First let’s go over his weapon the Sonic Amplifier. With 20 shots in the magazine this fires concentrated bursts of pure sound at enemies that travels at a great distance. This deals more reliable damage at mid to short range but can be used as a poking tool for snipers at longer ranges. The secondary fire on this gun acts like a shotgun blast which hits close range targets but where it lacks in damage it makes up for in knocking them back. This can be effective with getting enemies out of a capture zone or away from the payload as you are fighting for the objectives. Also keep in mind that you can use the knockback in certain areas to push heroes into pits and off of cliffs, making for some hilarious and easy kills. Strafing left and right whilst constantly bombarding with this weapon is the way to go as you can gather a good series of assists and kills with allies as you concentrate mainly on capturing objectives.

Lucio’s main source of supporting comes from his abilities Crossfade and Amp It Up. Crossfade switches the hero between two different forms when on the battlefield. These can either buff allies’ movement speed or regenerate yours and allies’ health. This can regen 12.5 HP per second which is great for keeping allies in the fight, especially around the objectives. The trick to these buffs is that they act as an aura around Lucio as he is moving around. Allies that are close by will be affected by the appropriate speed or regen but will lose these buffs upon leaving Lucio’s side. This is when you as the master of bass must keep an eye out on who is weak and keep skating around them until they are fighting fit again. Luckily this is made easier with his coupled ability.

Amp It Up buffs the effectiveness of your current Crossfade mode for the next three seconds. This will in turn either double the movement speed of you and allies around you or double the rate of which health is regenerated. Popping this at the right time can change the entire battle. Activate this when in speed mode to either get back to the objective faster or run away from D.Va ultimate attacks. As for the healing buff, activate the ability when you are close to allies in need of immediate healing or keep using it whilst on the objective to keep everyone close by at high health.

Lucio’s ultimate ability, Sound Barrier, causes him to fire at the ground with his gun resulting in a sound wave which gives all allies nearby a very large shield which drains overtime. This is a great ability to use, especially in two certain scenarios. If your team mates are getting shot down fast by enemies, activating this will keep them in the fight whilst you can heal them up with Crossfade and Amp It Up. The other situation is if you need a way to initiate a fight and require a little more bulk before tackling the enemy ahead. A safe bet is to instantly use the ultimate once it becomes available, as you can reliably regain it after buffing up allies and claiming kills/assists with your Sonic Amplifier shots.

Now with his abilities looked over, who should you look out for? First off is Hanzo & Widowmaker as snipers with their high precision damage can kill you in one shot. To best avoid being shot by these characters, try to constantly keep moving in speed form to make them work harder for the kill. Road Hog can also be a threat with his chain and flak cannon, but your guns damage with reliable headshots can take him down if you are careful. Also keep in mind that you can use Lucio’s ability to run across walls to an advantage by flanking opponents, using the knockback blast and watching enemies be thrown out of objective spaces or the entire map. The key trick with Lucio is to keep him on objectives or with important allies to maximise his use. Once you have learnt when to Amp It Up and Crossfade properly, you will be dropping the bass in every fight that comes your way and walking away with a solid win.

What if you are against a team with a dominant Lucio player and you are unsure on how to tackle him? First off note that he is not a bulky character and can be taken out easily with high damaging attacks. As stated earlier, Widowmaker and Road Hog are great counter picks. Pharrah will also be good thanks to her vertical approach to battle and her rockets causing big AOE damage. Don’t forget to use her Concussive Blast to knock back Lucio away from his team mates so you can pin point him more easily and force him out of a team fight situation. Just note that when fighting Lucio one on one he will most likely stay in speed mode so that he can run circles around you. Keep an eye on your environment and you should be okay when launching calculated attacks. Randomly shooting like a crazy person will only result in an imminent defeat.

What are your thoughts on Lucio? Are you ready to Amp It Up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and keep a look out for more Overwatch guides coming soon. Let us know who you would like to see covered next. A video version of this guide is also available for you to watch.