Overwatch 2 Season 2 Heroes Tier List
| Tags: Overwatch
| Author Ophelie Castelot
The release of Season 2 brought various changes to Overwatch 2, including modifications to some of the heroes' abilities. The launch of Overwatch 2 Season 2 came with a bunch of adjustments, balancing the characters’ powers in hopes of preventing one from being overpowered – eventually causing some heroes to be better than others.
To help you win your Overwatch 2 games and climb the competitive ranks in Season 2, here is an updated Overwatch 2 Season 2 heroes tier list that takes into account the December 15 patch notes.
S-Tier
S-tier heroes are the best characters to climb in Overwatch 2 Season 2. The latest patch notes improved their abilities, making them a real threat on the battlefield. Of course, each of these heroes can be countered by the enemy team, as in any Overwatch game. However, the current meta is in their favor and they can have a better impact on battles than other heroes for the lower tiers.
Roadhog
The very best hero to play in Overwatch 2 Season 2 to win games is Roadhog. This hero is able to deal damage and survive heavy fire with his powerful Scrap Gun and self-heal. Roadhog can even interrupt and stun opponents with his hook, or even throw them away to win an environmental kill. The current meta favors Roadhog, but beware of Reapers, as this DPS also has room to shine in Season 2.
Lucio
Lucio has always been a powerful hero to play in Overwatch 2, and Season 2 doesn’t change this habit. His overall kit allows his team to rush into battle or go back to safety quickly, his passive healing helps get his teammates back to full health, and his Sound Barrier can save his team from a coordinated assault from their opponents. Last but not least, his incredible mobility makes him a tough target to reach.
Tracer
Tracer received a slight buff with the launch of Overwatch 2 Season 2, with her Pulse Pistol dealing 5.5 damage instead of 5. While this buff is nothing major, the fast pace of Overwatch 2 fights combined with the current flanking meta allows Tracer to shine this season.
Kiriko
Kiriko is one of the best support heroes to play in Overwatch 2 Season 2. While her ultimate ability Kitsune Rush was nerfed, reducing both the movement speed and cooldown rate boost it grants to Kiriko’s teammates, her healing and damage outputs are enough to keep her in the S-tier of heroes to play to win games in Overwatch 2 Season 2.
Reaper
Reaper has two abilities that make him a real threat in Overwatch 2 Season 2: he can deal massive damage to heroes with a large health pool like Roadhog, and his self-heal combined with his Wraith Form allows him to escape the heat of battle. While the latest patch notes slightly nerfed DPS heroes with the removal of the movement speed bonus, Reaper remains a powerful hero to play in Overwatch 2.
A-Tier
A-tier heroes are among the best characters to win games in Overwatch 2 Season 2, but they are slightly less optimized than S-tier heroes. They still provide great value in fights, with powerful abilities to help their team take the upper hand against their opponents.
Orisa
Orisa is a real threat in Overwatch 2 Season 2. If most of the S-Tier heroes rely on dive and flanking mechanics, Orisa can put a halt to these fast-paced battles – quite literally, since her ability is called Halt. By disrupting the rhythm of the fight and peeling for her teammates, Orisa is a force to reckon with in this new season, even if she doesn't make it to the top of our Overwatch 2 Season 2 heroes tier list.
The December 15 patch notes further increased Orisa’s power, as her Terra Surge now pierces through barriers upon impact and the damage fallout range of her Augmented Fusion Driver increased from 15 to 25 meters. Not only can Orisa deal damage at close range, but she is also a threat at long range.
Sojourn
Despite receiving a nerf to the long-range shots of her Railgun secondary fire, Sojourn is among the best DPS heroes to play in Overwatch 2 Season 2. While she can no longer one-shot heroes with her charged headshots, she still deals massive damage with a buff to her primary fire and a better charge of energy when she uses her ultimate ability.
The December 15 patch notes increased the cooldown of Sojourn’s Power Slide and removed the movement penalty from her Disruptor Shot. Moreover, the spread of the primary fire from her Railgun increased by 28%, resulting in an overall nerf for this character who ends in the A-tier instead of the top of our Overwatch 2 Season 2 heroes tier list.
D.Va
D.Va is heading into the second season of competitive Overwatch 2 games with no changes to her abilities. Her overall kit is balanced, making her a reliable hero to dive on enemies, make room for her team, and peel for her teammates.
Soldier: 76
Soldier: 76 is a well-rounded hero whose abilities are easy enough to understand even for newer Overwatch 2 players and harder to master for those looking for a challenge. He is a viable pick in most situations, able to deal damage to any hero while staying safe with his self-healing ability. His ultimate, Tactical Visor, turns Soldier: 76 into a war machine that cannot miss his shots – a great ability to counter a flying Pharah or Echo.
Echo
Echo is a well-rounded hero who didn’t receive any change to her abilities at the beginning of Overwatch 2 Season 2. She can adjust to most situations, whether to harass opponents, peel for her teammates, or stay safe while poking the enemy team. Her ultimate can be a real threat, as she is able to copy any hero facing her and use their abilities for her own gains.
Genji
As Overwatch 2 took away stun abilities from DPS heroes, Genji has more room to thrive in all metas. The Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes don’t bring any change for Genji, who remains a good hero to play for those who like to harass enemy backlines and secure kills with a well-timed Dragonblade.
Mercy
Mercy has always been a good support hero, albeit largely depending on her team to win games. The new Overwatch 2 season enhanced her ability to defend herself, boosting the ammo of her Caduceus Blaster and making her swap weapon faster. Expect a few more Battle Mercy players in your games.
Winston
Winston is often at the top of Overwatch heroes tier list, and Season 2 is no exception. His ability to dive into his enemies makes him a threat to all heroes with low mobility, disrupting the enemy's backline while his teammates launch their attacks on the frontline. As he can both create space for his team, disrupt enemy supports, and prevent opponents with low HP from escaping the fight, Winston is one of the best tank heroes to play to win games in Overwatch 2 Season 2.
Ana
Ana has always been a reliable hero for those who can aim properly. Her kit can overturn battles, as a well-timed Sleep Dart can interrupt an enemy ultimate ability and her Biotic Grenade prevents opponents from recovering health points. As Roadhog is in top shape during Overwatch 2 Season 2, Ana is a good pick to counter his self-healing and help her team take him down quickly. She can also stop a Doomfist from disrupting her team with a well-timed Sleep Dart, whose cooldown was reduced by one second with the Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes.
Moreover, the December 15 patch notes further improved Ana’s efficiency in battle, as her Biotic Rifle now deals more damage and healing. The duration of her Biotic Grenade was increased from 3 to 4 seconds, meaning she can prevent enemies from getting back their health for a longer period, offering her team a better opportunity to kill them all.
Doomfist
The Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes brought a lot of changes to Doomfist. His transformation from a DPS hero to a tank with the release of Overwatch 2 disrupted his playstyle, and this latest update intents to give him the tools to become a disruptive brawler-style tank.
His Rocket Punch now stuns all enemies even if it is not empowered, his Power Block has been buffed, enemies are slowed down longer by his Meteor Strike, and his passive ability allows Doomfist to stay alive longer than before. Overall, the changes brought to Doomfist further increase his disruptive power, while letting him wreak havoc longer before eventually dying. Even if the December 15 patch notes slightly nerfed Doomfist, he remains a good hero – no longer overpowered, but still decent.
A word of caution if you plan on playing Doomfist this season: as the recent patch notes put this tank hero back under the spotlight, your opponents may expect a Doomfist in your group and pick a counter-hero to hinder your efforts.
B-Tier
B-tier heroes aren’t bad, but the current meta is not in their favor. However, they may work depending on the situation, game composition, and of course the skill level of the player controlling them.
Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ball almost made it to the A-tier, but the skill ceiling required to properly play the hamster is too high to make him viable in lower ranks. He remains a good pick for those able to play him properly and disrupts the enemy’s backline without dying before his team can make a move.
Widowmaker
Widowmaker is a double threat: either she kills poorly positioned enemies and helps her team win battles, or she fails miserably and feeds her opponents' ultimate charge. With fewer shields than in the original Overwatch, Widowmaker has more room to secure kills. However, dive heroes are in top shape this season and may easily counter this sniper.
Baptiste
One of the best assets of Baptiste compared to other support heroes is his vertical mobility. He can easily find cover and protect his teammates while staying safe, forcing the enemies to shift their attention from the main fight if they want to contest the support hero. On top of providing consistent healing, Baptiste can help finish off low-health targets or even turn into a DPS with his Amplification Matrix. Last but not least, his Immortality Field can be a real lifesaver, as his team cannot die while this ability is up.
Sigma
Sigma is a reliable tank hero, able to protect his team thanks to his Experimental Barrier and interrupt his enemies with his Accretion. However, the added value of his Gravitic Flux is harder to place in Overwatch 2 Season 2 as the current meta favors independent heroes, meaning Sigma will struggle to place his ultimate ability to impact several opponents at once.
Cassidy
Ever since Cassidy lost his ability to stun opponents, he struggled to find his way back to the top of Overwatch heroes tier lists. While he is far from being terrible, his kit doesn't provide much value to his team nor does it truly disrupt his opponents.
Symmetra
Symmetra received various changes to her primary fire, allowing her to charge her beam faster to deal more damage. However, its decay rate was also increased, meaning that as soon as Symmetra stops dealing damage, her beam’s power quickly decreases. Blizzard also tweaked her Photon Projector’s ammo, with a higher consumption rate but the ability to recharge when damaging barriers.
Zenyatta
While a good Zenyatta can be a real threat to its opponents, the omnic lacks the mobility to keep up with the current fast-paced meta. His healing, damaging, and defending value is outmatched by other heroes, who also benefit either from a faster movement speed or vertical mobility.
Junkrat
Junkrat heavily relies on positioning to hinder the enemy team, dealing maximum damage in narrow spaces. While he remains a situational pick that doesn’t work on all maps, Junkrat is a reliable hero whenever he needs to break shields or deal damage to a team staying packed together. However, he loses his advantage whenever flankers or divers appear, which is likely to happen in Overwatch 2 Season 2.
Sombra
While Sombra didn’t receive any change to her abilities, the Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes fixed various bugs that prevented her from staying alive, such as Doomfist’s Meteor Punch that could show if Sombra was nearby and D.Va’s ability to self-destruct while hacked.
Ramattra
Despite being the latest hero to join the roster of Overwatch 2, Ramattra isn’t as viable as fans could have hoped. Usually, when a new character is released, they are among the best heroes to win games as other players struggle to contest them and their abilities are not yet perfectly balanced. Unfortunately for Ramattra, it is not the case with this tank hero. This character is too resource dependent and lacks the overall kit to be as efficient as other tanks such as Roadhog or D.Va.
The December 15 patch notes buffed Ramattra to get him out of the meh-tier, increasing his movement speed by 20%, boosting his armor from 150 to 225, and reducing the cooldown of his Void Barrier from 15 to 13 seconds. While it helps this new tank stay alive longer, it doesn’t bring much more value than that.
Torbjorn
Torbjorn has always been a situational pick, relying on good positioning to place his turret and secure easy kills. If he can help protect his supports with a well-placed turret, especially in defense, he is no threat when it comes to attacking and moving alongside a payload.
Zarya
The release of Overwatch 2 slightly changed how Zarya works. Instead of having one shield for herself and another for her teammates, she now has two charges of shields to protect whoever she wants. Since she no longer relies on a second tank to lead the charge, Zarya has more room to pace the battle, create openings, and track down enemies who try to harass her teammates.
Pharah
Pharah has always been a decent hero, albeit not a brilliant one. While she can pick isolated opponents and fly over the enemy team, she has too many counter heroes to shine in all situations. However, once paired with a Mercy, she can stay alive much longer and terrorize her opponents, especially in lower competitive ranks.
Reinhardt
When it comes to tank heroes, few Overwatch characters are as emblematic as Reinhardt. While he dominated the tier lists in the original game, the shift from 6v6 to 5v5 changed his impact during battles, with fewer options to create space as no one can peel for his teammates when he leads the charge. Reinhardt remains a well-rounded hero that works in most situations, even if he isn’t as powerful as other tanks in Season 2.
Brigitte
Brigitte is a tricky pick in Overwatch 2 Season 2. She is a great counter against dive heroes or flankers, even if she can no longer stun them. However, she relies on her team being stacked to maximize her healing, and the top heroes from this Overwatch 2 Season 2 tier lists perform better away from their teammates – and therefore out of reach for Brigitte's healing.
Meh-tier
The beginning of Overwatch 2 Season 2 is a rough time for meh-tier heroes. The current balance doesn’t put them in their best shape, and other heroes could outshine them. If one of your main is in this list, that doesn’t mean you cannot play them: just be extra careful as you won’t have the advantage in battle.
Ashe
The current meta is not a good one for Ashe. While she is a decent pick in the lower competitive ranks, she fails to compete against better-balanced DPS heroes in this new season. Her dynamite damage is no threat to a Lucio or Kiriko, and her ultimate ability B.O.B is easily avoidable.
Mei
Mei has always been a good defensive hero, able to slow down fights to help her team take the upper hand against their opponents. However, she falls slightly behind this season as her abilities aren't as powerful as other heroes in this Overwatch 2 Season 2 heroes tier list.
Moira
While Moira is far from being a terrible hero, Kiriko does almost everything Moira can do, but better. Both can output steady healing and deal damage, but Moira lacks additional abilities to overpower Kiriko. Her entire kit is dedicated to dealing a mix of DPS and healing, from her orbs to her Coalescence. Moira does not provide any additional defensive value as Kiriko does with her Protection Suzu, or boost her team like Kiriko’s Kitsune Rush. Moreover, Moira doesn’t feature any tool to help her burst heal her team when it receives massive damage, focussing instead of bringing a steady flow of healing. However, if your aim isn’t the best and you’d rather be a DPS than a healer, Moira may be a good pick.
Junker Queen
Junker Queen received various changes with the release of Overwatch 2 Season 2, but they are not enough to bump her into a higher tier. While her ultimate ability now deals the same amount of damage in a shorter time, she is easier to take down as her torso and head hit volume size was increased by 12%.
Bastion
After being removed from competitive games to receive a complete overhaul of his abilities, Bastion struggles to find his place in the current meta. His ultimate ability, which used to be too powerful, was nerfed so much it ended up being useless. The Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes brought various changes to Bastion’s Configuration Artillery, reducing the delay before projectile drops as well as the explosion damage. Bastion can now place shots more often than before, but opponents have less time to react and escape. A decent balance, but not enough to make him viable in most fights.
Hanzo
Hanzo is not a terrible hero to play in Overwatch 2, but his kit doesn’t allow him to place higher in our Overwatch 2 Season 2 heroes tier list. The current meta is a fast-paced one, leaving little room for Hanzo to thrive and secure early picks for his team. He remains a good hero for those who can play it properly, especially thanks to his vertical mobility.
That wraps up our Overwatch 2 Season 2 heroes tier list. None of the heroes are inherently bad, but some bear more powerful abilities. We will update this list once Blizzard brings new hero balances, so make sure to check this article regularly to pick the best heroes to win games in Overwatch 2 Season 2.