All Overwatch 2 heroes: Season 4 tier list, characters, abilities, tips, and tricks
Here’s a deep look at all of the heroes in Overwatch 2, Blizzard’s popular hero shooter.
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Update 4/4/23:This list has been updated with Overwatch 2’s latest hero, Lifeweaver, as well as a fresh tier list put together following recent balance changes.
Overwatch 2 is a character-based shooter with predefined team roles. Having a good group synergy is often crucial, and knowing how to perform your role correctly is key to victory. Like many Blizzard games, Overwatch is very accessible, even for gamers who aren’t traditionally into shooters. Some of the characters don’t even utilize guns. Instead, they play more like melee classes you’d expect to see in a first-person action RPG.
There’s something for everyone in Overwatch, but if you want to master the game, you’ll not only need to learn your chosen character’s abilities, but also your enemy’s. Overwatch takes inspiration from MOBAs by giving each hero an Ultimate ability, which are powerful moves that charge up whenever you deal damage or heal your allies. These skills can and often do change the outcome of a match, but are, like everything else in the game, counterable with good timing, ability management, and teamwork.
Between the original Overwatch’s launch heroes and the numerous characters that have been added throughout the game’s lifespan, the arrival of the Overwatch 2 relaunch, and beyond, there are now a staggering 36 playable heroes — and more are always on the way. As such, understanding what each character is capable of, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how each new hero fits into the metagame are all crucial parts of growing as an Overwatch player. We’ll help you do just that in this guide, while also offering some gameplay tips and suggestions that will elevate your in-game performance.
Overwatch 2 tier list: Best heroes to play right now
While allOverwatch 2heroes are strong enough to be effective in general play, some of them are more competitively viable than others. Whether you’re planning on jumping into the game’sCompetitive modeor you just want to play as the best overall characters, it’s useful to know which heroes are considered meta and which ones are more situational. With that in mind, we’ve put together a tier list based on our own experience in-game as well as opinions and recommendations from highly-ranked and professional Overwatch players that you can view in the image above or in the table below.
Something that’s important to note is that a hero being low on the tier list doesn’t mean that they’re not worth playing. It just means that they’re not as effective as other heroes are in a wide variety of maps, modes, and situations. Characters that fit into specific niches aren’tbad, they’re just situational. Many heroes also fare better or worse depending on which Competitive rank you’re playing in; for example, while Bastion’s damage output may feel oppressive in lower ranks, more skilled players will be able to counter him easier since they know how to exploit his weaknesses.
Also, players can expect frequentOverwatch 2 hero changes and reworksas Blizzard endlessly works to keep the game balanced. As tweaks are made moving forward, certain heroes may become more or less powerful. We’ll keep this tier list updated frequently as the Overwatch 2 metagame develops.
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Right now, Overwatch 2 is in one of the most balanced states that it has ever been in, as most of the game’s heroes are viable in competitive play. The ideal characters to pick are largely dependent on the maps you get when matchmaking, though there are some notable outliers. Wrecking Ball, Widowmaker, Tracer, Kiriko, and Zenyatta are the best overall heroes right now, with Wrecking Ball’s extremely high durability and disruptive abilities, Widowmaker’s potential to take over games with one-shots, and Zenyatta’s huge damage output and Discord Orb utility standing out as uniquely powerful. At the low end, both Zarya and Genji are considered pretty weak right now, as are Orisa, Roadhog, and Junker Queen.
Ana guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Ana was the first character added to the original Overwatch post-launch, bringing another sniper into the mix. Unlike other long-range characters that excel at damage-dealing, Ana is a powerful support and comes with abilities that allow her to both heal and damage opponents effectively. With her versatile arsenal and high potential, Ana is — and likely always will be — one of the strongest heroes in the game.
When playing as Ana, make sure to watch out for fast approaching enemies. Since she’s a lightweight character, it only takes a few well-placed critical hits from offensive heroes to knock Ana down. Also, make sure to be wary of players tranquilized by Sleep Dart, as any form of damage will awaken drowsy foes. If a friendly Ana sleeps someone, don’t wake them up unless youknowyou can secure the kill. Ifyousleep someone, call the play out to your teammates so that they don’t accidentally wake your target up before your team is ready to eliminate them.
Ashe guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Ashe is a crackshot mid-range damage hero that excels at dishing out heavy damage with headshots. Ashe is a great choice for people who are good at picking foes off at a distance, though notably, she struggles to fight in close-quarters.
Overall, Ashe is a strong characterifyou can hit your shots. We recommend practicing with her in the Practice Range or in Quick Play before taking her into any competitive setting due to how hit-or-miss she is depending on your accuracy.
Baptiste guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Baptiste is one of the most versatile support heroes in Overwatch, as he’s capable of dishing out strong healing, decent damage, and more. He’s not quite a sniper like Ana is, but he’s a strong choice for mid-range engagements on maps with lots of chokepoints.
When playing as Baptiste, make sure you take the high ground as much as you can. This will give you a better field-of-view to fire at enemies or heal your team from, and the height advantage partially protects you from enemy return fire as well. Also, be very reserved and tactical with your usage of Immortality Field, as it has a very long cooldown.
Bastion guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Bastion was originally a strictly defensive hero, but was reworked to be more offensively capable in Overwatch 2. Beyond his standard machine gun, he can also transform himself into a rolling minigun tank and decimate characters in the mid-range in seconds. He’s also capable of using a sticky grenade for burst damage, and his Ultimate is useful for both area denial and Ultimate combos with allies.
Despite Bastion’s high damage output, his exploitability makes him rather difficult to play at times. Heroes like Pharah and Widowmaker are good for taking out Bastion, attacking from afar where the effective range of his weapons is diminished. Teleporting in close with Tracer’s Pulse Bomb Ultimate is practically designed for taking out Bastion, and Genji’s Deflect ability can redirect Bastion’s deadly fire right back at him.
Brigitte guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Brigitte is a brawly close-quarters support hero that thrives off of hitting enemies with her Rocket Flail. This procs the Inspire ability, healing nearby teammates as well as herself over time. Additionally, she can use Repair Pack to heal allies in bursts, and her Rally Ultimate builds up Overhealth for herself and allies over time.
Fighting Brigitte is tough in close-quarters, but it can be done with burst damage characters like Reaper or Junkrat. Bastion also chews through her shield instantly, and heroes that can attack from afar or above like Ashe or Echo are good picks as well.
Cassidy guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Cassidy is an incredibly dangerous Wild West gunslinger. Beyond his accurate single shot primary fire, Cassidy’s Fan The Hammer ability empties his Peacekeeper revolver rapidly, working almost like a channeled shotgun. He also has a sticky grenade that’s very easy to land and does strong damage, making him effective in one-on-one duels. Cassidy’s Ultimate, Dead Eye, can be hard to pull off, but it can wipe out an entire team if the stars align.
Cassidy has few defensive capabilities and can be killed very quickly if his teammates aren’t supporting him. Junkrat’s traps and explosives are very effective against Cassidy, and characters with invulnerability moves like Mei, Moira, and Reaper can negate his Magnetic Grenade damage. He also struggles against Widowmaker and Ashe whenever they can target him from afar, as their weapons have better range than his does.
D.Va guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
D.Va is an interesting hero due to her mech. When D.Va’s mech is destroyed, she pops out and can run and shoot freely. Outside of her mech, D.Va’s Ultimate gauge builds up while using her pistol, and allows you to call in a new mech. When she’s in her mech, her Ultimate causes it to self-destruct, dealing massive damage in a wide area. Both Ultimate gauges build up independently to ensure you don’t lose out on your Self-Destruct Ultimate.
D.Va is a disruptive and versatile hero, but she’s not overly dangerous by herself. The hitbox for getting a headshot on her mech is fairly large and central to her model. Additionally, if you’re fighting a D.Va, remember that avoiding the line of sight of her Self-Destruct completely negates its effect. Slip behind some map geometry or hide behind a friendly tank player’s shield to avoid dying.
Doomfist guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Doomfist is unique in that he plays more like a fighting game character than a character from a shooter game, and though he used to be a damage hero, he was reworked into a tank character for Overwatch 2. Playing Doomfist well requires knowledge of his abilities and how to combo them together without being caught out by enemy players.
While it may seem counterintuitive and suicidal to leap into the enemy team’s position, it’s important to understand that that is what Doomfist is designed to do. Even if you can’t get kills with his abilities before escaping, they’ll still knock players out of their positions and make it easier for your team to follow up. The best way to counter a Doomfist is to hit him with crowd-control options such as Roadhog’s Chain Hook or Mei’s ice weaponry. These things slow him down and make him easier to focus fire.
Echo guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Echo is a mobile damage hero, effective at both close and medium ranges. Her abilities enable her to quickly attack from different angles, but since she can be quickly killed by burst damage if you aren’t careful, mastering her movement is key.
Echo is excellent for scrappy chaotic fights, but she can often struggle in situations where she’s being targeted by skilled snipers and other hitscan heroes. She’s a great counter option if the other team has a lot of shields and chokepoint-focused heroes, as she can avoid or get around many of their abilities with her flight.
Genji guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Genji is arguably the most difficult hero to master, but he’s also well-suited to Overwatch 2’s fast-paced 5v5 format (though right now, he’s pretty weak). He’s very mobile, complete with a double jump, a dash attack that can be used for aerial mobility or escape, and a passive ability that can be used to climb walls. He also has a powerful ability called Deflect, which will reflect most forms of incoming damage back onto opponents. However, the fact that you have to be aggressive with him means that he can die easily if you’re not experienced with his movement.
In the right hands, Genji is a very dangerous hero, but he requires a lot of patience and practice to get good with. Genji also doesn’t do tremendously well against tanky heroes like Reinhardt and Roadhog, and he’s quite susceptible to explosions, too. Tanks should do their best to shut Genji down, as they’re the only class of hero that can stand up to the damage of Dragonblade. Reinhardt in particular is great for this with his high health and powerful melee attacks, though he’s not the most mobile option. Therefore, stick relatively close to your tank during Dragonblade attacks.
Hanzo guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Hanzo is the brother of Genji and is a sniper with some good utility. His arrows suffer from gravity drop but have generous hitboxes, meaning that he’s a little more forgiving than a hero like Widowmaker. He also can create sonar fields at specific locations that allow allies to see through walls and can rapidly fire multiple arrows in quick succession, too. His Ultimate, Dragonstrike, can be utilized in various ways and has great potential as both an area denial and raw damage dealing tool.
Countering Hanzo is fairly simple. Like most snipers, he’s weak up close, although it should be noted that he’s notasweak as Widowmaker or Ashe since he can fire off a fully-charged arrow pretty quickly. Nevertheless, getting close to him makes it difficult for him to be effective.
Junkrat guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Junkrat is an explosives junkie who can be surprisingly effective in the right hands. His main Frag Launcher fires bouncing explosives that deal impressive damage. He also has a trap that will keep players locked in place when triggered, and can produce remotely triggered stationary mines. His RIP-Tire Ultimate spawns an explosive tire that tears across the map and deals a huge amount of damage in a wide area of effect when detonated.
Junkrat is fairly squishy and can be killed quickly by most characters, so if you’re having a hard time dealing with him, try to find ways to separate him from his tanks and supports. Roadhog can use his grappling hook to pull RIP-Tire out of harm’s way (likely sacrificing himself in the process), but otherwise, a few well-placed shots nullify a RIP-Tire entirely. He’s also weak to long-range fire and attacks from the air, as his grenades are tough to aim against these targets.
Junker Queen guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Junker Queen is one of the three new heroes added with the launch of Overwatch 2, and she’s a close-range brawler with lots of damage-over-time capabilities and the ability to both buff her allies and debuff her enemies. Her Rampage Ultimate can be a huge team fight swinger, and the rest of her kit is effective in the right hands as well.
Junker Queen struggles against long-range threats, so Widowmaker, Ashe, and even Hanzo are all effective against her. Pharah and Echo are good choices as well since Junker Queen can’t do much about airborne enemies. Reinhardt can go toe-to-toe with Junker Queen’s brawling and emerge victorious due to his large health pool and powerful Rocket Hammer, while Winston can avoid her without much issue and go after her teammates instead.
Kiriko guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Kiriko is another of Overwatch 2’s new launch heroes, and has quickly become an incredibly powerful option for support players that like to fight and heal at the same time. Like Brigitte, she’s a battle support, and she’s capable of effective single-target healing, high critical hit damage, clutch saves, and strongly empowering her teammates. She’s arguably one of the most versatile characters ever released, and she’s expected to be at the top of the meta for quite awhile because of this.
Kiriko doesn’t have any hard counters and is generally able to hold her own against most characters. The best way to take her down is to pounce on her after she uses her Swift Step with mobile heroes like Winston and Genji. Sombra is also an effective hero to play against Kiriko since she can briefly disable her abilities, preventing her from using Swift Step or Protection Suzu.
Lifeweaver guide: Abilities and tips
Lifeweaver is Overwatch 2’s newest hero, and became available at the start of Overwatch Season 4. Similar to Ana, he can both enhance teammates and disrupt enemies with his abilities, although he accomplishes this in very different ways.
We have a completeOverwatch 2 Lifeweaver hero guidethat goes over all of his abilities in-depth, so we’ll keep things short here. His main Healing Blossom ability allows him to heal allies with bursts of charged energy, while his alternate primary fire Thorn Volley allows him to defend himself and contribute decent damage to engagements. His secondary fire, Petal Platform, throws down a platform that will automatically lift into the air when someone steps on it (ally or enemy). Rejuvenating Dash is a dodge move that lightly heals Lifeweaver when he uses it, and Life Grip allows Lifeweaver to save teammates by protecting them with a shield and rapidly pulling them towards him. Finally, his Tree of Life Ultimate will periodically heal nearby allies wherever he creates it, and can also be used to block incoming abilities, damage, and players.
In terms of counters, Sombra is effective against him since she can hack his Petal Platform and EMP his Tree of Life to destroy them. Heroes with lots of vertical mobility are also able to keep up with Lifeweaver and his team when they use his Petal Platform, reducing its value.
Lucio guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Lucio is probably the most approachable character of the lot, as he has passively regenerating health that also heals everyone around him. He can also switch from healing to a speed boost, which makes him and everyone around him go faster. Essentially, he’s a futuristic bard. Both of his songs can be boosted to improve their effectiveness temporarily, which is great for mitigating damage or rushing to take a position.
Lucio can be pretty annoying to take down, especially if his team is competently protecting him. He has no methods of escape beyond wall-riding, so focus fire him down as a team. Crowd-control abilities like Sleep Dart also make him incredibly easy to kill, and mobile characters like Winston and Genji will have no trouble keeping up with him. Notably, Reinhardt is great at keeping Lucio from touching objectives, as his Rocket Hammer’s damage and knockback forces Lucio to keep his distance.
Mei guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Mei is a fairly versatile hero, capable of pushing offense, winning duels, and supporting her team with potent utility. Her Ultimate is one of the most powerful in the game when it comes to winning an objective, and her abilities are perfect for disrupting foes and enhancing allies. However, her range is very limited and the effectiveness of her kit is highly map dependent, making her more of a niche hero than most.
Mei’s Ice Wall makes her a huge threat on maps with lots of tight chokepoints, though she struggles in more open arenas that have less geometry for her to use in conjunction with her Ice Wall to trap foes. Without her cooldowns, Mei will die very quickly, and attackers like Reaper can avoid her freezing gun completely with Wraith Form. She’s also weak against heroes with aerial mobility like Echo and Pharah, as well as characters like Winston, Wrecking Ball, and Tracer that can get around her crowd control with their high mobility.
Mercy guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Mercy is a support character that can change the outcome of matches in the right hands. She has almost no offensive capabilities, designed primarily as a healer. Mercy can be frustrating to play when queuing solo, as she often needs a lot of support from other heroes. She can rapidly heal or damage boost a single player using her staff, and can also aerial dash between allies. She can also revive a player after death, and her Valkyrie Ultimate allows her to provide a team-wide healing or damage boost for several seconds.
Mercy is fairly easy to kill due to her low health and her need to be in the midst of battle to heal people, though her mobility does make her a little tough to aim at. Heroes with knockback abilities like Lucio can easily separate Mercy from her healing targets, and mobile heroes like Tracer, Genji, and Sombra can pounce on her in the seconds between her Guardian Angel dashes. Roadhog’s Hook combo also decimates Mercy, though she can be rather difficult to land it on. She’s also weak to long-range attacks from snipers.
Moira guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Moira is a close-range support with powerful healing that affects multiple allies at once, making her powerful when used in tightly-knit brawl compositions. She’s weak at range, but her powerful healing and sustained support damage are a force to be reckoned with nonetheless.
Countering Moira isn’t too hard, provided your team has a good composition to deal with her teammates. She’s pretty easy to kill if you can bait out her Fade early (provided you can hit your shots against her). She’s weak to burst damage from characters like Junkrat in particular, as it can overpower her slow Biotic Grasp self-healing.
Orisa guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Orisa used to be Overwatch’s definitive “bunker” tank, but in Overwatch 2, she was reworked to be more of a frontline brawler. She’s a lot like Junker Queen, trading the ability to buff allies for extra tankiness and more effective damage overall.
High damage output heroes like Bastion and Junkrat are great against Orisa, as are flankers like Genji and Tracer. Mei can use Ice Wall to separate Orisa from her allies, while Pharah can bombard her safely from the sky as none of her abilities are ideal for combat with airborne targets.
Pharah guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Pharah is a hugely mobile hero, and she offers a set of offensive abilities seen in many first-person shooter titles. Between her powerful Jump Jets and overall maneuverability, Pharah is best seen in the most open areas of Overwatch’s maps.
A good Pharah can feel impossible to challenge, but the best answers to her are hitscan damage heroes like Soldier: 76, Cassidy, Widowmaker, and Ashe. All four of these characters excel at picking Pharah out of the sky from range. D.Va is also an effective tank against her, as she can fly up to Pharah’s position and harass her in ways most heroes can’t. Notably, Ramattra’s Ravenous Vortex is capable of pulling her to the ground if she flies low enough, effectively immobilizing her.
Ramattra guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Overwatch 2’s newest hero is Ramattra, the leader of the Null Sector faction and a powerful tank. We have a dedicatedRamattra hero guidethat goes into extensive detail about the character, but we’ll provide a summary of everything you need to know here.
Ramattra is unique in the sense that unlike any other hero in the game, he can transition between two forms — “Omnic Form” and “Nemesis Form.” In his Omnic Form, Ramattra can create a barrier for his allies and harass enemies from afar with projectiles. In Nemesis Form, Ramattra grows in size, gains extra armor, and gets the ability to tear up his opponents with deadly punch attacks or block to significantly reduce incoming damage. Ramattra’s Annihilation Ultimate activates Nemesis Form and allows him to forcibly take and control space, weakening the damage of anyone near him by half, slowly draining their health, and extending the duration of the Ultimate indefinitely until targets either die or are able to escape its area of effect. In both of his forms, Ramattra can also use the Ravenous Vortex ability to slow down enemies and “ground” them, preventing jumps or flight.
Ramattra is available on Tier 45 of the Season 2Overwatch 2 Battle Passfor free-to-play fans. People who buy the Premium Battle Pass can unlock him immediately.
Reaper guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Reaper is unrivaled up close since he wields dual Hellfire Shotguns and abilities that allow for quick traversal across geometry. These abilities place a huge focus on close-quarters combat, but they can and should be used for fast entry and departure from combat as well.
Reaper’s biggest weakness is his lack of range, meaning that snipers and mid-range heroes can pick him off whenever he isn’t able to stay in close-quarters. He’s also a poor choice against airborne heroes like Pharah and Echo, as he doesn’t have any way to challenge their vertical mobility.
Reinhardt guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Reinhardt is one of Overwatch’s few melee-centric characters, with heavy protection from projectiles but an inability to repel fast-moving enemies. Despite his armored exterior, Reinhardt can be easily taken down if he overextends and doesn’t have support from his team. However, a smart Reinhardt with a solid team at his side can seem unstoppable. Reinhardt’s defense against ranged attacks is his Barrier Field shield, which can be used to protect his allies and lure enemies into the swing of his Rocket Hammer. He’s the perfect tank for pushing into fortified areas or defending one when more mobility than what Orisa is capable of is required.
Reinhardt’s biggest weakness is an attack from behind. With a shield and primary weapon tailored for front-facing attacks, focusing on finishing off an enemy can leave Reinhardt exposed to attack. Flankers like Tracer and Sombra are effective against Reinhardt as a result. Tank-busting characters like Bastion and Junkrat are good against him, too.
Roadhog guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Roadhog is a versatile tank that can be incredibly disruptive, though he lacks the ability to directly protect his allies. His Chain Hook combined with his shotgun-like Scrap Gun can instantly kill weaker offensive heroes, and his Hook has a broad range of additional utilities. Roadhog can also heal himself, and his Ultimate turns his Scrap Gun fully automatic, giving him the ability to disrupt an entire enemy team with waves of knockback and damage.
Roadhog is a walking meatshield, which means that he’s constantly susceptible to damage. Tanks with shields, such as Reinhardt and Sigma, make it easy for their allies to take advantage of this since they don’t have to worry about Chain Hook while behind a barrier. D.Va is also an effective choice, as Defense Matrix can save teammates from falling victim to Roadhog’s Scrap Gun follow-up after they get hooked. Reaper has the health and damage to go toe-to-toe with Roadhog up close, and Bastion can rip Roadhog to shreds with Configuration: Assault, too. Notably, Ana can also hit Roadhog with her Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade incredibly easily, making her a hard counter to him.
Sigma guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Sigma is a great tank hero to pick when sieging hardened defenses, as his Hyperspheres do good damage and his barrier is highly repositionable. Also, Kinetic Grasp converts enemy projectiles into shields, and Accretion can be used to stun enemies attacking you and your team.
The best way to counter Sigma is to surround him with lots of zippy mobile heroes. His Hyperspheres aren’t very good at taking down fast targets, so flanking him is ideal. He’s also weak at longer ranges.
Sojourn guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Sojourn is another of Overwatch 2’s launch heroes, and is a versatile and lethal damage character that’s viable in many different situations and on many different maps. Her Railgun can output some of the most powerful mid-to-long range precision damage in the game, making her an exceptionally-rewarding character to become skilled with.
Sojourn’s rapid mobility and strong precision damage output make her a versatile hero without many strong counters. With that said, one weakness you should exploit is that she struggles to get much done if her opponents have tank barriers to hide behind. Because of this, Reinhardt, Ramattra, and Sigma are excellent picks against Sojourn in many situations. Winston is a strong option, too, as he can jump onto Sojourn and block her attacks with his bubble.
Soldier: 76 guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Soldier: 76 is the perfect hero to play when moving from mainstream first-person shooter titles to Overwatch, as he possesses a range of abilities accustomed for approachability. Soldier: 76 uses a Heavy Pulse Rifle as a primary weapon, alongside a rifle-mounted rocket launcher and a health station that can be used to heal himself and nearby allies. Soldier is also able to sprint for an unlimited period, unlike any other character in the game’s roster.
Soldier: 76 is effective in most scenarios because of his high versatility and adaptability. As a result, he has no glaring flaws. That said, he doesn’t stand out much either, being a jack of all trades. Several damage dealers can defeat Soldier: 76 in close quarters without too much trouble, particularly Cassidy and Reaper. He’s also weak to brawly tanks up close, and will struggle against snipers far away as well.
Sombra guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
As a hacker with a huge reliance on speed and stealth, Sombra’s greatest strengths lay with her unique abilities to confuse enemy players. She can also briefly disable enemies with her hacking, which can prove invaluable.
The best way to counter Sombra is to avoid clumping up with your team. This reduces the chances her EMP will be effective. Additionally, keeping a close eye on your surroundings can help prevent her from setting up stealthy plays. Hanzo’s Sonar Arrows and Widowmaker’s Infra-Sight can also be used to see where she is regardless of whether or not she’s using her invisibility. Characters that aren’t overly-reliant on their abilities like Soldier: 76 are also good heroes to consider.
Symmetra guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Though she’s technically a damage hero, Symmetra is more of a support in practice. Her Teleporters allow you and your team to attack from unique and unexpected angles, while her Sentry Turrets slow down opponents and make them easier to attack.
Symmetra becomes more powerful the stronger she’s left alive during team fights due to her damage ramp up and the stacking effects of her Sentry Turrets. Therefore, picking her off early is an effective way to counter her. Fast and mobile characters can dance around her fairly easily, and she’s weak against airborne targets as well.
Torbjörn guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
Torbjörn is Overwatch’s turret master, wreaking total havoc in defensive play. Similarly to Team Fortress 2’s Engineer, Torbjörn can build a turret that will automatically fire on enemies at significant ranges. Torbjörn can also empower himself with his Overload ability that boosts his health and damage, and his Molten Core Ultimate can be used to create a devastating pile of molten goop that shreds through enemy health and armor quickly. His Rivet Gun is also powerful and very effective in chokepoints, though it can be tricky to aim.
Torbjörn can be disruptive to teams who don’t know how to deal with him, due to the automatic nature of his turrets. Use Pharah, Widowmaker, Junkrat, Hanzo, Ashe, Soldier: 76, or Cassidy to take out his turrets at long range. He also struggles to effectively fight brawly compositions, though he can succeed against them if his turret is allowed to pepper enemies for long enough.
Tracer guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Damage
As seen on Overwatch’s cover art, Tracer is one of the most iconic characters in the game’s roster. With a truly unique skillset, the reasoning soon becomes apparent, but her abilities are among the hardest to truly master. Tracer’s abilities consist of dual Pulse Pistols, Blink teleportation and her talent of rewinding time through the Recall ability.
Tracer’s biggest flaw is her low health, which can result in a quick death if targeted by characters wielding accurate or explosive weapons. Heroes that deal heavy close-quarters damage, such as Reaper and Roadhog, are also formidable foes for Tracer.
Widowmaker guide: Abilities and tips
Widowmaker utilizes a sniper rifle and thrives when using high-ground positioning to spot and take out enemy players. Wielding a Grappling Hook to reach sniper perches, Widowmaker can quietly sit above the map and provide support during heated battles. Her Ultimate ability Infra-Sight uncovers all enemy locations, exposing their movements for a few seconds.
Widowmaker’s low health makes her fairly easy to kill once she’s gained the enemy’s attention. Flankers can kill her quite easily if they sneak up on her, and Winston, D.Va, and Wrecking Ball are all capable of contesting her as well. Of course, another Widowmaker is also an effective counter-pick if you’re skilled.
Winston guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Winston is armed with a close range Tesla Cannon and a plethora of animalistic abilities. Among these abilities is a Jump Pack ground pound and brutal Primal Rage. With high health, this leaves Winston as a great offensive and defensive hero, held back only by his reduced ground mobility.
Winston can be frustrating to play against in the right hands due to his mobility and aggressive nature. His direct damage output isn’t incredible, but he can disrupt coordinated teams extremely effectively. Focus fire is the key to taking him down, no matter what heroes your team is playing.
Wrecking Ball guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
Wrecking Ball is the ultimate disruption tank, as his entire kit is built around aggressively booping enemies around and then getting out alive. You’ll need to master his grappling hook mechanics, but once you do, you’ll become an unstoppable force on the battlefield.
Overall, the best way to counter Wrecking Ball is to use crowd control abilities to slow or stun him. This prevents him from executing his grappling hook movement. Aside from that, you’ll need heavy focus fire to burn through his health and shields. Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer and Charge offer solid ways to hinder and cancel his mobility, as does Roadhog’s Chain Hook and Orisa’s Energy Javelin. Mei is also capable of slowing Wrecking Ball down to a crawl, and Junkrat’s Steel Trap will keep him pinned in one location for several seconds if he rolls into it.
Zarya guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Tank
At her core, Zarya is all about protecting allies and then responding to enemy attacks with powerful damage of her own. Using her Particle and Projected Barrier, damage Zarya or her allies take charges her Particle Cannon, creating a valuable damage boost.
While Zarya takes advantage of incoming damage, she’s weak against flanking heroes like Reaper. More long-range characters wielding accurate rifles or rockets will be able to pick off Zarya from a distance as well due to the short range of her weapons. Additionally, Graviton Surge can be survived with support Ultimates like Lucio’s Sound Barrier and Zenyatta’s Transcendence.
Zenyatta guide: Abilities and tips
Role:Support
Zenyatta is a balanced support hero, utilizing a variety of orbs to deal damage and maintain player health. The Orb of Destruction is Zenyatta’s main attack, which allows his projectiles to be fired in succession. Zenyatta’s two primary abilities, the Orb of Discord and Orb of Harmony, provide allies with health and increase damage received by enemy players. His Ultimate, known as Transcendence, makes Zenyatta invincible and provides nearby allies with rapid healing.
Zenyatta’s combination of low health and average speed means he can easily be taken out by accurate players, although his excellent damage output means that he might takeyouout first. Widowmaker is particularly good at destroying Zenyatta from long distance where his projectiles are harder to land, and flanking characters can frequently catch Zenyatta distracted as he monitors his teammates' health and places Orbs of Discord.
Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PS5, and PS4. Season 4 is scheduled to go live on April 11, 2023, at which point both Lifeweaver and the new season’s Battle Pass will become available. If you’re a new player and want a head start on progression, consider getting the Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle once Season 4 comes out. It includes Premium Battle Pass access, 20 instant Battle Pass levels, 2,000 Overwatch coins, and a Beekeeper Sigma skin.
Overwatch 2: Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle
The $30 Overwatch 2: Ultimate Battle Pass Pack offers fans a variety of benefits that will allow them to get guaranteed access to a Premium Battle Pass track, 20 Battle Pass levels, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and the Beekeeper Sigma skin.
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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).
