Where to aim after hooking with Roadhog?

I've noticed that sometimes I'm one-shotting Soldier 76 and sometimes I'm not. The same goes with Reaper.

I'm worried that it may be because of where I aim.

Solution 1:

Generally, you should aim where the most area possible is covered by the aim circle on the enemy character (most of the time the headshot bonus is neglectable). I tested all of it manually in a custom game with a friend.

Please note that melee attacking is a good way to squeeze an extra bit of damage. But just remember that the melee attack range is a bit ridiculous and that you should take more time focussing on the shotgun shot than the melee attack.

This would mean to aim (in offense to support order) :

OFFENSE

Genji : You aim down on him since the hook brings him so close to you. Generally an easy one-shot.

McCree : The hips. As weird as this sounds.

Pharah : The hips once again. Note that Pharah has a weird pull distance, sometimes she'll be at the perfect distance, sometimes she won't.

Reaper : Around the stomach. His 250 HP are a pain, unless you get lucky or if someone shot him a little bit previously, he'll survive. Shoot fast or else he'll Wraith Form away.

Soldier 76 : the hips. This is the area where most of the bullets can get a hit.

Sombra : Hips, she's one of the harder characters to one shot, but it's still doable unlike Ana. Half a step foward should ensure you a kill if you follow it up with a melee.

Tracer : Same as genji. You aim down on her since the hook brings her so close to you. Generally an easy one-shot.

DEFENSE

Bastion : 300HP is too much to one shot. Shooting him in the torso deals around 250 on average. You can have the leasure to take an extra step to deal a bit more damage. But it shouldn't exceed by a lot that 250 damage.

Hanzo : Hips.

Junkrat : High torso. Since he's postured like a litteral rat when you grab him, the high torso will get a part of the head and oneshot him.

Mei : You just can't one shot her and she'll go in Cryostasis right after. The hips seems to do the most damage.

Torbjorn : You aim down on him. Headshot being calculated, you can get through his whole health bar (and armor too).

Widowmaker : Hips. She seems a bit trickier than other characters because of her slim silhouette.

TANKS

D.Va : The glass of her mech or her hips in the case of mechless. You can't one shot her mech. (Duh)

Reinhardt : His head. FINALLY. Reinhardt has such a huge necks those usual lost bullet will find place in there. You won't be able to one shot him but 2 good shots should deal with him.

Roadhog : Belly shot. (Random note, the first roadhog that hooks the other is usually the first one to die in a duel. Shoot him back after his hook and then Hook combo should take care of him.)

Winston : Head. See Reinhardt.

Zarya : Hips. But you have to shoot fast before she shields it. Should do around 220.

SUPPORTS

Ana : You can one shot her. But it's very inconsistent. I won't risk myself to say where to shoot.

Lucio : Most satisfying to hook, easiest to kill. Shouldn't be a question where to shoot.

Mercy : Hips once again. Her hook distance is a bit inconsistent too.

Symmetra : Hips. Hook distance is a bit wonky too.

Zenyatta : Your aim circle just does the whole body of Zenyatta.

P.S. Roadhog's hook mechanics are really wonky by moments. These tests were done in a custom game with an opponent willing to get hooked but trying as much as possible to get out post hook. This could pretty much differ in a real game. Against some low mobility / no escape character you can take a second to take an extra step to deal a bit more damage.

P.P.S. I'd want to precise that these damage counts are calculated with someone trying as hard as he can to negate the damage of Roadhog. (Wraithform, Defense Matrix, Ice Block, etc.) So if you do take a step, jump or take too much time aiming, the damage might be completly negated or lower. Practice makes perfect !