Overwatch characters: check out all the heroes and decide which one is best for you

Symmetra

• Role: Damage (formerly Support)
• Playstyle: Thrive in chaos

Previously the only support who didn’t heal, reworked Symmetra is a DPS threat that needs to be dealt with early in every team fight. Her primary weapon, the Photon Projector, emits a ranged beam of light that ramps up in damage the longer it comes in contact with an enemy. If used against shields, it generates ammunition and at full charge is the second most lethal primary weapon in the game behind Configuration: Sentry Bastion. The alternate fire sends large orbs that explode on contact which is more devastating than a Junkrat grenade. Sentry Turrets are small turrets that reduce the speed of targets they hit and can be stuck on hard surfaces. Symmetra can place three around the map creating “nests” of death that no one wants to enter. Deal with the turrets quickly before fighting more or she will ruin your team with her damage and slows.

The Teleporter was once an optional ultimate but now functions as a means to go anywhere on a map within range. Conventional uses are to leave it near spawn for friendlies to get back in the fray more quickly or to teleport teammates and their ultimates around. D.Va’s Self-Destruct, RIP-Tire, and even a charging Reinhardt can surprise opponents by instantly appearing in unexpected places. Photon Barrier is a 4000HP barrier that spans the entire map in a straight line.  

Torbjorn

• Role: Damage (formerly Defense)
• Playstyle: Backline defender

The former weapons designer for Overwatch, Torbjörn wields a powerful arsenal. His Rivet Gun fires molten projectiles at long-range and has the same stopping power as the Peacekeeper. When you need to get your hands dirty, the alternate fire kicks flaming metal like a shotgun at extreme close-range. Use this to burst down tanks and other large heroes like Doomfist. Overload turns Torb into a magma monster with an increased fire rate, movement speed buff, and an additional 100 armor health. 

Deploy Turret drops a self-building turret that automatically locks on to and attacks enemies in its effective range. The turret will shoot the first thing it sees but switches targets to whatever you damage with your gun. Set up near your supports and let the turret protect against flankers until you can rotate to help. Torbjörn’s Forge Hammer can repair his turret or get meme kills on foes that you want to tilt off the map. Molten Core does massive sustained damage as Torb shoots pools of molten slag around the map. The magma does more damage to armor and is a reworked Ultimate for the Swedish engineer. Cover your supports when expecting an enemy Dragonblade or to punish Rally on activation. 

Tracer

• Role: Damage (formerly Offense)
• Playstyle: Burst damage pest

Lena “Tracer” Oxton is a former pilot in Overwatch’s experimental flight program. She can travel through time and space using the chronal accelerator affixed to her chest. Tracer’s dual Pulse Pistols have enough ammo to one-clip squishy heroes. To master the ace pilot get used to managing the cooldown of her Blinks. She can teleport up to three times in a short-range, dodging damage and stuns while you dance circles around your opponents. Tag tanks with shots to steal their attention and gun down unsuspecting supports when the opportunity knocks. Time your engagements with your team so you don’t draw the aggro of an entire team. 

When things get hairy or your 150HP is dangerously low, Recall rewinds time, sending Tracer back to where she was 3 seconds in the past. Her health is the same as it was then as well so keep that in mind when using this ability. Practice meleeing after a blink and apply the same tactics to animation-cancel a melee into each recall.  Miss Oxton’s Ultimate is the Pulse Bomb. Tracer lobs a sticky explosive that damages anyone within its radius. Most players blink towards their target then animation-cancel their ultimate with a recall. Be careful, Tracer can be killed by her bomb!

Widowmaker

• Role: Damage (formerly Defense)
• Playstyle: One shot, one kill

Captured by Talon, experimented on, and brainwashed into killing her husband, Amélie “Widowmaker” Lacroix is the sniper elite of Overwatch. Widow’s Kiss is flexible but primarily a sniper rifle. Holding down long sightlines means instant death for any target with 300HP or less. For mobile heroes and tanks that you’ve hit in the head, the alternate fire turns Widow’s rifle into a fully-automatic SMG. Use a Venom Mine to cover your flanks when scoped in to alert you when someone is coming to challenge you. The mine damages foes over time and marks them through walls. 

Get to the high ground, escape pressure from opponents, or get off a mid-air shot with the Grapple Hook. Infra-Sight is Widow’s Ultimate ability and provides what any sniper needs, information. All enemies are visible through walls for Widow and her entire team until it ends or she dies. Don’t use this ability off-cooldown or right after a team wipes, you want to make sure you use it when your team is pushing in, against a Sombra, or when you’re unsure of what your competition is planning.

Winston

• Role: Tank
• Playstyle: Annoy your enemies to death

A genetically modified gorilla from Overwatch’s Horizon Lunar Colony, Winston is an incredible scientist and engineer. He created the chronal accelerator that allows Tracer to exist in real-time. He fights with a large weapon called the Tesla Cannon. Despite its pitiful damage, it shoots electricity in a close-range frontal-cone. All enemies in its range can be damaged at the same time so Winston excels at removing Symmetra turrets and Junkrat traps. Alternate zapping and punching to do the most damage, especially against armor. The main game plan for Winston is to flank behind the enemy team by abusing high ground. 

Drop on top of the supports in the backline and drop his Barrier Projector to block off damage and stuns that will come your way. This three-dimensional sphere doesn’t have a ton of health so dance around the edges to get the most value. Once you’ve killed something or feel the heat, use your Jump Pack to head back to your team. Rinse and repeat to give your opponents headaches. In compositions with mobile heroes like Wrecking Ball, Tracer, and Lucio, you can get everyone in a position to “dive” onto one target but this takes a great deal of coordination and teamwork. Primal Rage is one of the most difficult ultimates to master in all of Overwatch. The scientist goes to 1000HP and has a decreased cooldown on his jump pack. Use his large arms to swing a target off the map or to juggle them into a corner to their demise. 

Wrecking Ball (Hammond) 

• Role: Tank
• Playstyle: 600HP Tracer

Sometimes known as Hammond, Wrecking Ball is a controversial hero. The champion of Junkertown has a hyper-mobile and hyper-aggressive playstyle without much left in defense. The mechanized ball, controlled by a hamster, tanks with attention instead of shielding. You’ll need map knowledge and the same timing as a Tracer or Sombra to make the most out of the disruptive dominator. Wrecking Ball fires quad cannons to inflict ranged damage from high ground and to follow-up on singled out targets. The Grappling Claw turns Hammond into the fastest character in Overwatch. Practice grapple angles to get the best use of fireball mode, the only way the hamster can boop and damage enemies on the go.  Roll turns Hammonds mech from crab to ball mode with the press of a button. You can use this to hide your head hitbox when challenging snipers and reload your quad cannons after a few seconds. 

You’re still faster than everyone in ball mode so get used to using your third-person camera. The best way to get value out of Hammond is to roll behind the enemy team. When your grapple is off of cooldown, roll through them to displace and aggravate them. If you’re on high ground Piledrive is an amazing burst damage ability, hurting all opponents in an 8-meter radius. These foes are knocked in the air for you to finish with your quad cannons. Never engage with plans to stick around without your Adaptive Shields. Hammond gets 100 shields plus 100 shields for every competitor in his radius, including B.O.B. Wrecking Ball can have 1300HP for 7 seconds and contrary to common belief, the shields do not feed ultimate charge so use this to tank damage and stuns for your team. 

Hammond’s Ultimate ability is Minefield, dropping 15 mines that activate after a delay. Activate in the air to increase the spread and pile drive your enemies to give the mines time to prime. Wrecking Ball can build ult charge while the mines are out, something he shares with Ashe. Use the mines to secure portions of the map, get kills, or split tanks from the rest of their team. 

Zarya

• Role: Tank
• Playstyle: Aggression punisher

Zarya is the strongest woman in the world and what she lacks in mobility she makes up for with raw damage. You’ll get the most out of her if your game sense is good and your aim is true. Energy is Zarya’s passive and the crux of her gameplay loop. Damage blocked by her personal and projected Particle Barriers converts into charge for her Particle Cannon. The massive cannon fires a short to medium range laser that increases in lethality based on how much charge Zarya has. The alternate fire behaves like a futuristic grenade launcher so rocket jumps can get you to high grounds without help. 

Each bubble absorbs 200 damage and turns it into 40 charge so with one good cycle of bubbles you can get 80/100 charge. At 100 charge Zarya has the third most damaging primary in the game so take duels as you see fit. Take advantage of the high ground and use your projected barriers to cleanse hacks, biotic grenades, or to enable a teammate to be aggressive. Graviton Surge is one of the best Ultimates in the entire game. A gravity bomb is launched from the particle cannon and pulls all nearby enemies together for focus fire. Combo with Dragonblade, Dragonstrike, or Dynamite to wipe entire teams. 

Zenyatta

• Role: Tank
• Playstyle: Glass cannon

Zenyatta might preach peace and tranquility but his solo damage is the stuff of nightmares. The Omnic monk provides support through low single-target healing and massive single-target debuffs. His Orbs of Destruction provide pinpoint damage to everything it hits. If you’re having trouble with shield break, Zenyatta can handle that on his own. The alternate fire for the robotic warrior is to charge his five orbs into a blinding fast volley. The volley has a loud sound but Zen hovers like Sigma so he can flank off-angels to snipe enemy supports and snipers.

Orb of Harmony casts an orb over the shoulder of the selected ally. The pathetic healing is good for flankers like Tracer who can’t tank a lot of damage. Balancing the ebb and flow of this kit is the Orb of Discord. This ability sits on the shoulder of the selected opponent and makes them take increased damage. Both orbs return to Zen after three seconds out of his line-of-sight. Give into tranquility with Zen’s Ultimate ability, Transcendence. The deadly Omnic emits shines through enlightenment, gaining immunity to stuns, a speed boost, and healing 300HP per second throughout its duration. Transcendence is perfect for countering Dragonstrike, Dragonblade, and negating most follow-up damage when caught in a Graviton Surge.

Looking for more Overwatch help? Then check out our top Overwatch tips to start your winning streak.