Torbjörn Abilities and Strategy

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Overview of Torbjorn (Torbjorn Lindholm)
  • 2. Torbjorn's Strengths
  • 3. Torbjorn's Weaknesses
  • 4. Torbjörn Synergies
  • 5. Torbjörn Counters
  • 6. Torbjörn Is Strong Against
  • 7. Torbjörn TL;DR Tips
  • 8. Reading Further for Torbjörn
  • 9. Changelog
• ×Abilities and Strategy
  • 1. Torbjörn TL;DR Tips
  • 2. Torbjorn's Abilities
    • 2.1. Rivet Gun
    • 2.2. Forge Hammer
    • 2.3. Deploy Turret
    • 2.4. Overload
    • 2.5. Molten Core
• +Playstyle
  • 1. Introduction to Torbjorn
  • 2. Torbjorn and Positioning
    • 2.1. Playing in the Backline
    • 2.2. Playing on the Frontline
  • 3. Using Molten Core
• +Synergies and Matchups
  • 1. Synergies for Torbjorn
    • 1.1. Reinhardt & Torbjorn
    • 1.2. McCree & Torbjorn
    • 1.3. Zenyatta & Torbjorn
  • 2. Torbjorn Counters
    • 2.1. Widowmaker & Torbjorn
    • 2.2. Pharah & Torbjorn
    • 2.3. Zenyatta & Torbjorn
  • 3. Torbjorn Is Strong Against
    • 3.1. Winston & Torbjorn
    • 3.2. Doomfist & Torbjorn
    • 3.3. Brigitte & Torbjorn
• +Maps
  • 1. Best Maps for Torbjorn
    • 1.1. Torbjorn on Hanamura
    • 1.2. Torbjorn on Eichenwalde
  • 2. Worst Map for Torbjorn
    • 2.1. Torbjorn on Watchpoint: Gibraltar

On this page, you will find a detailed overview of the abilities that Torbjörn has access to. We also explain how to best use these abilities.

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

• Torbjörn can be played one of two ways: he can either babysit the backline or deal massive amounts of damage on the frontline. Typically, against dive, you babysit backline, whereas against slow moving teams (like triple tank, deathball, etc.), you want to sit on the frontline.
• Wait to use Overload when enemies engage up close, rarely use Overload when you cannot use the secondary fire of Rivet Gun.
• Deploy Turret is best used behind friendly barriers or in corners that overlook the objective/choke point.
• Shoot Molten Core in front of enemies for maximum damage.
• Shoot Molten Core in spurts, instead of holding down the primary-fire keybind.
• Try to hit healers and flankers with Rivet Gun's primary fire so Deploy Turret shoots those targets instead of enemy tanks.

Torbjorn's main source of damage, Rivet Gun, has two forms of fire and 18 rounds per reload. The primary weapon shoots an arcing projectile that deals 70 damage on impact and uses one round. Torbjorn's Rivet Gun is capable of dealing headshot damage, which means a headshot deals a whopping 105 damage to enemies.

While the damage is high, the firing rate of the weapon is low. Rivet Gun takes 0.6 seconds to recover from each shot, which means normal shots on a 200-health hero will take 1.8 seconds to kill. Additionally, the reload time of the weapon is extremely high at 2 seconds.

It is important to note that players attempting to use Torbjorn's Rivet Gun at long distances will need to account for the arc and projectile speed of the shot. The projectile travels at 70 meters a second, but it begins to arc almost instantly after being shot. Therefore, landing a distant headshot can be difficult.

Torbjorn's secondary fire option is a close-quarters shotgun projectile. Rather than shooting a single large projectile, the secondary fire shoots 10 small projectile that deal 12.5 damage per pellet at close-range. That is 125 damage per shot! Additionally, the secondary fire is capable of dealing headshot damage, which means the Rivet Gun can deal 187.5 damage if all pellets hit an enemy's head.

While Torbjorn's Rivet Gun is like other shotgun weapons in the game, the blast is terribly inaccurate when compared to other guns. In fact, the pellets spread at an angle of 4.15 degrees, making it difficult to land headshots on targets like Tracer who have small heads.

Other mechanics of Rivet Gun's secondary fire include

• Has a falloff range of 7 to 20 meters.
• Uses three ammo instead of the primary fire's one.
• 0.6 second recovery time between shots.
• Projectile speed of 80 meters per second.

One last thing to be aware of, Rivet Gun will automatically reload if Torbjorn switches to his Forge Hammer for around 2.1 seconds.

Forge Hammer is Torbjorn's secondary weapon. As the name suggests, Forge Hammer is a melee weapon that deals damage to enemies and heals Torbjorn's turret. The hammer deals 55 damage to enemies, but heals his turret for 50 damage per hit. Torbjorn can swing his Forge Hammer at a rate of 1.25 swings per second.

Sentry Turret is an ability that, when used, launches a self-deployable turret (up to 15 meters from Torbjorn's current location) that attacks a single-target at a time. The turret has 250 hit points and will last indefinitely until it is destroyed by Torbjorn or an enemy player.

For Torbjorn, the casting time of the turret is 0.5 seconds, after which he can attack or heal his turret with Forge Hammer. However, the turret will not attack until three seconds after deployment.

The turret will lock onto whichever enemy is closest, and will deal 14 damage per round. The turret is capable of firing 4 rounds per second, which means the turret is capable of dealing 56 damage per second. The turret cannot deal headshot damage, and it interacts with the game just like other hitscan dps attacks. Therefore, its shots can be Deflected by Genji, blocked by enemy barriers, and erased by D.Va's Defense Matrix.

Other mechanics of Deploy Turret include:

• A maximum range of 40 meters.
• Can be destroyed by Torbjorn by using the Interact keybind.
• A cooldown of 10 seconds after it is destroyed by enemies or by Torbjorn (if destroyed by Torbjorn after three seconds of inactivity, the cooldown is reduced to five seconds).
• After five seconds, Torbjorn can replace his old turret with a new turret as long as his old turret has not taken damage from enemies or dealt damage to enemies for three seconds.
• Once an enemy is locked, the turret will continue firing until the enemy is dead or leaves the turret's line of sight.
• Torbjorn can force the turret to fire at a different target if he hits the target with Rivet Gun's primary fire (enemy must be in line of sight of the turret when the Rivet Gun projectile strikes him or her for it to change targets).

Overload is a utility ability that gives Torbjorn a five-second buff. Overload increases Torbjorn's hit points by giving him 150 armor that stays for five seconds or until it is destroyed.

In addition to the armor, Overload increases the speed of a variety of Torbjorn's mechanics. His reload, attack, and movement speed all increase by 30% for five seconds. The ability has a 12-second cooldown from the end of its previous use.

Molten Core is Torbjorn's ultimate ability. When used, Molten Core turns Torbjorn's Rivet Gun primary fire into a magma-spewing machine. The molten slag released from the weapon sticks to level surfaces, creating pools of lava that deal area of effect damage to all enemies caught in its wake.

The magma from the weapon will bounce off of walls until it lands on a level surface. If the magma strikes an enemy directly, it will immediately stop its travel path and fall to the floor to create a pool of magma. The slag cannot go through barriers before it hits the floor, the shots can be Deflected by Genji , and they can be erased by D.Va's Defense Matrix.

The ultimate has 10 uses, but players can hold down the primary fire button to spew all 10 shots in a matter of seconds. If players fail to use all 10 shots before six seconds, the unused shots will expire. Magma pools last 10 seconds from placement on a level surface.

The magma shot from the weapon deals 130 damage to regular hit points, but it deals an extra 60 damage a second to armor. Therefore, the lava pools deal 190 damage a second to armor.

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.