How Powerful Are The Overwatch Heroes?
With a roster of 32 heroes, figuring out which character is the best for you is challenging. However, with this tier list ranging from S to C, you can see which heroes are the best, which are the worst, and why that is.
Tier Ranks
There are 4 tier rankings on this list: S, A, B, and C. S is the highest rank, while C is the lowest. This list is determined based on the overall game impact a certain hero has, and the hero power score will show exactly how impactful they are.
S Tier Heroes
S tier heroes are the best in the game. Whether they’re DPS, tank, or support, their impact on the game is powerful. These heroes have versatile kits that fit a wide variety of players at different skill ratings. After mastering these heroes, players will have a much higher chance at winning games.
Ana (S Tier Support)
Ana standing in the loading screen in front of the map "Temple of Anubis"
Starting off with a support hero, Ana is a fantastic pick for those who are great with aiming. Not only does she do a lot of healing, but she can counter other long-ranged heroes such as Pharah, Echo, and Widowmaker.
Her kit consists of her biotic rifle, sleep darts, biotic grenades, and her nano boost ultimate. The rifle does 70 damage to enemies, and 70 healing to teammates. This makes her a sniper character that can do both damage and healing.
The sleep darts put an enemy she hits to sleep for 5 seconds (but the enemy will wake up early if damaged). These darts can interrupt ultimates, which makes them so strong. There are also her biotic grenades, which, like her rifle, either heal or damage.
The grenades do 100 healing and 60 damage while also blocking enemies from receiving healing and increasing allies’ healing by 50% for 4 seconds. These grenades (nicknamed “nades” by Overwatch players) could turn the tide of a battle.
Her ultimate grants +50% damage and damage reduction to the target she gives it to, along with giving them 250 health instantly. Nano boost is great for either giving a teammate (like Soldier 76) a huge boost, or for saving a teammate’s life in the middle of a team fight.
Ana Power Score: 95/100
What Makes Ana S Tier
- High healing capabilities
- Versatile kit
- Sleep darts can stop ultimates and save teammates
- Can counter flying heroes like Pharah and Echo
- Her ultimate is great for pushing in and causing enemies to panic
- Her grenade gives her teammates a huge advantage
Baptiste (S Tier Support)
Baptiste in his hero pose in front of the map "Watchpoint Gibraltar"
Yet another support, Baptiste (nicknamed “Bap” by Overwatch players) can do high healing and damage. His kit consists of a biotic launcher, a regenerative burst, an immortality field, and an ultimate called an amplification matrix.
Baptiste is powerful on his own, but skilled players can use his biotic rifle to dish out lots of damage and healing. He does 7.2-24 damage per round, 70 healing on a direct grenade hit, and 50 healing on a splash grenade hit. His grenades paired with his regenerative burst (15 HPS for allies, 30 HPS for himself) make him a high-healing hero.
His immortality field is a huge reason why he’s in the S tier. Although the field can be destroyed, it prevents all teammates in range from dying. It can counter ultimates and any sources of high damage. It has a long cooldown (25 seconds), but it’s worth it.
His ultimate is a field matrix that boosts damage and healing for teammates that shoot through it. Both healing and damage are increased by 100%, and it lasts for 10 seconds. It’s perfect for choke points and team fights.
Baptiste Power Score: 95/100
What Makes Baptiste S Tier
- Deadly primary weapon
- Healing grenades are great for long-ranged and short-ranged healing
- His immortality field is perfect for countering large ults
- His jump ability gives him high ground easily
- Versatile kit that’s accessible to all players
Soldier 76 (S Tier DPS)
Soldier 76's tactical visor glows as he faces down his enemies
Soldier 76 is a powerful DPS hero who has a kit consisting of a heavy pulse rifle, helix rockets, a biotic field, sprint, and his tactical visor ultimate. The rifle is his primary weapon, and it can counter long-ranged and flying heroes.
Perfect for almost any situation, Soldier can use his rifle paired with his helix rockets to shred tanks and supports. He’s best used on the high ground, and he should use his biotic field to self-heal. To get the most out of Soldier, coordinate with supports to get damage boosts when necessary.
His sprint gets him back to action sooner and can be used infinitely. When he’s using his legal aimbot, tactical visor, he should use sprint to find targets that are trying to hide. The tactical visor locks onto enemies and fires at them without missing.
If you’re looking for a hero that can counter the most popular picks in Overwatch, Soldier 76 is perfect for you. He’s in the S tier because of his high damage and versatile kit, as well as how well he works with the support heroes to get the most out of his abilities.
Soldier 76 Power Score: 95/100
What Makes Soldier 76 S Tier
- Powerful damage that shreds tanks
- Self-healing enables him to stay in fights for longer periods of time
- Sprinting ability brings him back to combat quicker
- Ultimate that has the potential to eliminate an entire team
- Helix rockets are deadly, especially when combined with his primary fire
Cassidy (S Tier DPS)
Cassidy is another powerful hitscan hero that can counter other Cassidys, Soldiers, and more. A seasoned Overwatch player can make Cassidy a hero who carries his team. The damage Cassidy can do with his revolver makes him a worthwhile pick.
Cassidy’s kit consists of a peacekeeper revolver, a combat roll, a flashbang, and his deadeye ultimate. The peacekeeper revolver is a hitscan weapon with two firing modes: pinpoint, and fan the hammer (a spread attack that fires all 6 bullets in his gun).
The combat roll automatically reloads Cassidy’s revolver, and it sends him in the direction he’s moving. It’s an evasive maneuver you can use to throw off enemies attacking you. That, in combination with his deadly flashbang, makes it easy to kill anyone going after you. The flashbang temporarily stuns whoever you hit, and it can interrupt ultimates. The flashbang is so powerful that it warrants Cassidy a spot on the S tier list (although admittedly, the flashbang makes him frustrating to play against).
Cassidy’s ultimate, deadeye, locks onto targets in his line of sight (LOS) and can do 550 damage after locking onto the target(s) for 1.5 seconds. It forces enemies to hide and reposition, which makes it so powerful.
Cassidy Power Score: 90/100
What Makes Cassidy S Tier
- Flashbang is extremely useful in all situations
- His ultimate forces enemies to flee
- Counters deadly heroes like Pharah and Echo
- His flash fan the hammer combo shreds tanks
- Can interrupt ultimates with his flashbang
Reinhardt (S Tier Tank)
Reinhardt poses in front of the gates of Eichenwalde
Reinhardt is a strong tank that’s great for taking damage for his team. Reinhardt’s kit consists of a resistance to knockback effects, a rocket hammer, a barrier field with 1600 health, a fire strike, a charge, and his ultimate, earthshatter.
His primary weapon, rocket hammer, does 85 damage per hit at about a 1 swing per second rate. He can kill low-health heroes easily, but his main strength is his barrier. He produces a square-shaped barrier that blocks damage for his teammates and himself.
His hammer, charge, and fire strike build his ultimate. The charge sends Reinhardt forward, and he can knock enemies back, and/or pin them. If he hits the pinned enemy against the wall, it does 300 damage. The fire strike sends a flaming projectile at the enemy, and it does 100 damage.
When his ultimate, earthshatter, is charged, he uses his hammer to hit the ground and knock enemies down for 2.5 seconds. This ability, paired with charge, almost guarantees at least one elimination. The earthshatter can be blocked by other barriers, so be sure to use it wisely to get the best use out of it.
Reinhardt Power Score: 90/100
What Makes Reinhardt S Tier
- His shield is useful for any situation
- His ultimate can wipe out an entire team
- Charge can disrupt an enemy’s attack and/or get him back to combat quickly
- Reinhardt and Zarya for shields make an excellent tank combination
- Rein does lots of damage with his hammer
Roadhog (S Tier Tank)
Roadhog puts his thumb up to celebrate a victory
Roadhog is a tank hero with 600 health, and self-healing capabilities. This makes him a sponge for damage, and perfect for those looking for a tank that does a lot of damage. Roadhog’s kit consists of a scrap gun with two fire modes, a jug of healing that restores 300 health, a chain hook, and his whole hog ultimate ability.
The scrap gun has a long-range and short-range mode, with the short range doing 49.5-165 per shot, and the long range doing 50 damage pre-detonation and 49.5-165 post-detonation. The short range is used best with the hook, and the long range is best used to kill fleeing enemies.
The hook captures one target and brings them toward Roadhog, who can then use his scrap gun followed by a melee attack for an easy kill. This ability is what put him in the S tier. It’s extremely powerful and can initiate team fights. A good strategy is to flank, hook and kill an enemy, then run while healing yourself.
Whole hog is an ability that knocks enemies back and does 7 damage per pellet, which is 4928 damage overall. It has a 5.5 second duration, and it’s best used on maps like Ilios since you can knock enemies off the map.
Roadhog Power Score: 90/100
What Makes Roadhog S Tier
- Self-healing saves him from ultimates (like D.Va’s bomb)
- His hook can get useful eliminations
- High damage capabilities
- Slow and loud, but he soaks up a lot of damage
- Has two firing rates that make him more versatile
Zarya (S Tier Tank)
The tanks in Overwatch are very powerful, and Zarya is one of the best of them. Zarya, like Roadhog, acts more like a DPS. As her energy level increases, her damage does as well. Zarya has a particle cannon, particle and projected barriers, and a graviton surge ultimate.
The particle cannon can do up to 170 damage per second when in beam mode. The more energy, the more damage. It bypasses abilities like Genji’s deflect and D.Va’s defense matrix, making Zarya a strong counter to those types of heroes. The particle cannon also has a longer-ranged projectile mode, but be wary of getting too close to the projectiles since they will damage Zarya.
The barriers can protect Zarya and a chosen teammate, and it blocks 200 damage. The more damage she blocks with the barriers, the more energy she gains, and the more damage she does.
All of these factors add up to give her a graviton surge, an infamous ultimate that sucks nearby enemies in. This ultimate, combined with her high damage capabilities, earns her a spot on the S tier list.
Zarya Power Score: 90/100
What Makes Zarya S Tier
- High damage capabilities
- Shield barriers that can protect anyone Zarya chooses
- Powerful ultimate that works well with most other heroes
- Two rates of fire make her more versatile in fights
- Can wipe out an entire team by herself when she’s fully charged
A Tier
A tier heroes are not the best in the game, but they’re trailing closely behind the S tiers. Powerful and versatile, these heroes can change the game when played right.
Ashe (A Tier DPS)
Ashe is a powerful, long-ranged DPS hero with a kit consisting of her primary rifle (the viper), dynamite, a coach gun, and her ultimate B.O.B. Her rifle is what makes her a hitscan hero, and it has two fire modes. She has the long-ranged scope and the medium-ranged semi-automatic rifle.
Her dynamite ability lets her throw an explosive that does 20-50 direct damage, then 100 burn damage. Her coach gun knocks enemies back by 9.4 meters. It’s perfect for knocking enemies off the map, and it also forces enemies to reposition themselves.
B.O.B., or Bob, is her ultimate: a robotic sidekick that rushes in the direction Ashe points. Bob does 112 damage per second and has 1200 health, making him difficult to kill. While Bob is active (for 10 seconds), Ashe can shoot her primary weapon. This combo makes Ashe extremely deadly and useful to her teammates.
Ashe is fantastic for countering enemy hitscans and long-ranged heroes. Although she doesn’t have the fire rate of Soldier or the reload speed of Cassidy, she’s still a solid pick with amazing combos.
Ashe Power Score: 85/100
What Makes Ashe A Tier
- Long-ranged rifle with two firing modes
- Dynamite is a perfect ability for flushing enemies out of a certain position
- Her coach gun is effective for self-defense and defending other teammates
- B.O.B. combined with suppressing fire from her rifle is a deadly combo
- Works very well with Mercy and Baptiste, two popular support picks
D.Va (A Tier Tank)
D.Va gears up in her pink mech, preparing to take on her enemies in South Korea
D.Va is a very powerful off-tank hero with high mobility. She has her mech, and if it’s destroyed, she jumps out and has 150 health (this is nicknamed “baby D.Va” by Overwatch players). Her kit consists of twin fusion cannons, a defense matrix, micro missiles, boosters, and her self-destruct ultimate.
Her cannons, when combined with her micro missiles, pack a powerful punch. Her boosters grant her mobility and allow her to soar into the enemy’s backline. Using the micro missile and cannon combo, you can kill opponents with ease or jump on flying enemies like Pharah and Echo.
D.Va has the ability to jump back to her team’s backline and protect them. It’s a tactic called “peeling”, and D.Va typically peels to protect her supports. Another form of defense she has is her defense matrix. It blocks projectiles (including projectile ultimates like graviton surge) coming in her direction.
Lastly, her self-destruct does 100-1000 damage, and can be used in combination with her boosters to send a bomb at the enemy. It forces them to reposition, and it can wipe out an entire team.
D.Va is one of the most versatile heroes in the game. She can play in the front, on high ground, in the backline—you name it, she can play it. Her defense capabilities cause supports to love her, and her mobility causes enemies to hate her, making her an A tier hero. The only reason she’s not S tier is because she can be countered rather easily with a hero like Zarya.
D.Va Power Score: 85/100
What Makes D.Va A Tier
- High mobility makes for quick kills and repositioning
- Can peel back and protect teammates easily
- Counters long-ranged heroes like Widowmaker, Pharah, and Echo
- Her self-destruct forces enemies to reposition
- Her defense matrix can block projectile ultimates
Doomfist (A Tier DPS)
Doomfist is a DPS hero that does high damage and is every support’s worst nightmare. His kit consists of shields, a hand cannon, a rising uppercut, a seismic slam, a rocket punch, and his meteor strike ultimate.
His hand cannon is his primary weapon, and it recharges one shot every 0.65 seconds. Although powerful, his combo moves with his rising uppercut, seismic slam, and rocket punch are even deadlier. His uppercut sends enemies into the air, his seismic slam brings them closer to him, and his rocket punch can hit an enemy and launch them toward a wall to kill them.
Meteor strike is when Doomfist goes into the air out of enemy sight. He can land down on a group of enemies and kill any low-health hero in the inner ring of the outline. On the outside of the ring, he does 15-200 damage.
Doomfist is meant to flank and take out enemy supports. Since his kit allows him so much versatility, he’s a powerful foe. He can be countered with stun abilities like Cassidy’s flashbang, but he’s difficult to kill even then, making him an A tier hero.
Doomfist Power Score: 85/100
What Makes Doomfist A Tier
- Powerful combinations that are hard to block
- High damage capabilities
- His ultimate forces enemies to reposition and hide
- High mobility
- Counters support heroes like Zenyatta
Echo (A Tier DPS)
Echo's robotic body shines in the sun as she reflects on herself
Echo is a flying DPS hero capable of dealing a lot of damage. Her kit consists of a tri-shot primary weapon, sticky bombs, flight, a focusing beam, and her duplicate ultimate. The tri-shot fires three shots and does 51 damage per full shot, and 17 per pellet.
Her sticky bombs can attach to people and damage any targets nearby. The explosion does 25 damage for each bomb (there’s 6). After firing her tri-shot and using sticky bombs, Echo can finish her target by using her focusing beam. It does 50 damage per second, or 200 damage per second to targets with less than 50% of their health.
Duplicate is her ultimate, which lets her copy another team’s hero. For example, if the enemy has a D.Va, Echo can copy that D.Va for 15 seconds. She also gets the ultimate of the hero she copied 6.5 times faster. Using flight, Echo can soar into the air to get a bird’s-eye view, then copy any target on the enemy team.
Echo is so powerful because, even though she’s easy to counter with hitscans, she can copy any hero in the game and give your team a massive advantage. Not only can she get the enemy’s ultimate more than once with just a single duplicate use, but she can also use strategy to determine what your team needs most. Echo, for example, can copy an enemy tank and block damage during a team fight if you need more tanks.
Echo Power Score: 81/100
What Makes Echo A Tier
- High agility
- Works well with popular support heroes like Ana and Mercy
- Her ultimate is very powerful and forces enemies to switch their playstyles
- Powerful damage capabilities
- Her move combos can kill enemy supports easily
Genji (A Tier DPS)
Genji is a cyborg DPS hero known for flanking enemy supports. His kit is extremely versatile, consisting of cyber agility, shuriken, swift strike, deflect, and dragonblade. His primary weapon is three throwing stars called shuriken, and they have two firing modes: pinpoint, and spread. The pinpoint is best used for an individual target, and the spread is best for multiple targets.
His agility allows him to double jump and climb walls. That gives him access to paths most heroes don’t have. This is why Genji is so powerful. Not only because he has a kit that does high damage, but because he can slip into the enemy backline undetected.
Swift strike sends Genji forward 15 meters, and if he kills an enemy with any ability, the swift strike will reset. That means the player doesn’t have to deal with the 8 second cooldown. This reset can be used as many times as the player wants; all they have to do is kill an enemy, then the cooldown is gone.
Deflect is one of the core reasons why Genji is an A tier hero. Not only does it counter heroes like Bastion, but it also deflects projectile ultimates like graviton surge. This ability can turn the tide of the game in your favor.
Speaking of ultimates, dragonblade is Genji’s ult. It does 110 damage per swing, and it gives him a 30% speed buff. It’s best when paired with other heroes, like Mercy’s damage boost, Ana’s nano boost, or Zarya’s graviton surge.
Versatility and damage make Genji so powerful. Although he can be countered easily by someone like Symmetra or Zarya, he still packs a powerful punch that earns him the A tier.
Genji Power Score: 80/100
What Makes Genji A Tier
- Can flank enemies easily
- Counters slow-moving heroes like Zenyatta
- Powerful ultimate that’s great when combined with a nano boost or graviton surge
- High mobility
- High damage capabilities
Lucio (A Tier Support)
Lucio amps up his music in his highlight intro
Lucio is a speedy support hero who has a kit consisting of wall riding, a sonic amplifier, a soundwave, amp it up, and a sound barrier. Lucio can switch between healing and speed, and with amp it up, he can do more healing and speed. He can only do one at a time, but he can switch between the two in less than a second.
His primary weapon has two abilities. His basic fire is a 4-round burst, but he also has a soundwave, which knocks nearby enemies back. Players nicknamed this ability “boop” or “booping”. With this ability, Lucio can knock enemies off cliffs or other edges, killing them.
Wall riding gives him a mobility advantage since he can ride the walls endlessly. This makes him a fantastic pick for stalling on the point, and it increases his survivability. His ultimate, sound barrier, casts 750 temporary shields over allies in his line of sight. This defensive ult counters offensive ults like Genji’s dragonblade.
Lucio is an A tier hero because of his mobility, survivability, and overall use. He can knock enemies off the map, save his team from huge ults, heal multiple targets, and stall the game out longer.
Lucio Power Score: 80/100
What Makes Lucio A Tier
- Speed boost helps teammates out of bad situations
- Multi-target healing
- High agility
- Knock-back capabilities can knock enemies off the map
- Defensive ultimate that counters ultimates like graviton surge
Mercy (A Tier Support)
Mercy has had her ups and downs. She has been reworked and patched more times than anyone can count, but the final product leaves her in a pretty solid spot. Her healing, mobility, resurrect, and damage boost make her an A tier hero.
Her kit consists of two passive abilities called angelic descent and regeneration, her caduceus staff, her caduceus blaster, guardian angel, resurrect, and valkyrie. What makes her so strong is her caduceus staff that either heals or gives a teammate a +30% damage boost. The damage boost is best paired with DPS heroes, and the healing is single-target but effective since the HPS is 55.
Her blaster is for self-defense, but isn’t a huge part of her kit. The largest and most controversial part of her kit is her resurrect. Resurrect has a 30 second cooldown and can bring one teammate back to life. Overwatch players have argued over whether or not resurrect is overpowered, but no matter what the answer is, it’s a useful ability that benefits the team who has Mercy.
Valkyrie, her ultimate, grants her multi-target healing, unlimited blaster shots, and free flying with an increased flight speed. It lasts for 15 seconds, and although it’s not the most useful support ult, it increases Mercy’s survivability.
All of these elements combine to make her a solid support hero. Other supports have more useful ultimates than her, and an inexperienced Mercy player can die easily, but she in general is a fantastic pick for high healing and damage.
Mercy Power Score: 80/100
What Makes Mercy A Tier
- High agility and survivability
- High healing capabilities
- Her damage boost works well with every hero
- Her ultimate grants her multi-target healing and damage boosts
- Resurrect gives teammates a second chance during team fights
Moira (A Tier Support)
Moira stands in her hero pose in front of the training range
Moira is a high-healing support that’s great for healing tanks. Her kit consists of a biotic grasp, a biotic orb, fade, and her coalescence ultimate. Biotic grasp can do either healing at 70 HPS with a 35 HPS linger for 2 seconds, or damage at 50 DPS and 24 self-healing per second.
Biotic grasp is special because the damage can bypass abilities like Genji’s deflect and D.Va’s defense matrix. Along with this, by using the damage, Moira can charge her healing bar faster. There’s also her biotic orb, which sends out an orb of either healing or damage. The damage is 50 per second and 200 overall, and the healing is 65 per second and 300 overall.
Her fade is a quick, fast ability that moves her up to 15 meters in the direction she chooses to go. This allows her to avoid graviton surges and other similar abilities. She becomes invulnerable and invisible.
Coalescence, her ultimate, does both healing and damage for 8 seconds. It does 70 DPS and bypasses shields. The healing is 50 HPS for herself and 140 HPS for her teammates. The beam is deadly and useful to save teammates from certain death.
Moira is a powerful healer with a solid but not particularly versatile kit. Thanks to her high healing and damage, her fade ability, and her powerful ult, Moira earns the A tier.
Moira Power Score: 80/100
What Makes Moira A Tier
- Can fade out of ultimates like graviton surge
- High damage capabilities
- High healing capabilities
- Works well with high-health team compositions
- Her ultimate puts pressure on the enemy while healing her team quickly
Reaper (A Tier DPS)
Reaper poses like an anime villain in front of the "Temple of Anubis" map
Reaper is a DPS hero known for killing tanks. His kit consists of a passive “the reaping” ability, hellfire shotguns, wraith form, shadow step, and his death blossom ultimate. His reaping ability allows him to self-heal. He steals health from enemies by dealing damage. Overall, he heals 35% of the damage he deals.
His hellfire shotguns are insanely powerful and amazing for close-quarters battles. They can do up to 120 damage per shot. On top of that, he has the kit to get him behind enemy lines. The shadow step teleports him where he wants to go, and the wraith form makes him invulnerable to enemy attacks (but he can’t use his other abilities or primary weapon).
With this combo of abilities, Reaper can sneak behind the enemy, kill a support, then use his wraith form to leave safely. Or, he can teleport behind them and use death blossom. Death blossom does 170 damage per second, and he fires his shotguns in all directions for 3 seconds. Any nearby enemies will get damaged.
Reaper is an A tier hero because of his high-damage capabilities and usefulness in close quarters. Since so many maps have close-quarters components (especially control point maps), that makes him a hero that works in countless settings. His main weakness is that he can’t counter long-ranged heroes, like Pharah and Echo. Otherwise, he’s a solid pick.
Reaper Power Score: 85/100
What Makes Reaper A Tier
- Shreds tank players
- Can flank easily
- High damage capabilities
- His ultimate can wipe out an entire team
- Can get out of ultimates like graviton surge
Tracer (A Tier DPS)
Tracer pays attention to a ceremony while waiting to see if her enemy, Widowmaker, is there
Tracer is a flanking DPS hero with a mobile kit. It consists of pulse pistols, blinks, recall, and her pulse bomb ultimate. Her primary weapons are twin pulse pistols, and using her 3 rechargeable blinks, she can flank the enemy and take out their support heroes.
Her blinks zip Tracer in the direction she’s moving by 7.5 meters. She gets 3 charges, and each one takes 3 seconds to charge, so 9 seconds total. This means she can get in and out of a fight at high speeds.
Tracer’s recall is a self-healing ability that sends Tracer, and only Tracer, back in time by 3 seconds. This can regain her health and position, and it automatically refills her ammo. Tracer can go into a fight, kill a support, then recall out. It’s a good strategy for getting small kills that add up to form something big.
Pulse bomb is her ultimate, and when attached to someone, it does 350 damage. Any enemies not stuck but nearby will suffer 70-350 damage. It’s best when used with stun abilities, such as Cassidy’s flashbang.
Tracer is a strong DPS that focuses on getting smaller kills rather than team wipes. She doesn’t need to kill an entire team to be useful. Although she can be countered by any hero that can stun her, she’s still solid and worthy of an A tier rating.
Tracer Power Score: 80/100
What Makes Tracer A Tier
- Counters slow-moving heroes
- Can flank easily and kill supports
- Her ultimate pairs well with other ults like graviton surge
- Low health but high mobility
- Her blinks allow her to move faster than other heroes
Zenyatta (A Tier Support)
Zenyatta is a support that has low healing but high utility. Zen’s kit consists of orbs of destruction, orbs of harmony and discord, and a transcendence ultimate. His destruction orbs do 48 damage per hit, and he can amplify his damage by putting an orb of discord on an enemy of his choice. The discord orb grants +25% damage to the allies firing at the discorded target.
On the contrary, there’s the orb of harmony, which can be active at the same time as the orb of discord. It deals 30 HPS to the ally Zen chooses. Although he doesn’t do a lot of healing, his defensive and offensive assists are game changers. A good Zen has the potential to solo carry his team.
His ultimate, transcendence, does 300 HPS to nearby allies for 6 seconds. It’s a defensive ult that counters offensive ults like Zarya’s graviton. Although it doesn’t just have to counter big ults. It can also be used to counteract your team taking a lot of damage during teamfights.
Zen is an A tier hero because of his defensive and offensive capabilities. Far from the strongest healer, but the best when it comes to damage output. Zen has weaknesses, like his speed and ability to be countered by flanking heroes. Otherwise, he’s a solid pick.
Zenyatta Power Score: 82/100
What Makes Zenyatta A Tier
- High damage capabilities
- Can do both defensive and offensive assists
- His ultimate counters powerful ults like Genji’s dragonblade
- Can heal teammates that are far away
- His discord orb is insanely powerful
B Tier
These B tier heroes are powerful, but not more so than the A and S tier heroes. The B tier heroes are here because their kits are somewhat versatile, they have decent damage output, and they can counter solid heroes.
Bastion (B Tier DPS)
Bastion stands in front of "Route 66" while staring at his loving companion, Ganymede
Bastion is good if you want to be obnoxious. Since he has such high damage output, he’s great against barriers, and amazing on defense. Even if you were to go offensive with him on a payload map, that’d work out well too.
His weakness comes from the fact that he’s big and slow. He has a large hitbox, and although he’s strong when paired with shields protecting him, he can be countered by a dive composition fairly easily.
Bastion Power Score: 75/100
Hanzo (B Tier DPS)
Hanzo poses in front of "Hanamura" with his iconic bow
Hanzo can do a lot of damage, but the reason he’s a B tier and not an A is because, to use him effectively, you have to be pretty good at him. His ultimate especially requires game sense and skill. Without game sense and skill, it’s hard to land a successful ult. If you’re in higher skill categories, then this becomes even harder.
He can contribute to his team and pick off long-ranged heroes, but in general, there are better picks that are more versatile, like Soldier 76. Overall, Hanzo is a good hero and is fun to play, but when it comes to strategy, other heroes are better.
Hanzo Power Score: 75/100
Junkrat (B Tier DPS)
Junkrat gets a mugshot in front of "Junkertown"
Junkrat is very good at breaking barriers, but he can be countered by long-ranged heroes like Echo, Pharah, and Widowmaker. Regardless of how easy he is to counter, he’s excellent if your team needs high damage.
His ultimate is also great at picking off individual, weak targets like supports. If you flank with the tire, you can set it off before anyone has a chance to destroy it. Or you can combine it with an ability like Orisa’s halt or Zarya’s graviton surge.
Junkrat Power Score: 75/100
Pharah (B Tier DPS)
Pharah prepares for battle in her bulky armor that probably makes her itch
Pharah is very powerful and would be in the A tier if there weren’t so many heroes (popular heroes at that) to counter her. Ashe, Cassidy, D.Va, Ana, Soldier, Hanzo—the list goes on and on. Without a Mercy to pocket her, it’s difficult to stay alive with Pharah.
Her kit is decent when it comes to versatility, and her rockets are deadly. If she gets close to her target, they’re going to die. That’s what grants her the B tier rating.
Pharah Power Score: 70/100
Sigma (B Tier Tank)
Sigma, a deranged foe, stares at the camera as if it were foreign
Sigma is a strong tank hero with a barrier that can move. Its weakness is that it can get destroyed easily, but its mobility makes it useful for offense and defense alike. His primary weapon does plenty of damage, and his kinetic grasp blocks projectiles and gives him shields.
He’s perfect for doing plenty of blocking, and is a great substitute for Reinhardt if you’re not good at playing him. Although a little rough around the edges with the weak barrier and slow movement, Sigma is a solid hero worthy of a B tier ranking.
Sigma Power Score: 73/100
Sombra (B Tier DPS)
Sombra hangs off a walkway, planning her next move
If you ask an Overwatch player to rank how much they hate Sombra on a scale of 1-10, most players will say 10. Even Sombra players. Sombra is infamous for being irritating to play against. Her hacking makes her difficult to play against, but the good news is that it’s easy to interrupt her hack: all you have to do is do a tiny bit of damage to her.
She’s a flanking hero that’s hard to kill since she can teleport as soon as she gets low on health. However, if you get a hero that can stun (Cassidy, Brig, Roadhog), then you can kill her easily. As much as she’s hard to kill, if you get a hero that can counter her, she becomes an annoyance you deal with every once in a while rather than a huge threat.
Sombra Power Score: 75/100
Widowmaker (B Tier DPS)
Widow standing on the rooftops of "King's Row" after assassinating a target
Widowmaker can be a game-changing hero. If you’re good at Widow, you can upset the game. If you’ve mastered her, you can solo carry the game. Her sniper is deadly, and if you can kill your counter heroes before they kill you, then that makes Widow even deadlier.
However, it’s difficult to play her, and she’s not the best pick for consistent damage. She’s not the type to do much damage to a shield since she has a slow fire rate thanks to her weapon needing to charge.
Widowmaker Power Score: 70/100
C Tier
Although this is the lowest tier, that doesn’t mean these heroes aren’t useful. C tier heroes are either limited to specific situations, are easily countered by A and S tier heroes, or are not particularly powerful or versatile in general.
Brigitte (C Tier Support)
Brig in her casual attire, away from combat
Brigitte (Brig) used to be one of the most overpowered heroes in the game. After patches, she still has a lot of power. She can stun enemies and make them want to throw her off a building. However, other than her obnoxious stun, all the other supports are better than her. For everything.
Not only do they heal more than her, but they do more damage and have better access to their healing. Brig can heal when she does damage or throws her rechargeable armor packs. All the other supports don’t have this problem. Mercy and Lucio’s healing is automatic, Zen’s is the click of a button, and Ana and Baptiste have a quick reload. Brig has cooldowns and needs to rush in and do damage.
Brig seems more like a DPS than a support, and because her kit is outmatched by other supports, she earns a spot in the C tier.
Brigitte Power Score: 65/100
Mei (C Tier DPS)
Mei skates around the battlefield using her frosty kit
Mei has her uses, but in general, she isn’t as useful as other DPS heroes. Her freeze is powerful, but she has to have the game sense to find a vulnerable target to freeze. One thing she’s great at is stalling. If you’re on defense, she’s a great pick. Otherwise, there are better options.
Overall, Mei doesn’t do enough damage to justify picking her over someone like Soldier 76. An ill-timed ice wall can hurt your team rather than help them. It’s difficult to play Mei effectively, and even when mastered, she’s not versatile enough to go up against a S tier hero.
Mei Power Score: 65/100
Orisa (C Tier Tank)
Orisa gives the camera a wave, acting like a cute robotic puppy
Orisa is an alright pick. She does a lot of suppressing fire, but she’s outmatched by other tanks. Zarya can shred her, and heroes like Sigma and Reinhardt can block her suppressing fire anyway. She’s an easy hero to play, but not very versatile.
Her main role is to stay in one spot and fire away at enemies. She’s good when paired with Bastion or Junkrat, but on her own, there are much better picks that will aid your team more.
Orisa Power Score: 60/100
Symmetra (C Tier DPS)
Symmetra dances in her highlight intro
Symmetra, nicknamed Sym, is a great hero for close-quarters maps. However, put her on a map like King’s Row, and it becomes difficult to get any use out of her. She’s excellent on defense, but since her role is very defensive, it makes an offensive Sym a strange pick.
She does counter powerful heroes like D.Va and Genji, but because she doesn’t have a very versatile kit, it’s easy to counter her as well, earning her the C tier spot.
Symmetra Power Score: 60/100
Torbjörn (C Tier DPS)
Torb prepares to be chosen in the hero selection menu
Torb, like Sym, is only useful in certain situations. He does high damage and can suppress enemies, but there are so many ways to counter him. Any long-range hero can destroy his turret with ease unless you place it wisely.
Although good on certain maps (like maps where you’re on defense), Torb doesn’t have the kit to keep up with the S tier heroes. His kit isn’t versatile enough, and his role is mostly for defense, not offense. Even when he’s on defense, the offense can easily counter him.
Torb Power Score: 60/100
Winston (C Tier Tank)
WInston pretends to be serious despite being a giant gorilla with anger issues
Winston isn’t a bad hero by any means, but he isn’t comparable to the other tanks in the game. He works well with D.Va on a dive composition (which is meant to jump in on enemies at a fast pace). Otherwise, he doesn’t do much.
His kit isn’t very versatile, and his ultimate is best used on specific maps. In general, it’s easy to counter him. For example, Ana’s sleep dart counters his ult. Winston’s primal rage turns him into a giant that’s easy to hit with the sleep dart. Considering Ana is one of the most popular support heroes as of 2022, it’s best to skip Winston.
Winston Power Score: 60/100
Wrecking Ball (C Tier Tank)
Wrecking Ball (or Hammond) is a tank hero who gets on almost every player’s nerves. If you’ve ever played tank with a wrecking ball as your tank buddy, you know what this means: you’re on your own in the frontline. Wrecking Ball focuses on flanking the enemy.
Although this can be useful, there are much better picks for this tactic without sacrificing a whole tank. The best part of Wrecking Ball is that he can create space for his allies and stall a point for a long time. Otherwise, it’s much smarter to pick someone like Genji, Tracer, or any long-ranged DPS hero. Or if you’re looking for a composition that can jump in on enemies, choose a dive comp (D.Va, Winston).
Wrecking Ball Power Score: 60/100
