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Franchiseoverwatch This is from the Overwatch universe.


Know yourself in the face of death.

Damage (8/10) Utility (4/10) Survivability (4/10) Complexity (6/10)

Genji is a Ranged Assassin Hero from the Overwatch universe, and the first Hero introduced with the Heroes of the Storm 2.0 update.

Once the carefree youngest scion of the Shimada clan, Genji was cut down by his own brother for refusing to take part in their illegal ventures. Grafted into a cyborg body by Overwatch, Genji walks his own path as one who fights for what's right.

Background[]

As the youngest son of the master of the Shimada ninja clan, Genji lived a life of luxury and privilege. He had little interest in the family's illegal businesses, and although he excelled at and enjoyed his ninja training, he spent most of his time pursuing a playboy lifestyle. Many within the clan considered the carefree Genji to be a dangerous liability, and they resented his father for coddling and protecting him. Following the clan leader's untimely death, Genji's older brother, Hanzo, demanded that Genji take a more active role in their late father's empire. Genji refused, enraging Hanzo. The tension between the brothers built to a violent confrontation that left Genji on the verge of dying.

Gameplay Summary[]

Strengths[]

  • Strong poke due to low cooldown and mana cost of Shuriken
  • Capable to penetrate defense and area denial at ease
  • Decent escape and chase with Swift Strike and Cyber Agility
  • Strong kiting
  • Capable to threaten and confuse enemy with Deflect and X-Strike
  • Dragonblade can potentially deal extreme damage

Weaknesses[]

  • High learning curve
  • Dragonblade and Swift Strike are risky
  • Without access to heroic ability, Genji struggles to sacrifice safety to push lane
  • Relies on diving or heroic ability to deal high burst damage
  • Deals unreliable damage to multiple heroes when heroic ability is in cooldown

Abilities[]

Icon Shuriken
Shuriken (Q) [Skillshot]
Mana: 20
Cooldown: Charge - 12 seconds

Throw 3 Shuriken in a spread pattern damaging the first enemy it strikes.

Stores up to 3 charges. Shuriken's cooldown replenishes all charges at the same time.

Icon Deflect
Deflect (W) [Channeled]
Mana: 70
Cooldown: 16 seconds

Become Protected for 1.25 seconds. Any damage blocked during this period causes Genji to throw a Kunai toward the nearest enemy, prioritizing Heroes and dealing damage.

Icon Swift Strike
Swift Strike (E)
Mana: 75
Cooldown: 12 seconds

Dash forward, dealing 190 damage (+4% per level) to all enemies in a line. Enemy Heroes that die within 1.5 seconds of being hit by Swift Strike cause the cooldown and Mana cost to be refunded.

Traits[]

Icon Cyber Agility
Cyber Agility (D)
Cooldown: 15 seconds

Activate to jump to target area.

Heroic Abilities[]

Icon Dragonblade
Dragonblade (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 75
Cooldown: 100 seconds

Unleash the Dragonblade for 8 seconds. While active, Dragonblade can be reactivated to lunge forward and slash in a huge arc, dealing 240 (+4% per level) damage.

Icon X-Strike
X-Strike (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 90
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Perform 2 perpendicular slashes dealing 135 (+4% per level) damage. The slashes detonate after 1.25 seconds causing an additional 270 (+4% per level) damage to enemies in their area.

Talents[]

Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

Icon Swift Strike
Swift as the Wind
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Hitting an enemy Hero with Swift Strike increases Genji's Movement Speed by 30% for 3 seconds.

Icon Cyber Agility
Agile Dismount
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

While mounted, the range of Cyber Agility is increased by 70% and its cooldown is reduced by 7 seconds.

Icon Pathfinder
Pathfinder
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Jumping over terrain with Cyber Agility inceases Genji's Movement Speed by 25% for 6 seconds.

Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

Icon Shuriken
Shuriken Mastery
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Hit enemy Heroes with Shuriken.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After hitting 35 Heroes, Shuriken damage is increased by 25.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After hitting 75 Heroes, Cyber Agility now refunds 2 charges of Shuriken.

Icon Dragon Claw
Dragon Claw [Active]
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

After Genji blocks 330 damage with Deflect, activate to release a Dragon Claw, dealing 190 (+4% per level) damage to all nearby enemies.

Icon Swift Strike
Strike at the Heart
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Enemies hit by the end of Swift Strike take an additional 138 (+4% per level) damage over 2 seconds.

Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

Icon Deflect
Augmented Guard
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

When Deflect ends, Genji gains a Shield equal to 50% of the damage blocked for 4 seconds.

Icon Pefect Defense
Perfect Defense
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Deflected damage reduces the cooldown of Deflect by 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 10 seconds.

Icon Dodge
Dodge [Active]
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Genji Dodges 1 Heroic Basic Attack every 8 seconds.

Icon Cyber Agility
Cyber Shield
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Using Cyber Agility grants 50 Spell Armor for 2.5 seconds.

Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

Icon Dragonblade
Dragonblade (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 75
Cooldown: 100 seconds

Unleash the Dragonblade for 8 seconds. While active, Dragonblade can be reactivated to lunge forward and slash in a huge arc, dealing 240 (+4% per level) damage.

Icon X-Strike
X-Strike (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 90
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Perform 2 perpendicular slashes dealing 135 (+4% per level) damage. The slashes detonate after 1.25 seconds causing an additional 270 (+4% per level) damage to enemies in their area.

Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

Icon Shuriken
Shingan
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Hitting an enemy with all 3 Shuriken deals 115 (+4% per level) bonus damage.

Icon Swift Strike
Flow Like Water
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Each enemy Hero hit with Swift Strike reduces its cooldown by 3 seconds.

Icon Cyber Agility
Double Jump
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Cyber Agility stores 2 charges.

Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

Icon Deflect
Reflect
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Deflect also deals an additional 33% of the damage blocked.

Icon Swift Strike
Final Cut
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

After 1 second, Swift Strike deals an additional 125 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies in the area.

Icon Steady Blade
Steady Blade
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Each enemy Hero hit by Swift Strike increases the damage of the next Swift Strike by 20%. This bonus stacks up to 3 times.

Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

Icon Dragonblade
The Dragon Becomes Me
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Each time Dragonblade hits an enemy Hero, the duration of Dragonblade is increased by .50 seconds. If a Hero is killed within 2 seconds of being hit by Dragonblade, Swift Strike's cooldown is reset.

Icon X-Strike
Living Weapon
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Each enemy Hero hit by X-Strike reduces its cooldown by 12 seconds.

Icon Shuriken
Nanosteel Shuriken
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Shuriken now pierce all enemies hit.

Icon Zanshin
Zanshin
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Block 6500 damage with Deflect, including damage blocked so far.
IconQuestTalent Reward: Deflect hits all nearby enemy Heroes.

Talent Builds[]

Tips[]

Matchups[]

Pairings[]

Jainaplate
Jaina’s innate slow, crowd control and burst damage can help Genji on taking down individual targets very quickly, allowing him to proc the cooldown reset of Swift Strike.


Kael'thasplate
Similarly to Jaina, Kael'thas’ high burst damage, area damage and crowd control greatly aids Genji on taking down individual targets very quickly, allowing him to proc the cooldown reset of Swift Strike. His Pyroblast is potentially useful, as it forces players on fleeing and getting away from the rest of the team, allowing Genji to chase and execute them.


Lunaraplate
Genji often must patiently bide his time, waiting to prey on low health heroes that can be taken down to reset his Swift Strike ability. Heroes like Lunara who do significant AoE damage are excellent for lowering the Health pools of the enemy team, setting Genji up to engage and finish them off.


Utherplate
Uther’s ability to bestow allies with Armor can ensure that Genji survives longer than he otherwise would when he dives the enemy backline. Divine Shield is also a potent ability that can enable Genji to deal significant damage to the enemy with little recourse. Paired with Genji’s Dragonblade Heroic Ability, this duo can quickly wipe out an entire enemy team that is caught off guard.


Valeeraplate
Valeera’s ganking potential greatly complements Genji's diving abilities, as she can stun and silence enemies fleeing or out of position, allowing Genji to quickly dispatch those targets. Both Heroes also have good escape mechanisms, which allows both to retreat should the situation revert.


Zaryaplate
Zarya’s shields are great for allowing Genji to get into the enemy team’s backline and trade effectively. When Genji engages a squishy assassin, enemy teams may overreact while trying to quickly eliminate him; in turn, a well-timed shield from Zarya can be the difference between the quick death of Genji, or that of the enemy team.


Effective against[]

Effective foes[]

ETCplate
Heroes that can lock Genji down after he dives the enemy team’s backline can be a challenge for the cybernetic ninja. ETC’s Powerslide and Face Melt combo can lock Genji down long enough to allow for nearby allies to secure a quick kill.


Lunaraplate
Lunara can bait Genji into overextending, resulting on him getting outnumbered by the opposing team. Additionally, any form of damage-over-time will continue to tick after Genji's Deflect, which makes Lunara a very dangerous enemy for him to face directly.


Malfurionplate
Malfurion supports his allies in many ways that are detrimental to Genji’s options. His Regrowth ability makes it hard for Genji to trade favorably on his kill targets, Entangling Roots is an excellent follow-up CC to other stuns or roots, and Twilight Dream is an effective answer to controlling the assassin’s ability to utilize important defensive cooldowns at critical moments.


Valeeraplate
Valeera is a terrifying hero for Genji to contend with. Both her silence and stun make it extremely risky for Genji to dive into the enemy backline with his Swift Strike ability. Additionally, her cloak will make it difficult for Genji to properly evaluate the best time to engage.


Varianplate
Regardless of his build, Varian poses a threat to Genji due his Charge, which can give his team enough time to incapacitate Genji. He is even more dangerous if he picks Taunt, resulting on Genji being defenseless.


Skins[]

Cybernetic Ninja (base)
Cybernetic Ninja Carbon Fiber Fire Genji - Golden Genji - Nihon
Cybernetic Ninja Carbon Fiber Fire Golden IconShard 150 Nihon IconShard 150
Steel Dragon IconShard 100
Though he used to struggle with being part man and part machine, Genji has since come to terms with his dual nature. Improving his body along with his spirit was the obvious next step.
Steel Dragon Master Dragon Neon Dragon Genji - First Dragon
Steel Dragon Master Dragon Neon Dragon First Dragon IconShard 150
Genji - Iron Dragon
Iron Dragon IconShard 150
Oni IconShard 400
It is said that an oni with an iron club is invincible. But that's nothing compared to an oni with a katana.
Oni Vengeful Oni Moss Oni Genji - Oni - Snow
Oni Vengeful Oni Moss Oni Snow IconShard 600
Lunar IconShard 150
Once the carefree youngest scion of the Shimada clan, Genji was cut down by his own brother for refusing to take part in their illegal ventures. Grafted into a cyborg body by Overwatch, Genji walks his own path as one who fights for what's right.
Genji - Lunar
Lunar

Development[]

Work on Genji began in mid-August, 2016. At the start, the developers initially approached the idea of allowing deflect to function as it did in Overwatch, where it reflects most abilities/projectiles. However, this ran into the issue of how some abilities (e.g. flamestrike would be reflected). Genji could initially aim the deflection, but this didn't work well, due to the short duration, and that the player would constantly have to press "W." They thus altered the ability to its current state.

The lack of tools like crowd control, healing, and scouting for Genji is intentional and it is in keeping with the idea of him being a high mobility, high damage assassin. The developers didn't want talents that ventured outside that defined role.

Swift Strike is the longest movement ability in the game. From the outset, they knew that they wanted Swift Strike to cross any terrain/collision in the game in order to push Genji’s role as a high mobility hero. They initially tested it internally with an even longer distance (about 25% longer) but players were constantly going too far and ending up in a bad situation and dying. The range was reduced until it felt right.

Genji's animations were done from scratch, but the original animations from Overwatch were referenced. The developers worked with the Overwatch team to translate the visuals as well as possible.

Genji originally had a more Melee-centric Q for Genji that involved him pulling out his dragonblade. However, when reviewing his kit with the Overwatch team, they learned that pulling out the sword is used more deliberately in the game. Thus, it was made an ultimate ability.[1]

Trivia[]

  • The "Master Dragon" variation of his Steel Dragon skin is a reference to Master Chief from the Halo franchise.
  • The "First Dragon" and "Neon Dragon" variations of his Steel Dragon skin are a reference to Evangelion Units 00 and 01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion, respectively.

Patch changes[]

References[]

  1. 2017-04-26, HANAMURA REDDIT Q&A. Blizzpro, accessed on 2017-04-26

External links[]

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