Overwatch 2 Heroes Tier List

From top to bottom, the best and worst heroes to play right now are in our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list for November 2022.

Overwatch 2 is finally here! With the game launch, there is plenty of room for you to rank up and dominate your competitive games. But which heroes should you play to win your Overwatch 2 games in November 2022? Here are the best heroes to play in Overwatch 2, from the best carry heroes to the ones you should avoid playing.

S-Tier Heroes

With the launch of Overwatch 2, some heroes are just better than others. If you can play these heroes properly, you should be able to win most of your games in Overwatch 2.

For the first season of Overwatch 2, one character really shines for each role: Lucio for the support character, Soldier: 76 as a DPS hero, and Doomfist for the tanks.

As Overwatch 2 is more dynamic than the original game, the best heroes to play in November 2022 are those who can run fast across the map. As such, Lucio is the ideal pick for support lovers. He can quickly run in and out of combat, providing a speed boost to help his teammates take the edge over their opponents. His kit hasn’t changed much since the original Overwatch days, so there is no learning curve to play this hero if you already played Blizzard’s FPS.

Soldier: 76 is the best DPS hero to play in Overwatch 2 right now. The new passive ability for DPS heroes makes them run faster after a kill, which was already one of Soldier 76’s strengths. Just like Lucio, Soldier: 76 didn’t change much between the original game and Overwatch 2. He is an ideal pick for all players, able to deal hitscan damage to all targets, quickly run to hide behind cover, and use his Biotic Field to restore his health before returning to the fight.

If you feel like being the sole tank of your team, Doomfist is the best hero to play in November 2022. Unlike Lucio and Soldier: 76, Doomfist changed a lot with the launch of Overwatch 2. He no longer is the annoying DPS that spams “and they say” or “hot cocoa,” but he is now a tank hero with a massive health pool and reliable damage output. Doomfist now has 450 health points while keeping his powerful Seismic Slam and Rocket Punch. Only his Uppercut disappeared, replaced by a Power Block blocking frontal attacks and charging his Rocket Punch.

A-Tier Heroes

A-Tier heroes are powerful characters to pick if you want to win your games in Overwatch 2. They are slightly less efficient than S-Tier heroes but remain solid picks you can use in most situations.

Winston received various changes making him a great tank hero in Overwatch 2. As his ultimate ability costs 20% more than it used to, almost all of Winston’s abilities received a buff. His Tesla Cannon now has a secondary fire that launches an electricity burst, quickly finishing low-health targets. His base armor was increased from 150 to 200, and his Barrier Projector’s health went from 650 to 700. Overall, Winston can survive longer and deal more damage, making him a deadly threat to squishies.

D.Va also has more health in Overwatch 2 than she did in the original game. She can call her mech faster and her Boosters deal more damage than before. These changes improve D.Va’s survivability and the damage she does when diving into an opponent.

During the Overwatch 2 beta, Moira was amongst the most powerful heroes. Blizzard gave her a Necrotic Orb that negates damage from opponents and debuffs other players. This power was way too strong, so Blizzard decided to remove this Necrotic Orb. Moira remains a mighty hero, mainly thanks to her mobility. She is a more significant threat than ever when played as a DPS, since securing a kill in 5v5 has more impact than in 6v6.

In Overwatch 2, only tank heroes can stun their targets. But even though Brigitte can no longer stun her enemies, she remains a perfect support hero to play in Overwatch 2. Her Shield Bash no longer stuns opponents, but its cooldown was reduced and its distance has been increased from 7 to 12 meters. It gives Brigitte more mobility and an extra opportunity to finish enemies who try to run away since the Shield Bash now deals 50 damage to its targets.

Another great support hero to play right now is Kiriko, but it may be hard to pick her since everybody wants to try this new character. Kiriko is a ninja healer who benefits from vertical mobility. She packs various abilities to help her teammates, from talismans that heal allies to a Protection Suzu that grants invulnerability to nearby teammates. Kiriko’s ultimate ability, Kitsune Rush, accelerates the movement, attack speed, and cooldown of allies, making Kiriko a great pick in this dynamic meta.

The new maps of Overwatch 2 and the fast-paced dynamic of 5v5 give more place than ever to flanker heroes. In Overwatch, flanking is a technique where one or more heroes use their high mobility to attack their opponents from behind the front line, usually to kill a support hero or another character with few health points. Three heroes shine as flankers in the first season of Overwatch 2: Genji, Tracer, and Sombra.

Since the current meta favors high mobility heroes, Genji is among the best DPS heroes to play in Overwatch 2 despite receiving few changes since Overwatch 1. He is about the same as he was, and his synergy with Ana is even more potent than ever.

Speaking of Ana, this support character also makes it to the A-tier of our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list. Her Biotic Rifle has more ammo than it used to, but the cooldown of her Sleep Dart is longer than before and the Biotic Grenade doesn’t last as long as it did. However, the new passive ability for support heroes benefits Ana, since she can now restore health without wasting a precious Biotic Grenade.

B-Tier Heroes

B-Tier heroes are average characters. They don’t really shine in this first season of Overwatch 2, but they aren’t terrible, either. These heroes won’t make a difference by themselves, but if you play your cards right, they can still make or break games.

With the hero reworks of Overwatch 2, Reinhardt’s shield is way weaker than it used to be. However, he remains a reliable tank when it comes to taking damage for his team or bashing his hammer to crush the bones of his enemies.

Since shields received a serious nerf with the launch of Overwatch 2, Widowmaker can shine once again. It is now easier for this sniper to kill her targets since they can’t hide behind their tanks. However, as the meta is in favor of high mobility heroes and flankers, Widowmaker could easily be countered and lack the space she needs to secure her kills.

Junker Queen is one of the three new heroes joining Overwatch 2 at launch. This tank not only deals significant damage over time to her enemies, but she also packs various ways of regaining health. When she first arrived in the Overwatch 2 beta, she was so strong the Overwatch team had to nerf her. If she was able to deal more damage than DPS heroes while being almost impossible to kill, Junker Queen is now a more balanced hero.

Reaper was slightly nerfed with the release of Overwatch 2. His Hellfire Shotguns deal less damage, but they remain powerful against slow heroes. Unfortunately for Reaper, the best heroes to play in Overwatch 2 right now all benefit from excellent mobility. He remains a situational pick that can work against specific team compositions, but that shouldn’t be your first pick if you want to carry games in Overwatch 2.

Ashe’s abilities are about the same as in our last heroes tier list for Overwatch 1. The only difference brought by Overwatch 2 is the health of B.O.B., which went from 1,200 to 1,000 HP. As B.O.B. is now easier to kill, Ashe players must focus on finding better angles to land a devastating Ultimate Ability without seeing their B.O.B. shredded within seconds.

In the original Overwatch, Zarya could use one shield on herself and another on one of her teammates, with two separate cooldowns. In Overwatch 2, Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier share the same cooldown, with two charges allowing you to either protect yourself and someone else or two allies. Zarya’s health and shields were buffed, making her a tougher hero to kill and providing more value to her team.

Baptiste has always been a reliable support character and remains as such in Overwatch 2. The changes to his kit make his healing even more efficient than before, with more ammo in his Biotic Launcher and better health regeneration from his Regenerative Burst. The passive ability of support heroes helps him get health back without using his cooldowns.

In Overwatch 2, tanks are the only ones with stun abilities. Therefore, Cassidy loses his Flashbang, one of the powers that made him a real threat to fast-paced heroes like Tracer and could interrupt Ultimate Abilities if timed properly. As he lost his precious Flashbang, Cassidy won another ability: the Magnetic Grenade. He can stick this grenade to his enemies and deal massive damage. One more click to the head and most targets wouldn’t survive. Deadeye, Cassidy’s Ultimate Ability, now lasts longer, deals more damage, and increases Cassidy’s resistance while focusing on his targets. If Cassidy is one of the best heroes in Overwatch 2 when it comes to mid-range fights, the lack of Flashbang makes him vulnerable in close-range battles.

C-Tier Heroes

C-Tier heroes are below average. The current state of Overwatch 2 doesn’t make them the best characters out there, but they can be helpful depending on your team’s composition and the heroes in the enemy team.

It has been a while since Orisa was at the top of the Overwatch heroes tier list, and it seems she won’t get near the top anytime soon. With the release of Overwatch 2, Orisa lost her ability to throw a shield for her team. She can no longer use her Halt or Supercharger, but instead won an Energy Javelin she can launch at enemies to stun and knock them back. If her opponents decide to get closer, Orisa can turn into an angry majorette and spin her javelin to destroy projectiles, push enemies, and increase her forward speed. While Orisa is a reliable hero who can deal massive damage, she lacks the mobility to reach higher places in this Overwatch 2 heroes tier list for November 2022.

Sojourn is a brand new DPS hero making its debut in Overwatch 2. Her main weapon is a Railgun that fires projectiles that charge her secondary fire, a high-impact shot. She benefits from high mobility and can deal deadly damage to close-ranged players with her Disrupter Shot. She was slightly nerfed since the beta and is more of a situational hero than a secure pick in all circumstances.

Bastion received several changes coming into Overwatch 2. He can no longer repair himself or freely change between his Recon and Sentry configurations. However, he gains a tactical grenade that detonates after a short delay and knocks back enemies. Bastion also gets a new ultimate ability, Configuration: Artillery. This ability unleashes a long-range artillery strike upon his enemies anywhere on the map. However, since the best characters in this Overwatch 2 heroes tier list have high mobility, they can easily avoid this strike.

Mercy has always been a reliable hero in Overwatch and the release of Overwatch 2 doesn’t change that. She received several buffs, improving her overall survivability. Her mobility is also better than in the original game, with various tweaks to her Angelic Descent and Guardian Angel abilities. But if Mercy is a great support hero, she is too dependent on the rest of her team to be able to carry games on her own.

The most popular duo for Mercy is Pharah. Together, they can make justice rain from above, but that isn’t enough to get them higher in our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list for November 2022. Pharah’s Concussive Blast deals additional knockback on direct hits, but the popularity of hitscan heroes in the current meta prevents her from shining.

Zenyatta’s feet have always been a mystery for Overwatch players. Can he walk? What would that look like? If Blizzard didn’t answer these questions with Overwatch 2, Zenyatta now packs a stronger kick than he used to. His melee weapon not only inflicts more damage than before, but it also deals a significant knockback to his enemies. This can be a lifesaver in some situations, especially considering there is no second tank able to peel for the supports in Overwatch 2. But even if this kick increases Zenyatta's survivability from flankers, he lacks the mobility to compete in the higher tiers of this list.

Wrecking Ball received many buffs, mainly increasing his survivability. But if the hamster is great at harassing the enemy team and can now do so for a longer time before dying, he doesn’t bring much utility to his team compared to other tank heroes. Wrecking Ball is great in some situations, especially when it comes to contesting a point. But in most situations, another tank hero with some ability to protect his team would be a better pick.

Echo wasn’t lucky with the heroes' balance changes. Her Focusing Beam has been nerfed and her Duplicate no longer copies another hero’s HP but is capped to 300. That makes Echo easier to kill when she ults, while it is harder for her to charge it up. Because of this, Echo falls to the C-Tier of our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list instead of rising to the top.

Hanzo got nerfed with the release of Overwatch 2. The damage of his Storm Arrow has been reduced from 70 to 65 per shot. The passive ability that increases the movement speed of DPS heroes after an elimination is nice but not a game changer for Hanzo since he already benefits from good mobility.

In the original Overwatch, Mei was a terror on the battlefield. One step too far from your team, she would put up a wall behind you and turn you into a living popsicle until her team kills you. But since Overwatch 2 is removing stun abilities from DPS heroes, Mei loses her biggest strength: she can no longer freeze her enemies. Instead, her Endothermic Blaster slows down her opponents by a constant 50% instead of building up over time.

Meh-Tier Heroes

The heroes from this tier don’t really shine in Overwatch 2 right now. There is nothing wrong with playing them, but the game's current balance is not in their favor. We have some bad news for players who enjoy Symmetra, Torbjörn, Junkrat, and Roadhog.

Symmetra didn’t change much between Overwatch and Overwatch 2. She still plays around with her turrets and teleports her team into action. Her primary fire deals more damage than it used to, but her secondary fire is slightly less efficient. Overall, Symmetra is similar in Overwatch 2 than in the original game. This doesn’t let her shine as much as other heroes who were buffed in this new meta.

Just like Symmetra, Torbjörn hasn’t received many balance changes. The new passive for DPS heroes granting them increased movement speed after an elimination makes Torbjörn run a bit faster, but that isn’t enough to compete with some other DPS characters placed higher in this Overwatch 2 heroes tier list.

Junkrat has always been a situational hero, shining best on defense and in closed spaces. He received various changes in Overwatch 2, the most obvious one being how his Steel Trap works. Instead of preventing his victims from moving, it slows them down by 65% and deals 100 damage. If Junkrat is good in some situations, he cannot keep up with the fast-paced meta that is ruling the first season of Overwatch 2.

Junkrat’s best friend, Roadhog, is also at the bottom of our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list for November 2022. As there is now a single tank per team, Roadhog loses his advantage of being able to peel for his teammates and flank to secure kills. He can still take damage for his team but lacks the value other tanks can provide. That is unfortunate, especially considering his new skin shows more of his assets than before.

That wraps up our Overwatch 2 heroes tier list for November 2022. We will publish new Overwatch 2 tier lists when Blizzard announces heroes updates, so make sure to stay tuned to ESTNN to win all of your Overwatch 2 games!