Overwatch 2 tier list and best characters May 2023

For those who’re on the lookout for an Overwatch 2 tier checklist that can assist you achieve a aggressive edge within the meta, then we’ve received you coated. With 36 heroes to select from, beginning out in Blizzard’s hero shooter could be fairly daunting, and it’s not at all times simple to inform how robust your chosen character is while you’re consistently arising in opposition to completely different counters and workforce comps.

Overwatch 2 tier checklist

First off, some housekeeping. Our Overwatch 2 tier checklist isn’t divided up into particular roles, however we’ve got a hero for each role represented in each bracket. S tier is the very best class, and represents heroes who’re on the pinnacle of the sport’s meta that don’t require particular workforce comps or methods to dominate with. A tier picks aren’t essentially worse than their S tier counterparts, however they’re typically more durable to make use of and get one of the best out of. B, C, and D tier comply with go well with, representing the decrease echelons of Overwatch 2‘s roster.

After all, simply because we are saying a hero is a must-pick doesn’t imply you possibly can’t do a greater job together with your most well-liked predominant character, however most gamers ought to have the ability to have a look at this tier checklist for a fast snapshot of who to play and why. Be a part of us as we rank each hero within the free PC game, from the titanic tanks to squishy helps.

Right here is our Overwatch 2 tier checklist:

S tier

Ramattra

As the primary tempo tank to debut in Blizzard’s hero shooter, Ramattra’s equipment is flexible by design. His Omnic type is a defensive stance, supplying you with entry to his Void Accelerator workers and Void Barrier which could be positioned to assist your workforce push a hard and fast level or retreat accordingly. Alternatively, Ramattra’s Nemesis type could be triggered to ship an eight-second burst of aggression, imbuing him with the extra armour wanted to outlive a direct melee assault on the enemy workforce that ignores shields and limitations.

Ramattra’s been a strong choose proper from the get-go, however he’s since acquired an extra buff to his motion velocity and armour bonus whereas in Nemesis Type, in addition to a couple of seconds shaved off his Void Barrier’s cooldown period. His bonus mobility is a dying knell for anybody caught in his final, producing an power swarm that offers fixed harm to enemies in vary. For those who’re nonetheless attending to grips with the Null Sector chief’s equipment, our Overwatch 2 Ramattra abilities primer is certain to assist.

Junkrat

On maps with a lot of tight corridors, Junkrat is usually a devastating choose. Whereas his entice has been closely nerfed in Overwatch 2, now not pinning gamers who step into it, that hasn’t slowed his roll. Quite the opposite, he’s received a two-hit combo that’s potential to tug off by dropping a concussion mine similtaneously flinging a grenade, which is deadly to squishier targets that drift into shut vary.

Junkrat’s additionally able to worrying tanks with an limitless barrage of grenades, and his incapacity to maintain harm from his personal explosions means he can escape from sticky conditions by detonating a mine beneath him, propelling him throughout the map. Moreover, Junkrat’s final has at all times been robust, able to wiping complete groups at bottlenecks or disrupting a bolstered line of defence on the purpose. He’s a strong choose with a low ability flooring and spectacular harm output.

Sojourn

It’s simple to consider Sojourn as Soldier: 76 however with a a lot increased ability ceiling. Her predominant weapon might not be hitscan, but it surely’s very robust at near medium vary. Attacking enemies with Sojourn’s major weapon costs up her railgun, supplying you with entry to a hitscan beam which is able to dealing 200 harm in case you land a headshot. Her final offers fixed railgun cost for a brief interval and every shot can pierce, so in case you’re touchdown pictures then you possibly can wipe a workforce in seconds.

Sojourn debuted with a really formidable equipment, so it’s no shock she’s acquired some nerfs in current months. Her Disruptor Shot now not slows enemies caught in its vary, which implies they’re now not sitting geese for some goal apply. Moreover, her slide cooldown has been elevated by a second, however you’ll nonetheless discover you can nearly at all times escape a gunfight together with your life. Our Overwatch 2 Sojourn abilities primer has extra details about her equipment.

Kiriko

Kiriko stands out as Blizzard’s predominant technique to deliver DPS customers to change to help. Her therapeutic output is spectacular by itself benefit, however it’s additionally supplemented additional by Kiriko’s unbelievable mobility and shockingly excessive harm output. To prime it off, she will be able to present her workforce with short-term invulnerability throughout clutch moments when the sport could be determined straight away. Whereas she has acquired a discount to the period of that invulnerability, it hasn’t made a lot of a dent in her fame as one of many strongest help picks within the sport. Check out our full breakdown of Overwatch 2 Kiriko abilities if you wish to see what she’s able to.

Lúcio

Enjoying as Lúcio can generally really feel such as you’re not serving to the workforce all that a lot, however fixed passive therapeutic with well-timed ultimates make Lúcio an asset for any workforce. His excessive mobility is nice for attracting consideration away from the heroes you’re therapeutic, and his soundwave – or boop – makes him deadly on maps with bottomless pits and cliffs to knock enemies off of.

Preserve your ult helpful and you’ll successfully cancel out enemy ults to utterly flip the state of affairs in your favour. Timing his projectiles isn’t simple, however when you get the cling of it you possibly can present a whole lot of harm output. Pairing him with Ana can result in some unbelievable velocity and nano-boosted assaults, and a well-timed anti-nade on prime of sound barrier can swing workforce fights closely in your favour.

Orisa

Orisa’s automated cannon ensures your frontline is at all times deadly, she will be able to escape imminent dying by combining her Fortify and Javelin Spin skills, and she will be able to disrupt or push enemies round along with her Power Javelin. Her Terra Surge means can now additionally pierce by way of limitations, so that you now not should depend on your workforce to interrupt by way of enemy defences.

In the meanwhile, there’s actually no clear counter to Orisa, which implies you can both bait enemies into losing match time attempting to make a dent in you, or turtle up on the purpose and make use of her diminished harm fall-off to snipe the enemy workforce at vary. The well being bonus supplied by her Fortify means has been diminished from 125 to 75 to take care of her defensive wall, however with a robust help behind her, it’ll be powerful for enemies to rout her.

A tier

D.Va

With one of the efficient ultimates within the sport and a rounded equipment, D.Va is as robust as ever. Her mobility makes her particularly efficient at searching down harm and help heroes, and you are able to do a whole lot of work in case you can efficiently breach the enemy backline as a part of a dive comp. Along with this, D.Va’s Protection Matrix instantly counters numerous highly effective skills, together with Moira’s Biotic Orb, Reinhardt’s Hearth Strike, and Ana’s Sleep Dart.

Sigma

Sigma was no slouch in Overwatch 1, however a current slew of buffs have turned him into an extremely robust tank choose. His new HP complete of 550 makes him much more sturdy, and he now poses an actual menace to the vast majority of heroes as you possibly can combo his spheres and rock assault to dish out over 200 harm. Sigma excels on maps with a whole lot of congested areas because it’s nearly unattainable to overlook his projectiles, and his Gravitic Flux final can separate aggressive enemies from the pack, permitting your hitscan teammates to dispatch them with ease.

Ashe

Overwatch 2’s 5v5 format and extremely cell heroes imply there’s much more open area on the battlefield, and that’s had a reasonably noticeable impact on the efficiency of Ashe’s dynamite which does tons of injury in congested areas. She’s a terrific harm choose, however you actually need to land your pictures to get one of the best out of her now it’s more durable to farm for her final means with dynamite. Nevertheless, her long-range major fireplace means she will be able to apply strain with out the specter of melee heroes, and Bob is a wonderful instrument for routing the enemy and turning the tide of a match.

Tracer

Tracer could be the face of Overwatch, however she’s one of the tough heroes to play in your entire sport. With simply 150 well being at her disposal, Tracer could be worn out straight away in case you aren’t cautious. She was good for zipping in and destroying squishy heroes with one robust burst of injury, however a nerf to her predominant weapons means she’s now extra suited to harassing the backline. Tracer is among the only a few glass cannons quick sufficient to evade Roadhog’s hook, and he or she’s a terrific different to cell flankers like Genji and Sombra which have been hit laborious with nerfs. We may additionally see her getting used alongside Wrecking Ball as he turns into a extra viable tank over time.

Widowmaker

Widowmaker’s means to take down a help hero with one charged headshot is at all times going to make her a robust choose in the best palms, particularly as that leaves the enemy workforce’s solo tank weak. Her excessive vary implies that she will be able to stay at a excessive vantage level and keep away from small skirmishes, with solely an opposing Widowmaker serving as an instantaneous menace.

That mentioned, her viability as a workforce choose is sort of solely map-dependent – she excels on giant maps with open areas however is generally ineffective when preventing at shut vary. For those who insist on choosing Widowmaker, you should learn to play as a further DPS hero as a backup option to handle conditions the place a sniper simply received’t lower it.

Ana

Conserving tanks alive is essential in Overwatch 2, which is why Ana is among the finest helps within the sport – she will be able to each heal your workforce’s tank, and disrupt the enemy’s with sleep darts. Her means to seamlessly swap between therapeutic friendlies and damaging opposition heroes additionally makes her versatile and pretty simple to make use of, even if she’s a sniper. To prime it off, Ana’s Nano Enhance final can utterly change a sport when used on the good time, offering an enormous harm enhance to pleasant heroes.

Baptiste

If you wish to play help on the frontline then Baptiste is a wonderful hero. His major fireplace makes him genuinely harmful in the best palms, he can self-heal, and he can present short-term immortality – roll all that collectively and you’ve got a hero that commonly is available in clutch. His Exo Boots additionally mean you can attain excessive vantage factors, which pairs brilliantly together with his vary of help throwables, plus you possibly can escape some ultimates with it. Devoted Baptiste mains can definitely justify their place on most workforce comps, however there’s no denying that Kiriko is a superior choose proper now.

Mercy

Mercy is a strong and efficient help choose in Overwatch 2, particularly in case you’re fortunate sufficient to pocket a superb DPS participant. As soon as you discover a terrific strike companion to combat alongside, the enemy workforce could be compelled to counter-pick with a purpose to deal with the aerial menace. Pharah and Mercy are nonetheless a pressure to be reckoned with, and Mercy nonetheless has sufficient time to spare to heal her different teammates throughout clutch conditions.

With so many dive heroes and one much less defend to maintain her protected, Mercy felt extremely squishy on the launch of Overwatch 2. Fortunately, the ammo for her Caduceus Blaster has since been elevated, and switching to Battle Mercy has develop into a extra viable strategy for survivability if you end up lower off out of your workforce. Her motion has taken a extreme hit, but it surely seemingly received’t be sufficient to cease the devastating Sojourn pocket. Her Regeneration passive has additionally been changed by the Sympathetic Restoration passive, which means she will be able to now self-heal for a share of therapeutic she dishes out. This transformation inexorably ties Mercy’s self-sustain to her efficiency as a help healer, but it surely doesn’t spell the tip of this guardian angel.

B tier

Junker Queen

Proving to be a bit too highly effective as each an attacker and tank within the beta, Junker Queen’s skills have been nerfed at launch to make her much less of a menace. She’s since acquired buffs to a number of skills throughout Overwatch 2 season 2, together with her passive, which now heals for the extra wound harm remaining on enemies after they die with the wound impact utilized. Carnage’s cooldown has additionally been diminished by two seconds for every enemy it impacts, rising the prospect to use wounds in a skirmish and web that extra therapeutic.

Junker Queen is successfully a berserker tank, and he or she performs at her finest whereas rampaging. Nevertheless, her sustainability continues to be not fairly sufficient to safe a spot for her within the prime meta simply but. You’ll want to take a look at our Overwatch 2 Junker Queen abilities information for extra useful suggestions.

Reinhardt

Arguably the truest tank in Overwatch 2, Reinhardt is nice at absorbing enemy fireplace and bringing the remainder of your workforce into the fights. Reinhardt acquired vital buffs to his equipment in Overwatch 2, however these upgrades haven’t been sufficient to sway gamers from different tank heroes – akin to Orisa and Ramattra – who can simply outstrip Reinhardt in each sturdiness and flexibility. Reinhardt is mostly the go-to choose for rush comps attributable to his sturdy defend, and his pin is deadly to squishier characters caught in his Cost assault. That being mentioned, until you’re enjoying on very particular maps with tight bottlenecks, Reinhardt merely isn’t as helpful because the top-tier tank heroes.

Roadhog

Roadhog was totally dominating the Overwatch 2 season 2 meta, to the extent that he acquired a soft rework within the current steadiness patch with a purpose to disrupt his notorious one-shot hook combo. The affect harm from his hook has plummeted, and the distance between Roadhog and a hooked enemy has elevated, permitting squishier targets with increased mobility a possibility to flee his clutches earlier than receiving a closing blow. It’s a staggering nerf on paper, but it surely’s proportionate to how devastating Roadhog was within the 5v5 match format. Whereas he might now not stay the only focus of the meta, he’s nonetheless a robust choose and a real menace to weaker targets. His giant well being pool means he’s able to absorbing harm whereas wading into battle, and his hook continues to be glorious at disrupting entrance strains.

Winston

Winston’s new charged railgun assault means he can now deal considerably extra burst harm when diving onto the scene. This charged assault additionally offers you extra choices relating to choosing your strategy. For instance, in case you land a charged shot on a help backliner you possibly can leap in and end them off fairly shortly, however you can too play Winston from a a lot safer distance, giving him a bit extra survivability – that’s important for Overwatch 2’s solo tanks.

Winston has been thought-about the king of dive comps because the meta emerged within the first sport. This holds true in Overwatch 2, even after the modifications which have been made to his equipment. His final costs 20% slower than beforehand so that you received’t have the ability to rage as a lot as earlier than, however his Tesla Cannon, soar means, and dome defend nonetheless make him a terrific choose for a basic dive comp.

Echo

This tank-buster is way weaker in Overwatch 2 as her duplicate means now has a well being level cap, stopping you from cloning a tank and steamrolling the enemy workforce. Regardless of this, she’s nonetheless a extremely cell, extremely damaging DPS hero with a various arsenal of projectiles, a beam that melts limitations, and the distinctive means to duplicate an enemy along with her final.

Mei

She may need much less crowd-control potential than prior to now her weapon now not freezes enemies in place, however Mei continues to be superb at laying down fireplace and shutting out the target. With just one tank per workforce in Overwatch 2, Mei’s means to remain alive and take in harm could make her actually highly effective, particularly if you should maintain an space whereas your tank is therapeutic up. It’s additionally price mentioning that utilizing her ice wall to select off stragglers continues to be a viable technique, although the alternatives to take action are a bit extra restricted in Overwatch 2.

Pharah

Pharah hasn’t modified a lot in any respect, however her aerial mobility and harm output can nonetheless show deadly in the best palms. She’ll require a devoted healer when arising in opposition to hitscan harm heroes like Soldier: 76. On the uncommon event when the enemy workforce isn’t operating any hitscan heroes, punish them with the lethal Pharah and Mercy combo to deal devastating quantities of injury from the sky. Once more, there’s nothing inherently flawed with Pharah’s equipment proper now, it’s simply that Junkrat is a stronger choose for AoE and splash harm.

Soldier: 76

There are many highly effective DPS heroes in Overwatch 2, however Soldier: 76 has one of many easiest and simplest kits of the lot. He can dash and self-heal, which is nice for escaping a pinch, however actually his power lies within the quantity of injury he can put out together with his customary assault rifle. His giant ammo clip and forgiving fee of fireplace guarantee novices and professionals will get on with this harm stalwart, however in lots of respects, he could be seen as a stepping stone for higher-performing heroes.

Moira

Moira’s key strengths lie in her survivability due to Fade which lets her simply weave out and in of fight, and her final is incredible for clearing congested areas. Her therapeutic skills are nonetheless as potent as ever, and also you don’t want unbelievable intention to get essentially the most out of Moira. Her Harm Biotic Orb stays a relentless menace on the battlefield because it drains well being from unsuspecting gamers in tight areas. Moira is the kind of healer to deal loads of harm alongside her therapeutic duties, racking up quite a few assists for doing little or no. Attempt to choose Moira on smaller maps the place it’s simple to heal quite a few teammates in enclosed areas.

Zenyatta

Zenyatta is arguably the toughest help hero to play attributable to his excessive ability ceiling, forcing gamers to familiarize yourself together with his unusual skills. He’s not one of the best healer within the sport, neither is he one of the best harm vendor, however his final can single-handedly thwart any coordinated assault by offering the workforce with fixed therapeutic for six seconds. Along with this, his Orb of Discord continues to be very robust and you need to by no means underestimate his charged major fireplace. Nevertheless, this wandering guru stays very simple to kill with a small well being pool and sluggish motion velocity.

C Tier

Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball hasn’t seen a lot love in Overwatch 2 since launch, however he’s since come into his personal after a major spherical of buffs. His predominant power has at all times been his large well being pool, making him an exceptionally sturdy tank. Nevertheless, a portion of that well being has now been transformed to a regenerative defend, permitting him to proceed to press the benefit with out being compelled to tug again for therapeutic at very important moments.

Whereas Wrecking Ball’s efficiency as a tank continues to be outstripped by the likes of Orisa and Reinhardt, his outstanding mobility leaves them within the mud – actually. His default motion velocity is quicker than the vast majority of different heroes throughout all Overwatch 2 roles, permitting him to barrel straight into the center of the battle and chase down stragglers. His final is now sooner than ever, which is nice for disrupting play at key moments. The obvious play is to disclaim the enemy workforce entry to the target throughout time beyond regulation, however the diminished cooldown means it’s now viable to make use of it to pressure the enemy into choke factors to win smaller skirmishes earlier within the match. Wrecking Ball’s nonetheless discovering his place in Overwatch 2 season 3, and we may see him rising increased on this tier checklist over time.

Zarya

Zarya has suffered an identical destiny as Genji, having fun with a superb standing as one of many best-performing tank heroes at launch earlier than receiving a barrage of nerfs to her limitations to extend her window of vulnerability. Fortunately, the mid-season patch mitigated this considerably by lowering the period of her power degeneration, in addition to doubling the delay earlier than degeneration begins. Consequently, Zarya continues to be able to holding her personal – her cannon offers a lot of injury as soon as it’s gained some cost, and her final can take no less than one hero out of the combat. Zarya could also be down proper now, however she’s definitely not out.

Bastion

Regardless of receiving a rework, Bastion continues to be a bit an excessive amount of of a sitting duck in Overwatch 2. Whereas he has robust DPS potential in opposition to agile tanks like Winston, the meta has skewed up to now in direction of a slower tempo that you just’ll seemingly not reap that profit. That mentioned, this potential does lengthen to help characters, which Bastion can dispatch with ease. It’s definitely potential to safe a match with Bastion in your workforce, however his dependence on help heroes to assist him carry out at his finest means sacrificing your workforce’s composition, and it’s not often definitely worth the trade-off.

 

Hanzo

As at all times, in case you can hit your pictures with Hanzo then he’s probably the greatest harm heroes within the sport. That’s a fairly large if although, particularly with Overwatch 2’s elevated mobility and one much less enemy hero to intention at. When paired with the best set of heroes, Hanzo’s final is able to wiping out total groups on the spot, however his incapacity to take care of heroes with excessive mobility makes him a tough promote.

Reaper

Reaper is a quintessential flanking DPS – slip behind the enemy’s frontline, get near a tank, and spam his shotguns to show the tide of battle in your workforce’s favour. Nevertheless, not solely has his harm output been nerfed, however he’s additionally sustained an extra knock to his equipment as a result of elimination of the harm function’s passive motion velocity bonus. It’s nonetheless potential to utterly disrupt the enemy workforce by diving together with his final, however there’s not a lot room to flee a failed ambush with the present gamut of sturdy tanks and offensive helps. Reaper continues to be a viable choose, but it surely’s very important to pay attention to your environment and retreat when required.

Symmetra

If any hero wants a revamp proper now, it’s Symmetra. Her equipment was comparatively efficient within the first sport because it charged off shields, however with one much less tank on the battlefield, she’s not as potent, which leaves her open to dives from the roster’s extra agile heroes. Symmetra has seen some use as a part of rush comps purely attributable to her means to teleport the workforce out onto the sphere firstly of a match – something to get one step nearer to the target than the enemy workforce.

Torbjörn

The Swedish engineer is one other sufferer of Overwatch 2’s fast-paced meta, and whereas he’s in a position to chip away at advancing enemies together with his turret, most heroes can get round it with ease. His Overload means is a perfect counter to a one-shot meta, granting him 100 armour and a 30% enhance to motion velocity.

Brigitte

As a melee help with some tank potential, Brigitte gives a set of passive buffs and safety for her teammates. She’s additionally able to scoring kills while you combo her mace assaults and defend bash – although we suggest utilizing the latter as an escape slightly than as a part of a full-frontal assault. Nevertheless, her equipment because it stands spreads her too skinny, making her a jack of all trades however a grasp of none. Whilst you can nonetheless have enjoyable along with her in informal matches, most gamers are certain to go for Kiriko when on the lookout for a damage-dealing help hero. Fortunately, Blizzard have confirmed {that a} Brigitte rework is deliberate throughout Overwatch 2 season 4, so she’ll hopefully make her means as much as the upper tiers in due time.

D Tier

Cassidy

Like Hanzo, Cassidy is nice while you’re touchdown each shot and terrible in case you’re having an off day. His stun grenade has been changed with a magnetic grenade in Overwatch 2, eradicating his means to take care of tanks on his personal. The magnetic grenade is very efficient in opposition to different DPS heroes, able to dealing as much as 100 harm in underneath two seconds. Cassidy’s predominant drawback is that he has no likelihood of survival in opposition to sure heroes. When Cassidy had his flashbang stun, he may compete in opposition to most heroes within the sport, however now his general harm output isn’t sufficient to save lots of him in harmful conditions. Cassidy’s roll is now not hindered by enemy participant collision, however the give attention to close-range heroes within the present meta implies that this alteration offers restricted scope that can assist you escape together with your life.

Genji

Genji has fallen removed from his excessive standing at Overwatch 2’s launch, sustaining a number of nerfs to his harm and ammo. Genji benefited massively from Overwatch 2’s shift to 5v5 match codecs and the elimination of crowd management skills that may beforehand go away him weak. These nerfs serve to reposition Genji consistent with the efficiency of different flanking heroes, however his output now falls wanting many different DPS picks.

For those who handle to slide behind the backline you possibly can nonetheless chain swift strikes to take out weak heroes like Mercy and Widowmaker, however Genji’s diminished ammo makes it extra prone to stall throughout a reload whereas diving. To take advantage of out of Genji’s present equipment, it’s extra very important than ever that you just develop into accustomed to the Overwatch 2 maps so you possibly can sneak round extra successfully and keep away from being caught out.

Doomfist

Doomfist is nice at searching down backliners, snipers, and aerial heroes, however all of his offensive capabilities are solely actually efficient in close-quarters fight. As a dive tank, he doesn’t present a lot of a defend on your workforce and he’s not as cell as heroes like Winston. Moreover, the minimal harm mitigated by his Energy Block with a purpose to cost his Rocket Punch has been elevated from 80 to 100 harm, and his passive overheal has been nerfed from 40 to 35 HP per goal hit. Thanks to those nerfs, Doomfist is now much less highly effective and extra weak, nullifying the welcome buffs acquired at launch. Suffice it to say we’d keep away from choosing him until you’re grouped up together with your mates.

Sombra

Sombra acquired a rework in Overwatch 2, putting much less emphasis on her disabling skills whereas rising her harm output. Her hacking means now attaches an enormous harm amplifier to the goal which you’ll be able to apply whereas invisible, which is good for a backline assault. Sadly, the change to Sombra’s equipment has backfired considerably. Her damage-per-second is quickly outpaced by the heavy hitters in increased tiers, and he or she has little alternative to comply with by way of with an ambush until it’s a one-on-one duel. Sombra excels when paired with dive-oriented heroes akin to Winston or Genji, however on condition that they’re additionally struggling in the meanwhile, Sombra’s huge performs are sometimes ineffectual and simply mitigated by the enemy workforce.

That’s all there’s to know concerning the present Overwatch 2 tier checklist and meta. Try our Overwatch 2 characters information to find extra concerning the newest heroes becoming a member of the roster, in addition to our information to the Overwatch 2 talents they will unlock through the upcoming Overwatch 2 PvE release date . Alternatively, check out one of the best Overwatch 2 crosshair settings on your chosen character, which might provide the edge whereas climbing the Overwatch 2 ranks in aggressive mode.