| “ | I will protect the innocent.
|
” |
Pharah is one of the heroes in Overwatch. She is a security captain who yearns to protect the world's peace, like the heroes in her past.
Soaring through the air in her combat armor, and armed with a launcher that lays down high-explosive rockets, Pharah is a force to be reckoned with.
Bio[]
Fareeha Amari's commitment to duty runs in her blood. She comes from a long line of highly decorated soldiers and burns with the desire to serve with honor.
As a child, Fareeha dreamed of following in her mother's footsteps and joining the global peacekeeping force, Overwatch. She enlisted in the Egyptian army, and her dogged persistence and tactical prowess caused her to rise up through the officer ranks. She was a courageous leader and earned the loyalty of all who served under her. With her exemplary record, Fareeha was well placed to join the ranks of Overwatch, but before she had that opportunity, Overwatch was disbanded.
After leaving the army with a commendation for distinguished service, she was offered employment with Helix Security International, a private security firm contracted to defend the artificial intelligence research facility beneath the Giza Plateau. The top-secret facility was touted as vital to the safety of not only the region but countries across the globe. Fareeha gladly accepted the choice assignment and received training in the Raptora Mark VI, an experimental combat suit designed for rapid mobility and devastating firepower.
Under the call sign "Pharah," she works to safeguard the AI installation. Though she mourns Overwatch's passing, she still dreams of fighting the good fight and making a difference on a global scale.
Abilities[]
Linear splash projectile type
6 rounds per clip
1-second reload
120 direct hit damage
20 - 65 splash damage
10 - 40 splash self damage
2.5 m splash radius
1.18 shots per second
35 m/s projectile speed
✘ Cannot headshot
✔ Can inflict self damage
✔ Can inflict self knockback
Pharah’s primary weapon launches rockets that deal significant damage in a wide blast radius.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Non-damaging knockback linear splash projectile type
60 m/s projectile speed
8 m radius
9-second cooldown
✘ Cannot headshot
✔ Can inflict self knockback
Pharah looses a wrist rocket that knocks back any enemies it strikes.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Non-damaging movement type
~25 m range
~20 m/s movement speed
10-second cooldown
Propelled by her suit’s thrusters, Pharah soars high into the air.
Default Key: (
, 
)
Non-damaging movement type
+43% per second
2 seconds recharge time
5.5 m/s movement speed
Lasts 2 seconds or until stopped
Pharah hovers in mid-air.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)Alternate Key: (
, 
, 
)
Channeled ultimate type
Automatic rapid fire projectile ability type
30 rockets per second
40 damage per rocket
Max 3000 damage per use
28.5 m/s projectile speed
Caster is immobilized
Lasts 2,5 seconds
✘ Cannot headshot
✔ Can inflict self damage
✘ Cannot inflict self knockback
Pharah directs a continuous salvo of mini-rockets to destroy groups of enemies.
Default Key: (
, 
, 
)
Besides these abilities, Pharah is able to jump, crouch, reload (only when her ammo is not full), and perform Quick Melee.
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. Items which are obtained from an external source are marked with Blizzard icons () and their requirements are noted below.
Skins[]
- For all of Pharah's skins and weapons, see Pharah/Skins and Weapons.
| Common |
|---|
 Classic (default) |
| Rare |
|---|
 Amethyst (  75) Copper ( 75) Emerald ( 75) Titanium ( 75) |
| Epic |
|---|
 Anubis ( 250) Jackal ( 250) Possessed (  ) Frostbite (  ) |
| Legendary |
|---|
 Mechaqueen ( 1000) Raptorion ( 1000) Raindancer ( 1000) Thunderbird ( 1000) Asp ( 1000) Security Chief (  ) Bedouin (  ) Qinglong (  ) Enchanted Armor ( ) |
- Note:
- The Security Chief skin is obtained by purchasing (or upgrading to) the Overwatch's Origins Edition and/or the Collector's Edition.[2][3]
Emotes[]
| Common |
|---|
 Heroic (default) |
| Epic |
|---|
 Cheer ( 250) Chuckle ( 250) Flourish ( 250) Knuckles ( 250) Take A Kneea ( 250) Flair (  ) Rocket Guitara ( |
- 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 |
|---|
 Guardian ( 75) Jump Jet ( 75) Kneeling ( 75) Medal (  ) R.I.P. ( ) Toast ( ) |
Voice Lines[]
| Normal | ||
|---|---|---|
| ▪ Aerial Superiority Achieved | ( 25)
| |
| "Aerial superiority achieved." | ||
| ▪ Fly Like An Egyptian | ( 25)
| |
| "Fly like an Egyptian." | ||
| ▪ Flying The Friendly Skies | ( 25)
| |
| "Flying the friendly skies." | ||
| ▪ Got You On My Radar | ( 25)
| |
| "I've got you on my radar." | ||
| ▪ Leave This To A Professional | ( 25)
| |
| "Leave this to a professional" | ||
| ▪ Not A Chance | ( 25)
| |
| "Not a chance" | ||
| ▪ Play Nice, Play Pharah | ( 25)
| |
| "Play nice, play Pharah." | ||
| ▪ Rocket Jump? | ( 25)
| |
| "Rocket jump? That sounds dangerous." | ||
| ▪ Security In My Hands | (default) | |
| "Put your security in my hands." | ||
| ▪ Shot Down | ( 25)
| |
| "Shot down." | ||
| ▪ Sorry, But I Need To Jet | ( 25)
| |
| "Sorry, but I need to jet." | ||
| Event | ||
| Clear Skies, Full Hearts | ()
| |
| "Clear skies, full hearts, can't lose." | ||
| We Are In This Together | ()
| |
| "We are in this together." | ||
| ▪ Dead or Alive | ()
| |
| "You're going to come with me, dead or alive!" | ||
| ▪ The Forecast | ()
| |
| "Want to know the forecast?" | ||
| ▪ I Keep The Peace | ()
| |
| "I keep the peace." | ||
| ▪ Don't Take It Personally | ()
| |
| "Don't take it personally." | ||
| ▪ I Am The Rocket Queen | ()
| |
| "I am the rocket queen!" | ||
| ▪ Fly Casual | ()
| |
| "Fly casual." | ||
| ▪ Try Me | ()
| |
| "Try me." | ||
Sprays[]
- For Pharah-specific sprays, see Pharah/Sprays.
Highlight Intros[]
| Common |
 Heroic (default) |
| Epic |
 Barrage ( 250) Mission Complete ( 250) Touchdown ( 250) Slam Dunk ( ) |
Weapons[]
One purchase of an alternate weapon skin will apply to the Rocket Launcher of all unlocked skins when equipping it.
| Default |
|---|
 Rocket Launcher (default) |
| Alternate |
|---|
 Golden Rocket Launcher (  3000) |
Achievements[]
Knock an enemy to their death using Pharah's Concussive Blast in quick or competitive play.
Reward: Pixel Spray
Kill 4 enemies in a row without touching the ground as Pharah in quick or competitive play.
Reward: Cute Spray
Story[]
Pharah destroying Anubis-controlled Omnics
Fareeha Amari is the daughter of Ana Amari, one of Overwatch's founders and a world-class sniper. She was taught by Ana how to fight and how to protect her loved ones. Fareeha wanted to take after her mother and work as an Overwatch agent, but that was exactly what Ana did not want for her daughter and this strained their relationship. Later, her mother was declared K.I.A. in a hostage rescue mission. Fareeha enlisted in the Egyptian military and rose through the ranks, but Overwatch was disbanded before she could join.
Helix Security International offered Fareeha a job as a pilot of the Raptora Mark IV Combat Suit and she accepted. Fareeha, now using the call sign "Pharah", received training in the combat suit, and eventually became lieutenant of her squadron. Her base of operations was in the Giza Plateau, where the God Program Anubis was quarantined.
The Anubis AI managed to break free, and Pharah's squadron was sent in to disable it. Though they were successful, much of the squadron died in the fight, including its captain, Khalil. Pharah was promoted to captain as a result.[4]
Recently, Fareeha received a letter from her thought-to-be-dead mother, explaining why her mother chose to hide and Ana's thought on being a soldier and a mother.
In recent Christmas, Fareeha was seen at a restaurant dining with her father Sam in Canada.[1][5]
In a recently released voice line interaction, it is revealed that Sam does not know Ana is actually alive. When Fareeha asks why Ana has not told her husband anything yet, Ana says it is up to her what Sam knows.
Appearance[]
Pharah is a young woman with a muscular build, dark skin, and medium long dark hair, with the sides tied back by two gold bands. She wears a blue suit of armor with wings, jet boosters, and a yellow visor in the shape of a bird beak, representing her place in the Helix. Pharah also has an Eye of Horus tattoo on her right eye.
In Overwatch 2, Pharah’s suit is now more detailed with additional white accent, leaning more towards the Overwatch colors. Her yellow visor is now transparent to allow her emotions and facial expressions to show more. She maintains her tattoo.
Personality[]
Pharah is loyal and honorable, holding duty above all else. She's strictly determined willing to keep the peace no matter what. She also has an affinity for jokes and puns, as shown in the in-game voicelines "Fly like an Egyptian" and "Sorry, but I need to jet". However, Pharah is a bit arrogant at times, as she claims to "always get her prey."
Pharah seemed to have a strained relationship with her mother before her presumed death. She had originally thought that Ana would not have been proud of her due to Ana's original strict teaching methods. Nonetheless, even before receiving the letter, Pharah always looked up to Ana with a deep respect, even going as far as getting a tattoo in honor of her mother though she missunderstood the meaning of their tattoos for a significant period before realizing what it was and keeps her actions to preserve that purpose of being a protector.
Before Anubis broke free, Pharah never really knew which was more important: completing the mission or protecting her team. However, after dealing with the incident, she learned to preserve both the innocent and her team more generally and grew even more resolute to follow in her mother's footsteps.
Though she never got the chance to join Overwatch, Pharah seems to be a fan of them, judging by her conversation of telling Reinhardt about the poster of him on her wall.
Merchandise[]
Tips[]
- General
- Pharah is slow, but she packs a heavy punch.
- Pharah can be more effective on console than on PC because opponents cannot "flick up" to check the sky for her. This means that flying ambushes are more likely to succeed.
- Never stop firing Pharah's rockets, especially at the objective. Enemies will have to avoid the rocket's splash damage, so they will have to flee.
- Rocket Launcher
- Pairing her Rocket Launcher with the abilities to Jump Jet and Hover makes for a devastating combination.
- The splash damage from Pharah's rockets can hit enemies just around corners. Aim rockets at the floor to make them explode in close proximity to the enemy.
- In exchange for splash damage, Pharah cannot land critical hits. While this makes precision aim less important, it is still best to go for direct hits, as they do enough extra damage to justify the added risk of missing entirely.
- This is also effective against a Genji that is Deflecting, for Pharah can hit the ground next to him to deal damage without risking her rockets being deflected back at her.
- Firing rockets into a small room with enemies can be a guarantee for a couple of kills. The splash damage would be enough to damage multiple enemies at once.
- Jump Jet
- Jump Jet is best used to escape an enemy's line of sight or to quickly gain an advantageous position.
- Inexperienced players tend to spam Jump Jet by always using it when it is off cooldown. This is a big mistake, as it deprives Pharah of an escape option when she needs one.
- Concussive Blast
- Concussive Blast has a strong knockback effect. She can use it to; knock enemies off the map, boost herself into any direction, or she can even save teammates caught in close combat by the enemy.
- Pharah can move across maps quickly by using Concussive Blast to boost herself forward then using Jump Jet shortly after.
- Barrage
- Pharah's Ultimate is very powerful but also makes her vulnerable, as it offers her no defense and renders her immobile while using it.
- Use it at a choke point, or try to flank enemies to surprise them.
- If Pharah uses Barrage while standing on a moving piece of the environment (such as a floating pad on Volskaya Industries), she will move with that object during her Ultimate.
- Keep in mind that hitting any obstacle, be it stationary or moving, that is close enough to Pharah will end up in Pharah damaging or even killing herself.
- Pharah's Barrage is very effective when attacking enemies under a crowd control ability, for example, Graviton Surge, Halt, or Blizzard. This keeps targets in a place where the damage can be centralized which increases effectiveness.
- Pharah's fuel tank fully recharges when she activates her Ultimate.
Counters[]
- Her low speed makes her a target whose movements are fairly easy to predict in the air.
- Pharah can be weak against heroes with Hitscan attacks, depending on the level of player skill in the match. A Hitscan hero's shots will strike Pharah instantly, whereas they can dodge Pharah's rockets; however, Pharah's rockets are easier to aim than most Hitscan shots because of the splash damage they can inflict.
- Heroes with Hitscan attacks include but are not limited to; Soldier: 76, McCree, Ana (when scoped in), Widowmaker, and D.Va.
- Because the player has no control over Pharah's rocket barrage other than aiming it (meaning she cannot stop the rockets once her Ultimate has started), Genji can easily reflect her rockets and turn them against her. However, the splash damage will most likely kill the Genji.
- Roadhog can easily stop her ultimate with his Chain Hook
- Pharah's Ultimate can be countered to make Pharah kill herself, by using invulnerable/high-health obstacles like Mei's Ice Wall, Zenyatta's Transcendence, or Symmetra's Photon Barrier (though they will all register as a suicide in the Killfeed).
Trivia[]
- Being one of the first heroes Blizzard Entertainment designed, Pharah went through many iterations, including some with bulkier mech suits inspired by Gundam and lighter suits influenced by real fighter pilots.[6]
- Pharah's real name, Fareeha, is a variant of the name Farah (or Farrah), the homophone to her code name. The name means "happiness", or "joy", in Arabic. Her last name, Amari, is of Sanskrit origin and means "eternal", while in Arabic, it means "strength" or "virtue".
- Unlike her mother, Pharah doesn't speak any Egyptian lines since her voice actress, Jen Cohn, isn't fluent in Arabic.
- However this can be explained through lore as Pharah grew up with her father when Ana was presumed dead.
- In the Summer Games, Pharah's signature sport is basketball.
- Pharah's Possessed, Raindancer, and Thunderbird skins do not have her Wadjet tattoo.
- In a pre-game conversation with Reinhardt, they both mention a poster, in the Uprising event one of Reinhardt's sprays is the poster
- Brigitte's voice actress Matilda Smedius, used to play as Pharah when playing Overwatch according to her hero story .
Other Blizzard games[]
- Pharah appears in a player portrait in StarCraft II, only obtainable through purchasing the Overwatch's Origins Edition.
Cultural References[]
- Her call sign, Pharah, is a reference to her Egyptian descent, as "Pharah" is very similar to "Pharaoh". Her personality traits are also linked to the traits expected of a Pharaoh.[7]
- Pharah's tattoo around her eye (called an "udjat" or "wedjat") is the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection. Horus is a sky-god, usually depicted as either a falcon or a falcon-headed man. This theme extends to Pharah's falcon-like helmet, wings, and flying ability. The Egyptian Pharaohs were also considered the "living Horus".[7]
- The Anubis skin is a reference to Anubis, the Egyptian god of embalming and the afterlife.[7]
- It may also be a throwback to the God Program Anubis that Pharah encounters in Mission Statement.
- Pharah's Raptorian and Mechaqueen skins could be references to the Japanese anime mecha genre.
- These two skins also display Pharah's remaining ammo as a digital display on the weapon models themselves, much like Soldier 76's Heavy Pulse Rifle, furthering the mecha reference.
An example of Pharah's alternative rockets in Thunderbird's skin.
- Pharah's Thunderbird skin and Raindancer skin are a reference to the Native American's thunderbird and rainmaking ritual respectively.
- Both of these skins replace her default projectiles with explosive stone arrowheads. It could not be seen in gameplay because the rockets/arrowheads travel faster than human's eyes can perceive, but players can catch sight of it clearly in the Highlight Intro Barrage.
- When Pharah spawns with the Thunderbird or Raindancer skin, she says: 'Thunderbird Online' instead of saying her normal line: 'Raptora Online'.
- Some of Pharah's sprays (like the "Scarab" and "Wings" sprays) are also linked to Ancient Egyptian culture and myths.[7]
- Pharah's quote "Dead or alive, you're coming with me" is a reference to the film RoboCop, in which the quote is said by the main character.
- Pharah's Voice Line "Rocket jump? That sounds dangerous!" is a reference to the video game technique called Rocket Jumping, most notably featured in Quake and Team Fortress 2. In those games, rocket launchers can be used to perform higher jumps by jumping and blasting the floor, which is rather similar to Pharah's Jump Jet ability. Pharah can still imitate this technique with her Concussive Blast ability but the impulse is only horizontal. It can be done using her launcher as well but is not advised as it has little propulsion and will damage her.
- Pharah's Voice Line and spray "Play nice, play Pharah" are the only line and spray in the game which explicitly breaks the fourth wall.
- The line "Play nice, play Pharah" is a reference to the third of 'the eight core values' of Blizzard Entertainment: "Play nice; Play fair".
- Pharah's Voice Line "Fly like an Egyptian!" is a reference to the song Walk like an Egyptian by The Bangles. Her other voice line, "Flying the Friendly Skies", is a reference to several United Airlines slogans throughout their history.
Patch changes[]
- For changes made to Pharah's abilities, see Rocket Launcher, Jump Jet, Concussive Blast, Hover Jets, and Barrage.
|
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Reflections
- ↑ Overwatch™ Ready for Action Spring 2016 — Pre-Purchase Now for Console and PC
- ↑ Overwatch: Origins Edition | Digital Bonuses Preview
- ↑ Mission Statement
- ↑ Michael Chu on Pharah's Father
- ↑ From the Blizzard offices
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 From the Journal of Geek Studies, vol. 3(2), 2016.
| Pharah Navigation | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | Main • Quotes • Gallery • Skins and Weapons • Sprays | |
| Abilities | Rocket Launcher • Concussive Blast • Jump Jet • Hover Jets • Barrage | |
| Lore | Organizations | Overwatch • Helix Security International |
| Character relationships | Ana Amari • Sam • Anubis | |
| Locations | Temple of Anubis • Giza Plateau | |
| Media | Comic Shorts | Mission Statement |
| Animated Shorts | We Are Overwatch • Ana Origin Story | |
| Heroes in Overwatch | |
|---|---|
 Tank
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 Damage
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 Support
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