Summary
Highlights
Hawkeye is not a backline sniper or a winged sniper. He thrives in the midline, behind vanguards and within sight of healers. His core gameplay involves initiating a "domino effect" by targeting key enemies, usually healers or vulnerable duelists, to create a chain reaction that leads to team wipes. Patience and strategic target selection are crucial for his high damage potential.
Hawkeye's primary fire is the piercing arrow, which deals more damage and travels faster the longer it's charged (up to 0.9 seconds for 80 damage). His passive, 'Archer's Focus,' adds 75 damage when aiming at an enemy for 0.9 seconds, resulting in 155 damage per fully charged body shot, or 310 damage for headshots. This allows him to one-shot most healers and other vulnerable characters. Patience is key to landing these high-impact shots, especially for disrupting enemy support ultimates.
Effective aiming with Hawkeye involves staying on the same vertical plane as enemies, setting the reticle at head level, and using strafe aiming (A/D on keyboard, left thumbstick on controller) to track targets. For controller users, it's recommended to turn aim assist down or off outside of 20 meters to avoid fighting the auto-aim when leading shots.
Blast arrows are an alternate firing mode that shoots three explosive arrows, each dealing 16 direct damage and 34 splash damage in a 3-meter radius. While useful for destroying environmental objects like walls and shields, they are generally less effective against opponents than fully charged piercing arrows, which offer significantly higher damage potential, especially with headshots.
The Crescent Slash is an 8-meter melee attack that deals 40 damage and launches enemies, disrupting their movement abilities. It's excellent for pushing away diving enemies like Spider-Man, Black Panther, or Daredevil, and can cancel out enemy ultimates or zip abilities, creating opportunities for follow-up shots. It can also be used creatively, such as interrupting an Angela's flight to her demise.
The Hypersonic Arrow is a core ability that should be used frequently when available. It deals 55 initial damage, followed by a second wave that deals 55 more damage, applies a slow effect, and knocks down flyers. It penetrates targets and shields, making it ideal for lining up shots through multiple enemies to apply damage and slow, which facilitates landing fully charged standard arrows. Being at ground level is crucial for maximizing its effectiveness.
The Ronin Slash is a standard melee attack that deals weak damage but can reflect incoming projectiles (though not explosions or splash damage). It's best used defensively for damage mitigation when retreating or exiting cover. It's also a common way to cancel a charged primary shot to move quickly without firing. The Skyward Leap is a double jump for repositioning, avoiding ground-based ultimates, gaining a better vantage point, or carrying momentum forward when activating Hawkeye's ultimate.
Hawkeye's ultimate, Hunter's Sight, allows him to see enemies and for his shots to damage their afterimages. During the alt, draw speed is much faster, and Archer's Focus is always fully active. Fully drawn shots deal around 170 damage, while tap-spamming shots deal about 90 damage but faster. Headshots during the alt are possible by hitting the actual target, not the afterimage, for one-shot kills, especially useful against support ultimates. The Hypersonic Arrow is also highly effective during the alt for chunking damage to clustered enemies, although it only damages one afterimage per target per cast.
To master Hawkeye, focus on finding key "dominoes" to drop (healers, vulnerable duelists) to initiate team wipes. Maintain a midline position, keeping an eye on both enemy positions and your own backline to protect healers from divers. Use the Crescent Slash to disrupt melee attackers and the Hypersonic Arrow to slow and damage grouped enemies. Be patient with shots, aim for headshots, and be deliberate with positioning. Hawkeye's strengths lie in patience, common sense, and strong awareness, making him a formidable force when played strategically.