Tracer

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**Tracer** is an Offense hero in *Overwatch*.

## Summary

With a unique ability to control the speed of her own passage through time, Tracer zips and blinks around the battlefield, eluding attackers and sneaking past defenses. A perfect skirmisher hero, Tracer is fragile but hard to hit, keeping one step ahead of her attackers while she harasses and harries the enemy team. Tracer excels at getting behind enemy lines, but it is inadvisable to move her through chokepoints. Should she find herself blinking into an ambush, she can rewind time to her position and state a few seconds earlier, giving her a second chance.

The developers consider Tracer to have one of the most unique play styles in *Overwatch*.

### Official tips

* *Tracer is highly mobile using Blink and Recall.*
* *Her short range pistols and low health encourage a hit-and-run play style.*
* *Her Pulse Bomb devastates static defenses and tightly grouped enemies.*

## Abilities

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## Strategy

Tracer is a close-range skirmishing hero who specializes in speed and single target damage. Her mobility and high single target damage makes her excellent at picking key targets with very low risk. Tracer can quickly traverse a map with the use of Blink to outflank her enemies, deal damage to them, and then retreat before they have a chance to respond. Her low base Health and lack of regenerating shields means that she must make good use of Blink and Recall to avoid or reverse damage.

### Weapons & abilities

Tracer's primary weapons are her dual **Pulse Pistols**. Her primary fire rapidly shoots both pistols, dealing heavy damage. These pistols have a large cone of fire and heavy damage dropoff, making them ineffective beyond short range engagements.

Tracer's **Blink** is her most important ability. Blink teleports Tracer a short distance in the direction she's currently moving. This allows Tracer to move unpredictably: she can Blink past an enemy to attack their back, or Blink to the side to dodge an enemy's attacks. Multiple Blinks can be chained back-to-back, allowing Tracer to travel across gaps that normally can't be reached with just her jump (such as the large gap leading to the last point on Hanamura).

**Recall** is equally important for Tracer. When activated, Tracer will "rewind" to three seconds in the past, setting her health and position to whatever they were at that time, as well as reloading her gun and removing all debuffs from her (such as Zenyatta's Orb of Discord). Recall is mainly used to restore Health, but it can also be useful for escaping: jump off a ledge, wait for an enemy to follow you, and then Recall back up the ledge. Recall has a short animation that plays when activated, during which time Tracer is invulnerable and invisible. This can be used to avoid potentially deadly attacks by activating Recall right before Tracer is hit.

Tracer's ultimate is **Pulse Bomb**. When activated, Tracer tosses her bomb forwards a short distance. If it impacts an enemy, it will stick to that enemy. Otherwise, the bomb will stick to the first solid surface it lands on. After a short delay, the bomb explodes, dealing a heavy amount of damage to enemies in a small area around the bomb. Note that this explosion will **also damage Tracer**. Pulse Bomb is devastating on clustered groups or static defenses like Torbjorn's turret. A common ability combination to safely bomb a target is to use Blink to get in close, toss the bomb on them, and then Recall to get back out of danger.

### General strategies

When playing Tracer, do your best to avoid fighting your opponents head on. Tracer can only deal good damage when close to her enemies, as opposed to other Assault heroes like Soldier: 76, and she lacks durability. Take advantage of her speed to travel rapidly through side routes so that you can get behind your opponents before attacking. Try to find single targets that are separated from their team and take them out. Be wary of diving into large groups to try and kill a target, unless you have Pulse Bomb ready, as a full enemy team can quickly turn and kill you before you can Recall or Blink to safety.

If you're starting to lose a fight and are low on Health, don't be afraid to retreat, as Tracer's speed can let her get to Health Packs well before her opponents can. This gives her an advantage in dueling single targets, as she can simply outlast them through good use of Recall and retreating to grab Health Packs before returning to battle.

Tracer is considered most effective in King of the Hill maps. Her horizontal mobility is unparalleled, making her ideal to flank enemy lines and to patrol flanks. Her lack of vertical mobility can be problematic on Payload or Control Point maps where other heroes can give Tracer a difficult time to traverse the map safely.

## Story

File:Icon-tracer.png
**"Cheers, love! The cavalry's here!"**
The former Overwatch agent known as Tracer is a time-jumping adventurer and an irrepressible force for good. She hails from London, and has traveled all over the world.

She was a great admirer of Tekhartha Mondatta, and was inspired by Mei, an Overwatch scientist.

### Overwatch

**"So, you want to hear my story. It all started a few years ago. Overwatch was looking for a hotshot pilot to test their next-generation teleporting fighter: The Slipstream. Enter: Lena Oxton (call sign: “Tracer”). [giggles] That’s me! It was the opportunity I had trained for my whole life. But on my first flight, the teleportion matrix malfunctioned; and I disappeared."**
 File:TracerSlipstream.jpg
Lena Oxton (call sign: "Tracer") was the youngest person ever inducted into Overwatch's experimental flight program. Known for her fearless piloting skills, she was handpicked to test the prototype of a teleporting fighter, the Slipstream. But during its first flight, the aircraft's teleportation matrix malfunctioned, and it disappeared. Lena was presumed dead.

 File:Tracer-chronal.jpg
She reappeared months later, but her ordeal had greatly changed her: her molecules had been desynchronized from the flow of time. Suffering from "chronal disassociation," she was a living ghost, disappearing for hours and days at a time. Even for the brief moments she was present, she was unable to maintain physical form. Sometimes she had strange dreams about the past, including being a kitchen maid at a large house in the country.

Overwatch's doctors and scientists were stumped, and Tracer's case seemed hopeless until a scientist named Winston designed the chronal accelerator, a device capable of keeping Tracer anchored in the present. In addition, it gave Tracer the ability to control her own time, allowing her to speed it up and slow it down at will. With her newfound skills, she became one of Overwatch's most effective agents. At some point she was stationed at Watchpoint: Gibraltar.

### Post-Overwatch

Since Overwatch's dissolution, Tracer continued to right wrongs and fight the good fight wherever the opportunity presented itself.

#### Recall

**" Winston? Is that you, love? It's been too long."**
Years after Overwatch's disbandment, Tracer was contacted by Winston as he issued a recall order for Overwatch agents. She commented that they'd been out of touch for too long; an assessment that Winston agreed with.

#### Alive

**"Trying to crash another party, love?"**
 File:Tracer-Alive.jpg
A few hours after her talk with Winston, Tracer was present in King's Row, as Shambali leader Tekhartha Mondatta addressed a joint human-omnic crowd. She came to suspect there would be an assassination attempt, which would be correct and she confronted Widowmaker among the rooftops. The two carried out a run and gun battle, but despite her efforts, Widowmaker successfully assassinated the omnic. Enraged, Tracer tackled Widowmaker, demanding to know why she had done this. Chuckling, Widowmaker easily incapacitated her and departed in a Talon aircraft.

#### Day at the Museum

 File:Tracer-theatrical.PNG
**"You know, the world could always use more heroes."**
Widowmaker and Reaper attacked a museum dedicated to Overwatch, trying to steal Doomfist's gauntlet. Tracer fought them alongside Winston and the villains were forced to retreat. Tracer complimented two young boys that had helped her in the aftermath, commenting that the world could always use more heroes. The whereabouts of Tracer, Winston and the two who managed to escape is unknown at this point.

## Cosmetics

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## Trivia

 File:Tracer-statue.jpg
* Tracer is a playable character in *Heroes of the Storm*. Her visage can also be found on a color variant of Tychus's armor in the game.

* A Tracer statue will go on sale at some point in the future.

* A Tracer portrait will be available in *StarCraft II* for those who purchase the *Origins Edition*.

* A Funko Pop Tracer figurine will be released by June, 2016.

* A life-sized statue of Tracer is present on Blizzard's campus.

* A giant action figure of Tracer was displayed on the Hollywood Boulevard as part of the leadup to *Overwatch'*s release.

### Character development

Tracer conceptually began with the idea of a hero that blinked across the map. According to Chris Metzen, she "was one of the first characters we really got to know." While not created for a starring role, the development team warmed up to her. Metzen has likened her to Spider-Man.

Currently, Tracer is the 'mascot character' of *Overwatch*, and its centerpiece hero. She has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of the game. Her design used to include a jacket.

## References

1. ↑ 2015-08-08, GAMESCOM LIVESTREAM PANEL W/ THE DEVS. *Blizzpro*, accessed on 2015-08-22
2. ↑ 2015-10-16, Overwatch Pre-Beta Livestream Recap. *Overpwn*, accessed on 2015-10-17
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tracer, *Blizzard Entertainment*. Accessed on 2014-12-17
4. ↑ 2016-04-26, TRACER HERO WEEK. *Blizzard Entertainment*, accessed on 2016-04-30
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *Heroes of the Storm*
6. ↑ *Overwatch*, *Zenyatta Quotes*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Overwatch*, *Tracer Quotes*
8. ↑ *Recall*
9. ↑ 2016-04-24, Know Your Lore: Overwatch’s ongoing story. *Blizzard Watch*, accessed on 2016-04-25
10. ↑ *Alive*
11. ↑ 2014-11-07, Overwatch Cinematic Trailer. *YouTube*, accessed on 2014-11-30
12. ↑ 2015-07-10, SDCC 2015 – Blizzard Booth Photos. *Blizzplanet*, accessed on 2015-07-26
13. ↑ 2015-11-06, Overwatch: Origins Edition (PC) Pre-Orders have Begun. *Blizzplanet*, accessed on 2015-11-07
14. ↑ 2016-02-26, Pre-Order FUNKO Overwatch POP Vinyl Figures. *Blizzplanet*, accessed on 2016-03-11
15. ↑ The Story of Overwatch: The Fall of Titan, *GameSpot*. Accessed on 2016-04-24
16. ↑ 2016-05-20, Giant Overwatch action figures appear in Hollywood, Paris, Busan. *Blizzard Watch*, accessed on 2016-05-21
17. ↑ 2015-08-08, GAMESCOM LIVESTREAM PANEL W/ THE DEVS. *Blizzpro*, accessed on 2015-08-22
18. ↑ 2015-12-10, How Blizzard is making up Overwatch's story as it goes. *PC Gamer*, accessed on 2015-12-24
19. ↑ 2015-03-13, PAX East 2015 Overwatch Hands-On Preview. *Blizzplanet*, accessed on 2015-03-2015
20. ↑ 2015-05-27, BlizzCon 2014 – Overwatch Origins Panel Transcript. *Blizzplanet*, accessed on 2015-05-31

## External links

* Official Site - Tracer
* Tracer Guide on Icy Veins

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