Overwatch 2 Best Heroes Tier List: Best DPS, Tank and Support Heroes

An Overwatch 2 Tier List is crucial if you’re looking for the best Overwatch 2 heroes right now, especially if you’re among many eager players jumping into the competitive matches. With the game launching on October 4, and now that the queues have died down a bit and server stability has improved, those diving deep into the competitive FPS title may be wondering what are the best Overwatch 2 heroes?

Better yet, those looking to really climb the ranks are likely trying to figure out the best DPS, best Support, and best Tank options before they head into competitive playlists.

Sounds like you? Well, to help out in the endeavour we’ve created this Overwatch 2 hero tier list to break down the very best heroes you can pick right now. We’ve also written out an explanation for some of the best for each role, so you can see exactly what character you should be learning ASAP.

And for those of you who are jumping into Overwatch 2 for the first time, we've also noted some of our favourite beginner picks for those new to the 5v5 shooter.

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• Overwatch 2 Best Heroes Tier List
• Overwatch 2 Best Tank Heroes
• Overwatch 2 Best Support Heroes
• Overwatch 2 Best DPS Heroes
• Overwatch 2 Best Beginner Heroes

Overwatch 2 Best Heroes Tier List

This was, by no means, easy. Also, Overwatch 2 is still fresh, and various heroes will no doubt be subjected to buffs and nerfs over the coming months, so we'll be sure to update this space when needed.

Without further ado, you'll find our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list of all 35 characters below. Read on to see why we chose these heroes, and what the best heroes for those new to the game are.

• S: Ana, Reinhardt, Genji, Moira, Sombra
• A: Kiriko, Lucio, D.Va, Zenyatta, Brigitte, Orisa, Sojourn, Mercy
• B: Mei, Baptiste, Sigma, Winston, Soldier: 76, Reaper, Tracer, Junker Queen, Echo, Roadhog
• C: Junkrat, Pharah, Cassidy, Zarya, Hanzo, Widowmaker, Doomfist, Torbjorn
• D: Bastion, Symmetra, Ashe, Wrecking Ball

Overwatch 2 Best Tank Heroes

Reinhardt

A member of the classic roster, Reinhardt is — in our opinion — a top tier tank with the launch of Overwatch 2. They’ve always been brilliant, but with the meta changes coming as a result of an overall removal of shields from the game, he stands out as exceptional among the cast.

They’re a melee hero with a powerful shield, a ranged projectile, a devastating charge that can take out DPS when hit in a single blow, and a ultimate that is invaluable on taking an objective and stopping enemy offensive pushes right in their tracks.

With less shields and one less tank in games, DPS carries are more prevalent. Take your Reapers, Genjis, and Sombras etc. With Reinhardt, you can shut these heroes down in a split second, either with a well timed ult, a well-positioned shield in front of your team, or a cheeky charge. They’re awesome right now.

Overwatch 2 Best Support Heroes

Ana

It’s good to see that perhaps the most challenging support to play is probably the best of the entire cast. Ana is a hard hero to get to grips with, especially if you have potato aim. But, if you can land your sniper shots and make use of their powerful abilities, you’ll do just fine.

Their sniper applies either a healing effect or damage over time effect to those it hits, depending on whether you’ve shot a ally or enemy. This requires good aim on your part, but if you can hit consistently, the output is impressive. In terms of abilities, her sleep dart is a live saver (or ender when used offensively), while her grenade can send out a quick burst of healing or damage when you need it most. Her ultimate? Ridiculous. Super powering one member of your team so they can go ham and make a real difference in fights.

Ana has just always been boss, and in Overwatch 2, she is dead handy across all scenarios. Just try and stay as far back as possible, getting caught out is often a death sentence.

Moira

Moira was a mainstay at the top of tier lists for a good while since her release, and surprising no one, she’s still fantastic. Quickly able to switch between good damage and great healer on the fly with a few button presses, Moira is a versatile pick and can turn a fight around quickly with her ultimate.

She has two firing modes, one for damage and one for healing. This property extends to her orb projectile that can either heal or hurt too, plus she has a short invulnerability dash that can get her out of a bind quickly. Her ultimate is legendary, a massive laser beam that both heals allies for huge numbers and melts through enemies.

With less shield around, her kit has only gotten better as dedicated healing has become more valuable. Keep your single tank alive with your consistent healing output and help deal with those pesky DPS carries with your added damaging options. An kickass pick, for those who can get over the learning curve.

Overwatch 2 Best DPS Heroes

Genji

Genji is, without a doubt, one of the strongest DPS characters in Overwatch 2. The hero he perhaps comes second to is Soldier 76, who we’ll talk more about soon.

A character from the original Overwatch roster, Genji actually remains relatively unchanged in Overwatch 2 compared to some of his counterparts. The hero focuses on close-range combat, and can cause some devastating chaos when it comes to taking over objectives if he’s a strong team to hand.

Genji is a character for those who like being as agile as possible. He’s able to dish out plenty of burst damage, dodge projectiles, and dash around like no other. And his ultimate ability, Dragonblade, truly unleashes havoc. Now that Genji can no longer be stunned out of his ultimate, the only option is to kill him; this proves to be quite the challenge when he’s climbing on walls and jumping all over.

So, if being incredibly mobile and dishing out some melee damage sounds like a good time to you, give Genji a go.

Sombra

If you’re at all familiar with Overwatch, you probably don’t need me to tell you that Sombra is one of the best DPS picks. Not only is she powerful, but she’s also great fun to play as.

Sombra is another agile hero with various hacking abilities that can stop enemies in their track. Not only can she prevent heroes from using their abilities, but she’s become even more useful in Overwatch 2, given that she can mark targets that the team ought to prioritise.

This hero can detect critically injured enemies through walls, deals further damage to enemies she has hacked, and her ultimate is totally unruly. EMP will deal a horde of damage to all nearby enemies, will hack them (so she can instantly deal more damage), and destroy all barriers. It instantly weakens the enemy team massively when timed right, and a careful, strategic Sombra will often carry her team to victory.

The only issue any Sombra mains might run into is simply getting used to how her abilities have changed between Overwatch 1 and 2. However, when mastered, taking on enemies can feel breezy, especially with her teleport, the Translocator.

Overwatch 2 Best Beginner Heroes

Soldier: 76

Soldier: 76 is an absolute unit, there’s no doubt about that. You might be wondering why we didn’t place him with our favourite DPS heroes, and that’s because that while he’s among the best for that role, he’s also fantastic for those who are new to Overwatch 2.

Soldier: 76 uses the Heavy Pulse Rifle, and his Tactical Visor ultimate basically gives you aim bot. So, if you’re not the best at aiming but are confident you can tactically take enemies down, Soldier: 76 might just be the one for you. This hero also has abilities that are rather easy to understand and utilise; he can sprint, deploy a field that’ll heal himself and allies, and he can also launch multiple Helix Rockets if you’re looking to deal a lot of damage.

Basically, Soldier: 76 is very easy to learn and master, and a great DPS hero to start off with. His abilities help him get out of a pinch if needed, so he can often hold his own ground and put plenty of pressure on the team using his rockets, rifle, and ultimate.

Mercy

Ah, Mercy. Sent down from the heavens like the angel she is, this healer hero comes in clutch regularly. She’s a great pick for those who don’t quite feel confident with dealing damage initially, and would instead focus on pocketing their teammates to secure a win. That said, a Mercy that has been mastered is an absolute force to reckon with.

Not only is Mercy another mobile hero who uses her Valkyrie ultimate and Guardian Angel ability to fly around, she relies on her mobility to reach teammates in need of help. There’s also a lot more to Mercy than simply healing or reviving allies; she can boost the damage they deal too, and avoid any incoming damage by simply using her Angelic Descent to descend from various heights and escape danger — or reach an endangered ally — if necessary.

Let’s not forget to mention her two weapons: the Caduceus Staff can be using to heal allies or boost their damage, and her secondary weapon, the Caduceus Blaster, can be used to damage enemies if Mercy finds herself in a shoot-out. All in all, Mercy is a character that’ll often have you focusing on what your allies are doing, more so than enemies, and she’s great to learn while you get comfortable with how Overwatch 2 matches go down.

If I say so myself, you can’t ever be a bad Mercy player. Unless you’re actively trying to be bad, which we’d hope you aren’t.

Lucio

Lucio is a brilliant support hero for those just getting into the role, due to the simplicity of their kit and how easy it is to remain useful in the numerous objective based game modes present in Overwatch 2. To put what they do in simple terms, Lucio can switch seamlessly between a AOE healer and a momentum support, able to either heal those around him or speed up their walking speed significantly with a single button press.

Their ultimate, slaps a giant shield on all nearby allies. This is brilliant both offensively and defensively, as it can both bolster your team going into a big fight or keep them alive when faced with the opposing team’s own devastating ultimates.

They’re easy to play due to their pure AOE support style. Your weapon is used more for small chunks of damage and displacement rather than healer or buffing allies, so all you have to focus on as a support is staying by your team and you’ll be helping out. As a very rough beginner’s rule, stick with your team and stay on objective and you’ll do fine.

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There you have it; some of the best heroes to pick from in Overwatch 2. With that in mind, who have your favourite heroes been so far? For more Overwatch 2 content, check out our pages on Blizzard fixing an Overwatch 2 chat bug that caused players to make unexpected purchases, as well as OG Overwatch 2 players are finding their characters locked away in frustrating character select bug.