I find that setting up a turret near a wall and mostly repairing it while hiding from enemies is a viable (while extremely cheesy) tactic. However, should I try to support my turret with my rivet gun to get more damage or is it most efficient to keep my turret up at all times to maximize it's single-life efficiency and use my gun for defense alone? Is there a huge benefit to actively fighting as Torbjörn or should I rely on the turret?
Overwatch – Should Torbjörn Actively Fight for Damage Output?
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Best Answer
Torbjorn's Rivet Gun is an extremely potent weapon in both CQC and long range. As a Torbjorn player I have two strategies:
Abuse his primary fire (single shot) to the max. Chip damage, regardless of how much damage it does, builds your ultimate meter faster, and due to the highly predictable arc and range it is your go to weapon. You can spam it down hallways, spam it down chokepoints, and if you know where the enemies are, it's an easy way to gain free meter without exposing yourself to too much danger.
His secondary fire is really only used in CQC, or close situations. Torbjorn is an interesting hero because his small frame lends him a small hitbox. When I see, for example, an opposing Reinhardt somewhat low on HP, I like to fill up on armor if I have the spare scrap, then charge underneath his shield, then right click to go "full combat". It's deadly at close range but not much else in mid-long range.
In Molten Core, his primary fire firerate becomes insanely fast, so you can really do some heavy damage if you can lead your shots well against big heroes like Reinhardt, Winston, or Roadhog.
IN general, you should be:
Setting up your turret that is hard for the defenders to counter, meaning putting it flush against a wall to perhaps cover one side of it, then let it build meter for you since his turret will do that automatically
Stay close to it so you can repair when it gets damaged, but keep an eye out for enemy positions so you can be ready to ambush them when they try to get the jump on you and your turret. Especially against hard hitting CQC heroes, like Reaper and Tracer.
Some other tips:
The reality is that his turret is not a combat focused weapon. It's used to chip opponents away so your team's heavy hitters can clean up. In Molten Core, this changes and thus you can focus on combat
On payload maps I like to work with a Reinhardt to allow me to setup the turret on the payload cart and have him block incoming damage. This allows for really easy meter gain and kills by working together with him.
Play other heroes against enemy Torbjorn to get a sense of where they place turrets and where it can be used to max potential. Over time I've come to learn of good spots that are both well protected and can cover specific chokepoints