Overview
Astra is a controller that specializes in blocking vision in multiple manners while utilizing the rest of her kit to disrupt enemy position. One of her best strengths is her ability to smoke across the entire map, which can be very strong on larger maps where she’s anchored to one corner of a site. Using the UI for her smoke and ultimate can be a bit disorienting, but once you master it, she’s an agent that offers you a ton of, well, control over the map.
Role: Controller
Controllers are responsible for putting down smokes.
On defense, they drop smokes on entry angles where the enemy team is approaching from. They can also block enemy vision to create new angles for your team to push out aggressively or to hide in an unexpected angle.
On attack, they drop smokes on key defensive positions where enemies are likely to sit. Their goal is to limit the number of angles an entry player needs to be wary of while entering a site.
Tips and Tricks
Gravity Well [C] can be used to pair up with damaging abilities on your team -- it’s strong at stopping enemies from pushing a choke, for example. You can also use it proactively to aim for control on common angles enemies might hold.
Gravity Well [C] can also be placed near the spike to pull enemies off as they try to defuse it -- as long as you position it correctly, it’s very difficult for them to circumvent it.
One of your strengths is in deception, as it can be difficult to tell if a Gravity Well [C] or a Nova Pulse [Q] is coming. You can help your duelists enter site by pulsing a tight corner -- if you know someone is there, you can concuss them and let a high mobility agent go finish them off.
Nebulo [E] is pretty straight forward when it comes to smoking, but because you can Dissipate [F] it, there are a lot of trick plays you can set up. You sometimes bait enemies into the open with the fake smoke, which will make them an easy target for your team. Opponents that like to crawl into your smoke can also be baited with it.
Cosmic Divide [X] is typically used to secure a free entry into site or to block off enemies before you defuse. It forces teams to play very differently if you have it up, which will create a lot of unique angles for fights.
You can find Astra lineups here.
