Controller

Harbor: abilities and tips

Harbor is an Indian Controller who wields water: walls that block vision and slow, a water smoke that can be shielded, and a wave that makes enemies nearsighted. He plays very close to his teammates.

Origin: India
Release: October 18, 2022, patch 5.08

Playstyle

Harbor is an aggressive Controller who sets up the entry onto a site. You throw Storm Surge to slow and nearsight the defenders, cut their angles with High Tide, then advance right behind the water with your teammates. Cove, free every 30 s, works as a smoke that can be shielded against bullets, useful to plant or defuse. His ultimate slows an entire area and can be stopped in place. You shine on attack, on maps with narrow passages, when the team follows your timing. Alone, your cover is less reliable than that of a Controller with long smokes.

Abilities

Key CBasic

Storm Surge

200 credits · 1 charge

You throw a relic that creates an exploding whirlpool. After a short delay, every player caught inside becomes nearsighted and slowed, even without a direct line of sight. It is used to destabilize defenders before an entry.

Key numbers

Windup: 0.6 s
Nearsight and slow: 2 s
No line of sight required (patch 12.00)

Throw it on a held angle right before your allies enter: defenders struggle to aim while nearsighted.
On defense, throw it into the path of a rush to slow it and gain a few seconds of rotation.
Advance behind the explosion without waiting: the effect only lasts 2 s.

Key QBasic

High Tide

300 credits · 1 charge

You send a wall of water along the ground, which you can curve toward your crosshair by holding fire. It blocks vision and slows anyone who passes through it, allies included. Alternate fire stops it before the end.

Key numbers

Duration: 15 s
Maximum length: 60 m, height: 8 m
Slow: 30%
Windup: 2 s

Hold fire to bend it around an angle, then stop it with alternate fire before it gets in your allies' way.
Cut the most dangerous angles first rather than trying to cover everything.
Call the targeted angle before the round so the team knows where to go without being slowed.

Key ESignature

Cove

1 free charge per round · 1 charge · Cooldown: 30 s

You place a water smoke at the targeted spot. When you reactivate it, you shield it against bullets: they no longer pass through. It stays destructible if the enemy focuses their fire. The charge comes back by itself every 30 s.

Key numbers

Smoke duration: 19.25 s
Shield health: 680 HP
Shield windup: 0.8 s

Place it on the Spike during a plant or a defuse, then reactivate it if shots come in.
Keep the reactivation for when enemies are shooting, not right at placement, so you do not waste its duration.
Stay at the edge of the smoke so you do not offer your whole body to shots passing through it.

Key XUltimate

Reckoning

7 ultimate points

You release a torrent that moves straight ahead. Enemies hit become nearsighted and slowed. When you reactivate it, you freeze it in place, which keeps pressure on an area for a few seconds.

Key numbers

Wave speed: 10 m/s
Nearsight: 3 s, slow: 2 s
Can be stopped in place for 7 s

Throw it on the site entrance and advance right behind it to take advantage of the nearsight.
Freeze it on a forced passage to trap defenders who are falling back.
Enemies can avoid it by sidestepping: combine it with Storm Surge or a flash.

Strengths

He slows and nearsights while blocking vision, which makes entering a site much safer than with a simple smoke.
Cove comes back by itself every 30 s, which avoids spending credits to get cover against bullets.
High Tide cuts several angles in one throw and bends around obstacles, useful to close a long corridor.
His ultimate freezes in place for 7 s, which blocks a path or protects a plant.
Storm Surge gives him an entry tool close to that of an Initiator, useful when the team lacks one.

Weaknesses

His walls last less time than a regular smoke, so the team's timing has to be precise.
High Tide also slows your allies if they walk through it, which penalizes a team that does not communicate.
Cove is destroyed under focused fire: an enemy who spots it can break it.
The ultimate's torrent moves in a straight line: an enemy who sidesteps can avoid it.
On maps with wide open spaces, he covers poorly on his own: his walls only last 15 s and only close one line at a time.

Tips

Call your angle and your timing before the round so High Tide and Storm Surge arrive when the team enters.
Walk into the water only when your teammate is already in position: you are slowed during the crossing.
Place Cove on the Spike to plant or defuse, then shield it only under fire.
Train your precision tracking: you shoot at slowed enemies, so they are easier to follow than moving ones.
Train your pre-aim too: you often enter right after the defenders' nearsight, so you need to place the crosshair at head height before clearing the angle.
Avoid using High Tide at the start of the round: keep it for the moment of the execute.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

Precise
Smooth precision tracking
Your enemies are slowed and nearsighted: precision tracking lets you finish them faster while the effect lasts.
Drills to improve
Static
Clicking on static targets
You enter behind your walls on held angles: clean flicks on fixed targets help you win the first duel.
Drills to improve