Overwatch Reinhardt Guide

Overwatch Reinhardt Guide by JollyHobo14

Hey guys, this is my first attempt at a guide so tell me if you see anything that I should change/add or if you want to see any more guides (I am also a strong Roadhog/Winston). Hope it’s helpful! :)

I did this on mobile so sorry if it is a bit disorganized, I couldn’t even bold/italicize/underline.

Index: Overview, When to Pick Reinhardt, Heroes that go well with Reinhardt, Abilities, Ultimate, Leading the Push, Mind Games

Overview: Primary attack: Melee only hammer that does 75 damage per hit. No alternate fire. Abilities: Fire Strike – A 100 damage projectile he launches which can pass through enemy barriers and strike multiple targets. Charge – Reinhardt launches himself at a high speed and picks up any target he runs into to either stop after 55m (throwing and stunning them a little bit for those OG enviro kills) or ram them into a fixed object for 300 damage, which is combined with the 50 impact damage. Shield – A 2000 HP rectangular shield Reinhardt holds in front of himself that does not give any ultimate charge when shot.

Earthshatter – Reinhardt slams his hammer down on the ground to stun any enemy in front of him for 2.5 seconds (the stun area is in a cone shape that gets wider as it gets further away and it’s deceivingly large).

When to Pick Reinhardt: What is arguably Reinhardt’s most helpful attribute is his shield. Since it has a very large health pool and does not give ultimate charge, it is perfect to help your team break through a choke point. Resultantly, he is a strong, safe pick for all maps but KotH. However, Rein can be very strong for KotH to maintain control of the point or retake control of the point when the enemy is shutting you down.

This might make him seem like an attack-oriented hero but he is equally good on defense in order to defend the chokepoint by making it harder for the enemy team to get a pick. Also, if only one team in a match has a Reinhardt than their team will have the ultimate advantage because of Reinhardt’s shield. Early ultimates can shut down enemy pushes and ultimates on defense and give you the break to push and take the choke point on offense.

Heroes that go well with Reinhardt: Soldier 76 – He shines at medium range and is perfect for sitting behind his shield and consistently putting solid damage into the enemy team.

McCree/Junkrat – Same reason as S76, and can also deal with flankers who try to kill Rein/supports (who tend to stay behind him to be safe).

Bastion – You can figure this one out.

Zarya – Compliments Reinhardt better than any other tank because of similar play styles and her ability to bubble him if he gets attacks by a flanker or overextends with a bad charge. Also, when Zarya bubbles Reinhardt while he is shielding, she can still get charge if the enemy shoots the center of his shield because the Zarya bubble goes past his shield a bit in the middle.

Supports – Ana is a great option since he’s such a big target to heal and when nano boosted can do a lot of damage especially when combined with his own earthshatter.

Abilities: Primary Attack – His hammer does not require good aim since it just smacks the shit out of everyone in front of him, so its great for clearing off the payload. It’s his attack so yeah use it to hurt people just make sure to think about if it’s more harmful than helpful to take down your shield to kill one flanker that your team is dealing with.

Fire Strike – Great for getting early ult charge at choke points and weakening enemies for picks. Also good to finish off weak enemies trying to escape. Side Note DO NOT drop your shield and shoot a fire strike when 5 people are shooting at it. This will likely get somebody killed. It is generally safe to throw these around corners before enemies can react.

Charge – To be used sparingly, one bad charge can get you picked off and lose your team a fight. However, it is good to get the enemies who overextend, run away after losing a team fight, or kill people in specific situations. These situations you will need to play enough to recognize but an example is to get an unsuspecting bastion (if on offense that 1 for 1 trade is beneficial – especially if half their team is protecting him and relying on him to be their main DPS). Suicide charging is very situational and is usually only useful on offense to take advantage of closer spawns. However, it can be used to kill an ulting/troublesome enemy to help clutch during sudden death. A useful tool you can use with charge is jump off of something or around a corner and charge while in the air in order to save time and take the victim by surprise.

Shield – Pretty self-explanatory; hold this in front of your teammates who can utilize it most effectively in order to protect them in the best positioning. They should be following you so you need to know where that best positioning is at all times. You should always be aware of your shield’s health and when it gets low, you should be moving towards cover with your team so that you can give it some time to recharge.

Ultimate: Earthshatter – Rein’s ultimate is very strong and has many different uses so here’s a list of the best ways to use it. Keep in mind that he gets his Ultimate back at a pretty mediocre rate so you don’t want to waste it but holding on to it for too long is just as bad.

• Stunning dangerous enemy ultimates (ex. A high noon that took your team by surprise, somebody getting buffed by ana ult)
• Stopping a big enemy push; this isn’t too easy to recognise, but if your team gets pushed back on a point or from the payload, earthshatter them to stop their momentum (snowballing is at risk if you don’t – they will wipe you and then have better position over you)
• Making an opening for your team to push (Make sure to get at least one support in it, mercy if they have one)
• Go for PotG if you’re stomping them lol

Leading the Push: As your team’s main tank, your job is to keep your teammates safe at the beginning of a push, so you need to have a plan everyone on your team knows and tell them exactly when to push while you protect them with your shield. (Lucio’s speed boost helps this).

Mind Games: When you and an enemy Reinhardt are facing off against one another with your teams behind you, most of the interaction between you two will be dictated by the mind games you play with each other. You wait for each other to mess up, and whoever messes up first loses. An easy way to mess up that I see a lot is Reinhardts throwing fire strikes in the middle of a duel; this allows the opposite Rein to earthshatter and then clean up with his team. However, most fights will usually be won by whoever’s team breaks the shield first. A tip to avoid getting earthshattered after your shield breaks is to bring it down right before it breaks and stop the earthshatter with the last remaining bit of health on your shield. This is very hard due to the nature of the timing but if done properly can reverse a losing situation. Charging during one of these duels is not advisable because it will almost always just end up in a free kill for the other team.

“Remember this guide and keep practicing with him and you’ll be a great Reinhardt in no time” – Albert Einstein