Projectile Aim Guide (Genji, Pharah, Hanzo)

Projectile aim is a different skill from hitscan, and treating it like hitscan is why so many players bounce off Genji, Pharah and Hanzo. A hitscan bullet lands the instant you click. A projectile has to fly across the map and, for some heroes, fall as it goes. You are not aiming at the enemy - you are aiming at a point in front of them, at the height physics will drop your shot to. Get the mental model right and these heroes stop feeling like gambling.

The two variables: travel and drop

• Travel time - the projectile takes real time to reach the target, so a moving enemy walks out of where you aimed. You must lead: aim ahead of their movement by the distance they will cover during the flight.
• Projectile drop / arc - some projectiles fall under gravity (Hanzo arrows, Pharah rockets at range, Junkrat grenades). The further the target, the higher you aim to compensate for the drop.
• Projectile size - a few of these shots are forgiving. Hanzo arrows and Genji shuriken have generous hitboxes, so a near-miss can still connect. That does not excuse bad leads, but it means consistency comes faster than a pixel-perfect hitscan flick.

Genji - flat, fast shuriken

Genji shuriken fly fast and fairly flat, so drop is minor at close and mid range and your main job is leading a strafing target. Fan three at close range where the spread guarantees hits, and aim single, precise shots at mid range. The trick most Genji players miss: your own dash and double-jump change the angle mid-shot, so settle your movement for the instant you throw, then reposition. Read the enemy strafe pattern - most players juke in predictable left-right rhythms - and throw where the next step lands.

Genji

Fast, flat shuriken - lead the strafe

Projectile

Pharah - slow rockets, splash forgives you

Pharah rockets are slow, which means big leads at range, but they deal splash damage, so you do not need a direct hit to do work. Against grounded targets, aim at their feet: a rocket that lands next to them still hits, and the ground stops the projectile so it always detonates. Against a target you can pin against a wall, aim the wall behind them. The slow projectile is the price you pay for damage that curves around cover and punishes anyone with no escape.

Pharah

Slow rockets, splash - aim at feet and walls

Projectile

Hanzo - heavy arc, big hitbox

Hanzo has the most demanding arc of the three. Arrows drop noticeably over distance, so a far shot means aiming above the target and letting the arrow fall onto them. His arrows are large, though, which is why body shots feel generous and why aiming for the upper chest or neck line often clips a headshot. Practise the same distance repeatedly to burn the drop into muscle memory, because the arc for a given range is fixed. Storm Arrow removes the charge time but keeps the arc, so it is your reliable close and mid range burst.

Hanzo

Heavy arc, generous hitbox - learn the drop

Projectile

How to actually train it

• Practice Range first: throw at the moving bots and consciously note how far ahead you had to aim to connect. Repeat until the lead is automatic, not calculated.
• Fix distance, then vary it. Learn Hanzo drop at one range, then move to the next. Random distances teach nothing; deliberate ones build the muscle memory.
• Watch the enemy, not your crosshair. Projectile aim is prediction, so your eyes should be reading their movement and your hand should follow.
• Keep one sensitivity. Leading a target is a spatial skill that only calibrates if your cm/360 stays put - the same rule as hitscan.

Projectile leading pairs directly with the hitscan-vs-projectile breakdown and the general aim guide - read those next to round out the picture. The short version: hitscan is reaction, projectile is prediction. Train them as the two different skills they are.

Do not aim at the enemy - aim at where physics and their footsteps agree they will be.