Our guide to getting to grips with Overwatch's latest Free For All map.
Our Overwatch: Chateau Guillard guide contains strategy advice, tips, tricks and tactics for the game’s first Free For All map.
Overwatch’s first Deathmatch based map, Chateau Guillard, is the ancestral home of Widowmaker. It’s located in southeastern France and makes for a beautiful location to do battle in. Among its tight corridors and complex, interconnected rooms are tidbits of her backstory, and we’re huge fans of both its place in the Overwatch universe and the map’s ability to direct you into action straight away.
One thing Chateau Guillard does particularly well is funnel you into a fight in seconds, and it doesn’t take long before three or four enemies are frantically duking it out in a dining room or cellar. Not all of the map is in enclosed space though, as there’s an outdoor path circling around the chateau with jump pads that’ll boost you back into the action.
Our favourite area is the outdoor statue area that’s overlooked by a ledge which you spring onto via a jump pad. It’s often filled with frantic skirmishes, and offers a nice reprieve from the enclosed duels you’ll be having elsewhere.
What strikes us the most about Chateau Guillard is how difficult it is to master. Each match is an absolute frenzy of activity, meaning it can be hard to take a breather, actually assess the situation and learn where you went wrong. Thankfully we’ve managed to put together some handy advice which should help you get to grips with the map and hopefully ensure you’ll be topping those leaderboards too.
Editor’s Note: As this map has just been released on the PTR, we’re still in the process of getting used to it ourselves. We’ll endeavour to update this guide with further in-depth advice soon, and even more insight when it eventually launches on the live servers.
Overview
First, here’s a brief outline of the map itself.
- It’s Overwatch’s first Deathmatch (Free For All) based map.
- Chateau Guillard is located near Annecy in southeastern France and is Widowmaker’s ancestral home.
- For hundreds of years Chateau Guillard was the estate of the influential Guillard family, until it eventually fell into disrepair after the family’s power began to wane.
- Widowmaker’s recently taken up residency again at Chateau Guillard, and you’ll find a number of her personal items dotted around the map.
- Much of the map takes place inside, although there are larger outdoor areas too.
- There are a number of jump pads that either elevate you to higher areas or skirt round the outer edges of the map.
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Tips and Tricks
Here’s some strategy advice that’ll get you up to speed with Chateau Guillard.
- Watch yourself when you use the jump pad in the open plaza/statue area as we found it incredibly easy to fall off the edge and die. Even if you make it up to the ledge, it’s so slender that a sudden blip in your concentration could mean you plummeting into the drink.
- McCree’s Deadeye on almost any jump pad is a brilliant way of getting kills, and looking good while doing so.
- Chateau Guillard’s enclosed spaces can be a little overwhelming at first, so we recommend working your way in from the outside. This way, you’re less likely to get lost and more likely to catch enemies fighting indoors.
- As soon as you spawn, try and avoid standing still and attempting to get your bearing. We tried this and found out that there’s simply no time to do so. Why? Spawn points are unforgiving in Free For All, meaning that enemies spawn very close by and can take you out within seconds if you’re not careful. So, spawn and get a move on!
- If you’re caught in a duel with another player, sometimes it’s not a bad idea to retreat and find a flanking route around them. Chateau Guillard is practically built for those looking to get the drop on enemies, as every corridor and room is interconnected.
- Be wary of dipping down into the cellar area if you’re playing a hero who doesn’t have much AOE or stun abilities. If you’re playing Junkrat on the other hand…
- Widowmaker’s brilliant at holding the mega health pack in the statue area. You’ll get a great view of your enemies as they enter the area, so you can scope in on their heads before they start closing the gap. The fact that you can stand directly on the health pack itself means that taking damage isn’t a problem either!
That’s everything we have for now, but we’re going to be updating this guide constantly throughout its time on the PTR and when it eventually launches on the live servers – stay tuned for more!
