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Overwatch 2‘s ongoing beta hasn’t quite answered all of our questions about the strange sequel and whether it will bring the game closer to where it needs to be, but it has already given us a pretty good idea of which of the game’s Heroes stand out in the earliest days of the team shooter’s competitive meta.
Everyone knew that Overwatch 2‘s new and reworked Heroes were going to impact the game’s meta, but it’s actually Overwatch 2‘s reworked 5 vs. 5 format that makes the team shooter feel like a (mostly) new experience. It turns out that removing one tank from every Overwatch match really forces you to reconsider what every other Hero in the game does (or doesn’t) bring to the table.
Before we get into all that, though, here are a few points to keep in mind regarding these rankings.
- With a couple of possible exceptions (more on those in a bit), there really aren’t many Overwatch 2 Heroes that are so powerful that you’re basically forced to pick them. There are many times when the best Hero will still be the one that you’re most comfortable with.
- Consistency was the biggest determining factor in these rankings. The more reliable a Hero is in a greater variety of situations, the more likely they were to rank higher on this list.
- These rankings were determined with players of average skill level in mind. In other words, it doesn’t account for the possibility that you might be very, very good at a particular Overwatch Hero. Having said that, I have identified a few instances where the relative skill level of a player may impact the relative ranking of a particular Hero.
- Finally, Overwatch 2 is very much a work in progress. While these rankings reflect a Hero’s current standings, you should expect these rankings to change as subsequent balance updates are released.
With that out of the way, here are our rankings of every Hero in the Overwatch 2 beta:
Overwatch 2: Every Healer Ranked Worst to Best
7. Zenyatta
6. Mercy
5. Brigitte
4. Baptise
3. Ana
2. Lucio
1. Moira
While I’ll be repeating this point several times throughout this article, it’s should be noted that Overwatch 2 is a much faster game than Overwatch was. As such, most teams will need a healer that is going to be able to keep up with the pack and help make up for that “missing” tank in some way.
A great Zenyatta player is still a wonderful thing to have on your team, but the difference between a great Zenyatta and a good one is more noticeable than ever at the moment. You really need to be able to manage his orbs as well as take care of yourself when an enemy jumps on you.
Mercy is interesting. You can’t really replace what Mercy brings to the party, but since Overwatch 2 places less emphasis on the value of shield tanks, Mercy players may need to bounce around the map more than they did in the past. I’d argue that there are other healers that are better equipped for OW 2’s current style of play, but Mercy’s accessibility certainly contributes to any argument for selecting her.
Brigitte and Baptise are in interesting places at the moment. Their styles fit the reimagined pace of the game quite well, but the next set of healers are just so good at the moment that it can be a little harder to justify picking Brigitte and Baptise over them. If you love those two Heroes, you’ll be fine. If you still need to learn them, this might not be the best time to do so.
Ana, Lucio, and Moira are really in a class of their own at the moment. Ana’s sleep dart is one of the few remaining “stun” effects in the game, which makes her an ideal pick for skilled shots looking to shut down certain opposing characters. Moira has long been prized for her ability to deal high amounts of healing and damage, and that deadly combination is better than ever in OW 2.
At the moment, though, Lucio seems to be the best overall healer in OW 2. Lucio’s speed boost ability was always valuable, but it’s now closer to “irreplaceable.” It really is worth taking the time to learn Lucio if you haven’t already done so. Unless Blizzard makes some serious changes to the character, it seems like they’re going to be a reliable pick for a very long time.
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Overwatch 2: Every Tank Ranked Worst to Best
9. Roadhog
8. Winston
7. Wrecking Ball
6. Orisa
5. Reinhardt
4. Sigma
3. Doomfist
2. Zarya
1. D.Va
You can only have one tank on your Overwatch 2 team, which means that tanks have gone from the centerpiece of most compositions to a class that really needs to be able to gel with what the rest of the team is trying to do.
Sadly, that change in design philosophy has left Roadhog without much of a home. Roadhog is just a bit too slow, a bit too niche, and not really powerful enough to make a substantial impact on most games at the moment. They’re probably in need of a rework.
Winston is also in a rough spot at the moment. While their faster style of play should be a natural fit for the new meta, they’re just a little too squishy to survive the damage onslaught that occurs in the average OW 2 match. Honestly, Doomfist just does most of the things Winston wants to do just a bit better than Winston usually does them.
Wrecking Ball is interesting. They’re fast enough to keep up with the game, but I tend to see them more as a disruptor than as a Hero that is really going to make a substantial impact on the average match. They are very good if you’re already good with them, but this probably isn’t the best time to try to learn them if you’re looking for a new tank.
Orisa and Rein are tough to read at the moment. They’re two tanks that can either drastically change the course of play or feel like liabilities. It really comes down to the person playing them. I’ve seen a good Orisa player do some crazy things, but I tend to find that Reinhardt is a little more consistent. Both are certainly viable in the right hands.
I initially thought that Sigma was going to be closer to the bottom of the list, but it turns out that their somewhat strange kit works pretty well for OW 2’s style of play. Sigma is able to take care of themselves in combat while still throwing out clutch defensive abilities when needed.
Just as it was with the healers, though, the top three tanks in OW 2 at the moment are kind of in a class of their own. The reworked Doomfist is nothing short of a monster. He’s fast, he’s powerful, he’s disruptive…he’s everything Winston was when that Hero was at the top of the tank meta. Definitely try him if you haven’t already.
Zarya has proven to be quite the early surprise. While I’m not entirely sold on her reworked bubbles, her ability to shield aggressive players while boosting her own damage capabilities is as valuable as it has ever been. She’s simply fantastic at the moment.
Ultimately, though. D.Va proved to be a fairly easy pick for the top of this list. She’s incredibly fast, she’s fairly easy to play, and her damage is far more consistent than it was before. If you need to fill a tank role and don’t already have a favorite, she’s an incredible option.
Overwatch 2: Every DPS Hero Ranked Worst to Best
D – Tier
17. Junkrat
16. Symmetra
15. Torbjörn
14. Widowmaker
C – Tier
13. Mei
12. Ashe
11. Echo
10. Pharah
B – Tier
9. Sombra
8. Cassidy
7. Sojourn
6. Hanzo
A – Tier
5. Reaper
4. Tracer
3. Genji
2. Bastion
1. Soldier: 76
I’m placing Overwatch 2’s DPS characters into tiers simply because a lot of them are separated by the slimmest of margins. So, while A-Tier characters are notably more powerful than D-Tier characters, characters that share a tier tend to be roughly at the same power level.
Sadly, it’s hard to make a case for many of the D-Tier Heroes at the moment. Now that shield tanks are far less important and powerful in OW 2, Junkrat’s explosives are significantly less impactful than they once were. Symmetra and Torbjörn are still useful in specific situations, but neither is versatile enough to easily recommend. Similarly, a good Widowmaker player is still a good Widowmaker player, but the OW 2 meta is a little too fast at the moment to support a slightly more stationary sniper.
The C-Tier is populated by characters who tend to have the most variation in their game-to-game performance. Mei is certainly less useful than they were in the past (due to both the nerf to their freeze abilities and that missing tank), though I was somewhat surprised by the ways they can still disrupt a match. Ashe and Echo are still capable of doing some of the things they could before, but there’s an argument to be made that they’ve moved back by virtue of standing still. Pharah has trouble dealing with some of the better DPS players and Heroes in the game at the moment, though their mobility certainly helps.
The B-Tier is where we start to see a little more consistency. I might be overvaluing Sombra slightly as far as that goes, but I find that she’s often a factor in most matches as long as the person controlling her is familiar with her reworked kit. I toyed with the idea of swapping Cassidy and Ashe, but Cassidy players with good aim will be able to make up for the fact that the Hero’s new grenade just isn’t as good as their old one. Hanzo’s mobility and Ultimate make him a better sniper option than Widowmaker at the moment, while Sojourn…well, they’re interesting. I have no doubt that they’re at least very good, but I’ve yet to be convinced that OW 2’s new hero is truly great. Definitely give them a shot, though.
A-Tier DPS heroes are either always a safe bet or simply dominant.
Reaper has turned out to be a bit of a surprise in the early days of the OW 2 beta. They can really steamroll through an opposing team’s tank, and they’re evasive enough to win a lot of DPS fights. Definitely give Reaper a shot if it has been a little while since you’ve used them.
Tracer and Genji shine in the current OW 2 meta thanks to their speed, evasiveness, and aggressive styles of play. Neither Hero is easy to learn by any means, but both are so good at the moment that you can easily justify navigating their learning curves. I tend to recommend Genji over Tracer by just the slimmest of margins, but the choice will often come down to your preference and the rest of your team comp.
Bastion is certainly the biggest beneficiary of OW 2‘s changes so far. While his rework looked promising on paper, it turns out greatly increasing Bastion’s mobility and versatility makes him an absolute nightmare. Some are already calling Bastion ridiculously overpowered, and…well, there might be something to that. I imagine Bastion will be “solved” or nerfed sometime in the near future, but they’re certainly a strong option at the moment.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Soldier: 76 overpowered, there’s really very little doubt that he sits comfortably atop the DPS meta at the moment. His skill floor is relatively low, and he’s capable of dishing out top damage in pretty much every situation you can dream of. It’s very hard to deal with an opposing Soldier: 76 player, and it’s equally difficult to replace one if you’re looking for a damage dealer you’re always going to be able to depend on.