A Guide to the Overwatch Bunker Composition

ESTNN's Charlotte August gives us the breakdown on the new meta shaking up both the ladder and the Overwatch League.

A different meta now reigns supreme in the competitive ladder of Overwatch as players across the globe have encountered a composition referred to as Bunker. If you’re confused as to what it might be, how it’s used, how to counter it, look no further!

What is Bunker?

So, let’s start with the first question: What is Bunker? Well, the Bunker composition is a defensive strategy used to either fully hold or heavily stall a team. There have been several variations of the composition, but the two main components are Orisa and Bastion. The composition has existed since Blizzard introduced Orisa to the game, but Baptiste has given it new life with his addition into the hero pool.

Healers are Kings (Or Queens)

The reason for the return of this meta is because of Baptiste’s skillset. This includes his Immortality Field, a protection circle that disallows teammates from going below 20% of their health. Previously, players didn't use Bunker as heavily for one reason. Orisa’s shield was not as efficient at protecting the team behind it since it only covered a small portion of the area you would set the composition up in. With Baptiste and Orisa, players can now cover more areas of the location they're set up in. This allows them to protect the teammates inside the ‘bunker’, making it difficult for enemies to eliminate the Bastion and other heroes inside.

Another popular choice as healers go in the Bunker composition is Ana, as her Biotic Grenade can easily heal her teammates within the Bunker, as well as using them to throw out at the enemy team trying to take down the shields that have been deployed. Some forms have chosen to run Winston along with the Orisa and the Baptiste for protection, which adds a 360-degree shield to protect the Bastion and other teammates from enemies like Pharah in the sky.

Teams normally set up Bunker compositions in locations with small rooms behind them. For example, the Los Angeles Gladiators set their bunker composition on Paris here:

Positioning is Key

The Gladiators chose to set their bunker up in this location for a few reasons. The first is that they are heavily protected in the area they’ve chosen. They have, easy quick ways to escape should the Seoul Dynasty dive onto them. The second reason is that the small room is a good choke point, so if Seoul were to jump on them, the Gladiators would be able to corner them and quickly dispose of them. The final reason is that the position has a good view of the entire area, leaving very few places for the Seoul Dynasty to sneak up on them.

There are ways that players can absolutely wreck the Bunker composition, though. The Seoul Dynasty managed to break this composition by diving on top of them and using intense damage to break down the shields and then using Fits’ Dragonblade as Genji to cut through the members of the Gladiators. The key to their success, though, was Michelle’s Sombra. The Sombra jumped into the centre of the Gladiators with her Translocator and activated his EMP, disabling any abilities the Gladiators might have had to counter the Dynasty’s attack.

Blizzard hasn't pushed the latest patch into the Overwatch League yet, but with the buffs to both Orisa and Baptiste, it’s possible that we could be seeing this composition arise in professional gameplay more often.

Image VIA: Los Angeles Gladiators vs Seoul Dynasty Stage 2 Week 1 Matchup