winston do what he does best: distract the enemy team and block damage.

References

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  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Winston (Overwatch), Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2014-12-09
  4. 4.0 4.1 2017-01-24, OVERWATCH TAPESTRY: "WINSTON'S JOURNEY TO THE WEST". Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2017-02-19
  5. 5.0 5.1 2016-05-02, Overwatch Cinematic Teaser | "Are You With Us?". YouTube, accessed on 2016-05-03
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Overwatch, Winston Quotes
  7. Winston (Overwatch 2), Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2022-10-05
  8. 2014-11-24, BlizzCon 2014 – Overwatch Unveiled Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2015-03-08
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Overwatch Storm Rising
  10. 2017-05-30, NEW DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT POSSIBLE FATE OF HORIZON LUNAR COLONY. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2017-06-18
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Recall
  12. 2017-02-23, D.I.C.E Summit 2017 | Overwatch | Jeff Kaplan (Stream with chat). YouTube, accessed on 2017-03-07
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  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Overwatch 2, Intel Database: Heroes
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  17. Overwatch 2, Wrecking Ball Quotes
  18. New Blood Issue 2
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  20. 2017-04-05, Overwatch Digital Comic: "Uprising" PlayOverwatch. Accessed on 2017-04-05
  21. Genji (OW2), PlayOverwatch. Accessed on 2022-12-12
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  23. 2019-04-25. Overwatch on Twitter: "> Accessing archived file... Decryption status: COMPLETE 📂 STORM RISING INTEL EXAMINATION – MAXIMILIEN… ", Twitter. Accessed on 2019-04-25.
  24. 24.0 24.1 2017-07-06, NEW HERO – COMING SOON Doomfist Origin Story | Overwatch. YouTube, accessed on 2017-07-08
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  26. Valkyrie
  27. Tracer—London Calling Issue 4
  28. Tracer—London Calling Issue 5
  29. Rise and Shine
  30. 2015-03-06, PAX East 2015 Blizzard Panel | Blizzplanet (1/2). YouTUbe, accessed on 2015-03-19
  31. 2015-19-12, Overwatch Theatrical Teaser | "We Are Overwatch". YouTube, accessed on 2015-12-19
  32. Mei, PlayOverwatch. Accessed on 2022-12-12
  33. 2015-11-02, Mei's Adventures. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2016-06-09
  34. Tracer: Reflections
  35. 2017-11-03, Blizzard World | New Hybrid Map | Overwatch. YouTube, accessed on 2017-11-04
  36. Winston, PlayOverwatch. Accessed on 2023-01-01
  37. Zero Hour
  38. Blizzcon 2019 Overwatch: Evolving the Art Panel
  39. 2023-06-22, Overwatch 2: Invasion Reveal Livestream | Story Missions, Flashpoint, and more!. YouTube, accessed on 2023-07-19
  40. 40.0 40.1 2019-11-01, Overwatch 2 Gameplay Trailer. YouTube, accessed on 2019-11-08
  41. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ExperiencePvE
  42. 42.0 42.1 Overwatch 2, Communications Inbox
  43. 43.0 43.1 Overwatch 2: Resistance
  44. Overwatch 2: Liberation
  45. 2015-08-06, GamesCom 2015 – Overwatch Life-Size Statues by FX Deco Studio. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2015-08-20
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  47. 2016-02-26, Pre-Order FUNKO Overwatch POP Vinyl Figures. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2016-03-11
  48. Forging Worlds: Stories Behind the Art of Blizzard Entertainment
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  53. 2017-11-13, The evolution of Overwatch’s heroes. Blizzard Watch, accessed on 2017-11-13

External links

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