Since its 2016 debut, Overwatch has gone through a drastic number of changes to its meta. While plenty of the adjustmensts were no brainers (such as obvious bugs, glitches, broken characters, Mercy Rez LOL, etc.), a lot of changes have been very controversial to players ranging from the Overwatch League pros, to the 8 year olds playing competitive on their local McDonald’s Wi-Fi. Some characters have been granted Jeff Kaplan’s almighty breath of life while others have been banished to the phantom zone of low-tier irrelevancy. As a result the current season, aka Season 13, has brought us a meta that no one saw coming and it’s only right that I keep you updated on the heroes that your enemies are going to try and use against you. So without further ado, here are the top picked characters of the current Overwatch season:
10 Hanzo:
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Thanks to Hanzo's buffs he's become a big player in Competitive Overwatch! Learn to deal with him quickly Long, long ago Hanzo Shimada ended the life of his dear brother Genji and now turns his bow towards us. From being called a trash tier throw pick to being one of the best DPS in the game, Hanzo has definitely benefited from the meta’s recent changes. The heir of the Shimada Clan boasts an impressive 4.08% pick rate this season. This can be attributed to his new abilities such as the volley arrow and air escape. His high damage output and new versatility allow him to feel at home in any team comp on any map. Well, as long as the player using him is good anyway ;) Hanzo is adept in providing his team with enemy locations (using his sonic arrow and high ground positioning), pumping loads of damage into enemy tanks, and scoring picks on 200hp characters. A good Hanzo can be an angry Japanese screaming nightmare for your team if not taken care of. Hanzo pretty much wins every one on one battle from the mid-range, has good mobility, and a very high damage output that doesn’t require much mechanical skill. This makes him scary. Luckily for you Hanzo has one weakness, he can be dived. Hanzo is pretty vulnerable to high mobility characters that can quickly rush him. Use characters such as Winston, Genji, Doomfist, and D’va to make the pesky archer suffer with an onslaught of spontaneous attacks. This eight times out of ten gets the enemy team tilted towards the Hanzo player. Use this to your advantage.
9. McCree
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Jesse McCree has become much more popular as aiming skill in the community increases. Take care of him quickly or he'll be a problem
“It’s High Noon!” Did you get as much PTSD as I did reading that phrase? If not then be prepared to experience it by the end of this season (If you don’t follow my tips of course). The peacekeeper toting cowboy, Jesse McCree is currently our 9th most picked Overwatch hero. Posing in a classic western standoff stance with a 4.14% pick rate, McCree’s recent changes on the PTR (less drop off damage) will make him even more devastating to enemy teams. Aside from his cool design and character, McCree is picked a lot because he’s good at scoring key picks and has high damage potential. The best thing about him though, is his ability to take on highly mobile and troublesome characters such as Genji, Pharrah, Tracer, Sombra, etc. McCree works really well as a damage dealer and an anti-flanker to protect your supports and backline. He’s the number 1 1v1 character in the game thanks to his dps output, flash bang, and combat roll abilities. As great as McCree is, he has a very exploitable weakness. He’s very slow and clunky. Yes, the former blackwatch agent is very easy to take out once you get past his initial defenses. This weakness is even more evident if you can get his team to split apart. I recommend you use dive tanks like Winston, D’va, or Wrecking Ball to quickly dispatch of the bounty hunter. Your mobility and high health will make you a tough target for the bounty hunter.
8. Genji
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Genji can be devestating when not handled correctly. Make sure your not on the receiving end of his destruction!
Ryujin no ken wo kurae!! This Japanese battle cry is not only the official chant of Overwatch’s more weebish community, it’s also the sound that continually strikes fear in enemy support players. Here’s why Genji is number 8 on the list. The younger of the Shimada brothers currently has a 4.55% pick rate making him the highest picked DPS hero in the game. The hero is loved amongst fans not just for his anime protagonist design and cool factor but because of his versatility and carry potential. His double jumping, wall climbing, deflect, and swift striking abilities give him some of the best survivability in the game. This coupled with his high damage combos and game changing ultimate can make him a nightmare for your team. The cyborg swordsman excels at diving the enemy, killing low health targets, and forcing openings so his team can capitalize. As great as he can be Genji’s weaknesses are very common. He struggles against non-projectile characters and he has a huge learning curve. The way you can exploit this is to use direct counters such as Mei, Zarya, Winston, Moira, etc. and force him into unfavorable situations.
7. Zenyatta
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Zenyatta is picked a lot because of his INSANE damage output. Approach him wrong and you'll get turned into monk food.
You’ve met Genji, now meet his teacher. Zenyatta is number 7 on our list and a character you’ll definitely being seeing very much of. The transcended omnic is sitting Indian style on a 4.87% pick rate so far. Aside from his introspective quotes, Zenyatta is loved because he’s easy to pick up, has high damage output, and possesses the ability to heal while constantly attacking. He’s great for countering a heavy tank composition. Zenyatta’s healing orb and orb of discord allow him to immediately be a factor in a match with just the press of a button. He’s able to simultaneously keep a friendly Doomfist at full health during a push while dropping an annoying enemy Pharrah out of the air like a dead mosquito. Zenny is strong because he increases the damage output of any team he’s on. This makes enemy divers more careful because a discord orb into a headshot is basically death. Zenyatta’s main weakness is that he is as slow as a turtle wearing ankle weights and thus requires a team to protect him. You can capitalize on this shortcoming by using flanker or sniper characters to terrorize him, or by forcing his team apart which leaves him vulnerable.
6. Zarya
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Zarya's ultimate can change a match in an instant. Make sure to always be aware of it
There’s no need to write anything about Zarya. You’ve seen the Overwatch league highlights… but I’ll explain anyway!n Let me tell you why a pink-haired Russian arm-wrestling champion is number 6 on our list. Zarya has a 5.39% pick rate and frankly I’m not surprised. The character has such an amazing toolkit at her disposal and one of, if not the best, game changing ultimates in the game. I mostly attribute her high pick rate to the pros because they have been really showing off what the character can do in the right hands. Zarya is a versatile tank that can create space, dish out damage and provide clutch protection for her teammates. Her protective bubbles make the enemy second guess their decisions which can be enough for her team to make an important play. Not to mention her graviton is an amazing combo ultimate. Zarya’s strength is that she has great defense against damage characters and forces them to approach her with hesitation due to her unorthodox abilities. Her main weaknesses are that she doesn’t do much damage unless charged up by enemy attacks, and that she is pretty slow. You usually don’t want to confront this Russian grizzly bear wrestler one on one if she’s at full health. But if you do, just bait the bubble then once it’s on cooldown…ATTACK!
5. D’va
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D'va will be in a lot of your matches. She's very team reliant so use that to your advantage!
Since she’s probably the most popular character in the franchise, D’va is simply at home on this list. I’m sure most know why she’s so high up, but I’ll break it down for those who don’t. As of today, D’va is “owning these noobs” with a 5.91% pick rate. The second highest of any tank. D’va is not only popular because of her waifu status among gamers, but because she is a highly versatile hero. This makes her a good tank pick for almost any comp on any map. She could possibly be one of the most well-rounded characters in the game. Her defense matrix, boosters, micro missiles, and the ability to live after losing her mech allow her to do things no other tanks can. This Korean gaming sensation is really good at creating space and forcing enemies out of position. On top of that she does pretty decent damage against squishies. As good as D’va is she has weaknesses like all of the other characters. She is extremely vulnerable to being staggered and has a bit of a hard time fighting high mobility characters. Characters that excel up close like Reaper and Mei also give her issues. Your best bet against her is to counter pick or just have an organized team that punishes her for heavily for her mistakes.
4. Moira
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Moira is everywhere. Sharpen your skills to make the evil scientist less of a threat!
“One hand gives, the other takes away” The former Blackwatch scientist Moira is number four on our list today. She’s a character you can only do well against with proper game knowledge. So you'll want to listen closely. As of now Moira has a 6.40% pick rate in the competitive game mode. She’s one of the most versatile support characters so it’s no shocker. As stated, Moira is popular due to her flexible toolkit which allows her to be a good healer and an even better counter to flankers. Not to mention she’s extremely easy to pick up. Moira has some of the best survivability in the game due to her self-healing abilities, vanishing move, and an ultimate that builds really fast. She’s good at protecting her team’s backline and kill-securing low health targets. Moira’s shortcoming is that she doesn’t do much damage so she loses to heroes with high burst damage (Reaper, McCree, Junkrat), high health (Tanks), or who can negate her self-healing abilities (Ana). It’s preferred to use these counters, but if they’re unavailable, you’ll want to engage her while she’s at low health or when her troublesome abilities are on cool down.
3. Ana
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Ana is making her way back into the meta as one of the most versatile characters in the game! If left unchecked she could put on a clininc against your team.
Formerly considered the world’s best sniper, Ana Amari has been hiding for many years in order to find herself. Now, she’s found herself as the third most picked character in Overwatch’s current meta. Ana’s viability has been a topic of discussion in the community for some time but her 8.02% pick rate might just put that topic to rest. Ana is a favorite cause she’s a challenging hero and has been missed in the meta for quite some time. She also has an amazing toolkit that allows her to be a game changer on any team she’s on. Ana’s ability to heal and attack with her primary fire, biotic grenade, sleep dart, and nano boost makes her an excellent character to handle situations that would normally be scary. Ana’s strengths are her ability to constantly go from offense, to defense, to DPS, to support hero. She can go from sleep darting a Dragon blading Genji to nano-boosting a tactical-visoring soldier 76 for a clutch team wipe. Not to mention she has great burst healing and can negate the healing of enemy heroes. Ana’s weakness though is that she requires a lot of experience and skill to be good with. Due to her slow mobility, poor positioning and lack of game sense can cost the Ana player a lot. She really does not want to die because it takes her a long time to come back to a team fight. You can exploit this by simply diving her with high mobility characters (Doomfist, Genji, Tracer, Sombra, Winston) while she’s occupied with healing. Then you just bait out her special abilities and get a quick kill. Her death will be a huge blow to the enemy team.
2. Mercy
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Mercy has been popular since release and that's not changing anytime soon. A great mercy can turn a team fight into 6v7.
Mercy has gone through quite an evolution since the release of the game. But through it all, Dr. Ziegler always manages to be a top pick. So far Mercy has an 8.19% pick rate making her the highest picked support hero in the game. Mercy is a favorite because of her mobility/survivability, elementary ease of use, and constant healing/damage stream. And because she has one of the best abilities in the game with resurrect. She excels at healing her more mobile teammates a bit more than the other supports. She truly rewards game sense and teamwork. Her weird hitbox also makes her a harder character to kill at lower levels. Mercy’s weakness is that she doesn’t have that much of a defense against most characters if she’s left alone. Trying and corner her, snipe her, or bait enemy mercies into going for unsafe resurrections.
1. Reinhardt
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Reinhardt is incredibly powerful and will crush your dreams if you allow him. If you care about winning, NEVER let an enemy Reinhardt build momentum. Coming in at number one, we have Reinhardt. I’m sure you have awful memories of being pinned against a wall by him before. The outspoken German Knight is the most popular character in competitive Overwatch right now. This means you need to be prepared for him. Reinhardt has a 10.89% pick rate this season. Far more than any other character in the game. Reinhardt is popular in competitive because of his controllable shield, ability to create space, and capability to takeover a game. With the change of the meta causing characters to play closer together. Reinhardt’s shield, charge, and mayhem causing hammer swings make him a potential threat to a team at any time. Reinhardt is of course strong at defending his team so his DPS and support teammates. He’s good at getting through the enemy defenses and causing havoc just enough to give his team a good push. Rein’s weakness though, is that he’s really team reliant and doesn’t do much if the team isn’t close to him. You want to use flankers and dive tanks to force separation in the enemy team and make him a high priority target.
In Closing:
Overwatch isn't just a skill based game. It's a matchup based game. Keeping that in mind, it's important to know what characters you'll be encountering most. Put this information to good use and it’ll keep you prepared to fight the common enemies so you can climb the competitive ladder. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to tell me how terribly wrong I am, please leave a comment below or contact me at: contact@agreewithmyfact.com . Until next time, gamers.
