Overwatch 2character rankings can be as fickle as their players, with constant patches and kit alterations changing just how effective each hero is. Your favorite heroes can be very personal, as some players find certain heroes fit their skill set more than others. If you’re new to the game, however, there are a few characters you should start with.

Overwatch 2heroes are split between theTank, Damage, and Support roles. They focus on damage negation, damage dealing, and healing respectively. Each team has one Tank, two Damage, and two Supports in a standard match. As such, it is more important to know who shines in each of these roles rather than lump all the characters together.

Comic book tracer, Tyrande Symmetra & Illidan Genji Skins from Overwatch.

Overwatch 2 Tanks, Ranked

Best Tanks For Season 12

A Tank’s job inOverwatch 2is twofold. First, they need to take a lot of damage, acting as shields for their squishier teammates. Secondly, they need to control their team’s position, keeping them on the point and acting as the charge for new assaults. A good Tank protects their team and brings chaos to the heads of the enemy side.

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One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is expressing one’s style through unique cosmetics, but the rarest skins in Overwatch 2 take the cake.

The Tank class suffered when Blizzard transitioned from a 6v6 set-up to the 5v5 we are familiar with now. Theplight of Tanks inOverwatch 2is a well-known downside to the game, but if you rethink your position as a Tank, you may prove to be a more effective player. In this new meta, some of the best Tanks arethose who can hold the linefor their team.

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Doomfist, Junker Queen, Orisa, Roadhog

D.va has dominated the Tank lineup since the first days ofOverwatch. Both she and Reinhardt haveincredible damage negation, with D.va literally deleting projectiles via her defense matrix and Reinhardt protecting his weaker friends with his massive and sturdy shield. Both require careful positioning and are more focused on defense than offense, but they’re still at the top of their game.

Roadhog, Orisa, and Junker Queen have suffered from their fair share of nerfs in recent updates, falling behind in the rankings.

Doomfist, meanwhile, is just an oddly designed character whose melee kit is highly unintuitive and impractical for an FPS. Still, if you like these heroes,there are ways to use them effectively. For example, I love to play Orisa, and I find that using her in a bot escort match can prove incredibly useful.

Overwatch 2 Damage Heroes, Ranked

Best Damage Heroes For Season 12

The Damage role inOverwatch 2sports has the highest number of heroes, all of whom share a similar goal:pick a target and take it down. Now that Blizzard has decided we canplay allOverwatch 2heroes for free, I’ve enjoyed the intricacies of each Damage hero and discovered just what makes each one good to play. Whether you like a top-tier hero or are like me and find yourself gaining some of the lower-ranked characters, you can make your Damage hero work for you.

Symmetra, Torbjorn, Widowmaker, Hanzo, Junkrat

Symmetra and Torbjorn’s kits are stillholdovers from the days of Attack and Defense rolesin the originalOverwatch, meaning they aren’t effective unless you play defense. Widowmaker and Hanzo, meanwhile,require good sniping skillsto fully utilize, making it hard to master their kits. Junkrat, meanwhile, just pales in comparison to other Damage heroes.

Tracer, Cassidy, and Echo lead the pack with theirwell-balanced kits. Tracer hasn’t changed much since the franchise’s first days, meaning she is still a speedy and annoying presence to counter (and a great asset to your team). Cassidy’s name may have changed, but his High Noon Ult still clears the battlefield. Lastly, Echo has enough variety in her abilities to prove a deadly and efficient Damage hero.

Overwatch 2 Supports, Ranked

Best Supports For Season 12

Most teams are made or broken by their Supports. It’s a Support’s job to keep their Tank alive and provide extra cover to their Damage players. A good Support can make up for a bad Tank, but no amount of expert play from the Tank or the Damage heroes can fix bad heals and poor Support play. WithSeason 12 ofOverwatch 2adding a new Support to the roster, the rankings have shifted quite a bit.

Lifeweaver, Mercy, Zenyatta

I’ll admit, I may be biased against Lifeweaver, considering how often teammates who play him have ruined my strategy as Tank or Damage. Yet, while his pull can save your life, it provesmore frustrating and disorienting than anything else. It’s much better to get healed in the midst of action than to let the enemy team get the lead because you’re no longer on the point. Mercy and Zenyatta join him in C Tier due to their limited focus.

Ana is a shockingly good Support in the current meta, joined in S Tier by Lucio and Kiriko. Lucio offers so much maneuverability and widespread support that he can quickly dive in to support wild teammates and catch fallen ones up to the action. Meanwhile, Kiriko’s teleportation, combined with a solid attack and excellent Ult, shows why Blizzard loves her so much. All three Supportscan slide into a common team compand strategy, making them the best of their role inOverwatch 2.