Overwatch 2 tier list ranking and best Heroes in Season 2
Who are the best Heroes at launch?
Stumped as for which Hero is best? Our Overwatch 2 tier list can help you make sense of the sequel's massive shake-up to the game's formula, especially as it heads into its second season.
For one, it's now shifted to a 5v5 format, with only one Tank on the battlefield at any given time. On top of that, a new tank has joined the fray in the form of Ramattra, the Null Sector leader who can transform into a hulking behemoth.
With Season 2, a lot has changed and metas have shifted significantly in even just two months, so it's understandable if you are a little lost on what's doing well and what is not in Overwatch 2 - once you have unlocked all Heroes first, of course.
That's where we can help with our ranking of the best Heroes in Overwatch 2 - as we have spent a lot of time working out who is currently ruling the battlefield.
On this page:
Overwatch 2 tier list ranking
We've ranked every hero in Overwatch 2 in one place so you can get a sense of the meta at a quick glance.
These listings are based on a couple of factors - such as how good a hero is at their job, the height of their potential, while also taking into consideration how easy it can be to make a character work for the average player.
Overwatch 2 is still finding its legs, even two seasons in. There are a lot of heroes, changes, maps, and philosophies to get your head around, but to give you a quick sentiment: Season 2 is varied... and a little weird.
Overwatch 2 tier list ranking (Heroes ranked by tier, last updated 12th December, 2022)
| Tier | Hero |
|---|---|
| Best | Roadhog, Tracer, Lucio, Kiriko, Sojourn |
| Strong | Winston, Doomfist, Reaper, Junkrat, Ashe, Ana |
| Good | Orisa, D.Va, Sigma, Zarya, Bastion, Genji, Echo, Pharah, Soldier 76, Torbjorn |
| Average | Ramattra, Reinhardt, Cassidy, Hanzo, Mei, Widowmaker |
| Weak | Junker Queen, Wrecking Ball, Symmetra, Brigitte |
How we settled on our Overwatch 2 tier list ranking for Season 2
Overwatch 2’s second season has felt quite chaotic, with everything still currently feeling a little in flux. The balance changes have affected a lot, and most are still seem to be getting to grips with what is great. It feels like the meta could shift still as new strategies emerge.
That being said, we've pooled several resources to make up this list. Firstly, through a testing phase and launch, we've played around 20 hours of Season 2 and have been seeing what's been doing well.
On top of that, we were privy to pick-up games between high-ranking players and have been keeping an eye out on what's been dominating in those games. We've also spoken to some top players about their experiences.
We've also considered tier conversations across Reddit and Twitter from players across skill levels, as well as some of the... spirited conversations being had by content creators across social media. All of this has given us a broad understanding of where the meta is for Season 2. That being said, expect it to move fast as it can shift very quickly, as we saw in Overwatch 1.
Who are the best Heroes in Overwatch 2?
Who exactly makes up our 'best' tier in Overwatch 2 in Season 2? Well honestly, it’s kind of weird. It’s certainly one of the stranger metas in recent memory, and it’s hard to point to one style of play that is dominating.
If you were hoping Ramattra was going to come in strong and you could climb the ranks quickly with him, you might be in for a rude awakening. He is actually one of the weaker options right now, though he does have a place.
He is an excellent anchor for a team and is particularly great at holding objectives, but he lacks both movement and lethality, two traits that are defining the best heroes in Overwatch 2 right now.
In particular, there are some strange tanks and DPS characters that are good that you might not expect, as well as some previous superstars who have had harsh falls since launch.
Right now, things feel a little unhinged, with some of the less traditional options like Roadhog and Doomfist dominating, and your standard tanks like Reinhardt struggling.
You might also see surprises in the DPS category like Junkrat and Reaper doing surprisingly well, while characters like Soldier 76, top tier at the launch of Overwatch 2, now feeling a little lost in the middle of the pack.
Other tanks like Winston and D.VA remain good choices and can fit naturally into a lot of compositions, with D.VA’s ability to eat damage and Winston’s bubble being great. However, they can struggle against both Doomfist and Roadhog, who are very good right now.
Tracer, despite only getting a tiny fix on her kit, returning the one damage nerf on her pistols, has seen a meteoric rise, taking the place of the previous flanker allstars Sombra and Genji who have both seen pretty harsh nerfs.
Sojourn also remains top-tier, especially in higher-ranked play, despite Blizzard opting to nerf her at the beginning of Season 2. She became a big problem, especially in ranks like Top 500 and the nerfs seemingly haven’t been enough to take out the core issue, her exceedingly powerful charged Railgun.
Interestingly, Supports haven’t changed too much from their previous standing with Lucio and Kiriko remaining the best picks. Lucio's boost helps speed tanks along, and he is capable of great healing over time, while Kiriko’s utility and surprising amount of healing remain strong. While her ultimate has been hit a little bit, it remains one of the best in the game if utilized properly.
Finally, Mercy has jumped up significantly from being one of the weaker heroes last season to a more viable option, especially when paired with a Sojourn who she can pocket to return her to her one-hit-kill threshold.
Best Tank Heroes in Overwatch 2
Tanks have seen a big change with the launch of Overwatch 2, with one being removed from the battlefield, meaning that just one player is now responsible for all the duties. Luckily then, most have been souped up significantly to handle that. And there are a lot of great options at this time.
Right now, Roadhog of all tanks has emerged as the winner of the most recent balance patches. His ability to get a one-shot kill with his hook combo means players have to play around him.
With his healing and damage mitigation too, he is an utter pain to kill. Making him even stronger, Kiriko’s Suzu bell clears him of anti-healing from things like Ana’s Biotic Grenade which was always one of his big weaknesses. He’s dangerous, he’s survivable and right now, he’s probably the best tank in the game.
Going from perhaps the worst tank to one of the best tanks overnight in Season 2, Doomfist has seen an almighty buff that has propelled him skywards, as he can punch more often, and has a lot more survivability.
If you’ve read a lot of discourse, you might see many saying he’s out of control powerful, but especially at ranks Diamond and below, unless you spent time learning him in Season 1, he is still a tricky tank to master.
As a Doomfist player, I’m not convinced his new buffs have made him far and away the best tank in the game, however, he is very good right now regardless and can feast upon Supports.
Winston has been great since Overwatch 2’s launch as he can jump into enemy back lines and, if his team is coordinated, expect help from a flanking Damage dealer, but also importantly can be saved by Kiriko diving in with him.
Too often in Overwatch 1, Winston would dive in and find himself disconnected from his healers, but Kiriko mitigates that a lot. His bubble is also great at blocking damage and keeping you alive, especially if you can dance in and out properly.
His big issue right now though is that he’s weaker against both Roadhog and Doomfist, however, with some smart play, you can mitigate this somewhat.
Elsewhere, D.VA is also strong. She is a great all-around pick that is feeling very viable and versatile. She can dive in a similar way to Winston (though not quite as well), but can also defend her team with her three seconds of Defense Matrix.
Like Winston, her biggest issue right now though is that Doomfist and Roadhog act as pretty staunch counters to her.
Sigma is a great choice too if you are looking for a more traditional, stationary tanking experience. He hasn't received too many changes in the move to Overwatch 2, but his kit remains very strong, especially as a solo tank, and is one of the better options against Roadhog.
He can absorb a lot of damage and has the potential to be the highest-damage tank. If you're not one for diving in, Sigma should be your go-to.
Best Damage Heroes in Overwatch 2
Damage heroes have seen a bit of a shake-up compared to Season one, after two balance passes which have hit heroes like Sombra and Genji hard and lifted others.
Rising into that top-tier flanker role, Tracer has seen a quick rise. She only saw a small buff, with her bullets doing one more damage, but she feels excellent right now. Especially against Supports, she can feast on many of them, and her mobility makes her a tricky target for Roadhog and Doomfist to pin down.
However, not everything has changed. Sojourn, who became undoubtedly the best DPS quickly in Season 1 has seen nerfs but they have done little to move her from the top of the pile. While she’s tricky at lower ranks, if you can master her, her excellent mobility and long-range threat make her great for evading both Roadhog and Doomfist… or just about any tank.
Ashe is also a great option at DPS. Her ability to do great damage from range makes her strong, with the likes of Roadhog and Doomfist unable to do much about it. Bob also remains a great Ultimate and can put a lot of pressure onto an objective, and with no shields in the way, she can build him quickly.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Junkrat has seen a pretty quick rise and is a real sleeper pick if you want to get silly. None of the best tanks right now are great at dealing with his spam, and with his close-range combo, he can reliably kill smaller targets when close.
Add on top of that, his Concussion Mines allow him to get out of sticky situations, such as Doomfist diving in, or to create distance between him and Roadhog.
Reaper is also a little bit of a sleeper pick as he is so dangerous at close range. He is great against Roadhog and can burst him down after he uses his heal, as well as bait out hiss hook with Wraith Form.
He’s pretty great due to the tank meta and does well in most situations, especially when paired with a Kiriko ultimate.
Best Support Heroes in Overwatch 2
Despite movement elsewhere, the best Supports haven’t changed too much. However, what has changed for them is that the game feels generally quite hard if you lock in the Support role.
With Doomfists, Tracers and all manner of other lethal heroes trying to get at you, playing support right now can feel like a bit of a horror game.
Currently, Kiriko is the best healer in the game. She's just excellent. She has a great combination of abilities, a lot of healing, and can appear almost anywhere in an instant. Currently, the play has flankers running around the back of teams, and Kiriko hunting with them to support.
Due to her ability to teleport, she can both dive in to help teammates or dive out if a situation gets too spicy. On top of that, her ultimate is very strong and has some wild interactions with other heroes.
Elsewhere Lucio is also excellent. He fits into a lot of compositions, and his speed boost is always useful, especially with mobility such an important factor of the meta. Add on top of that, his Sound Barrier is still an excellent ultimate to counter powerful enemy ultimates.
Interestingly, the biggest mover is Mercy, though it’s not due to her bizarre buff of five extra bullets in her magazine. No, it comes down to her being trickier to pin down against all the heroes coming for Supports, but also her strong pairing with Sojourn.
The DPS can no longer one-hit kill with her Railgun, however, with a damage boost, it becomes possible again. Add on top of that Ashe being strong, and Mercy has a lot of boosting potential right now.
Ana and Zenyatta are excellent as well, and in a void, could well be S-Tier themselves. Ana's Biotic Grenade and Zenyatta's Discord Orbs are powerful utility tools.
The only real issue with these two is that they are juicy targets for diving heroes, which are strong right now. However, with some care from the teammates to look out for them, they are very powerful options.
Remember, for new players, you need to unlock Heroes in Overwatch 2 before you can start using them - but hopefully the recommendations above give you options as you go.