Genji Synergies and Matchups

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Genji Overview
  • 2. Genji's Strengths
  • 3. Genji's Weaknesses
  • 4. Genji Synergies
  • 5. Genji Counters
  • 6. Genji Is Strong Against
  • 7. Genji TL;DR Tips
  • 8. Reading Further for Genji
  • 9. Changelog
• +Abilities and Strategy
  • 1. Genji TL;DR Tips
  • 2. Genji's Abilities
    • 2.1. Cyber-Agility
    • 2.2. Shuriken (Primary Fire)
    • 2.3. Shuriken (Alternate Fire)
    • 2.4. Deflect
    • 2.5. Swift Strike
    • 2.6. Dragonblade
• +Playstyle
  • 1. Genji Playstyle Introduction
  • 2. Offensive Combos with Genji
    • 2.1. Harassment with Genji
  • 3. Genji's Defensive Maneuvers
  • 4. Genji's Ultimate Usage
• ×Synergies and Matchups
  • 1. Genji Synergies
    • 1.1. Zarya & Genji
    • 1.2. Zenyatta & Genji
    • 1.3. Winston & Genji
  • 2. Genji Counters
    • 2.1. Winston & Genji
    • 2.2. Brigitte & Genji
    • 2.3. Pharah & Genji
  • 3. Genji Is Strong Against
    • 3.1. Widowmaker & Genji
    • 3.2. Ana & Genji
• +Maps
  • 1. Best Maps for Genji
    • 1.1. Genji on Temple of Anubis
    • 1.2. Genji on Hanamura
  • 2. Worst Map for Genji
    • 2.1. Genji on Watchpoint: Gibraltar

On this page, we list the good and bad matchups for Genji. More specifically, we list the heroes that Genji synergizes well with, the heroes that counter Genji, and those that Genji is strong against.

The other pages of our Genji guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

Due to her ability to shield Genji from attacks, and the power combo of Genji's Dragonblade with Zarya's Graviton Surge, Zarya is arguably the tank that works best with Genji's kit.

Zenyatta is one of the best supports for Genji's kit. Zenyatta's Orb of Harmony can stay on Genji as he splits from the team and goes after opponents. Additionally, Zenyatta's Orb of Discord helps Genji target specific enemies, turning Genji's lower damage abilities into powerful weapons that can quickly burst squishy heroes.

Winston's main abilities allow him to jump in on enemies, and if WInston and Genji team up to jump on support heroes together, little can keep them from securing a kill. These two heroes can work in tandem to deal massive amounts of single-target DPS.

Ironically, Winston is a hero that works well with Genji while also countering an enemy Genji. Winston's Tesla Cannon is an auto lock primary fire weapon that can kill Genji in just over three seconds, meaning Genji will have a difficult time trying to duel supports if Winston is covering their backs. Winston can also use his Jump Pack to chase a Genji who flees from battle, making it hard for Genji to escape fights with low health. Additionally, Winston can use his Primal Rage to counter Genji's Dragonblade, knocking Genji away from his allies before he can chain kill them with Dragonblade and Swift Strike. For all of these reasons, Winston is a hard counter to Genji.

The newest support hero in the game, Brigitte has a lot of tricks up her sleeve that allow her to take on enemy Genjis. Her Shield Bash can be used to stun an enemy Genji who tries to take her on one on one. Inspire can be used in conjunction with Barrier Shield to self-sustain through a duel. Additionally, Brigitte's Rocket Flail can smack Genji when he goes in to secure the kill. Although tough to land, Whip Shot is an excellent dose of damage if Genji tries to back out or dive in.

While hard to pick over McCree due to his Flashbang, Pharah has little to fear from an enemy Genji. Her Jump Jet allows her to effectively "nope" out of any close-range attacks Genji wants to throw at her. While Genji may be hard to track with Pharah's Rocket Launcher, the fact remains that she is practically impervious to Genji while she is in the air, and with her splash damage, she should ultimately win trades against Genji.

Widowmakers rightfully fear Genjis who knows how to play against a sniper. Between his Cyber-Agility and Swift Strike, Genji can easily target Widowmakers who are focused on getting a headshot on the enemy's backline. Additionally, Genji can Deflect Widowmaker's shots from across the map and turn the huntress into the hunted. The only threat a Widowmaker poses to Genji is when he is a significant distance away and Deflect is on Cooldown. However, if Genji can reach Widowmaker without losing his head, she should be an easy enemy to bring down.

Ana is an amazing hero who can dish out a ton of healing for her team, but she needs to have peace and quiet to be able to do that. For this reason, Genji is everything Ana players hate. He is quick on his feet, deals significant damage when in close proximity to enemies (Ana players prefer to deal with threats from a distance), and is extremely difficult to hit with Sleep Dart. In regards to Genji's flanking ability, an enemy Zenyatta has similar problems to Ana, but there is one key difference between Ana and Zenyatta: their ultimates. Zenyatta has a tough time surviving a harassing Genji, but Transcendence almost makes up for it because its a hard counter to Genji's Dragonblade. While Genji does put out serious damage to enemies while using his ultimate, Zenyatta can completely counteract that damage with a well-timed ult of his own. However, Ana does not have a defensive ultimate. The only counter she has to Dragonblade is her sleep dart, which is extremely difficult to hit when a half-machine ninja is looking to chop her in half. Therefore, Ana stands as the worst support against Genji's abilities, and should rarely be utilized against him.

About our Author

Mournflakes is a flex Grandmaster Overwatch player who boasts a career high SR rating of 4433. His favorite heroes are Roadhog, Soldier: 76, and Ana. He has played Overwatch since its initial release, and has put over 700 hours into competitive play. When not writing guides, you can catch Mournflakes streaming on his Twitch channel.