With all the nerfs and buffs, as well as the addition of three new characters, it was evident from day one that the Overwatch 2 meta would be different than the original game’s. Some of the old names are still impacting the meta-game considerably, but others have proven to be less useful.
Our tier list guide will provide you with only the best characters in Overwatch 2, including info about all the ability and stat changes for each corresponding hero.
S-Tier Characters
Kiriko
- Class Type: Support.
Is the new support hero any good? You bet. She’s actually so good that she immediately shot to the top of most players’ lists.
Kiriko’s best ability is Protection Suzu, which not only heals all affected allies but also makes them invincible for a short span of time, removing all of their negative status effects. It is a great tool to protect yourself and your allies from devastating ultimates.
Her other ability, Swift Step, is probably even more important, as it allows Kiriko to quickly teleport to a chosen ally and heal them instantly, saving them from defeat. What’s really special about this ability is that you can move through walls and obstacles while using it.
Genji
- Class Type: Damage.
Unlike most of the returning characters from the first game, Genji hasn’t changed at all in terms of abilities in Overwatch 2.
Shurikens combined with fast mobility still make Genji one of the most formidable heroes to deal with. His Cyber-Agility allows him not only to sneak up on enemies and blast them with an endless array of stars but also to quickly avoid damage and traverse any map with ease.
But his best is the Swift Strike skill, which is perfect for demolishing a stacked group of enemies. The coolest part about this ability is that there is no cooldown if a target got killed, so you can use it right away over and over again.
A-Tier Characters
Lucio
- Class Type: Support.
Lucio could have easily been placed well above Kiriko as the best support character, but Blizzard decided to significantly nerf his abilities.
His Crossfade Self-Heal Aura now heals only 6 HP instead of 12 HP per second as before, and his Sound Barrier now grants players overhealth instead of shields. Which one is better, overhealth or shields, is currently a matter of speculation among many players.
The rest of his skills stay the same, and most fortunately, his mobility hasn’t been affected in any way, which still makes him one of the fastest characters in the game.
Soldier: 76
- Class Type: Damage.
Soldier always had a reputation as one of the most well-balanced heroes in the Overwatch meta. Although he is still very good at damage, some of his weaponry has been nerfed in Overwatch 2.
His main Heavy Pulse Rifle now deals a little less damage: 18 instead of 20. But fortunately, the reload time stays the same. If you enjoyed using his Sprint ability to charge forward, now you have to slow down a bit from 50% to 40% of your base speed of movement.
On the positive side, now his Tactical Visor automatically aims for critical damage, which is a really nice bonus, though it no longer removes damage falloff.
Sigma
- Class Type: Tank.
Many returning players may be surprised that Sigma is currently the toughest tank in the game.
His HP has been dramatically increased from 400 HP to 550 HP! On top of that, his Experimental Barrier now heals you much faster, at a rate of 100 HP/s instead of 80 HP/s in the first game.
But most importantly, his Accretion ability now deals 100 points of damage instead of 70, which is a significant buff. All these changes quickly made Sigma one of the best new heroes in Overwatch 2.
Zenyatta
- Class Type: Support.
Zenyatta is a totally different type of support hero, as his abilities are mainly focused on buffing damage.
His Orb of Discord can be thrown at any opponent, increasing the damage they take by 25%. It’s a good skill to combo with another damage ally. However, you need to keep the enemy in your sight at all times, otherwise, the orb will return to you in mere 2 seconds.
In Overwatch 2, Zenyatta also gets a brand-new passive skill Snap Kick, which increases melee damage by 50%, including a significant knockback. With the right team composition, Zenyatta can help you deal way more damage than without him.
B-Tier Characters
Ana
- Class Type: Support.
Ana’s Biotic Rifle is arguably the best weapon a support character can have, healing allies and damaging enemies. To the joy of all Ana mains, her rifle now has an increased magazine capacity of 15 darts instead of 12.
Unfortunately, the rest of her arsenal has been nerfed, such as Sleep Darts, which now have a cooldown of 15 seconds instead of 12, and her Biotic Grenade, which now lasts for 3 seconds instead of 4. At least the grenade still prevents enemies from healing, which has been its biggest upside.
Zarya
- Class Type: Tank.
Zarya is another tank with boosted HP. Though not as much as Sigma, Zarya’s HP went from 400 to 475 in Overwatch 2.
Her Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier now have a shared charge system, which saves you time if you want to use them in combination. Also, the duration of both barriers has been increased by 0.5 seconds.
On the other hand, her Graviton Surge ability now lasts 0.5 seconds shorter than before, but it should still be enough to pull all the enemies in the vicinity together.
Sojourn
- Class Type: Damage.
Sojourn is another new character introduced in Overwatch 2. Although she is hard to master, once you get to know her abilities well, you will be able to execute one headshot after the other.
All of her power is focused in her Railgun weapon, which fires special projectiles that explode with energy on impact. But it can become truly effective only with the help of her Secondary Fire hitscan, which guarantees headshots and damage up to 130 points.
If you take time and learn how to use this weapon correctly, you’ll know why she’s a worthy hero.
Ashe
- Class Type: Damage.
Everybody loves Ashe! She can be hard to master, just like Sojourn, but if you’ve been playing as her in the first game, then you should know just how good she can be.
Her biggest upside is, of course, her Viper rifle, which is both good at midrange and long-range damage.
The only ability of hers that got nerfed in the sequel is her B.O.B. sidekick, whose life pool has been decreased from 1,200 HP to 1,000 HP.
Cassidy
- Class Type: Damage.
Cassidy has always been the “dark horse” of the Overwatch franchise. Although some of his abilities got buffed, he is still considered a very murky character, albeit quite strong in his own regard.
His Fan the Hammer weapon now has a higher rate of fire, and his Combat Roll reduces the damage he receives by 50%.
Also, his Deadeye skill now has a damage reduction of 40%, which is truly significant. So be sure to revisit this hero in your spare time.
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Those are the best characters in Overwatch 2. Also, be sure to check out the rest of Overwatch 2 tips and tricks articles on our dedicated hub page.
