Overwatch 2 – Genji Hero Guide (2024)

By Josh Broadwell on October 19, 2022 at 9:55AM PDT

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Genji in Overwatch 2 remains one of the more popular DPS characters thanks to his exceptional mobility. Fast doesn’t always mean easy, though. Genji may be a common pick, but he takes some getting used to before you can really make him shine. He’s also not your typical DPS hero and works better in the shadows instead of on the frontline. Here's how to efficiently play as Genji.

You can see how all heroes, including this one, stack up in our Overwatch 2 tank tier list, DPS tier list, and support tier list. Where did your favorite land?

Genji overview

Genji routinely finds himself at the top of Overwatch DPS rankings, mostly because he also finds himself at the top of tall buildings. Genji’s mobility is unmatched. He can double jump and scale walls, and one of his combat abilities sees him dart forward and attack. He excels at surprising the enemy team, dashing in, harrying opponents, and leaping away before they can recover. He can even reflect incoming projectiles, an ability typically reserved for tanks.

The biggest mistake you can make playing as Genji is assuming the praise he earns means he’s a superior DPS character. His low HP and slow rate of attack mean he shouldn’t stay on the frontline, and Genji won’t be taking down tanks with his comparatively weak attacks. Mobility is important, but it also means healers who aren’t Kiriko struggle to keep up with Genji. He lives up to the praise, to e sure. However, he requires practice and a different kind of playstyle to shine.

Genji abilities

• Shuriken: Throws three shuriken
• Shuriken (Alt-fire): Throws three shuriken in a wider spread
• Swift Strike: Genji rushes forward and slashes with his wakizashi. If he eliminates his target, the ability’s cooldown timer resets
• Deflect: Genji reflects incoming projectiles and blocks missile attacks
• Dragonblade: Genji’s melee attack becomes a mighty katana strike he can use multiple times
• Cyber-Agility: Genji can climb walls and double jump

Like a ninja

Genji’s wall-climbing, double-jumping antics are perfect for sneaking up on enemies while the rest of the team heads down a different path. Genji can reach high places and take out snipers with ease, and since he doesn’t have to take the usual paths, he can vary his travel routes and keep enemies guessing or even lure them into thinking he’s going one way before instantly changing course.

These abilities aren’t foolproof, though. Double jumping may baffle an enemy’s aim for a moment, but use it too frequently, and your opponents will learn your pattern. Wall climbing works better when Genji speeds past an opponent with Swift Strike and leaps away before they recover. Since the animation takes a few seconds, you’re vulnerable before you reach your destination and can get away.

Greatness at a cost

Genji’s ultimate is powerful, but you should use it with care. It takes a couple of seconds to activate, during which time he’s vulnerable. It also replaces his ranged shuriken attacks, which means Genji has to get closer than usual to deal damage. If you pull it off without getting killed, Dragonblade deals a tremendous amount of damage with each swing and can quickly eliminate the enemy party.

While Genji normally works best alone, you may want to pair him with a strong tank when you’re ready to use Dragonblade. Someone like Reinhardt or Orisa would help Genji get close to his targets without taking damage and could help him retreat once the ability ends.

Water off a duck

Genji’s deflect ability is one of his most useful, since it deflects almost everything, including Widowmaker’s shots, Pharah’s rockets, and even Soldier 76’s Tactical Visor ability, but its long cooldown timer means you need to think carefully about when to use it.

If Genji is facing an enemy in one-on-one combat, you’d probably be safe using deflect, but if more than one enemy is nearby, the better choice is finding an escape route to regroup. Ideally, you want to save it to deflect an enemy ability or ultimate, but most enemies will know this and avoid using their skills until you use deflect, so it’s harder to counter their abilities in a drawn-out encounter.

Every ninja has their limits

Like Tracer, Genji is better suited to picking off weak targets. His shuriken do enough damage where a few hits could take out the less-resilient support units such as Zenyatta and possibly Lucio, but Genji will struggle with stronger heroes and stands no chance against tanks unless you use Dragonblade. Reinhardt is the exception, since his moves are slow and can’t reach Genji easily in high places.

Since Genji’s mobility skills are passive abilities, he can still get away from Sombra more easily than other heroes when hacked, so he makes a good counter against her. He can also deflect anything from Ashe except for B.O.B., though if you see an enemy Doomfist, make sure to keep your distance. Genji doesn’t have much recourse against him.

• Keep moving when you attack with the shuriken. Their broad spread and accuracy mean you run less risk of missing while keeping out of the enemy’s reach
• If you see Mei coming, use Swift Strike to get behind her and back away while attacking with shuriken. Her slow debuff is fatal for Genji
• Genji can deflect even Reaper’s ultimate ability, so if you hear the telltale “Die,” find where it’s coming from and activate the skill
• Symmetra is Genji’s biggest weakness, since she can slow him down and isn’t affected by Genji's deflect.
• While Genji is meant for flanking, you still want to keep close to your team for support. He’s fast, but not durable, and needs any help he can get

If you’re keen on experimenting with other Overwatch 2 roles, check out our tank hero tier and support hero tier to see how they all match up

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