Help with Pharah's ult?

[Selastan]

Hi all, I've been practicing with Pharah for a while now, been getting myself up to a passable skill level in case my team would ever need her, but the one thing I can't seem to nail down is how or when to use Barrage. I usually try to flank and surprise the enemy team when everyone is clustered together, like I would with Reaper, but with the spread of the missiles and Pharah's vulnerability I'm lucky if I take out one opponent with it before it ends or I get shot down. Any tips?

[Jessicka]

Hi all, I've been practicing with Pharah for a while now, been getting myself up to a passable skill level in case my team would ever need her, but the one thing I can't seem to nail down is how or when to use Barrage. I usually try to flank and surprise the enemy team when everyone is clustered together, like I would with Reaper, but with the spread of the missiles and Pharah's vulnerability I'm lucky if I take out one opponent with it before it ends or I get shot down. Any tips?

Don't use it to start a fight, ever. Wait until everyone is in combat and distracted, if you can combo it with Zarya and or Sombra all the better, and will finish the fight.

[Useful]

also u don't need to be close to enemy team to use barrage. it works good at long distance as well!

[raving]

-Use it on choke points when they are pushing
- Try to use it when enemy is distracted
- Try to time it with other ults that help you like zarya etc.

a tip to do a bit more damage.
Shoot a rocket a microsec before you ult. It will help to put the person/group you are aiming at lower hp which helps u get faster kills

[Taalyn]

Her Rocket Barrage is best when combo'd with Zarya or Teinhardt's ults. If you need to use it on its own and you have a Zarya, tell Zarya to bubble you. You also don't need to be up in the air to use it. I've reigned much justice from ground level behind a Reinhardt shield.

[Selastan]

-Use it on choke points when they are pushing
- Try to use it when enemy is distracted
- Try to time it with other ults that help you like zarya etc.

a tip to do a bit more damage.
Shoot a rocket a microsec before you ult. It will help to put the person/group you are aiming at lower hp which helps u get faster kills

So I gather its one of those ults where its better to sit on it for a while, waiting for the perfect moment then? I should wait for the opportunity to arise rather than trying to make one? Guess I've been trying to go at it with the wrong mindset! Patience shall rain from above!

[Deleted]

Don't always go for big groups of enemies. Sometimes ultimating one or two enemies is worth it. When the enemy team is attacking and has a Mercy, try and ultimate her, even if it's a solo kill. Having around 3 dead teammates in a push, and Mercy gets a res in will most likely overwhelm your team. Same goes for Roadhog. I often solo ultimate Hog because of his ability to one-shot my teammates. When you do intend to take him out, wait for him to use his hook first. Now I mostly use my Barrage against such targets to start a group fight. I also often solo ultimate an aimbotting Soldier. Get the drop on him and you can out DPS him easily if you pop Barrage in his face. These are pretty much the only targets that I solo ult. Now I also often use my Barrage if I manage to get 2 healers bunched up together. Split second decisions.

It's all about element of surprise. If you want to use Barrage, don't use in the middle of the air. Knock yourself back using Concussion Blast and ultimate the enemy from as close as possible. The closer you kill them from, the faster they die. Just drop out from the sky so you don't make a sound when you're hovering with your jump jet for instance. And if you find yourself in a position to take out ~3 or more targets, even if they're squishies. Just do it, it's hard to plan your ultimate. Sometimes I make up my mind in 1 second because an oppurtunity arose.

And expect to die

[Explicit Teemo Nudes]

Make sure you position yourself so the enemies have a wall, the ground or some other object "behind" them. I think this will make the ult do more damage?

[DeadmanWalking]

If you can drop down into a doorway and fire or jump up over a wall and fire it helps, the trick is taking people by surprise. Careful when dropping down into a doorway because if you mistime that you will blow yourself up.

[Tenjen]

or in a enclosed area. You can launch up and have a stupid doodad which has no reason to be there up in your face while you fire your entire volley

[Woobels]

I like waiting above a choke the enemy has to pass through and just unloading into them as they try to enter, works well in Eichenwalde, King's Row foundry, Dorado's complex etc.

Also Pharah's ult gets progessively worse as you get better at the game so don't try to teamwipe with it every single time, getting 2 crucial kills is definitely worth it too, there's times where I just try to find the enemy Lucio and everything else is a bonus.

[Praest]

...there's times where I just try to find the enemy Lucio and everything else is a bonus.

I hate you so much right now.

Moving around healing the team staying alive and on fire, enemy team starts focusing me so I move back behind my team for a breather. Always on the lookout for that Pharah flying around. I move past a doorway. She's not standing in it. She's standing way back inside. She has tunnelvision out the doorway and sees only me. I go from being on fire to wtf.

[Kelimbror]

Lots of good advice here, but I can summarize a bit for the OP:

1)Save it for the exact right time.
It's not an ult to use every time it comes up like maybe Junkrat or Rhog (as his personal survival button). It's very situational.

2)Wombo combo
Are you playing with Zarya, Rein, Mei or other CC based ults? If you've been sitting on yours and you hear theirs go off, it's probably time to use yours unless they are really bad.

3)Distance matters
Too close and you're probably dead just from self damage. Too far and the spread is ineffective. However, if they are caught in a zarya bubble and you are slightly too far, it's still the right time to use it as afterwards you have missed the moment.

4) Expect to die every time.
Until you get the hang of the perfect distance and height, you will be immediately destroyed by any available person on the map who isn't in your justice as it rains down. Hanzo, ana, mcree, soldier, even D.Va will find a way to kill you before you finish and land. Worst thing to do is to use your rocket jump straight into an ult, as every person who hears your voiceline will immediately point to the sky. Make sure your time was worth it. Once you get better at the skill, you will start to be able to use it slightly floating off the ground if not completely on the ground more like a stationary reaper ult from a cubby.

5) *Boops* are better
Learning to properly eliminate players with one controlled boop will provide endless hours of enjoyment on top of very easy control. Soon you can even do knockbacks through zarya shields, so even easier to do.

[Mizumara]

Do not go for the insane team wipes. And when you go for an ult you should know where most of the enemies are. Hard to explain but I would recommend to watch Valkias videos on youtube since he has awesome "How to pharah" vids.

[oplawlz]

If you kill the lucio/mercy with it, you win overwatch.

[nozmail]

also u don't need to be close to enemy team to use barrage. it works good at long distance as well!

that is riskier for pharah getting killed by hitscan and lesser chance of getting kills. i think the best position for barrage is directly above the enemy at close to medium range. use concussive blast to get in quick position. prioritize supporst and squishy dps. watch out for d.va defense matrix, roadhog hook. you may just find yourself destroying rein's shield but that is better than nothing.

[Lynarii]

Expect to die when using it without being part of an ult combo. You won't always, but plan accordingly.

IMO the most important thing for Pharah's ult is knowing the enemy team and deciding what a fair trade for your life is. If they're being healed by a solo Mercy who has her ult up, trading your life for hers straight across is probably worth it, bonus if you can splash some extra damage on other enemies without their healer alive. Two players is almost always worth it, especially if one is a support. Assuming, of course, your team is around to take advantage of it.

Also, timing is everything! My most successful Pharah ults have been dropping behind the enemy team at low height and medium range right after the engagement starts. Most critically this means that to defend against your ult and shoot you down, they have to turn their back to your team. Rein can only defend one direction, and even if you can combo your ult with something like a Soldier ult putting heavy pressure from multiple directions will cause the majority of players to panic and make errors. Your ult doesn't need to get the kills to win the fight, setting up your team is just as effective.

[Belamuel]

You also don't need to be up in the air to use it. I've reigned much justice from ground level behind a Reinhardt shield.

I've never thought of doing it on the ground with a Rein in front of me. That's an amazing idea!