Let’s learn how to deal with this iron giant together.
Don’t Be Dumb
Okay, listen. I know you have your ultimate charged and you’re like, super good with McCree, and you could totally kill that Bastion in 5 seconds if you really wanted to.
But don’t. Bastion packs enough firepower to chew through most characters in a matter of seconds. Don’t attack him head on. Just don’t. It’s a bad idea, and frankly, it’s a big part of why Bastion is seen as such a powerful character. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to kill the Bastion that killed you either, it’ll lead to bad decision-making.
If you know a Bastion is on the other team, be aware of your surroundings when you advance. Peek around corners before you move and be sure that you’re aware of where Bastion is before they’re aware of where you are. To be frank, this shouldn’t be that hard, given he’s rooted to the ground most of the time, so try to flank whenever you can. Speaking of which…
Stay Mobile
Anybody who has played as Bastion knows that his move speed is terrible, even when he’s not rooted to the ground in Sentry mode. This means that the way the character operates is a lot like Hanzo or Widowmaker, finding vantage points and switching between them as the situation dictates, except without any of those characters’ movement tools.
What this means for his opponents is that by staying mobile and being aware of where Bastion is, you can get the drop on him pretty easily. Characters with movement options (like Reaper, Tracer, and even Lucio, believe it or not) have lots of tools that can allow them to sneak up on a Bastion without crossing his line of fire.
In addition, while in sentry mode, Bastion gains another weak spot that can be exploited to deal critical damage – a giant light on his back. The best way to kill a Bastion (unless you catch them as they move from point A to point B) is to flank them, surprise them, and unload on their weak spot before they even know you’re there.
Switch Heroes
Here’s some wisdom straight from the developers. Bastion’s strong, sure, and he’s especially strong against tank characters who offer big targets and relatively weak movement options.
He struggles mightily with sneakier and quicker characters, however, as we have mentioned above. Sniper classes out-range Bastion by a whole lot, and Genji… well… he can do this.
As we have said before, it’s not usually a good idea to counterpick just to deal with one player on the other team, but if you have a strong sniper character and there’s a Bastion holed up on the last control point, it might be worth it to switch before your team’s next push.
Work Together
This should really go without saying, but it helps to have a mic. As we’ve said above, the best way to deal with a Bastion is to avoid his line of fire long enough that a teammate can get the drop on him. If you’re playing a character that is ill-equipped to deal with Bastion alone and you spot him, call it out. Let your team know, and they can either avoid him or take him on by flanking. Communication is key for dealing with any sentry-type situation.
Just… Don’t.
Sometimes the best way to deal with a Bastion is to completely ignore him. Overwatch’s maps are all laid out so that there are multiple paths to your objective. If you know a Bastion is covering one path, just take another! It really is that simple.
The trap that a lot of Bastion players fall into is that it’s incredibly satisfying to rack up a lot of kills, so they’ll often stay in one place and try to keep a kill streak going. This means you can sometimes go around them and steal objectives from right under their noses while they’re distracted with other things.
Above all, remember that the goal isn’t necessarily always to kill Bastion, as frustrating as it may be to fight against him. You just want to ensure your team wins.
Do you have any other tips for dealing with Bastion? Feel free to tell us in the comments! And by the way, if you’re having trouble with a certain hero in Overwatch, sound off and we might craft a guide to dealing with that character as well.
