With a plethora of changes to heroes in the beta release of Overwatch 2, some heroes are better than others. Until changes are made, this list should help you make the most dominant comps, and stack up wins in the beta!
Blizzard introduced a ton of new changes when they released the Overwatch 2 beta to the public. Massive gameplay and balance changes have changed the landscape of how Overwatch is being played. As the dust begins to settle on the initial release, some heroes are starting to rise and establish themselves at the top of the meta.
In this article, I’ll look at which heroes in each class seem to be the strongest in the game, and how some other heroes, despite their lower rankings, can have niche spots in the meta. As someone with over 500 hours on just the PC version of Overwatch, I am going to use my experience and knowledge of the game, as well as my feel for how things are shaking out in the beta, to rank all the heroes so you know who is the strongest to play in each role right now.
Tanks got the most changes out of all the roles coming into the beta. With the introduction of 5v5 gameplay, the tanks were adjusted to be able to exist a little better on their own and do a better job of protecting their team without the help of another tank, and generally speaking, they are all stronger. Their new role passive allows them to stay in the fight with enhanced resistance to knockbacks, and they give the opponents less ultimate charge than the other types of heroes.
Orisa: Coming into the beta Orisa received the biggest changes out of all the tanks, and it has resulted in her easily becoming the best tank in the game at the moment. Orisa seems to have something for just about every situation that she can find herself in on the battlefield. Her gun no longer has an ammo count, and instead uses a reheat mechanic that allows her to fire longer in combat without going through a reload animation. The Halt ability has been replaced with an energy javelin which can be easily used to spam into the enemy team, knock them into a wall to stun them, or even finish off kills. Her new javelin spin is much better than her old shield. It destroys all incoming projectiles, blocks damage, does damage and knockback, and it also speeds Orisa up. Fortify was buffed as well, now also giving Orisa 125 extra hit points and reducing how quickly her gun generates heat. Her new ultimate Terra Surge is great for displacing enemies, and if it gets fully charged, deals a lot of damage. This new Orisa will probably see some nerfs eventually, but for now, she is far and away the best tank in the game.
Doomfist: Other than Orisa, Doomfist got the most changes in the beta, actually making the jump from DPS to tank. Doomfist the tank is good. The main thing that, for me, keeps him from being in the S-tier with Orisa is the fact that he is way more difficult to play. It takes some adjustment coming from playing him as a damage hero, but once you have it mastered, Doomfist is one of the best tanks in the game at the moment. He has a ton of mobility, and his reworked Seismic Slam is huge and can easily disrupt the entire backline. His ultimate remains more or less the same, and can still deal 300 damage at its center, making it one of the best tank ultimates in the game. His new playstyle takes some getting used to, but I think this new Doomfist is a really good tank.
Zarya: Even with the loss of one of Zarya’s biggest strengths in bubbling the other tank, I think she is still pretty good. Her new bubble mechanic allows her to bubble two of her allies at the same time, and this new system allows good Zarya players to collect a lot of charge very quickly. You have to be careful with the bubble usage though. If someone catches you without any charges for yourself, you may be in a bit of trouble. If you can work around the bubble cooldowns, Zarya can deal a ton of damage, and protect herself and her allies at the most critical moments of the fight. Don’t forget, Graviton Surge is still a pretty good ult as well.
Reinhardt: Some people may disagree with this one, but I still think Rein is good. He is not the blanket tank pick he once was, but when it comes to needing a barrier, and brawling on a point, Rein still does his job. With fewer barriers in the game, it is a little easier to land his Shatter, and having two Fire Strikes gives him a pretty big burst of damage if he hits them both. He will struggle into certain comps but can thrive when given the right situation.
Wrecking Ball: I struggled with where to put Wrecking Ball on this list. I went back and played the beta some more and realized that he’s actually pretty good right now. He is nearly impossible to kill at the moment. He can get in and get out while taking minimal damage. He is somewhat similar to Doomfist in what they do, but they play differently. Right now, I would say Wrecking Ball is pretty underrated for the chaos he can cause.
Sigma: Rounding out the A-tier is Sigma. He comes into the beta pretty much untouched. He still does his old job well and provides a solid barrier alternative to Rein. He still can do pretty good damage and overall is a solid option. I think Doomfist and Orisa are better, but Zarya, Rein, and Sigma are pretty close together.
Winston: Winston isn’t awful in the game. He does a good job of dealing with squishy opposing DPS and is the second-best dive tank behind Doomfist. His new ranged attack doesn’t really do a lot for him as it is quite hard to hit and generally feels clunky to use. He gets out damaged by a lot of the other tanks, but if you need dive and aren’t comfortable with the new Doomfist, Winston can still work.
D.Va: She falls into a similar boat as Winston. With a lot of focus being brawling around objectives, these dive tanks aren’t the best options. Defense Matrix is still a good ability, and when she gets up close, she can deal solid damage, but it feels like she can get bullied around by the other tanks right now. Orisa can do everything that D.Va can, except match her mobility, better. It also feels really hard to get any offensive value with her ultimate. The new maps seem to have plenty of spaces to hide, and by now everyone knows to get out of the way.
Roadhog: Poor Roadhog. The switch to 5v5 has not been kind to him. He thrived previously being a flanking monster that could hook and one-shot people when they least expected it. If he tries to do that now, his team will probably just get run over. If he stays with his team, the second he uses his hook, he can easily be overwhelmed and killed. He’s not in a good spot right now. He really has no way to protect his teammates other than serving as a 750-health ult battery at the front of the fight. Even though less ult charge is generated, there is nothing Roadhog can do to stop the incoming barrage of bullets coming at him. I think he either needs some serious reworking or moved to a DPS spot because he is in some trouble right now.
The DPS heroes in the Overwatch 2 beta have their fair share of changes as well, but they also feature the introduction of new hero Sojourn into the mix. Despite her introduction, some of the older heroes see themselves on top of the damage tier list. Even if they received no changes all DPS have a new role passive that gives them some more movement speed to navigate fights in the fast-paced beta.
Soldier 76: Right now, I think Soldier is the best DPS in the game. Simply put, he has it all. He has mobility, self-healing, and really good damage. Right now, he is so dynamic and relatively easy to get a ton of value out of. His ultimate can charge pretty quickly, and it is now always worth popping it to get a solo kill. Turning a 5v5 into a 4v5 is really valuable, and right now Soldier does it excellently.
Sombra: Sombra got some buffs coming into the beta and they are definitely working. Being able to hack without losing invisibility is really strong, but the biggest thing is the 40% damage increase she does to hacked targets. Now Sombra can melt through hacked enemies. Even if they manage to get away, Sombra now reveals all hacked targets through walls to her teammates. So hacking someone, at its worst value, is like a miniature Widow ult. She keeps her utility, but with the increased damage, Sombra is a menace to play against.
Widowmaker: Hit your shots, and you’ll be rewarded. That has always been the style for Widow, and that hasn’t changed. If you have really good aim, you can play Widow. Fewer barriers in the game can allow good Widows to have a field day, and the tanks that are leading the meta aren’t super dive-focused. I went back and forth on putting Widow in S-tier, but for now, I think she fits well in A-tier. If you have good aim, feel free to lock her in and go crazy.
Genji: Dragon Blade is one of the strongest ultimates in the game right now. There is not a lot of reliable crowd control to stop the ulting Genji from wiping a team. Right now the focus has gone back to killing the Genji in his ult, which is easier said than done. Outside of Blade, Genji is a strong duelist with a lot of options in a fight. He can get on the backline and cause havoc and make it difficult for the supports to do their job, then he gets his Blade, and the cycle repeats. When paired with the right team, a good Genji can dominate a game.
Tracer: A trend is starting to develop here. The hitscan and flanking DPS are seemingly the strongest currently. One of the best options still is Tracer. The face of the Overwatch franchise is as strong as ever in the beta. She can get in, kill a support, and get back out like nothing happened. She is pretty self-sufficient and overall difficult to deal with now that crowd control is a little rarer. She is still susceptible to burst damage, but in general, Tracer is really strong.
Mei: Mei is different, but not bad by any means. She can no longer fully freeze her enemies, but now her primary fire instantly slows and deals a lot of damage. With fewer barriers in the game, Mei’s Ice Wall can act like a barrier and help reset a fight. She can heal herself, and has an up-close, and ranged option for dealing with enemies. Her ult still freezes enemies in place and is one of the biggest forms of crowd control still in the game. She is different, but still as good as ever.
Sojourn: Sojourn is the first brand new hero to be released since Echo came out, and right now she is a pretty solid pick. When fully charged her railgun can deal a ton of damage, and if you have good aim Sojourn is a good hero to pick up. Her slide gives her a lot of mobility, and she finds herself being really flexible, able to do whatever is needed for the team. Her biggest downside is she is a slightly worse version of other heroes. If you have really good aim, you’d probably be better off playing Widowmaker. Otherwise, Soldier 76 is really just a better Sojourn right now. He can heal, she can’t, and Sojourn has to aim when using her ult, Soldier doesn’t. That being said, Sojourn is not a bad pick, but if you are looking to maximize value there are stronger options.
Cassidy: Many of the heroes in this tier feel kinda meh. Not terrible, but they definitely get outshined by the heroes ranked above them, Cassidy is no different. He is a solid hitscan but loses a little bit of his assassination ability with his Flashbang being replaced with a Magnetic Grenade. It does some solid damage, but it’s less consistent than the old Flashbang/Fan the Hammer combo. He can be ok if you can hit your shots well enough, but why not play Widow then?
Echo: With Widowmaker and Soldier in good spots in the meta, it puts Echo in a bit of a tough spot. Flying through the air makes Echo a relatively easy target to pick off. Her ultimate was changed so that she can no longer get more than 300 HP, so it's considerably weaker. Echo is still the premier option for terrorizing opponents through the sky, but you might be forced to switch pretty quickly.
Torbjorn: Torb is still Torb. A lot of his value right now comes from how good the turret is at dealing with enemy flankers. It can help alert the team to a Genji or Tracer without ever seeing them. His damage is not as consistent as many other heroes, but Torb can still have his moments.
Hanzo: Hanzo didn’t get any major changes coming into the beta, so he is more or less the same. Spamming arrows in chokepoints can still get pretty good results, but he suffers because he is less consistent than others. His Sonic Arrow utility can be easily replaced now with Sombra, and Widowmaker doesn’t have to deal with the arrows falling off at range, but by no means is Hanzo completely unplayable.
Ashe: Ashe is in a similar boat as Cassidy. Right now, she is a worse version of other heroes. Bob can still be a pretty strong ultimate, but she lacks the ability to finish targets as consistently as Widow and Soldier.
Bastion: Everyone’s favorite turret comes into the game a brand-new hero, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly strong right now. He can move while in Sentry mode now, which is a strong ability. He lost his ability to heal himself and instead has a grenade and his new ultimate is a series of artillery strikes. When the cooldown to go into turret mode is available, Bastion can be very dangerous. The amount of damage he can output in that form is crazy, but the second it's up, he feels useless. If his opponents don’t respect Bastion in Sentry mode, he can and will shred through them, but if they get out of sight, he’ll struggle to contribute.
Reaper: Reaper can have his moments in the beta. When brawling on the point and getting close to the enemy, Reaper can output a lot of damage. He misses having two tanks to farm, and on some maps, he really struggles.
Junkrat: Junkrat’s damage is a little too inconsistent to find good value. The change to his trap doesn’t help him, as the target can still move but are just slowed and a lot of the time they can get out of the way before Junkrat can hit them with a bomb. Right now, there are a lot of better options than Junkrat.
Pharah: Pharah is just the worse Echo right now. Her ultimate still turns her into an easy target, and her slow flying in the air makes her easy pickings for enemy hitscans.
Symmetra: The current maps are awful for Symmetra. She is not a hero that can really play push at all. Her saving grace right now is that her ultimate is quite nice. With one tank and fewer barriers, it feels stronger, but the rest of her kit is not really designed for the way the game is being played right now.
Like the other roles, the healers got a role passive that grants them some out of combat health regeneration, even with this the healers that have the most survivability on their own are the ones that seem to be the strongest in the game right now.
Lucio: Lucio is the de facto best support in the game. His mobility allows him to get out of anything and makes him really hard to hit. His healing song can do a ton of healing and allows Lucio to focus on other things. His speed boost is still really strong, with only one tank, getting them into good positions is more important now. His ultimate is still really strong and can instantly neutralize a fight. Lucio is really strong right now, and he is still as fun as always.
Moira: Like Lucio, it is Moira’s ability to survive that makes her really strong right now. Her Fade is a get-out-of-jail-free card that has the cooldown start immediately after it is used. Her ultimate is really good for healing the team and dueling. Her orbs can still be used to heal herself, but now she also gets the role passive. As long as your Moira isn’t off trying to solo kill the opposing backline, she is one of the best healers in the game.
Brigette: Brig is sneaky good right now. She excels at keeping her other healer alive in the fight, and if she can keep her Inspire up and running, she can do a lot of healing. One of the biggest things that she can do is pull up her shield, and immediately get the out-of-combat passive, so she is really durable, and can duel quite well.
Ana: Ana is pretty good, but she feels really exhausting to play. She has to worry about everything coming to kill her all the time. If she misses a Sleep Dart, she is likely dead, and even if she hits it, she’ll still probably need some help. If she is left alone though, her single-target healing is the best in the game. Using the anti-heal grenade offensively gives really good value when it hits the enemy tank. If you play Ana beware, everyone will be coming to kill you.
Baptiste: Baptiste is pretty middle of the road right now when it comes to healers. Immortality Field is a good ability, but the way the fights play out it feels like you never get to fire any actual bullets and spend all your time pumping healing into the tank.
Zenyatta: Like Ana, Zenyatta feels really hard to keep alive. A rough start to the beta saw his health get increased, and his melee kick buffed to have a pretty big knockback, but I don’t think it’s enough. Discord Orb is still really strong, especially when it's on the other tank. Transcendence is strong now especially because Genji is strong in the meta, but odds are you’ll be killed before the other team decides to use their ults.
Mercy: I’m sorry, but I just don’t think that Mercy is very strong. She’s not awful, but in my experience, she really struggles to keep others alive through damage, and more or less just helps them die slower. Resurrection is still strong and the defining piece of Mercy’s kit, using it on a tank can completely rebound a fight, but that's easier said than done. The high levels of damage in the game right now don’t do Mercy’s healing any favors, and her utility isn’t as good as others.
I honestly don’t think any hero is completely dead right now, but some are certainly struggling to stay afloat. If you want to play Roadhog and Junkrat, go for it, there are situations where you’ll succeed. Generally speaking, there are a lot of heroes that are good in most situations and those are the heroes that feel the strongest. The beta is the time to test out these balance changes, so odds are that things will be rapidly changing, but for now I stand by this list.
