Doomfist Guide and Tips for Beginners

Doomfist, the long awaited hero for Blizzard Entertainment's first-person shooter Overwatch, is finally out and live in the game. Hailing from Nigeria, Akande Ogundimu is a member of Talon's leadership council. He strongly believes that humanity only gets stronger through conflict and seeks it out at every opportunity.

This particular character is a good bit more focused on close-range attacks, and it might be a bit tricky for new players to pick him up. With that in mind, we've put together a guide covering some of the basics of Doomfist along with some neat tips and tricks that will give you a bit of an edge!

Most of the information & strategy in here is pulled from my own testing and experience, but when it comes down to raw numbers I've been referring to the Overwatch Gamepedia page for Doomfist. Be sure to check out the game's official website for some more lore and information on Doomfist, too! You can also have a look at our Doomfist Quick Facts video:

https://youtu.be/cq4qdWga_08

General Information

Doomfist is slotted into the Offense category. Much like Mei, he's a bit tankier than his compatriots with 250 health. He's going to need it, too, as Doomfist is definitely a character that excels in close quarters. That's not to say that he can't move around when he needs to; most of his abilities allow him to travel quite a distance, especially when they're used in combination.

His Passive ability "The Best Offense..." generates temporary shields up to a maximum of 150. If you take no damage, that will give Doomfist a total of 400 health—more or less equal to the standard of some tanks! These shields are generated by making use of his special abilities and they gradually drain over time. If anything, they ought to let you survive the initial flurry of combat when you charge in with one of his special moves (as long as the attack actually connects).

The ability cooldowns aren't terribly long, but if you use all three in quick succession, you'll end up relying on his primary attack. You have a shotgun-type weapon in the left arm that reloads automatically over time. If you run out ammo in the magazine (which has only 4 shots), you'll only be able to fire roughly once per second. Doomfist can do a good bit of damage by jumping into the fray, comboing his abilities, and finishing off any stragglers with his Hand Cannon. However, it is very easy to fire off your arsenal too quickly and find yourself vulnerable with nothing to shoot for a few critical seconds. Be sure to carefully manage the timing of your abilities or else you'll get caught out and quickly taken down.

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Rocket Punch

Rocket Punch is bound to right click by default and is one of Doomfist's most versatile tools. To start, it's great for travelling long distances to catch up, much like Reinhardt's charge. Unlike Reinhardt's Charge, Rocket Punch can be charged up to do more damage and travel longer distances.

Speaking of Reinhardt, there's an important gameplay interaction to mention here. Should Doomfist's Rocket Punch and Reinhardt's Charge collide, both characters will stun each other while dealing no damage. This same interaction happens if two Reinhardt Charges collide or two Rocket Punches collide. Rocket Punch will similarly stop a Charge even if you just tap the button, so it makes for an excellent counter if Reinhardt is bearing down on you or an ally.

While Rocket Punch is similar to Charge in many ways, it's also different. You don't pin enemies in quite the same way; instead, you knock them away from you upon contact. Once you collide with someone, the Rocket Punch stops regardless of how much more distance you could possibly go. If the enemy you punch is knocked into a wall, they take additional damage.

It's very important to note that the sound of Rocket Punch charging up is loud. Others will hear it from several meters away, and I've been picked off more than a few times when I thought I was being sneaky. It's certainly not impossible to catch someone from the sides as Doomfist, but you're not going to be able to dive in and successfully execute an ambush with Rocket Punch the same way that Genji could with his Swift Strike.

Finally, Rocket Punch has a stun factor to it. It can be used to interrupt certain Ultimate abilities (such as Roadhog's Whole Hog), even with just a tap. In a pinch, if you see someone ulting, you can just tap them with a light Rocket Punch to put a stop to it. All of Doomfist's other abilities (Seismic Slam, Rising Uppercut, and Meteor Strike) will do damage and/or bounce people around but they do not interrupt Ultimates, so keep this in mind!

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Seismic Slam

Seismic Slam is sort of like the second half of Winston's Jump Pack. You leap forward and do what amounts to a miniature Earthshatter (Reinhardt's Ultimate), bouncing enemies up and towards Doomfist. It does damage as well, of course, and the damage is dependent on the distance traveled (up to a maximum of 125 damage).

This ability is dependent on your starting height. If you're at ground level, you'll only be able to move a few meters forward when using it. If you're on higher ground or up in the air, you can travel much further. You travel on a more or less diagonal path downwards and forwards.

When you're airborne, you'll see an indicator appear on the ground showing you where your Seismic Slam will impact if you were to fire it off. This is helpful if you happen to find yourself in the air for one reason or another and want to come back down to Earth. Bear in mind, Seismic Slam doesn't give you much in the way of vertical height; if you're looking to save yourself from falling off a cliff, something like Rocket Punch or (better yet) Rising Uppercut would make for a superior choice.

Bear in mind that Seismic Slam does not penetrate through barriers, so don't charge in at a Reinhardt, Winston, or Orisa with their shields up. You'll just land in front of them while doing no damage!

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Rising Uppercut

Rising Uppercut is the discount Shoryuken. Whether your feet are firmly planted on the ground or you're airborne, you'll execute an uppercut that knocks enemies in front of you up into the air.

If you dive into a crowd of people, you'll be able to hit (at most) two enemies into the air. Don't charge in thinking that you'll be able to pop the entire team upwards!

As with Seismic Slam and Rocket Punch, Rising Uppercut is also quite handy for movement. Mainly, you can use it to get up on the high ground similar to Genji's double-jump. There's no real intuitive way to know for sure how high up you will go until you get a feel for the character, so take some time to experiment and see which ledges you can reach and which you can't. Bear in mind that you can jump first to get a little extra height from this ability.

Rising Uppercut, in particular, can be especially helpful for assisting with other Ultimates. Good timing on a Rising Uppercut can give a McCree's Deadeye or a Soldier:76's Tactical Visor a couple more things to shoot at.

Lastly, it's important to note that Rising Uppercut slows you at the peak of the jump for a short while. This makes it great for taking the time to follow up with a Seismic Slam or Rocket Punch, but it will also make you highly vulnerable to snipers and Ultimate abilities like Deadeye and Tactical Visor when you're using it. Keep that in mind.

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Meteor Strike

Meteor Strike is Doomfist's Ultimate ability. When activated, you jump straight up into the air and are presented with a sort of "orbital strike" targeting interface. You can hold right-click to get a top-down view or stay in the default three-quarters view. When activated, you have 4 seconds before you automatically land. You can also elect to land where you like by clicking before the timer runs out.

Doomfist's Ultimate ability does around 300 damage at the point of impact and less damage as you move further away from the landing point. Speaking of landing, once you've selected your landing position (whether you've chosen it deliberately or the timer has run down), a circle becomes visible on the ground to everyone. This means that the enemy is going to have time to move out of the way after you've already committed.

It can be great for dealing with clustered-up enemies with few escape routes and it has good combo potential with Ultimates like Zarya's Graviton Surge or Mei's Blizzard. Outside of that, in terms of gameplay, you should probably treat this much like Hanzo's Dragonstrike or McCree's Deadeye. While the potential for damage is great, the enemy will more often than not have time to get away before you can do a lot of damage. Even so, this means that it has great zoning potential—landing a Meteor Strike on a choke point is a good way to clear it out.

Contrary to logic, Meteor Strike will work indoors regardless of how much vertical height you have. You click, you magically go to Doomfist Narnia, and you land no matter how much space there actually is above you. (Perhaps he borrowed a bit of Translocator technology from Sombra to pull it off?)

Doomfist has a bit of invulnerability protection when launching and when landing his Ultimate. It's not impossible for you to be killed when you're pulling it off, but it certainly is a challenge. In my testing, I wasn't able to kill a Doomfist at close range with a Bastion in Sentry Mode before he was able to launch. While you do enjoy a bit of protection after landing, you're going to be standing still afterward; if you're at risk of getting popped, it might be best to immediately move in some fashion (perhaps by using a special ability).

You're also completely invulnerable for the duration of the Ult itself. When you're in the air, you can't be killed until you come back down. If you want to hold out for four or five seconds just so your team can catch up, you can use Meteor Strike in this fashion.

Falling in line with Doomfist's other abilities, Meteor Strike can be used to cover some distance. You could, for example, use it to launch yourself from outside of the point and then come down right on top of the enemy. Even if you don't hit anyone, it's a good way to safely crash into the point to contest it upon landing. Just bear in mind that you'll be vulnerable right after the Ult finishes, so make sure to get your butt moving right away!

Much like Seismic Slam, the area of effect of Meteor Strike will not pierce through barriers. If you're targeting someone with a shield up, the best thing you can do is land right on top of them, but bear in mind that the other side of the shield may well block a portion of your damage to other people.

Lastly, Meteor Strike can be launched from in the air or on the ground. In a pinch, if you're about to fall off of a cliff you can use this Ultimate to save yourself. Make the most of the four seconds you have and try to land somewhere useful!

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Combos & Movement

Doomfist is designed somewhat like a fighting game character. While any of his abilities are great on their own, they're also very useful when used together in combos. You could Seismic Slam to knock someone closer to you, Rising Uppercut to get them into the air, and then use the short floating time to smack them with a Rocket Punch. However, using a combo in this fashion means that you're going to be left only with melee and your Hand Cannon for a couple of seconds. Be cautious when using combos, because four shots of a slowly-reloading shotgun-type weapon isn't the best tool to have for a sustained fight (especially against multiple people).

As I've said previously, Doomfist can combo his abilities to cover great distances. On flat ground, I prefer to use Rocket Punch, Rising Uppercut, and Seismic Slam to get as much distance as I can. From high ground, a Rising Uppercut followed by a Seismic Slam might actually result in more distance and you would still have your Rocket Punch in reserve for when you land—either to keep on moving or to instigate a fight.

There's no real "right" way to use these abilities when it comes to combat or using them to move. In my first regular Quick Play game with Doomfist, I was beginning to pick up on how to chain them together pretty quickly. Once you put some time in, you'll be able to more intuitively know which tool is best for the situation you're in.

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Welp, that's it for our Doomfist Guide for Beginners! Please bear in mind that this is by no means an all-inclusive guide. I can't call myself an expert on the character. Heck, I'd hestiate to call myself a competent Doomfist. (In my estimation, that takes a lot of time). I've just put a bit of work in playing with the character, reading up on things, and experimenting with myself and some friends in private games.

Doomfist is rated as three stars on the difficulty scale. He certainly can't be picked up as easily as some other characters, but my intuition tells me that he will be very rewarding to play once you figure things out.

What do you think of Doomfist as a character? How do you think his kit is going to change the meta of the game? What's your favorite thing to do with Doomfist? Let us know in the comments below, and share some of your own tips and tricks for Overwatch's latest addition to the roster!