Our evolving guide to winning more matches on Overwatch's Numbani map.
Numbani is an absolute sniper’s delight, and for this reason we’re kicking off our guide-in-progress with a very specific focus on this particular element of battle. Set along the African coast, this utopian city map is a veritable feast of balconies, ledges and wide-open spaces, making it a playground for anyone who enjoys lining up their sights and picking off their targets with one clean hit.
Hanzo’s a perfectly good choice for dealing with more distant targets of course, but we’re focusing on Widowmaker in particular for the first edition of this guide. Much of what we outline here in terms of general strategies you’ll also find applicable to other Defensive Heroes such as Bastion and Torjborn too, so we hope this guide should prove useful to more than just Widowmaker fans!
Moving away from the more immediately defensive elements of playing on Numbani, we’ll add more detail on other roles on this map in due course, and once we’ve had a chance to play around with it a little more on the live game.
Check back regularly for updates, and let us know in the comments if there’s anything in particular you’d like covered in our Numbani guide.
BREAKING! – From start and end dates to Skill Rating changes, our Overwatch: Season 3 guide contains everything you need to know about the next period of competitive play!
Numbani tips
- On defense, get to the left-hand side of the bridge facing the attacker’s entrance – you’ll be able to bag a small amount of protection by hugging the entrance, while still being able to focus on the right-hand exit. Drop a mine behind you to help deal with flankers.
- Look for balconies that have trees nearby, as this extra level of protection will help you stay alive longer and pick off more targets. It’s a particularly useful approach if you’re not the sharpest shooter in the world, but you do want to get better at picking off your prey with just a little more breathing room to play with.
- Just ahead of the Payload is a balcony that will give you a fantastic view of the entire central area of Numbani (look for the bus in the centre of the road). If you’re on defense and the enemy team has made good progress towards the Payload, get into position and call their activity to your teammates.
- Further back, to the left of the Payload as you face the incoming attackers, is another balcony that lets you keep tabs on the main approach, the previous balcony, and the right-hand area that flankers like to charge through as well.
- Be very cautious about setting up your defenses to the right of that Payload, particularly if you’re sniping. Between the twisting stairway and the flanker’s exit point, there’s a very good chance you’re going to have an extremely bad time of things if you set up camp here.
- Remember that – whether attacking or defending – Spider Mines are your best friend as a Widowmaker player. They should always be placed in the least convenient direction you would want to check for flankers from.
- The massive statue just after the Payload provides amazing cover for a Widowmaker. Hook yourself up there as quick as you can, get around to the side that’s opposite the attacker’s appraoch, and simply fire between the statue’s legs.
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Numbani team comps and builds
Certain Heroes make for very solid picks when it comes to building a starting team on Numbani. Just remember to switch to a different Hero if you need to deal with a specific threat from the other team. We’ll be adding some of the more imaginative builds to this map guide in the near future, but these suggestions should help for now.
As always we’ve given you a couple of choices for each role so you can play the one you’re better at – at this stage of the metagame, it’s all pretty interchangeable. If you need help with the other Hybrid maps, take a look at our article summarising the best Hybrid team comps and builds.
Attacking
| Hero | Role | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| D.Va | Tank | D.Va guide |
| Reinhardt | Tank | Reinhardt guide |
| Winston | Tank | Winston guide |
| Lucio | Support | Lucio guide |
| Mercy | Support | Mercy guide |
| Genji | Offense | Genji guide |
| Pharah | Offense | Pharah guide |
| Tracer | Offense | Tracer guide |
Defending
| Hero | Role | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| D.Va | Tank | D.Va guide |
| Reinhardt | Tank | Reinhardt guide |
| Lucio | Support | Lucio guide |
| Mercy | Support | Mercy guide |
| Hanzo | Defense | Hanzo guide |
| Mei | Defense | Mei guide |
| Junkrat | Defense | Junkrat guide |
| Widowmaker | Defense | Widowmaker guide |
Numbani Health Pack / Medikit locations
Coming soon!
