Overwatch Reinhardt Guide, Justince will be done

Following our reviews of all other tanks, it is finally time to take a look at one of the most iconic characters in Overwatch – Reinhardt. One of the most picked tanks in professional and casual games. Reinhardt has almost everything you need to be a good tank. Find out why in this Overwatch Reinhardt Guide. 

Reinhardt is one of the few leaders in Overwatch that needs to know what he’s doing. If the person who picks him has no clue how to utilize his potential, the team will have problems. 

Most people who like the tank role in Overwatch have an idea of how to make use of Rein. However, others probably don’t know what to focus on, so this guide will provide them with the needed information.

Stats and some abilities

Reinhardt is a tank in Overwatch that has 300 hp and 200 armor. Despite not being the tankiest hero in the game, he can definitely take some damage, especially when he has his shield on. Speaking of tanking, Reinhardt is also excellent for pushing because he has an ability called Steadfast. This is a passive that provides 30% resistance to all knockback effects, which means he can quickly push against things like Soundwave. With that being said, this ability does not affect every spell in the game, such as Graviton Surge, Chain Hook, Halt!, and more.

Reinhardt’s other abilities

The first ability we’d like to mention here is his Rocket Hammer. This is Rein’s standard attack, which deals 85 damage and has a maximum range of 5 meters. This ability allows him to deal one swing every 0.96 seconds, which means he needs around two seconds + a melee attack to kill most DPS.

An interesting thing about the hammer is that it goes through shields. Moreover, it deals cleave damage, which means that even if you hide behind a hero, you will still take damage.

Next, we have to look at Barrier Field, Reinhardt’s signature ability. This is a shield that has 1600 HP, making it the strongest in the game. Unlike other shields, this one is only available if the player uses his right mouse key. While the barrier is active, Reinardth can’t cast other abilities nor use any attacks. Furthermore,he has a 30% movement speed penalty while using it.

If the Barrier Field gets destroyed, Reinhardt has to wait 5 seconds for it to cool down. With that being said, the shield will regen 200 HP per second if it's down for 2 seconds.

Charge & Fire Strike

The next important ability in Rein’s arsenal is Charge. As its name suggests, Reinhardt starts charging at a location, which will provide him with a 200% movement speed buff. If he pins a target to a wall, he will deal 300 damage, but if he only bumps it, the target will take 50 damage. This ability has a 3 seconds duration 10 seconds cooldown, 0.6s casting time, and a maximum range of 49.5 meters. 

Charge can be used in a variety of situations and can definitely do wonders. However, this ability is also dangerous because enemies can easily kill the him while charging. Don’t forget that Rein can’t use his shield, which means he is vulnerable to damage.

As for Fire Strike, this ability deals 100 damage, has a 6 seconds cooldown and helps rain secure kills.  Interestingly, this ability pierces barriers and can be used to cancel the animation of Rocket Hammer. In other words, it allows you to land a faster attack.

Earthshatter

Lastly, we have Rein’s ultimate, called Earthshatter. This is a potent ability that deals 50 damage and knocks back every opponent in its back for 2.5 seconds. Earthshatter requires Rein to have LoS of his target, and it will deal an additional 200 damage near the impact area.

An important thing to remember about this ultimate is that it has 0.5 second casting time. Inexperienced players may think this isn’t much, but there are many heroes in the game capable of interrupting Rein while casting his ability.

Tips and Tricks

Rein is not one of the heroes where you can do beautiful places that will make your teammates cheer for you. Nevertheless, there are a couple of significant tips that should improve your overall success.

The first one is related to using your standard attack (Rocket Hammer). This ability has a strange hitbox, which means that there might be cases where you won’t hit your enemy. In order to avoid this, you should try to swing from one side, and the hammer should be able to hit your desired target.

Keeping your shield available is one of the most important things you have to get used to. Unfortunately, many people who pick Reinhardt use their shield for no reason, and it takes too much damage. Consequently, he has no way of blocking damage when it is really needed.

There are loads of things you could do to save your shield, such as running away or hiding. Of course, it all depends on the situation and the healers on your team, so make sure to communicate with them.

When it comes down to landing your ultimate, you have to be aware of all heroes on the opposing team who can stop you. Learning how and when to use your ultimate will take time, but it is worth it.

Rein’s counters you have to be aware of

Reinhardt is unquestionably one of the most robust tanks in the game, but this doesn’t mean he is invisible. Due to his slow movement speed and the fact that people can kite him, he has a couple of counters.

Starting with the most obvious one, Reaper is an absolute nightmare for every tank in the game, and Rein is not an exception. Reinhardt deals insane amounts of damage at close distance and can shred Rein’s shield in pieces.

Another hero that is great against Rein (as well as in a team with him) is Bastion. The (literal) tank DPS has the ability to destroy Reinhardt’s shield in seconds, and he can deal insane amounts of damage.

Speaking of doing damage, we also have to mention Pharah. Since Rein only has one ability that allows him to deal damage from a distance (apart from his ult), it is easy to see why Pharah is one of the best against him. She is able to stay in the air and land her rockets with little to no effort.