Tracer
As a young RAF pilot, Lena Oxton became the youngest person to be inducted into the Overwatch experimental flight program, where she piloted The Slipstream. Unfortunately, the experiment failed, and Lena (callsign: Tracer) became unstuck in time.
Suffering from "chronal disassociation", Tracer was helped by Winston, who designed the chronal accelerator she wears at all times. This gadget sticks Tracer in the correct timeline – and gives her the power to move back and forth within it.
Armed with this incredible power, Tracer is a mascot and ever-optimistic member of Overwatch, dedicated to righting wrongs around the world.
My introduction to Tracer was during a Blizzcon livestream, during the first Overwatch trailer. As a Blizzard fan at that time, I had heard many rumors about the cancelled FPS MMO that Overwatch evolved from, and was incredibly intrigued by the trailer. Especially the peppy Tracer, blinking around the cinematic, spouting her iconic line.
I didn't play Overwatch long, but as well-documented on other builds, I did play the hell out of Heroes of the Storm, where Tracer appeared as a playable character. That game played into her hyper mobility in a fun way, making her attack automatic, while moving. Cue salt.
Keys to the Character
Check Your Pulse
Tracer's pulse pistols don't hit that hard, but boy do they fire fast. And there's two of them. And they hurt when you get whacked with the grip.
Time's Up (And Down)
Due to a disastrous test-flight, Tracer became untethered from time. The chronal accelerator she wears on her chest keeps her from zipping around time willy-nilly.
The World Could Always Use More Heroes
Tracer is perhaps the most iconic member of Overwatch. The mascot. The cheerleader. The kind of annoying Type-A manager.
Crack That Pistol Whip
Out of bullets? Close to an enemy? Tracer has a solution: whack them with the gun handle. Oh and one other solution: throw a sticky grenade.
In both games she appears, Tracer is a close-range ranged damage dealer. Her dual pistols fire fast, but are ineffective at longer ranges. Plus, she often augments her ranged attacks with a pistol whip bash, usually before recalling far away before getting hit herself.
That hyper-mobility and pistol shoot and bash gameplay is what we're after in this build. A pistolero gunslinger with a chronoskimmer dedication is what will get us there.
On the battlefield, Tracer fills the skirmisher role perfectly. She uses her hypermobility – mostly from the chronoskimmer dedication – to weave in and out of the fray, shooting and bashing vulnerable targets before recalling to safety.
Her twin air repeater pistols don't hit hard, but they have reload 0 and can often be fired many times per round, using feats like Two-Weapon Fusillade.
Most rounds, her dashing will come as a result of a general higher speed from feats like Nimble Elf and Fleet. But once per round (or twice with Reset the Past) she can turn strides into blinks using Space Time Shift.
Outside of battle, Tracer's piloting lore can come in handy whenever vehicles enter the mix. She also is fairly adept at getting around quickly and quietly, which translates well to stealth.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Human - Half Elf
Something about Tracer just screams Half Elf, even if we weren't picking it up for the nifty movement feats like Elf Step and Nimble Elf. She's just a bit more mirthful and agile than a human.
Background
Time Traveler
Originally a crack pilot, Tracer's work in an experimental flight program is to blame for her inability to stay in one place (timewise) without a giant apparatus strapped to her chest.
This background grants multiple lores, some good ones to pick up are Piloting (duh) and Military, for Overwatch. It also has a Dexterity boost, which is great.
Class
Gunslinger - Pistolero
No matter where the build takes us, a Pistolero Gunslinger has to be the foundation – if for nothing else but the Dual-Weapon Reload feat, which lets Tracer reload while holding her double pulse pistols.
But the fun doesn't stop there, nifty attacks like Paired Shots and Two-Weapon Fusillade are great uses for dual weapons, and the big time Final Shot can stand in for Tracer's Pulse Bomb.
The Chronoskimmer Dedication is the other piece of the puzzle, giving great time-bending feats like Space-Time Shift (Blink) and Reversing Charge (Recall). The alternative is to take some kind of magic-user dedication for time spells, but that sucks away valuable feats from the Gunslinger, and we want those pistols to pop!
Skills & General Feats
Tracer is a skilled pilot, and fast as all get-out... but that's kind of where it stops. If only "optimism" was a skill.
Legendary: Athletics
Master: Stealth
Expert: Acrobatics, Lore: Piloting
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
2x Air Repeater Pistol - Six shots each before reloading. Pew pew pew pew pew (pew).
Reinforced Stock - Gotta get this runed up for the whomps that come in melee range.
Key Spells
Changelog
Related Builds
