Count the bodies, not the fight
The single most useful habit against flankers is arithmetic. There are six enemies. If you can see five, the sixth is somewhere else, and where else is a route.
Then convert the route into time. Base movement is 6 metres per second for almost every hero, 7 for Black Panther and Wolverine.
| Route length | Time until they arrive |
|---|---|
| 20 m | 3.3 s |
| 30 m | 5.0 s |
| 40 m | 6.7 s |
| 50 m | 8.3 s |
So noticing the missing body gives you roughly five seconds — which is enough to reposition, and not enough to finish the fight you are in and then reposition. The information is only worth anything if you act on it immediately.
Cover the route, not the player
You cannot out-aim a flanker who arrives behind you. You can make the route unusable.
Every flank has a mandatory piece of geometry — a doorway, a stairwell, a ledge. Watch that instead of scanning the map.
And the ledge list is short, because every hero jumps exactly 3 metres. Any route that needs a 5-metre climb belongs to nine heroes:
- Luna Snow to 6 metres with Smooth Skate
- Captain America and Black Widow to 5 metres with Fearless Leap
- Squirrel Girl to 9 metres with Tail Bounce
- Angela, Human Torch, Iron Man, Storm and Ultron by flying
So if the enemy team has none of those, the flank is a ground route, and ground routes are corridors you can watch.
Chase only when they are committed
A flanker’s escape budget is the same as anyone’s: about nine metres of retreat, because 250 health at 200 damage per second is 1.25 seconds and 1.25 seconds at 6 metres per second is 7.5 metres.
That gives a clean decision rule:
- Past their exit: they are committed. Chase, because the kill is nearly free and a dead flanker is worth more than a held position.
- Still inside their exit: do not chase. You are leaving the point to follow someone who is already leaving, and their team is now attacking a point with one fewer defender.
What actually converts against flankers
Pings. The cheapest peel in the game. The ping guide covers which calls are worth making.
Standing inside the team instead of behind it. A flanker wants an isolated target. A Strategist standing where two teammates can see them is a much worse target than one standing alone at the back.
Watching your own flank route. If you know the route because you use it, you know when it is being used against you. The flank route guide is the other side of this page.
Trading instead of duelling. If the flanker is on your healer, the answer is often to kill their healer rather than to save yours. The peel guide covers when to turn and when to trade.