Wondering what hero to play to kick start your Overwatch 2 journey in style and bag a few early wins? Our Overwatch 2 tier list should come in handy.
With a full cast of returning heroes and a few fresh additions, Overwatch 2 features no less than 35 characters as it enters a new era, each with their unique set of abilities and weapons. Whether you prefer tanking bullets, scoring kill streaks, or healing allies, there’s something to suit most styles – tank, DPS, and support.
Whether you’re a first-time player or a returning player, you’ll likely want to know which heroes are worth playing and which are best confined to the locker room. With some major changes, including a pivot from 6vs6 to 5vs5, a new mode, and reworks for many heroes, a lot has changed compared to the original Overwatch. In that spirit, we’ve pieced together a tier list of all the Overwatch 2 characters, ranked to help you decide who to play.
Tier lists are usually steeped in personal opinion and biases towards certain characters and their kit of ultimate, stun, shield, and counters. To try to mitigate this as much as possible, we’ve pooled together the opinions of several of us who’ve either spent time playing the game since launch.
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Opinions differ, so no slight intended if our ranking has placed your main lower than expected. Even though a hero may not rank high on our list, it by no means suggests they are unplayable. The beauty of Overwatch 2 is that a skilled player can have an impact with what on paper is a lesser hero. We’ll be keeping this tier list up to date as the meta evolves and shifts.
You’ll find links to in-depth guides to each character below, detailing their abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and more. Check these out if you want to know more.
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S-Tier Overwatch 2 Heroes
The cream of the crop and the best heroes in the game currently, S-Tier Overwatch 2 characters have no business being this good and feel sensational to play. These are the ones to pick if you’re a beginner wanting a sure thing or a veteran looking to dominate games.
A-Tier
Reliable and powerful, A-Tier Overwatch 2 Heroes are only slightly outclassed by their S-Tier counterparts, but in the hands of a seasoned player flirt with greatness. From mobility to crowd control by way of passive healing and damage output, there’s a bit of everything here.
B-Tier Overwatch 2 Heroes
B-Tier heroes are solid all-round picks with decent tool kits that can make a reasonable impact in most matches, though won’t necessarily carry teams to success alone.
C-Tier
Whether weighed down by a high-skill ceiling, middling toolkits, or very situational utility, C-Tier Overwatch 2 heroes don’t quite shine in the current meta. They’ll struggle to come out on top against the heroes above. Again, by main-ing these and mastering their strengths and weaknesses, it’s possible to turn these into viable picks.
D-Tier Overwatch 2 Heroes
D-Tier Overwatch 2 heroes are bottom of the barrel picks that struggle to make an impact against the rest of the roster. Load up with any of these in Competitive Play and you can expect a tough time.
That about covers our tier list. As above, we’ll be popping in regularly to spruce these up as things evolve. In the meantime, you can dive into the specifics of each hero in our dedicated Overwatch 2 characters guide.
Who Are the Best Heroes in Overwatch 2?
Lucio
Lucio emerges from the big Overwatch 2 hero rework more or less unscathed, easing him into the self-sufficient support role the game now demands without a hitch. Lucio is as versatile as ever, thanks to the mobility granted by his speed and wall riding, allowing him to extract himself from the stickiest situations.
When he’s not darting around the map, Lucio swaps his Cross Fade ability to deliver efficient healing to teammates and then just as easily switches again to pull teammates to safety with a well-timed speed boost. His Sound Barrier ultimate is as impactful as ever at nullifying incoming damage (and enemy ultimates) and offering peeling support to teammates.
Beyond this already-enviable set of attributes, Lucio dishes out respectable damage and, in the hands of a skilled player, can duke it out 1-on-1 with quite a few DPS heroes. While not traditionally durable, his survivability, thanks to his healing abilities and passive, make him a tedious hero to play against in most situations. He’s currently one of the best Overwatch 2 supports, if not the best.
Genji
Genji is Overwatch 2’s current popularity front-runner, being picked for more matches than any other hero. There’s good reason for that, and it isn’t just the cyborg ninja’s stylish new redesign. Genji remains an agile, high-damage pick, with incredible potential DPS, and his deflect ability gives him true defensive versatility, matching Soldier: 76’s healing for utility.
Reinhardt
Based on our time in the Early Access build, diving into the enemy backline, swinging that mighty hammer with wild abandon, and then backing away with the shield deployed proved a viable strategy in virtually all situations. After a handful of post-launch matches, it’s a tactic that still bears fruit, especially in Quick Play, where organization isn’t always a top concern.
For us, the switch to a single tank plays to Reinhardt’s strengths, a role he slides into with next to no friction. Buffs to his base armor, more maneuverability to his Charge ability (and the fact you can manually cancel it now), and a pivot to two Fire Strike charges undoubtedly help, too.
But, these aside, you’ll be rewarded for playing Reinhardt aggressively, swinging his Rocket Hammer weapon at enemies, causing confusion and likely picking a few kills in the process. He’s a master of initiation and excels at spreading out the enemy. For those that like to play up close and personal, confident that their hero can stomach a barrage of bullets and still come out alive, Reinhardt is one of the best Overwatch 2 tanks out there.
Sojourn
Sojourn is shaking up the DPS rankings in Overwatch 2, outranking Overwatch 1 heroes by virtue of her railgun’s rapid fire, charging and complimenting her incredible damaging secondary cannon. Sojourn may be new to the Overwatch scene, but she’s already making her mark with an excellent offensive toolkit. Many may have expected her to serve as an all-rounder like Soldier 76, but Sojourn is burying those expectations in a blast of overwhelming artillery.
What Are the Best Overwatch 2 DPS Heroes?
- Tracer
- Echo
- Genji
- Sojourn
What Are the Best Overwatch 2 Tanks?
- Reinhardt
- D.VA
- Zarya
- Doomfist
What Are the Best Overwatch 2 Supports?
- Lucio
- Zenyatta
- Moira
- Mercy
- Kiriko
Who is the strongest in Overwatch?
Naming the straight-up strongest is tough, but the best for damage output and survivability are these:
- Cassidy
- Tracer
- Reinhardt
- D.VA
That’s a wrap on our Overwatch 2 hero tier list. If you’re looking for a more detailed look at specific roles, you may want to take a peek at our best tanks, best supports, and best DPS guides.
