Overwatch 2 Pharah: The Definitive Guide

The first-person shooter Overwatch 2 is the new talk in the town. The game has a variety of heroes for players to choose from. Introducing these players to the heroes and guiding them about their PlayStyle is a hard task, but we’re more than willing to take on it. Pharah is one of those heroes who are always in demand due to her unique gameplay in Overwatch 1 & 2. So let’s get started with it.

Pharah In Overwatch 2

When it comes to Pharah, she is one of the Damage Heroes in the game. Her main role in the team is to shoot rockets from the sky. With that, she overwhelms enemies with a non-stop barrage of rockets. If used properly, Pharah can become a threat for enemies to worry about.

Related: Crossplay and Cross Progression Guide.

Pharah’s Abilities

In Overwatch 2, Pharah has a total of 5 abilities, with a global Damage Heroes passive. These abilities mostly focus on helping her stay up in the sky, as that’s where she’s most useful in the game. Apart from that, her abilities are based on AoE damage, as she is designed to take out groups of enemies.

Rocket Launcher

The first ‘ability’ of Pharah is her weapon, Rocket Launcher. It is her primary weapon that launches projectiles. These projectiles deal high AoE damage. They are great for enemies that have grouped up because of the AoE damage. That way, one rocket fired will hit all in the area simultaneously.

When the basic attack hits an enemy, like all other damage heroes, Pharah’s ultimate ability charges; as you’re dealing high damage, you’ll be charging your ability. If the rockets hit grouped-up enemies, they will charge the Ultimate more than hitting a single enemy.

Hover Jets

When you’re using Pharah, the Jump button will trigger her Hover Jets ability. When she uses her Hover Jets ability, the Hover Jets fly her in the air. The jets are available for a limited time before they need to be recharged. They also recharge mid-air as soon as you stop using them.

Flying isn’t the only benefit that Pharah gets from using the Hover Jets’ ability. While she is using it, her movement speed increases by 20%.

Jump Jet

Jump Jet is one of the best abilities in the game for its utility. Using it, Pharah can easily get the high ground. From the high ground or the location that can overlook the whole battle. Pharaoh then uses her basic attack, ‘Rocket Launcher,’ or her Ultimate Ability, which we’ll get to in a while.

What it means is that she can better utilize her skills and basic attack. She can then keep an eye on the battlefield and know where the healer or the support is hiding. As her rockets deal a small AoE, it won’t give the support much time to save themselves from the rockets hurling toward them.

Concussive Blast

With the Concussive Blast ability, Pharah throws an explosive blast to where the crosshair is aiming. The blast will deal 30 damage to the enemies near it and knock them back. The ability becomes quite useful when you’re covered by enemies in a closed space. You won’t be able to use Jump Jet at that time, so the best option would be to use the Concussive Blast.

It can be great to quickly reposition yourself to get a better look at the enemy backline. You can quickly press the ability button and will be knocked back into a specific position. For this, you can’t just press the button in any direction.

Barrage

And that leads me to the last ability of Pharah, which is her Ultimate ability. It is considered one of the deadliest abilities in the game. In this ability, “Pharad directs a continuous salvo of mini-rockets to destroy groups of enemies”.

The Ultimate ability, ‘Barrage,’ becomes available after a while as you charge it by using the Rocket Launcher’s attacks. Once the Ultimate ability is charged, it will be available to use. When you press the ability button, Pharah will fire a ‘Barrage’ of mini-rockets toward where you’re aiming. The Barrage ultimate is quite powerful. If enemies even take time to make their next decision, they’ll be dead within mere seconds.

Related:  Overwatch 2 Crosshair 

One last thing, if you fire too near to Pharah, it will cause her self damage. That will easily kill Pharah, too, in mere seconds. So don’t abuseit in a room or any small area.

PlayStyle For Pharah

Pharah is not so great when she is on the ground. That is because her kit is made to stay in the air, or on high ground. Even though she doesn’t have a sniper rifle, she should be played as a sniper. Here’s what you need to do to master her PlayStyle.

• Master Hover and Jump Jets: Use Jump Jet to quickly ascend to high ground and Hover Jets to move horizontally. Practice these abilities to become proficient with Pharah’s mobility.
• Keep the High Ground: Pharah is most effective when she maintains high ground, making her a harder target and giving her an advantage in fights.
• Stay Mobile: Constantly move in the air to avoid becoming an easy target. Use Hover Jets to move unpredictably, and when grounded, utilize Concussive Blast to create distance from opponents.
• Learn the Map: Familiarize yourself with the maps from a different perspective to understand ideal positions, enemy routes, and safe locations for Pharah.
• Prioritize Targets: Target heroes with short-range weapons such as Reaper, Lucio, or Symmetra who can’t easily hit Pharah. Be cautious of Hitscan heroes like McCree, Widowmaker, and Soldier: 76, and use Barrage against them during their ultimates. Save your ultimate for opportune moments when enemies group up.

Combos With Other Heroes

You shouldn’t always be flying up high all alone without any support and expect to survive for long durations. Overwatch 2 is a team game, and you’ll need your teammates to support you and, at times, take the heat away from you.

Zarya

Combine Pharah’s Barrage with Zarya’s ultimate Graviton Surge to hold enemies in one place and deal massive AoE damage.

Mercy

Teaming up with Mercy can make Pharah even more powerful. Mercy’s Caduceus Staff, when using alt-fire, increases an ally’s damage dealt. When combined with Pharah’s strong AoE attacks, it creates a potent duo capable of dealing significant damage to multiple opponents.

Changes In Pharah From Overwatch To Sequel

When Overwatch 2 launched, Pharah received a few buffs like many other Original Overwatch 1 heroes. These changes might seem small in numbers. But they improved Pharah a lot when you consider their utility in the gameplay or PlayStyle.

1. Rocket Launcher reload starts 0.25 seconds faster when out of ammo.
2. Concussive Blast now deals 30 damage and deals additional knockback on a direct hit.

Both of these buffs make Pharah stronger than she was in Overwatch 1. So we’re expecting to see a Pharah meta in the future. Maybe it would be with one of the heroes whose combo I just mentioned. Whatever the case is, I expect to see more of her in matches as she is a fun hero to play with.

My Personal Thoughts On Pharah

My experience with Pharah after playing Overwatch 2 for over 45 hours has been notably positive. She’s a powerful and versatile hero, with the ability to fly and hover, providing a unique battlefield perspective, while her rockets deal significant damage to both enemies and structures, making her effective at breaking down defenses and securing kills.

However, Pharah is not without her weaknesses. She is vulnerable to hitscan heroes due to her large hitbox and slow movement speed, making her an easy target for heroes like Widowmaker and Ashe. Additionally, beam attacks, such as Zarya’s Particle Beam and Symmetra’s Photon Projector, pose a serious threat.

Pharah is one of the Starting Heroes in Overwatch 2. So you’ll get to play with her as soon as you’re done with the training part. It gives you the opportunity to test her out and see if her gameplay suits you or not. Keep in mind that Pharah’s role is that of a Sniper who doesn’t take out one hero like a normal Sniper. She has to use her Rockets to take out enemies, which aren’t as effective as a sniper.

Her abilities are designed to make her stay up high and take out enemies from there. That’s why you should get up high as soon as the game starts. That way, you’ll be able to utilize Pharah to her maximum.