Heroes are nerfed and buffed all the time in Overwatch like any other competitive game. Here is the current Overwatch hero meta tier list.
By Samuel Stewart
Overwatch’s 32 heroes form one of the most iconic casts in recent e-sport history.
The engaging gameplay mechanics and the balance centered on team synergy make each hero enjoyable to play with. Nonetheless, as with most games, Overwatch allows some heroes to shine more than others in competitive matches.
This list aims to shed light on Overwatch’s current picking order. Keep reading if you want to know which heroes to play in the current meta.
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Tier List Methodology
This tier list is consistent with the game’s competitive 26th season and is valid for all ranks, except perhaps Grandmaster.
All buffs, nerfs and patches before the start of the season are recognized. The heroes are ranked based on different factors, including:
- Pick rate in competitive play: how frequently a hero is picked in Bronze through Grandmaster-ranked games.
- Win rate in competitive play: the likelihood of a hero being part of the winning team when participating in games. Certain caveats are considered, such as heroes that have high win rates but extremely low pick rates will not automatically be placed in the upper rankings.
- Role efficacy: how good the hero performs their role as an Attacker, Tank or Support.
- Synergy with other heroes: since Overwatch is very team-oriented, heroes which fit across any team composition will likely place higher.
With that out of the way, let’s go ahead and dive into Overwatch’s latest tier list.
S-Tier
The best heroes in the game. They fit in almost any party composition you make, which is evidenced by their high pick and win rates.
These heroes excel in their roles and are always a problem for the opposing team.
Hero | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Moira | Support | Moira’s ability to heal the squad is a must-have in competitive play. She has decent mobility and short cooldowns, so it’s easy to justify her being in the top tier. Moira’s potential shines when paired with other supports like Ana and Mercy. |
Hanzo | Attacker | Hanzo is a versatile hero. He has excellent mobility, good damage, and is very rewarding for players who master him. Hanzo also excels in scouting areas because of his sonic arrows. |
Wrecking Ball | Tank | Wrecking Ball just plays differently than any other Overwatch hero. It’s the ultimate flex if you manage to pull off stylish plays with him. But to do that consistently, he requires a bit of practice to master his skillset. |
McCree | Attacker | McCree is way up here in terms of providing much-needed offense for your team. His skill set is great for close combat and picking off the other team’s squishier members. McCree players need to invest a lot of time refining their aim because that defines how successful he can be. |
Baptiste | Support | Baptiste is a great option for a support. He should be utilized in the back lines, preventing your team from dying while taking potshots at open opponents. |
D.Va | Tank | There’s a lot of stuff going on when you control D.Va. She has two forms, different abilities for each, and several playstyles to utilize her. When it comes down to it, D.Va is a great tank whose Defense Matrix can save the whole team in a crucial fight. |
A-Tier
These are powerful heroes with good win rates and synergy with most party setups.
They’re not up there with the S-tiers in the current meta, but skilled players can easily dominate the match with these heroes in the squad.
Hero | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Reaper | Attacker | Wielding two shotguns in hand, Reaper’s arsenal revolves around close combat. He can put decent damage in, but his defense and health are a bit low. His lifesteal passive is a welcome skill that can sometimes change the outcome of the fight. |
Lucio | Support | Lucio not only supports the team defensively but offensively as well. His movement buff allows the team to quickly retreat or chase down enemies, depending on the situation. Lucio’s wall run is the pinnacle of Overwatch mobility, allowing him to scout enemies or reposition if needed. |
Reinhardt | Tank | Reinhardt is tank incarnate. His shield covers a lot of ground and absorbs decent damage before breaking, which makes him essential in team fights. He also has a respectable damage potential because of “Charge”, which eliminates any potential drawbacks he might have. |
Sigma | Tank | The newest addition to the roster gets the spotlight. Sigma is a great tank but surprisingly, also a good DPS hero. He has offense and defense balanced, so that’s a plus for any team. Sigma’s downside is his high skill cap. It would take a very good player to bring out Sigma’s full potential in matches. |
Echo | Attacker | Echo has a very low pick rate, but that might be because not that many players are accustomed to her yet (she was only added in Season 21). What you can’t deny is Echo’s amazing damage potential and mobility. “Duplicate” is also one of the best skills in the game if the user masters it. |
Mercy | Support | Remember the time when Mercy was almost at a 90% pick rate? Yeah, those days are over now, but Mercy still sits in the comfortable A-tier because of her ability to heal and buff the team in a pinch. Also, her resurrection ability is an instant advantage for any team. |
Ashe | Attacker | Ashe is a true nuker if there ever was one. She can deal massive damage to enemies in a short time, which makes her valuable in team fights. The downside to all this offense is Ashe’s poor mobility. An opposing team can render Ashe useless if they focus on her at the start of fights. |
Zarya | Tank | Zarya isn’t a slouch as far as tanks go. What adds to her utility is her passive, which boosts her damage based on the amount her shields absorb. If you’re facing Reinhardt and Zarya in the same team, buckle up because it’s certainly going to be a battle of attrition. |
Roadhog | Tank | There’s a high chance that the first tank you’ve played as was Roadhog. He’s just that much fun to play. He also excels in team fights because of his massive health pool and regen ability. His skillset gives him good damage, as long as the player uses good positioning. |
Ana | Support | Despite being one of the most difficult heroes to master, Ana continues to see a high pick and win rate. Ana’s healing and buffs rely on precise aim, so it takes some getting used to. This is offset by how extremely useful her skill set is. When you get used to playing Ana, you’ll find that you’re playing arguably the best support hero in the game. |
B-Tier
These are good heroes that will do fine in conjunction with S and A-tiers or other heroes in the same tier. They have acceptable pick/win rates, so they don’t fall off the competitive meta.
Hero | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Zenyatta | Support | Zenyatta is marketed as a support hero that can hold his own in battle. This is not really what he is, which is a bit squishy hero with average support and damage capabilities. |
Winston | Tank | The current meta centers around beefy tanks and mobile supports to win team fights. Winston just doesn’t have any place in all that. The argument persists that you’d be better off playing Reinhardt instead because he’s a much better version of him. |
Genji | Attacker | Genji is another hero that’s difficult to master but very rewarding to you and your team once you do. He has amazing mobility coupled with great damage potential. The best Genji players dart around the map, picking off members of the opposite squad with ease. |
Widowmaker | Attacker | As the game’s premiere sniper, Widowmaker is quite tough to master but still effective when causing damage to opponents. She has a very high skill cap because you have to consider positioning your grappling hook and aiming while the fight’s going on. |
C-Tier
These average heroes will find success if the team composition is right and the player is experienced using them.
They have no traits that immediately stand out, but they have no glaring flaws either. You can try using a bunch of C-tiers in your next match, but it will probably take some time before you start seeing winning streaks.
Hero | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Doomfist | Attacker | Not many players use Doomfist, but he still wins more than half of his matches. A skilled player will be able to utilize his Rocket Punch to instantly kill opponents and his other abilities to quickly engage/disengage with enemies. |
Brigitte | Support | Brigitte could have been placed lower in this list if it weren’t for her hybrid capabilities as a tank/support hero. Her ultimate is her best selling point, proving very effective in team fights, especially when you have other tanks in your team. |
Tracer | Attacker | Overwatch’s poster child needs a serious buff. There was a time when Tracer dominated the battlefield with her quickness and fast shooting, but that’s all in the past. Now she has more utility as a harasser than a nuker. This is a big factor in competitive play because the best attackers can usually finish off opponents on their own. |
Soldier 76 | Attacker | Soldier 76 is a true all-rounder. His move set is basic, so it’s easy for beginners to play him effectively. He also has good damage because his primary attack has less recoil compared to other heroes. He can use “Sprint” to move in and out of battles quickly, and his AoE healing can come in clutch when timed correctly. Trying to be a jack-of-all-trades hero, Soldier 76 ends up becoming an average one in all facets instead. |
Junkrat | Attacker | Junkrat has a slew of AoE attacks that can pester an enemy team on any encounter. These attacks aren’t as strong as those of other heroes, but they’re great for harassing enemies. Junkrat can also come up in the clutch because he drops live grenades whenever he’s killed. |
Orisa | Tank | Orisa is seen as a “complementary tank” who pairs well with other tanks in the upper tiers. She has decent damage at range and is not susceptible to high damage because of “Fortify”. |
D-Tier
These heroes have a niche use case. Their skills still have some form of utility, but there are simply better choices out there for any given role.
Hero | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Mei | Attacker | Mei is good for pestering enemies with her de-buffs and ice wall. Damage-wise she’s only fair, and she has a high skill cap to master. If you’re planning to main Mei, make sure you’re in it for the long haul. |
Pharah | Attacker | Pharah’s skillset is basic enough for beginners to understand — but that’s it. She doesn’t excel past a certain point, and her accuracy with her rockets is heavily dependent on player skill. |
F-Tier
These heroes have completely fallen off the meta and are now only good for experimental matches in Quick Play. If you love these heroes, use them. Just don’t expect everyone else to be doing the same thing in the competitive scene.
Hero | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Torbjorn | Attacker | A lot of players hate going up against Torbjorn not because he’s overpowered; rather, they hate his playstyle which revolves around camping one spot. From a team standpoint, Torbjorn isn’t too useful in battles either because most of the time he is too far away. |
Sombra | Attacker | To make Sombra shine, your team has to have excellent communication and coordination. This is rarely the case when fights go down and chaos takes place. Sombra doesn’t do well when she has to “react” to different situations in matches. |
Symmetra | Attacker | Symmetra can only be used effectively by a handful of people, evidenced by her extremely low pick rate. Even with her character overhaul, she still lacks the mobility to position herself well in team fights. She can be a nuisance to tanks, though, but she dies so quickly that sometimes she doesn’t even have a chance to pull that off. |
Bastion | Attacker | Bastion’s damage output is easily his best quality. Hitting those shots without getting killed is a different story, however. Bastion requires a lot of skill to master because of his constant reconfiguring. Because of flaws in other areas, you’ll wonder if all that time practicing him is worth it. |
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