Overwatch 2 Meta Tier List
Overwatch 2 has been out for two weeks now, and it could be safe to say that players have a ton of emotions about it. Overwatch 2 is a more fast-paced, more action type of shooter than its predecessor, and fortunately, it has a bright future if Team 4, the Overwatch developer team, will keep up with their words and plans.
In this article, we’ll discuss how the number 2 in the Game’s name and one less tank changes the meta and the game tempo and how drastically Overwatch 2 current meta changed from the Beta. If you are new to the Overwatch game, check out our Guide for the new players – you may find something valuable and exciting.
The best heroes in Overwatch 2?
The Game is now much more mobile, fast, and exciting – mainly thanks to the role rework – from giant bullet sponges and barriers in the original, they became brawlers and sort of tanky-DPS heroes in OW2. It’s important to remember, though, that there could be only one tank in a classic role queue game mode now, so this role became even more responsible. In any case, if you are a returning player, seasonal veteran, or newcomer, you may still wonder about the best characters in Overwatch?
Lots of content creators are making an Overwatch tier list with their opinion on the matter, and we will explain why some heroes are stronger than others. Let’s start with the only role that could be played by one person then: what are the best Tanks in Overwatch 2? The meta has begun to settle after several weeks since Overwatch 2’s release, so the article is updated accordingly. Let’s find out what Overwatch 2 tier list looks like. Keep in mind that in the tier lists we’ll range heroes from the very best, essential picks for any team to the least effective characters in roster.
With the Mid-Season update, that rolled out on November 17, the Meta shifts a bit. The developers opted to nerf Zarya, Genji, and Sombra, but Sojorn will remain unchanged up to Season 2. Will dive into the strongest heroes, and resent changes, that rolled out on November 17.
The best Tanks in OW2 Season 1
The tank became one of the most exciting and rewarding roles to play, yet the responsibility is heavier on one tank’s shoulders. With the resilience of their class and the damage they could provide, some of them even outshine DPS heroes. Interestingly enough, while many players were worried that off-tanks might not fit in the OW2 meta, the most potent Tanks now are Zarya, Orisa, and D.Va. They each have a specialization of sorts.
Zarya
Zarya is the best tank in the Game right now. She was always a good option – her barriers, ult, and health pool consisting of health and shield were handy in fights in 6vs6. And now, with her ability to decide whether to use two barriers on herself or give them to her team, she has become incredibly strong in the new fast-fighting environments. Zarya is unbelievably difficult to stop, especially with a good support and team who play around her. Her barriers quickly charge her damage, and her tankiness lets her push through enemies’ frontline, hunt down enemy supports and DPS, and challenge enemy tanks. The barriers also help her protect her back line from dive or flanking DPS. They can block up to 200 damage before they expire, and in almost any case, they bring Zaria a vast amount of the weapon’s charge. Zarya’s Ultimate ability, Graviton Surge, is extremely valuable and dangerous. It has limitless potential for combos: with Genji’s or Hanzo’s dragons, Tracer Pulse Bomb, or even Moira Coalescence, to name a few. It still needs a bit of communication to time it right, but the opportunity it provides should not to be turned down; the enemy in the black hole will probably be helpless and mostly harmless, so it might lead to an easy team wipe.
Changes — Barrier:
- Duration reduced from 2.5 to 2 seconds
- Cooldown increased from 10 to 11 seconds
Orisa
There is another option for those who would like to stay with their team in the fights and terrorize the whole other team. The best brawl tank is Orisa. Orisa changed a lot from the first Game, with the only thing connecting her with her original self is her Fortify ability – LShift. As a part of the Overwatch 2 changes, she became a hero with a rare crowd control ability, which can be done using her secondary fire button, and looks like a spear. The spear stuns enemies, cancels abilities, and deals a hefty amount of damage.
D.VA
For those who go all into action, D.Va is the best option. She is the best dive tank in the Game at this moment and can hugely impact the Game’s outcomes. D.Va’s mobility, along with her Defensive matrix, is a massive advantage in any situation when she has to cover some ground, so no Widowmaker or other sniper can live with her presence. And with D.Va, her backline is protected, as she can easily save them in almost any situation. Her ultimate, D.Va bomb, is fine; it’s not the strongest ability in the game, but it might still be quite valuable.
Changes — Fusion Cannons:
- Spread increased from 3.5 to 3.75
Changes — Boosters:
- Impact damage reduced from 25 to 15
Changes — Call Mech:
- Fixed in last update- Call Mech ultimate cost reduced by 12%
Other Tanks
Actually, all other tanks are good, too: Sigma didn’t change much in terms of playstyle, but being a solo tank in the new Overwatch 2 reality didn’t compliment him either. He is still a strong pick, especially considering his damage on mid-distanse, shield against snipers, Kinetic Grasp (LShift) as addition to his survivability, and also has an advantage of crowd control with his rock (E). Winston is another good option for dive, yet he is slightly outshined by, so try him if he is falling more into your playstyle.
Suppose you think your team could handle themself pretty well. In that case, you can try to play a Flanker Tank – Roadhog. He will provide even more damage, potentially more than any other tanks, yet doesn’t really protect his team. You can still stay with the team — it’s still a viable otion, but it might be harder to perform your one-schot combo as you’ll lose the element of surprise. Another option is Wrecking Ball aka Hammond, which has fantastic potential, but requires a stricter focus on his abilities and excellent cooldown management. As a situational, niche pick – Reinhart is quite a good option as well, especially in some old classic maps, but you’d probably like to swap Rein if you’d face Orisa, or if the enemy constantly sneak behind you. And Junker Queen, while heavily nerfed, is still playable in certain situations, but she is not as good as she was in Beta. She still has high sustainability, coming from her passive and Cry Command (LShift), but she’s heavily outshined by other tanks.
Surprisingly, the weakest Tank in Overwatch 2 now is Doomfist. He has high mobility yet doesn’t have survivability like Hammond or any other Tank Hero. Protection granted by his Power Block reduces incoming fire up to 90%, but as Doomfist became very slow while in it, most of the time, it’s still enough to destroy him. His maneuverability gets heavily nerfed, and while it’s still possible to make some great plays, his kit not as good it used to be.
The Best DPS in OW2 Season 1
This new Overwatch 2 Meta favors high mobility, sustainability, and damage more than ever. The most effective DPSs in Overwatch 2 are mobile assassins with a huge damage potential.
Sojourn
And at the top of the best DPS Tier list in Overwatch 2 is new, ultra-mobile, hitscan hero Sojourn. Her primary fire is projectiles, and she charges her alternative fire- railgun- by hitting her shots, even if she fires at the shields. And it’s absolutely rightfully believed that her charged railgun is a menace, as it basically becomes a Widomaker’s sniper rifle without the scope. Her mobility, granted by shift, is quite an advantage in many situations. It let her engage and disengage from a fight while being quite hard to hit, catch up with some enemies, and also quite handy to shoot on top of barriers. Sojourn’s Disruptor Shot is another powerful, versatile tool, handy to deny an area as it slows and damages anyone in range. Her Ultiltimate Overcharge set her railgun to auto-charge the beam and let the player wreck the foes in the team fight.
Genji
Another strong DPS hero in the current meta is Genji. High mobility, survivability provided by his kit, and good Support – you know, we need healing, and a Genji-main could not be deadlier. He might not be able to stand up to much concentrated firepower, but without Brigitte’s and Cassidy’s stuns, Mei’s freeze, and other crowd control, Genji is far more difficult to pin down. His extreme mobility and burst damage potential make him a terrifying force to face. Swift Strike, double jumps, and wall-climbing for mobility, and, remember, killing an enemy with the swift strike reset the ability – good luck trying to catch this cyborg ninja when he dashes through your low-health teammates chaotically. Deflect ability provides him survivability and defensive capability, making him even deadlier, especially if you know that he can also deflect several Ultimates. Genji’s Ultimate Dragonblade in the right hands is always a huge play and backed with a nanoboost, Genji is almost unkillable. The only downside is that Genji is quite hard to master, and even to play at a decent level, you’ll probably like to spend quite a lot of time training. Well, as the lore goes, he did train a lot too!
Changes — Shuriken:
- Maximum ammo reduced from 30 to 24
- Damage reduced from 29 to 27
Sombra
Another mobile Meta DPS is Sombra. She is a fun-breaker for the enemy team and could make the enemy’s tank life quite miserable. Sombra’s changes for the Overwatch 2 include rework for her hack ability, making her target cancel the ability in use, effectively the old hack states for 1 second. While the target is hacked, Sombra deals 40% more damage to it. She can now hack while invisible; she will still be detected, but her hack doesn’t cancel her invisibility anymore. Her Ultimate E.M.P. is essentially an area of effect hack, and any enemy affected takes more damage from everyone in Sombra’s Team. Her kit sets her with a great potential to spawn camping, focusing single target and effectively deleting it. High mobility provided by the translocator, sprint in invisibility, and damage boost also give her the best opportunity to harass an enemy tank, which could be a huge problem in the new Overwatch era.
Changes — Hack:
- Ability lockout duration reduced from 1.75 to 1.5 seconds
- Hacked enemies are no longer valid targets for hacking for the duration of the 8-second effect
- Hacked enemy damage multiplier reduced from 40 to 25%
Another Hero that reserved changes is Junkrat. He reseved fixes to his Steel Trap:
- Fixed in last update- Arming time increased from 0.5 to 0.75 seconds
- Fixed in last update- Trapped duration reduced from 3 to 2.5 seconds
The Best Support in OW2 Season 1
And last but not least, the best Supports in Overwatch 2 Tier List: Lucio, Ana, Zen, and Kiriko. It’s hard to say about the newest hero yet, as she just joined the Season 1 competitive mode, but her kit, while requiring a lot of game sense, map knowledge, and positioning, is looking quite powerful.
Ana
As for other aforementioned supports, Ana is the best burst healer right now, as her kit is quite solid. She has her sleep dart, with a longer cooldown now, but it’s still quite a powerful ability, and her grenade – both for healing and preventing healing for the enemy team. Her ultimate, Nanoboost is also a good call for many combos. Things like Nanoblade and Nanovisor were always a treat, and nowadays great Ana player could secure their team a victory.
Lucio
Lucio is extremely strong in various circumstances, thanks to his mobility and survivability provided by his kit: constant team-wide movement speed boost or heals provided by his Crossfade – shift ability. Another part of his defensive survivability is his Ultimate Sound Barrier which provides 750 Overhealth, just by pressing a button. Thanks to that and his passive – wall-riding, he can be a real nuisance to deal with, even when outnumbered by enemies, which is a perfect opportunity to contest at KoTH maps. The speed boost is quite important in several situations – for regrouping and getting back into the fight as soon as possible or to get the best position at the beginning of the round. Lucio is quite unique Support, with a really enjoyable playstyle.
Zenyatta
Zenyatta is another Support hero with a really powerful defensive ultimate. Not only that, his orb of discord and the damage he could provide makes enemy squishes tremble in fear. The new Supports’ passive lets him regenerate extremely fast, and with a buff to his melee ability, the omnic-Monk became a little more sustainable to damage and got himself some self-defense as a bonus.
Kiriko has also received a small nerf to her Swift Step:
- Invulnerability duration reduced from 0.4 to 0.25 seconds
That is our thoughts on the most powerful meta heroes in Overwatch 2. Hopefully, you learned something interesting and found the knowledge on the current meta from the tier list useful.
Huckleberry out.
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