Overwatch guide to Doomfist: How the new hero will fit into Blizzard's ever-evolving shooter

Doomfist is finally on his way. The character who has remained elusive since the Overwatch announcement trailer way back in 2014 has finally emerged, sprung from his prison cell and ready to cause a bit of mayhem as the 25th playable character in Blizzard's hit shooter.

Seeing what he looks like is one thing, but what exactly does Doomfist do and where will he fit into the current state of Overwatch? He's a complex character, so to get you up to speed before he arrives in the full game, here's everything you need to know.

Bear in mind, this is all subject to slight tweaks to the character's stats as he undergoes a testing period on the PC version's public test realm (PTR) server.

What are Doomfist's abilities?

Hand Cannon

Doomfist's great golden gauntlet will get all the attention, but don't sniff at his other hand. His primary weapon is a shotgun embedded into the knuckles on his left hand. Fired at a rate of three shots per second, each round is able to cause up to 66 points of damage.

Instead of reloading, ammo refills over time at a rate of one shot per 0.75 seconds, meaning players won't be able to dictate exactly when they will have all four of their shots. This is a resource to manage carefully as players can quickly find themselves in a fight with no bullets. Best make each shot count.

Rocket Punch

Rocket Punch is Doomfist's defining ability and might be one of the strongest abilities in the game other than each hero's powerful, charged ultimate ability - called an ult.

As his alternate mode of fire, players charge up the punch which sends Doomfist launching forward up to 23 metres. It's capable of dealing 49-100 damage dependent on how long the punch is charged, but also an additional 49-150 damage if the punch hits a wall.

With a full hit, that's 250 damage, which is enough to kill most characters in the game. To make this even more devastating, it currently only has a four-second cool down period. That is bananas.

Rising Uppercut

This launches you and another player skyward, with both of you having a fair bit of hang time. It only does 50 damage, so while it won't kill many characters, it will disorientate them and has the potential to change the dynamic of a fight. This is great for adding spice to a battle you might be losing and pushing players around the map, and maybe even off of it.

Seismic Slam

A blue reticule appears on the floor any time you're in the air. If you press it, Doomfist will land with force, creating an impact that can do anything from 10 to 125 damage based on how far you have traveled.

The move brings other players towards you slightly, making them easier to finish off, and with a range of seven metres it can also be used as a means of traversal around the map.

The Best Defence...

This ability is a passive one essentially giving players a +30 shield barrier for every ability used on another hero, and +75 shield for every enemy hit with Doomfist's ult. There's a cap, meaning players can only accumulate 150 additional shield protection for a potential total of 400 points (250 health, 150 shield).

That bonus degrades over time, but this will help Doomfist's durability while in the thick of other teams.

Meteor Strike

This is Doomfist's ultimate ability and it has big potential. When used, Doomfist essentially disappears and a big reticule appears on the ground, similar to Seismic Slam but on a much larger scale.

There are two circles within the reticule. The inner, most central one will hit for 300 damage, while anyone caught on the outskirts of it will take anywhere from 0-300 damage depending on their proximity to the centre.

While the enemy team can't see players targeting the move, they can once they commit and come crashing down. During this window he'll be susceptible to enemy fire.

How does Doomfist fit into Overwatch?

Doomfist's abilities make him a pretty unique character. He's one part brawler, one part flanker, and an ultra-close range fighter who can close gaps between him and his opponents incredibly fast. He has the crowd control, primary fire and one hit kill potential of Roadhog, but also the mobility, strong abilities and high skill ceiling of Genji.

With clever use of Rocket Punch, Rising Uppercut and Seismic Slam, Doomfist players can move around the map like some of the best in the game and in the right hands, he can have a huge presence.

His Rocket Punch in particular is ludicrously strong, with its short cool down period and high potential damage. It can ruin players. With the right player behind him, he could be a real handful.

Doomfist's strengths

He is strong against support class heroes, as well as tanks Reinhardt, Orisa, Winston and D.Va, who can effectively be taken out of a fight if caught by him. While his overall damage leaves plenty to be desired, he has an incredible ability to change any fight on a dime.

He is a very hard character to play as however. Mixing up and using his abilities regularly will be key to getting the most out of him, but misuse just one and he'll be exposed.

Doomfist's weaknesses

Doomfist can't deal with range, so characters like Widowmaker, McCree, Soldier 76 and Hanzo should have a field day with him unless he's able to close the gap quickly. He is especially weak to Pharah, who is immune to his Rising Uppercut. While in the air herself, Doomfist can't do anything to her unless he too gets himself in the air, but this will have a very low rate of success. His best bet is to run and hide.

Sombra is also a real menace. If a player is able to hack Doomfist with her, it'll nullify all his abilities and essentially make him useless.

In terms of maps, prospective Doomfist players will want to be using wall impacts for your Rocket Punch to get full damage, which means he'll be strong inside. If he is out in the open, he's in trouble. Maps like King's Row, Ilios and Route 66 will give him a big edge as long as he skulks around near walls.

When the game's most recent heroes, Orisa and Sombra, were introduced to Overwatch, they didn't immediately fit in. If our time with him in the test server is anything to go by, Doomfist will. With quick movement and an ability to break up or disrupt teams, he will have an instant impact, but only in the hands of skilled players.