Winston Synergies and Matchups

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Winston (Specimen 28) Overview
  • 2. Winston's Strengths
  • 3. Winston's Weaknesses
  • 4. Winston Synergies
  • 5. Winston Counters
  • 6. Winston Is Strong Against
  • 7. Winston TL;DR Tips
  • 8. Reading Further for Winston
  • 9. Changelog
• +Abilities and Strategy
  • 1. Winston TL;DR Tips
  • 2. Winston Abilities
    • 2.1. Tesla Cannon
    • 2.2. Jump Pack
    • 2.3. Barrier Projector
    • 2.4. Primal Rage
• +Playstyle
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Winston's Offensive Combo
  • 3. Timing with Winston & Knowing When to Dive
  • 4. Stalling with Winston
  • 5. How to Use Primal Rage
• ×Synergies and Matchups
  • 1. Winston's Synergies
    • 1.1. D.Va & Winston
    • 1.2. Sombra & Winston
    • 1.3. Mercy & Winston
    • 1.4. Genji & Winston
  • 2. Winston Counters
    • 2.1. Reaper & Winston
    • 2.2. Roadhog & Winston
    • 2.3. Pharah & Winston
    • 2.4. Brigitte & Winston
  • 3. Winston Is Strong Against
    • 3.1. Genji & Winston
    • 3.2. Widowmaker & Winston
    • 3.3. Zenyatta & Winston
• +Maps
  • 1. Best Maps for Winston
    • 1.1. Winston on Watchpoint: Gibraltar/Numbani
    • 1.2. Winston on Horizon Lunar Colony
  • 2. Worst Map for Winston
    • 2.1. Winston on Nepal

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

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

The dynamic duo of dive compositions, D.Va is an almost necessary counterpart to Winston's playstyle. D.Va can use her Boosters to follow Winston as he makes a dive on an enemy player with Jump Pack. Once there, D.Va can use her Quad Cannons and Micro Missiles to deal supplemental damage to Winston's Tesla Cannon. If Winston's Projected Barrier is destroyed, D.Va can use her Defense Matrix to help Winston stay alive long enough to finish a kill or get out with Jump Pack. All that to say, D.Va and Winston are a perfect match for any team composition looking for quick-striking and hard-hitting characters.

Sombra is a fairly decent flanker, but her true ability shines when using Hack. Unfortunately, Hack can be difficult to pull off when an enemy is free from distraction. Luckily, Winston is a great distraction. If Sombra and Winston communicate, Winston can launch into the air with Jump Pack, distracting an enemy long enough for Sombra to get off a Hack. Once Winston lands on the enemy, his Tesla Cannon mixed with Sombra's Machine Pistol can make quick work of enemy DPS and support heroes who cannot use their abilities thanks to Hack. Once the kill is secured, the duo can go back to their respective safe places (Sombra's being wherever her Translocator is, and Winston's being with the rest of his team. This plan of attack is extremely frustrating for enemy players, and the duo can arguably pull of this attack without other heroes. Therefore, Sombra is a great pick with Winston in traditional dive compositions or hybrid compositions.

Mercy is good with Winston for two reasons. First, she has high single-target healing thanks to her Caduceus Staff. Second, she can fly to Winston with Guardian Angel should Winston find himself in trouble. Although Mercy is not guaranteed to make it into enemy territory and back alive, she arguably has the best chance of doing so while simultaneously giving Winston a good amount of heals. Other heroes lack in one of two of these categories, either they cannot keep up with Winston (Ana, Moira, Zenyatta, Brigitte), or they can cannot keep Winston alive due to their lackluster single-target healing (Lúcio). Therefore, Mercy is arguably the best hero for the job.

Genji is another flanker that gains a lot from Winston's presence on the battlefield. Although Winston typically has a tough time finishing enemies, Genji is an expert at finishing combos thanks to his Swift Strike and Shurikens. If Winston uses Jump Pack onto high ground, Genji can use his Cyber-Agility to get into the fight in a matter of seconds (something Tracer lacks when playing with Winston. Lastly, Winston's Barrier Projector helps Genji stay alive when he is using Dragonblade.

Reaper is a direct counter to Winston for a number of reasons. First, Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns deal massive amounts of damage, which can either shred Winston's Barrier Projector or Winston's 500 hit points. Second, Reaper can be used to defend objectives or allies, which means Winston will have a tough time bypassing Reaper's reach if he babysits allies. Third, Reaper's passive, The Reaping, makes him nearly impossible to kill when Winston and Reaper are dueling. Fourth, if used offensively, Reaper can easily infiltrate the enemy backline and deal more damage to Winston's allies than he can deal to Reaper's allies. Fifth, Reaper can take down a Winston using Primal Rage fairly quickly, and has nothing to worry about if Winston attempts to trap him in a corner.

Roadhog is a decent counter to Winston for the same reasons as Reaper, but their are two additional things Roadhog can do that make him even more devastating. First, Roadhog can use his Chain Hook to disrupt Winston's attack or retreat. If Roadhog can get it off fast enough, he should be able to hook Winston if he fails to throw down Barrier Projector fast enough. If Winston does put down Barrier Projector, Raodhog can take out the barrier in 3.5 seconds on his own. Once the barrier is destroyed, Winston is a hard-to-miss Chain Hook target. The second reason Roadhog is so good against Winston is his Whole Hog ability. When Winston uses Primal Rage in an attempt to attack allies or stall an objective, Whole Hog can cut into Winston's plans. Roadhog can either trap Winston in a corner and nullify his ultimate by killing him, or he can push him away from his allies and nullify his ultimate by zoning him.

You cannot kill what you cannot reach, which is exactly why Pharah is a direct counter to Winston. While Winston's Jump Pack allows him to reach Pharah for a couple of moments, it is right back down to the ground for Winston while Pharah continues to control the skies. While Winston thrives off of coordinated team efforts, he is massively countered by coordinated team defenses. With Pharah patrolling the skies, she can tell her team where Winston is and who he is looking to jump on before Jump Pack takes him to his final destination. After warning her team, Pharah can rain down rockets on the enemy team who does not have a main tank defending their ranks.

Winston's main goal is to distract enemies from doing their job, unfortunately for Winston, Brigitte's job is to heal for her team while thwarting the opposition's attempts to kill her. Although Winston's Tesla Cannon can travel through enemy barriers, Brigitte's 250 hit points allows her to tank the damage. Additionally, she can use Inspire to heal herself and others, effectively cutting down Winston's overall DPS. She can use her Shield Bash to stun Winston once he lands, and her Rally ensures that her and her team can withstand anything Winston can produce.

Genji is a fantastic flanker thanks to his mobility. His Cyber-Agility makes him a difficult target to hit, but Winston's Tesla Cannon auto-locks, meaning aim is not a factor for Winston. Therefore, focusing Genji as he attacks allies is simple to do, and if he uses Swift Strike to get away, Winston can chase with Jump Pack. When Genji uses Dragonblade, Winston's Primal Rage can knock Genji away from his target, breaking his combo chain and forcing his ultimate to be wasted.

Winston is strong against any hero who requires peace and quiet to do their job. Thanks to Winston's Jump Pack, the peace and quiet that Widowmaker needs is easily nullified. Once Winston is on Widowmaker, it is only a matter of time until she succumbs to his Tesla Cannon. If she has her Grappling Hook to escape, Winston can follow up his own attack with another use of Jump Pack. This game of cat and mouse will either end in Widowmaker's death or her displacement from a vantage point, and either way, Winston comes out ahead.

Zenyatta's lack of mobility, self-sustain, and damage against barriers makes him a high-value target for Winston. If Zenyatta is split from his team, Winston can make quick work of him with little to no repercussions. Winston can also use his Primal Rage to focus Zenyatta, either killing him or forcing him to use his Transcendence at an inopportune time.

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.