Overwatch’s notorious hacker, Sombra uses a lethal combination of stealth and debilitating attacks to manipulate her enemies. She’s an excellent addition to the roster and shares a similar combat style to Tracer. Her strength lies in her Hack ability, which gives great potential to disrupt and dictate the flow of a battle, while her Thermoptic Camo and Translocator greatly enhance her positioning. For those looking to create some extremely imaginative plays, Sombra is great pick. Read the rest of this entry »
Ana’s a versatile support that impacts heroes across the battlefield. Her ability to heal from any range while dealing a fair amount of damage makes the supportive sniper extremely potent. However, playing Ana well requires good map awareness and excellent target prioritisation, which makes her one of the hardest heroes to master in Overwatch. If you like the idea of impacting those around you, Ana is your pick. Read the rest of this entry »
Ah Tracer, the heroine who is the equivalent of drinking a Redbull after a few lines of cocaine and then going for a jog. She’s fast—really fast—but with great speed comes great responsibility. Her ability to harass the enemy in Overwatch from every angle comes with the large caveat that players are going to need incredibly twitchy reflexes and exceptional aim. But when you’re up against a team with a good Tracer, there are few things more frustrating. Read the rest of this entry »
He might seem like the bog-standard FPS warrior we’re all bored of, but Overwatch’s Soldier 76 actually packs a punch for those who like a little spray with their pray. His toolkit feels like getting back to basics, but that just means that Soldier 76 is almost always a solid pick. Read the rest of this entry »
Reaper is arguably one of the most distinguishable heroes in Overwatch; you don’t get to run around the battlefield with two shotguns and a mask without getting a bit of a reputation. Fortunately, Reaper can back that reputation up thanks to his incredibly high burst damage. If you like the idea of a character who can slip behind enemy lines and then shotgun blast the healer’s face off, Reaper is your man. Read the rest of this entry »
If you love Quake or Team Fortress 2, Overwatch’s Pharah is going to bring back some fond memories of firing slow-ass rockets and learning to lead shots. She’s an incredibly capable hero who can use her aerial abilities to get devastating angles on enemies, but you’ll also have to fight temptation and not over expose yourself. She’s a great pick for players that aren’t frustrated by slow projectiles and like surprise attacks. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t let his limited ability pool fool you, Overwatch’s McCree is a deadly gunman who can dish out tons of damage if you’re accurate enough to consistently place headshots. He’s got a nasty trick under his poncho too, as his flashbang can be used to stun groups of enemies to quickly mop up with just a few well-placed shots. Pick McCree if you like the idea of a gunman who’s just as deadly at range as he is up close. Read the rest of this entry »
Overwatch’s resident ninja, Genji is a surprisingly versatile character whose true potential in combat will require a lot of skill to unlock. At first glance, Genji’s abilities might not seem all that useful compared to some of his allies, but those who learn to play him reactively can dismantle their opponent’s strategies effectively. If you value mobility and precision, Genji is a great pick. Read the rest of this entry »
Overwatch [official site] has been out for just a few weeks and already forum boards and comment sections are exploding with new tactics and complaints about one hero or another. As unbalanced as you might think a hero is, each one has a hard counter that can shut them down with a little finesse and strategy. Yes, even Mei and Bastion can be made useless with the right team composition. As a companion to my expansive character guide, here’s a guide for how to counter any hero in Overwatch.
With 22 heroes to choose from, there’s a lot of variety to Overwatch. Each hero has their own abilities, strengths, and strategies that really make them shine in combat, but figuring all of that out as you play can be both intimidating and time-consuming. I’ve compiled a positively massive guide to every hero in Overwatch that includes a breakdown of their abilities and a few paragraphs giving you some useful pointers on how to shine.
A support character who excels when on the attack and falls to pieces on defense, Zenyatta is the feeblest hero in Overwatch. He makes up for that extreme vulnerability with two abilities that can turn your own heroes into deadly killers or wither away all the strength of an enemy hero. If you fancy a high-risk-high-reward style support, Zenyatta is an interesting choice.
While she’s listed as a support, it’s important to know that Overwatch‘s Symmetra really isn’t a replacement for Mercy or Lucio. She has some incredibly useful abilities but healing heroes is not her thing. What is her thing is setting up deadly traps with her Sentry Turrets and using her ultimate to get heroes back into the fight instantly. If you like being a support but aren’t keen on healing, Symmetra is an interesting choice.
Mercy is the generic healer of Overwatch‘s support group and her targeted healing can keep friendly heroes standing against even the toughest of assaults. Fortunately, Mercy has some great tools to keep her in in play and her ability to resurrect recently fallen heroes can turn the tide in a match. If you love dishing out big heals or saving the day with the press of a button, Mercy is your pick.
Overwatch‘s Lucio is a very passive support whose constant stream of healing or speed have a subtle effect on your team while letting you focus on attacking other heroes. If you like the idea of playing a support but aren’t fond of having to babysit heroes as Mercy, Lucio provides a great alternative.
Where Reinhardt is a defensive tank and Winston is an offensive one, Overwatch‘s Zarya borrows from Symmetra and doubles as a support tank who can grant temporary shields. Any damage these shields absorb is funneled back into Zarya’s weapon, making it stronger the more damage she absorbs. This unique mechanic means you’re going to need to constantly be landing shields on yourself and allies in order to farm up enough damage to make her weapon a real threat.
Unlike Reinhardt, Overwatch‘s Winston is a tank that excels at rushing forward ahead of his team and slapping the enemy around to clear the way. He’s aggressive on the battlefield and is best used by players who are able to handle being outnumbered while prioritizing targets on the fly. He might be listed as a tank, but you’ll want to spend more time punishing weak defensive and support heroes rather than squaring off for epic duels against the other team’s tank.
Overwatch‘s Roadhog might be listed as a tank, but he’s best used as a tank killer. His self-heal makes him independent and easily able to handle fights outnumbered, and his Chain Hook ability will have everyone rethinking how close to you they should get. Against all other tanks, Roadhog’s high-burst damage is a big threat.
Overwatch‘s Reinhardt is your classic tank: He’s got a giant-ass shield and a giant-ass hammer, and he can be the bane of any well-formed strategy when he’s in the right place at the right time. But looking at him, you might think that all Reinhardt is good for is taking bullets for his team—and that’s not the case at all. His Charge ability can pin enemies and close distances alarmingly quick, and his Fire Strike gives him a much-needed ranged attack for swatting down pesky flies like Widowmaker. If you like being the center of attention, Reinhardt will make sure you survive the spotlight.
Combining defensive tank abilities with a great deal of mobility, Overwatch‘s D.Va is a tricky yet versatile hero who can fulfill a number of roles when out in the field. When pushing against an objective, she can act as a frontline defense, but if enemy defensive heroes are causing trouble her Boosters allow her to get behind them and clean them out. She’s also unique in that when she is killed her mech is destroyed but she escapes to continue the fight on foot. In this form, she’s much weaker but still capable of harassing the opponent until a replacement is ready. She’s best suited to players who like variety and juggling multiple responsibilities at once.
The classic sniper, Overwatch‘s Widowmaker proves that the ancient art of scoring headshots is still just as relevant today as it always was. Her abilities are all geared toward letting her do what she does best while giving her some options for getting out of sticky situations. If you pride yourself on a steady hand and good situational awareness, Widowmaker can be a killer addition to any team.
