First-person shooters fromCall of DutytoCounter-Strike: Global Offensivehave long had a mechanic to show not only the killer on the kill feed but also the kill assist. This is the case withOverwatchtoo, although it’s not always clear in which situations the assist appears and when it’s not added. Fortunately, YouTuber Marblr has released a video explaining exactly whenOverwatchawards players with an assist.
YouTube content creator andOverwatchplayer Marblr, who previously has explained how D.va can technically heal otherOverwatchplayers, goes through all the situations in a video where the player can expect to get an assist award. Unlike in many other games, inOverwatchdealing damage doesn’t reward with an assist – except in a couple of very specific cases. To gain the assist, the hero needs to boost, debuff, knock, stun, or affect the battle in some other way. Even then, it depends on when the effect was added. For buffs, the kill needs to be recorded within 5 seconds. For debuffs, it’s 3 seconds, which is extended for another 5 seconds if the target receives damage.
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Most ofOverwatch’s characters can gain an assist one way or another. Five of the heroes can earn assists by buffing the killer and fifteen can get them by debuffing the enemy. Orisa, Echo, and Ana,supports that can defeat some ofOverwatch’s best heroesin the right hands, can gain an assist with both buffs and debuffs. After a revisit just yesterday, Marblr has determined that a total of 20 heroes can get an assist in one way or another. Marblr also notes that some other forms of assist may be recorded on the scoreboard or career profile page, like Hanzo’s recon assist stats, but those are not shown on the kill feed.
The aforementioned exceptions to non-damage-based assists are the following. D.va can achieve an assist by dealing damage to the enemy, but this only applies if boosted by Orisa’s ultimate ability. The same principle applies to Ashe when deploying her ally Bob,one of the most powerfulOverwatchultimate abilities. When Bob enters the game and damages an enemy that is killed, the player controlling Ashe will gain an assist.
In addition to these, there’s one more odd exception that requires even more extreme circumstances. Doomfist, who isgetting a rework inOverwatch 2, can earn an assist by counter-charging a Reinhardt which is subsequently killed, but only if the entity ID of the Doomfist player is higher than that of Reinhardt. The entity ID is determined in order of choosing the hero in the selection screen, so players that want to attempt to get the most elusive assist of them all with a Doomfist, should pick their hero last.
Overwatchis available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
