'Overwatch': Bastion Isn't OP Here's How To Counter Him

At 7 p.m. EDT tonight, Overwatch is finally coming online. Since the cinematic reveal at Blizzcon 2014 to release day, it’s been 564 days. Players are finding unique ways to try and tide themselves over until the game launches. Some have been drawing heroes as cats , while others attended a Coke eSports event that featured a few Overwatch trailers ( some enjoyed it , others didn’t ). Personally, I’ve been playing DOOM to try and make me a better first person shooter before the game launches; well, at least better than the guy at Polygon .

One thing we all have in common is a need, a desire to play as our favorite heroes, blowing each other up in wholesome glee. It doesn’t matter if you already have a main or are just starting out with the launch, Overwatch welcomes you with open arms.

That is, unless you are a Bastion main. That beeping robot has pissed more people off than Tracer’s butt pose could ever do. Out of all the heroes in the game, Bastion is hated the most. His damage is insane, he’s tanky and if you do get him low, he will just heal up and go on beeping. It’s even become a meme in the community, with players tweeting @PlayOverwatch to nerf Bastion, only to get “We’d recommend you try countering Bastion as Hanzo, Genji or Widowmaker.”

Bastion may be difficult to beat, but he is not as overpowered as the community claims. Here are a few tips for destroying everyone’s least favorite Omnic:

• Get Around Him: Bastion has 360 degrees of vision when in turret mode, but it’s not easy for him to catch enemies that flank him. Use heroes like Reaper or Farrah to sneak behind or fly above him to deal some major damage.

• Take Advantage of Bad Positioning: During the beta, I played a lot of Bastion because I have terrible aim and still wanted to kill people. I would plant my robotic butt down in a corner or a high ledge and just hold down my left trigger button until the enemy was dead. A lot of Bastions would just sit in the middle of the field, unafraid since they were playing the “OP” hero. Take advantage of Bastions in bad spots, especially on Lijang Tower, where he can’t hide, and Numbani, where he has to sit out in the open.

• Don’t Walk Into His Line of Sight: Bastion functions a lot like a turret in an old World War II movie; everything in front of him is going to get shot to shit. Newer players tend to walk directly in front of him, without a Reinhardt shield, which is just asking for trouble. If the enemy doesn’t know where you are, he can’t shoot you, fog of war is your friend.

• Don’t Tilt: During the beta, I’d hear players screaming on coms about how annoying the enemy Bastion is and how everyone on our team should just pick him so we can win. I’ve also seen five Bastions get blown into smithereens by one Widowmaker, followed by five disconnects. We play Overwatch because it’s fun and not as stressful as other longer games like League of Legends . Sometimes a solid mindset is all you need to figure out how to kill Bastion.

• Play Genji: Seriously, just play the ninja and deflect his bullets. Blizzard wasn’t wrong about that.