| “ | With every death comes honor.
With honor, redemption. |
” |
Hanzo is one of the heroes in Overwatch. He is a mercenary archer who is on the path of redemption to restore his honor and atone for the atrocity he once committed as the heir of a syndicate.
Hanzo’s versatile arrows can reveal his enemies or release a volley to dispatch multiple targets. He can scale walls to fire his bow from on high or summon titanic spirit dragons.
Bio[]
Mastering his skills as a bowman and an assassin, Hanzo Shimada strives to prove himself as a warrior without peer.
The Shimada family was established centuries ago, a clan of assassins whose power grew over the years, enabling them to build a vast criminal empire that profited from lucrative trade in arms and illegal substances. As the eldest son of the family's head, Hanzo was bound by duty to succeed his father and rule the Shimada empire. From a young age, he was trained for that responsibility, displaying a natural aptitude for leadership and possessing an innate understanding of strategy and tactics. He also excelled in more practical areas: he was a prodigy in martial arts, swordplay, and bowmanship.
Upon the death of his father, the clan elders instructed Hanzo to straighten out his wayward younger brother so that he, too, might help rule the Shimada empire. When his brother refused, Hanzo was forced to kill him. This act broke Hanzo's heart and drove him to reject his father's legacy, ultimately leading him to abandon the clan and all that he had worked so hard to attain.
Now, Hanzo travels the world, perfecting his skills as a warrior, attempting to restore his honor and put the ghosts of his past to rest.
Abilities[]
Charged arcing projectile type
∞ rounds per clip
27.2 - 125 damage
0.8 - 2 shots per second
30 - 110 m/s projectile speed
3.85 m/s movement speed
0.75 seconds to fully charge arrow, 0.5 seconds buffer
✔ Can headshot
Hanzo nocks and fires an arrow at his target.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Charged team buff arcing projectile type
29 - 125 damage
30 - 130 m/s projectile speed
9 m radius
3.85 m/s movement speed
Lasts 6 seconds
12-second cooldown
✔ Can headshot
Hanzo launches an arrow that contains a sonar tracking device. Any enemy within its detection radius is visibly marked, making them easier for Hanzo and his allies to hunt down.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Rapid-fire arcing projectile type
5 arrows per use
70 damage per arrow
Max 350 bodyshot damage
4 shots per second
130 m/s projectile speed
0.33-second cast time
Lasts 5 seconds
10-second cooldown
✔ Can headshot
Hanzo’s next several arrows fire instantly, but at reduced damage.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Non-damaging movement type
5-second cooldown
Hanzo can double jump, allowing him to change direction mid-jump.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Cast-time ultimate type
Linear projectile ability type
125 damage (arrow)
150 damage per second (per dragon)
Max 300 damage per second (dragons)
∞ m range
4 m radius
20 m/s projectile speed
1.5 sec cast
※ The inital arrow can headshot, but the dragons cannot.
Hanzo summons a Spirit Dragon which travels through the air in a line. It passes through walls in its way, devouring any enemies it encounters.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Besides these abilities, Hanzo is able to jump, crouch, and perform Quick Melee. Hanzo does not need to reload.
Unlocks[]
- All seasonal event items, which are marked with special event icons (
• • • • • ), are only available to be unlocked either through their respective Loot Boxes or by Credits within the event's duration. During the event, newly-introduced event items cost three times as much as non-event items of the same rarity, while returning seasonal items are unlocked at the regular price.
Skins[]
- For all of Hanzo's skins and weapons, see Hanzo/Skins and Weapons.
| Common |
|---|
 Classic (default) |
| Rare |
|---|
 Azuki (  75) Kinoko ( 75) Midori ( 75) Sora ( 75) |
| Epic |
|---|
 Cloud ( 250) Dragon ( 250) Demon (  ) |
| Legendary |
|---|
 Young Hanzo ( 1000) Young Master ( 1000) Lone Wolf ( 1000) Okami ( 1000) Cyberninja (  ) Casual (  ) Kabuki ( 1000) Scion (  ) |
Emotes[]
| Common |
|---|
 Heroic (default) |
| Epic |
|---|
 Beckon ( 250) Brush Shoulder ( 250) Chuckle ( 250) Meditatea ( 250) Victory ( 250) Training ( ) Fisherman Dancea ( ) |
- Note:
- a This emote, after activating, will remain in its animation until the player inputs other actions to interrupt it.
Victory Poses[]
| Common |
|---|
Heroic (default) |
| Rare |
|---|
 Confident ( 75) Kneeling ( 75) Over The Shoulder ( 75) Medal (  ) R.I.P. ( ) Skewered ( ) |
Voice Lines[]
| Normal | ||
|---|---|---|
| ▪ Expect Nothing Less | (default) | |
| "Expect nothing less." | ||
| ▪ Flow Like Water | ( 25)
| |
| "Flow like water" | ||
| ▪ From One Thing... | ( 25)
| |
| "From one thing, know ten thousand things." | ||
| ▪ Hm... | ( 25)
| |
| "Hm..." | ||
| ▪ I Do What I Must | ( 25)
| |
| "I do what I must." | ||
| ▪ Never In Doubt | ( 25)
| |
| "The outcome was never in doubt." | ||
| ▪ Never Second Best | ( 25)
| |
| "Never second best!" | ||
| ▪ Remember This Moment | ( 25)
| |
| "Remember this moment." | ||
| ▪ Sake! | ( 25)
| |
| "Sake!" | ||
| ▪ Spirit Dragon | ( 25)
| |
| "I choose you, spirit dragon." | ||
| ▪ Step Into the Dojo | ( 25)
| |
| "Step... into the dojo." | ||
| Event | ||
| Defeat Is The First Step | ()
| |
| "Defeat... is the first step to a better result." | ||
| Ignore All Distractions | ()
| |
| "Ignore all distractions" | ||
| ▪ Master Your Fears | ()
| |
| "Master your fears... lest they master you." | ||
| ▪ You Are Already Dead | ()
| |
| "You... are already dead." | ||
| ▪ A Gift For You | ()
| |
| "A gift, for you." | ||
| ▪ When The Moon Is Full | ( )
| |
| "When the moon is full, it begins to wane." | ||
| ▪ Beauty In Simplicity | ()
| |
| "There is beauty in simplicity." | ||
| ▪ Unacceptable | ()
| |
| "Unacceptable!" | ||
| ▪ An Error In Judgement | ()
| |
| "You have made an error in judgement." | ||
| ▪ Just So | ()
| |
| "Just so." | ||
| Alternate | ||
| ▪ Spirit Dragon | (Lone Wolf/Okami) | |
| "I choose you, spirit wolf." | ||
Sprays[]
- For Hanzo-specific sprays, see Hanzo/Sprays.
Highlight Intros[]
| Common |
 Heroic (default) |
| Epic |
 Backflip ( 250) My Aim Is True ( 250) Superior ( 250) Target Practice ( ) Storm Arrow ( ) |
Weapons[]
One purchase of an alternate weapon skin will apply to the Storm Bow of all unlocked skins when equipping it.
| Default |
|---|
 Storm Bow (default) |
| <spanstyle="color:white">Alternate |
|---|
 Golden Storm Bow (  3000) |
Achievements[]
Get 3 killing blows with a single use of Hanzo's Storm Arrows in quick or competitive play.
Reward: Pixel Spray
Kill 4 enemies with one of Hanzo's Dragonstrikes in quick or competitive play.
Reward: Cute Spray
Story[]
Hanzo's old sword
Hanzo was born into the Shimada Empire as the first child of Sojiro Shimada, who is the master of his clan, three years before his brother Genji. As the eldest child, he would be the heir to the empire after his father. His family trained him in martial arts, archery, sword fighting, all of which he became extremely skilled at.
Though Hanzo took his position seriously, Genji did not. After their father died, and under instruction from the clan's elders, Hanzo's first action was to convince Genji to take more responsibility in the clan. Genji refused, leading to a violent fight and Hanzo was forced to kill his brother. Upon Genji's assumed death, Hanzo left the clan out of sorrow. He vowed never to use a sword again and turned to archery for combat. The Shimada clan was later dismantled by Overwatch.
Hanzo wandered the world after leaving, though every year he would return to Hanamura on the anniversary of his brother's "death" to put incense offerings for him. Many assassins were sent after him during this time. Hanzo returned to Hanamura again on that special day, only to find what he believes to be an assassin stalking him. At first, he did not realize who it was, but after a long fight, the assassin revealed himself to be Genji. Genji forgave Hanzo for almost murdering him, and left him again after leaving him some words to ponder.[2]
Around Christmas time, Hanzo was seen browsing a traditional Christmas cake.[3]
Appearance[]
Hanzo is a middle-aged man with light skin and long dark hair tied into a small ponytail by a long piece of fabric. He wears a dark one-shoulder suit that covers his right side and arm. His left side is revealed and covered in tattoos. A quiver of arrows is also slung on his back.
Personality[]
Hanzo constantly aims to prove himself, be it for responsibility or redemption. He heavily preoccupies a code of honor, yet displays arrogance at times. Despite their sibling rivalry, Hanzo really cares about Genji, as proven by the fact that he rejected his own clan when the clan's duty forced him to kill his brother. Nonetheless, he sometimes misses his home and laments about what could've happened if he'd fulfilled his destiny as the master of the Shimada clan.
Although his regards to his family and duty have caused him a lot of trauma, Hanzo has his moments where he shows his own sense of humor. In-game, he likes to call out that his enemies fall like certain things, depending on the map where the match is held. For example, he states, "My enemies fall like...heh heh heh...destroyed pinatas!" while in Dorado. He enjoys a good bowl of ramen once in a while and, oddly enough, has an interest in riches, as conveyed by when he asks Junkrat about where he hides his treasure. (This assumption is NOT confirmed, according to an Overwatch Q&A video, Jeff Kaplan, the Game Director of OW, answered the question of "What exactly is Junkrat's treasure?" by saying that instead of actually is the treasure's essence, we should consider more about if that was his treasure in the first place. Which may or may not imply that Hanzo has some kind of relation to the treasure's original belonging.)
Merchandise[]
Tips[]
- Hanzo works best against turtled or cornered targets.
- Hanzo is a very mobile sniper. He's able to get to many places an Ana or Widowmaker sometimes can't, besides Widowmaker's grapple hook, which has a cooldown.
- Storm Bow
- Hanzo excels at killing enemies at mid-long range with his bow.
- When using Hanzo's default reticle, it is best to use the middle dot, as it hits more consistently at short and long-range.
- Good Hanzo's must be patient, for if they spam fire their bow, they will not be successful. If enemies are moving, try to estimate how far they will move the next second or so, and aim slightly ahead however much that distance is. This "shooting ahead" tactic generally lands more shots than trying to aim exactly at a moving target.
- At longer ranges, aiming slightly above a target's head will result in a more accurate shot, since Hanzo's arrows travel in an arc.
- Sonic Arrow
- Sonic Arrow has a smaller range than Widowmaker's Infra-Sight, but can be used more often. It also has the substantial benefit that it has no callout, meaning that the enemy does not know it is being used.
- Hitting an opponent directly with the Sonic Arrow will cause the X-ray feature to follow the enemy with the same range but a moving radar.
- Use Sonic Arrow to identify the locations of enemies, then move behind a wall and attack with Dragonstrike.
- Dragonstrike
- Use Dragonstrike to clear enemies from an objective.
- Hanzo's Dragonstrike can pierce through any wall, so in the hands of a skilled player, it is possible to eliminate enemies without ever being exposed to damage and gunfire.
- Alternately you can use the Dragons as a delaying tactic. Use the Ultimate as you are leaving spawn directly at a payload if you know enemies are on or contesting. This will make them either move or finish them off if they ar in the middle of a firefight with your allies.
- Because Dragonstrike is relatively slow, enemies will respond by moving away from it, so target enclosed or critical spaces.
- Hanzo and his allies can freely stand "inside" the moving dragons, meaning that they can be used as camouflage or protection for an attack.
Counters[]
- Although Hanzo is very good at long range, he suffers at close range.
- Genji can Deflect all of Hanzo's projectiles.
- Hanzo's Dragonstrike can be deflected by Genji if the arrow is hit before it turns into the Dragons. The arrow can also be negated by D.Va using her Defense Matrix while inside her mech or by Sigma using Kinetic Grasp.
- Roadhog's Chain Hook and Scrap Gun combo can dislodge Hanzo from his position and severely weaken, if not outright kill him.
- Widowmaker is a superior sniper to Hanzo, as she is equipped with a scope and hitscan bullets.
Trivia[]
Hanzo's concept art, later become the design for Genji and Hanzo
- Hanzo's original concept was a cyborg assassin brandishing a bow and arrow. The character had the same mask as Genji; he also carried a neon green, glowing sword. His suit had the style of old samurai armor and there was a shimenawa rope around his waist. Later, the concept was split into the design for Genji and Hanzo.[4]
- The only things carried over to Hanzo's design are the boots he wears and his bow and arrows. Although the concept character's bow followed a cyborg theme - futuristic and robotic - Hanzo's bow became rather simplistic and more traditional.
- When equipping Hanzo with the Okami ('wolf' in Japanese) or Lone Wolf skin, some voice lines and action change with his appearance:
- The ultimate voice line is changed to "狼よ、我が敵を食らえ" (okami yo, waga teki wo kurae, meaning wolves, consume my enemies), heard by both Hanzo and his enemies. Allies hear "The wolf hunts for its prey!" along with long howling choirs. The dragons change to a pair of wolves. It was later changed again by raising the volume of his ultimate line for the reason of it being too quiet for the enemy to hear.
- Sonic Arrows' voice lines are changed to "The wolf marks its prey." and "See through the Wolf's eyes."
- Hanzo is the only hero who waves "Hello" with his right hand.
- In Beta, the Young Hanzo and Young Master skins had distinctly younger voices, but this was changed to his normal voice before the official release.
- Hanzo's Rare skins, Azuki, Kinoko, Midori, and Sora mean, respectively, 'azuki bean' (a Japanese red bean), 'mushroom' (although 'ki' can be 'yellow'), 'green', and 'sky'.
- Hanzo was the 2nd hero to spark some controversy over a skin. During the 2017 Winter Wonderland event, many fans were appalled by his skin sharing almost no resemblance with its first appearance in the digital comic Reflections. The problem was remedied by redoing the skin to match the graphic novel.
- Part of the reason why Hanzo had received a rework was because of many outraged players who strongly disliked the use of Scatter Arrow with how quickly it could eliminate most of the heroes; even some tanks in a single shot. Despite that being the intended purpose of it, developers have responded by shifting its power..
Cultural References[]
- Hanzo's voice line "From one thing, know ten thousand things" is a direct quote from the famous martial arts text Go Rin No Sho: The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi.
- Hanzo's quote "All your base are belong to us" is a reference to the famous catchphrase from the 1989 game Zero Wing.
- The quote "I choose you, spirit dragon" is a reference to the Pokémon anime; "I choose you" is a quote which the anime's protagonist, Ash Ketchum, is known for.
- Hanzo's name could be an allusion to Hattori Hanzō, a famous samurai from Japanese history, who is often portrayed in popular culture as a ninja master.
- Hanzo's Halloween voice line "You are already dead" is a quote from the Fist of the North Star anime/manga, which the protagonist, Kenshiro, is famous for saying before killing someone.
- Hanzo's quote "Simple geometry" could be a reference to The Hustler scene in the TV show Fresh Prince of Bel Air
- Due to his Okami skin being mainly white, this can be a nod to Capcom's game Okami.
- Hanzo's hairstyle in the Reflections comic is a chonmage hairstyle and is a traditional Japanese hairstyle and was associated with the samurai.
- Hanzo's emote Dance was from Soran Bushi, a Japanese traditional fisherman's dance.
- Hanzo has similarities with the father of Kubo , the main character from Kubo and the Two Strings , who has the same name and asimilar appearance.
Patch changes[]
- For changes made to Hanzo's abilities, see Storm Bow, Sonic Arrow, Storm Arrows, Lunge, Wall Climb, and Dragonstrike.
|
References[]
- ↑ Genji's Sparrow skin's lore information
- ↑ Dragons
- ↑ Reflections
- ↑ http://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-story-chris-metzen-interview/#page-3
| Hanzo Navigation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General | Main • Quotes • Gallery • Skins and Weapons • Sprays | ||
| Abilities | Current | Storm Bow • Storm Arrows • Sonic Arrow • Lunge • Wall Climb • Dragonstrike | |
| Removed | Scatter Arrow | ||
| Lore | Organizations | Shimada Empire | |
| Character relationships | Genji | ||
| Locations | Hanamura | ||
| Media | Animated Shorts | Dragons | |
| Heroes in Overwatch | |
|---|---|
 Tank
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 Damage
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 Support
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