Popular Overwatch streamer Seagull was playing Doomfist on the PTR earlier today, see him in action in the video embed above.
At long last, Doomfist made his official Overwatch debut today. As expected, he’s a mostly melee hero that gets in enemies’ faces with his massive, powerful fist.
“Doomfist’s cybernetics make him a highly mobile, powerful frontline fighter. In addition to dealing ranged damage with his Hand Cannon, Doomfist can slam the ground, knock enemies into the air and off balance, or charge into the fray with his Rocket Punch. When facing a tightly packed group, Doomfist leaps out of view, then crashes down to earth with a spectacular Meteor Strike.”
Doomfist is now playable on the Overwatch PTR. Here’s a breakdown of all his abilities and how we think they’ll be used.
Hand Cannon
“Doomfist fires a short-range burst from the knuckles of his fist. Its ammunition is automatically regenerated over a short time.”
Doomfist’s primary attack is a somewhat dinky little shotgun. It has four ammo that regenerates over time. When ammo is stocked, it fires fairly rapidly, whereas firing while regenerating ammo is slower—about the same speed as Roadhog before his fire rate was recently increased. It takes two to three shots—depending on if most or all of the bullets hit or headshot—to kill a 200 hp hero.
Rocket Punch
“After charging up, Doomfist lunges forward and knocks an enemy back, dealing additional damage if they impact a wall.”
Doomfist’s alternate-fire is a charged dashing punch attack, somewhat similar to Super Smash Bros.’s FALCON PUNCH. At full charge, Doomfist lunges forward 30 meters and the punch does 100 damage and knocks the target back. If the target impacts a wall from the knockback, they take an additional 100 damage. At minimum charge (just tapping right click) Doomfist lunges 10 meters while the punch (and impact) each deal 50 damage. Rocket punch has a four second cooldown, and it charges through barriers like Reinhardt’s shield and Winston’s bubble.
Seismic Slam
“Doomfist leaps forward and smashes into the ground, knocking nearby enemies toward him.”
Seismic slam doesn’t do much on its own, but it will make an excellent tool in Doomfist’s overall kit, comboing well with his other abilities. The slam deals 50 damage in a small cone in front of the target area and knocks enemies it hits toward Doomfist, perfectly setting them up for a devastating Rocket Punch. Seismic Slam has a seven second cooldown.
Rising Uppercut
“Doomfist uppercuts enemies in front of him into the air.”
Like Seismic Slam, Rising Uppercut is a little bit underwhelming on its own, dealing only 50 damage to its target. Its real benefit is in mobility and utility. Hitting enemies with Rising Uppercut knocks them into the air, which will be useful for disrupting enemy frontlines. You also gain a slight bit of hover while in the air, allowing you to fire a few shots or take aim with Seismic Slam. To that last point, while mid-air after a Rising Uppercut or jumping off a ledge, a visual indicator appears on the ground showing where Seismic Slam will land. Combining the abilities gives Doomfist a surprisingly huge amount of mobility. Rising Uppercut has a seven second cooldown.
Meteor Strike
“Doomfist leaps into the sky, then crashes to the ground, dealing significant damage.”
Doomfist’s ultimate ability is one of the coolest I’ve seen yet. He leaps into the air and gains a large targeting reticle, which can be repositioned for five seconds and aimed like a tactical nuclear strike. Launching the ability causes Doomfist to smash down after a short delay, dealing 300 damage to enemies in the center, while enemies outside the center are knocked back and take less damage the farther they are from the center (around 175 just outside the center, down to about 25 at the outermost edge).
The Best Defense…
“Doomfist generates temporary personal shields when he deals ability damage.”
This one is a bit difficult to show in gif form, but Doomfist generates 30 points of shields (that slowly deteriorate over time) every time he hits an enemy with an ability. This will help his survivability considerably—he has only 250 base hp—counter-balancing his aggressive but dangerous play style.
