Not all heroes are created equal. In Overwatch, you have the choice of playing as one of 21 heroes at any given time, but you'll quickly find that some heroes are going to provide better results than others.
After some thoughtful investigation, we have a list of five heroes that are well worth you spending the time to master. They range across all four roles and will serve you well in your journeys.
Lucio (Support)
Abilities:
- Sonic Amplifier – Lúcio can hit his enemies with sonic projectiles or knock them back with a blast of sound.
- Crossfade – Lúcio continuously energizes himself—and nearby teammates—with music. He can switch between two songs: one amplifies movement speed, while the other regenerates health.
- Amp It Up – Lúcio increases the volume on his speakers, boosting the effects of his songs.
- Wall Ride – Lúcio rides along a wall. This has a slight upwards angle, allowing him to ascend the wall.
- Ultimate: Sound Barrier – Protective waves radiate out from Lúcio’s Sonic Amplifier, briefly providing him and nearby allies with personal shields.
How He Plays: Lucio's Cross Fade aura can be altered between improved movement speed and healing, allowing him to buff multiple characters near him at once. This aura can be buffed with Amp It Up to provide further increased movement to and from combat, or burst healing. Unlike Mercy, he can contribute offensive firepower while healing and even knock back enemies. When under pressure, he can use his rollerblades to quickly get out of trouble, and even wall ride to make himself a tough target to hit.
Why He's One Of The Best: Lucio is the most reliable Support character. His auras allow him to enhance comrades while contributing offensive throughput of his own. He's also highly mobile and has two options for keeping nearby teammates alive when crap hits the fan thanks to Amp It Up and Sound Barrier.
You Will Enjoy Playing As Him If: You enjoy having multiple options at your disposal for supporting teammates. Additionally, you like having mobility and being able to provide supportive firepower without sacrificing your healing capabilities.
McCree (Offense)
Abilities:
- Peacekeeper – McCree fires off a round from his trusty six-shooter. He can fan the Peacekeeper’s hammer to swiftly unload the entire chamber.
- Combat Roll – McCree dives in the direction he’s moving, effortlessly reloading his Peacekeeper in the process.
- Flashbang – McCree heaves a blinding grenade that explodes shortly after it leaves his hand. The blast staggers enemies in a small radius.
- Ultimate: Deadeye – Focus. Mark. Draw. McCree takes a few precious moments to aim; when he’s ready to fire, he shoots every enemy in his line of sight. The weaker his targets are, the faster he’ll line up a killshot.
How He Plays: McCree's Peacekeeper hits hard and fast, allowing him to take down any enemy within seconds if aimed well. When continued pressure is necessary, Combat Roll allows him to instantly reload. If enemies begin focusing on him, he can toss a Flashbang and retreat to better positioning. Lastly, his Ultimate called Deadeye is capable of acing the opposing team when positioned correctly.
Why He's One Of The Best: McCree's revolver-oriented damage is arguably the least situational of any offensive hero. No matter the map or situation, he will be able to contribute high damage, and when Deadeye is up he can mop the floor with opposing heroes.
You Will Enjoy Playing As Him If: You enjoy using revolvers and/or Wild West stylized characters. McCree is the epitome of a hard-hitting, Western hat toting son of a gun who can win every duel he comes across provided your aim is on-point.
Reinhardt (Tank)
Abilities:
- Rocket Hammer – Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer is an exemplary melee weapon, able to deal punishing damage in a wide arc with every swing.
- Barrier Field – Reinhardt projects a broad, forward-facing energy barrier, which can absorb substantial damage before it is destroyed. Though Reinhardt can protect himself and his companions behind the barrier, he cannot attack while sustaining it.
- Charge – Reinhardt charges forth in a straight line, grabbing hold of enemies in his path. If he collides with a wall, foes he’s carrying suffer extreme damage.
- Fire Strike – By whipping his Rocket Hammer forward, Reinhardt slings a flaming projectile which pierces and damages any enemies it touches.
- Earthshatter – Reinhardt forcefully slams his rocket hammer into the ground, knocking down and damaging all enemies in front of him.
How He Plays: Reinhardt allows his team to penetrate chokepoints using his Barrier Field. Once he's face-to-face with the opposition, he pummels them with his massive Rocket Hammer. If someone tries running away, and they do so often, he uses Charge to try to pin and smash them against a nearby wall. He can also use Fire Strike and Earthshatter to cause destruction several feet in front of him.
Why He's One Of The Best: He is the strongest hero for helping a team break through heavy defenses to contest objective points. His toolkit is surprisingly versatile allowing him to cover teammates, deal heavy damage from melee and mid-range, and survive a lot of punishment.
You Will Enjoy Playing As Him If: You enjoy leading the charge in battle. Reinhardt is a resilient and well-equipped hero that is the last thing an opposing team wants to see on the front line of an encroaching attack.
Widowmaker (Defense)
Abilities:
- Widow's Kiss – Widowmaker’s versatile sniper rifle is ideal for scope-aimed shots at distant targets. Should targets close to medium range, the rifle can also be fired in fully-automatic or single-shot mode. Sniper shots cost 3 rounds.
- Grappling Hook – Widowmaker launches a grappling hook towards the location she’s aiming at – when the hook connects with a scalable surface, she’s quickly drawn towards it, allowing her to expand her view of the battlefield and evade or flank targets.
- Venom Mine – Widowmaker adheres a swiftly-arming venom mine to nearly any surface. When a target wanders within range of the mine’s motion trigger, it explodes, delivering poison gas to any enemies in the vicinity.
- Ultimate: Infra-Sight – Widowmaker’s recon visor allows her to see the heat signatures of her targets through walls and objects for a moderate amount of time. This enhanced vision is shared with her allies.
How She Plays: Widowmaker is the dedicated sniper of Overwatch. That means she likes position herself in high, well covered locations using her Grappling Hook and taking pop shots at enemies below. She does this using Widow's Kiss, a powerful sniper rifle that doubles as an assault rifle when on the move. She can toss down a Venom Mine to punish any approaching enemy. Additionally, she can provide reconnaissance using Infra-Sight to reveal the location of enemies.
Why She's One Of The Best: She is capable of dealing some of the highest burst damage in the game from safe, difficult to reach map locations. Although it takes a steady hand and precise aim, the Widow's Kiss is a force to be reckoned with. Infra-sight is also great for providing critical information for teammates allowing her to be more than one-dimensional.
You Will Enjoy Playing As Her If: You enjoy fulfilling sniper roles. Widowmaker is a capable sniper that can assassinate targets swiftly provided you can aim quickly from carefully chosen locations.
Winston (Tank)
Abilities:
- Tesla Cannon – Winston’s weapon fires a short-range electric barrage for as long as he holds down the trigger. The electricity arcs to any enemy in its blast radius, and may damage multiple enemies at once.
- Jump Pack – Assisted by his energy pack, Winston lunges through the air, dealing significant damage and staggering nearby enemies when he lands.
- Barrier Projector – Winston’s barrier projector extends a bubble-shaped field that absorbs damage until it's destroyed. Allies protected by the barrier can return fire from within it.
- Ultimate: Primal Rage – Winston embraces his animal nature, significantly boosting his health and making him very difficult to kill, strengthening his melee attack, and allowing him to use his Jump Pack ability more frequently. While raging, Winston can only make melee and Jump Pack attacks.
How He Plays: Winston jumps into battle using Jump Pack and begins electrocuting enemies with his powerful Tesla Cannon. Although he has to get in close to use it effectively, his high health pool allows him to get where he needs to with high sustainability. Once enemies converge on his location, he can drop a Barrier Projector to protect himself and teammates. Once things get chaotic, Primal Rage allows him to begin smashing the world around him as if he were Godzilla.
Why He's One Of The Best: He's by far the most mobile tank in the game, allowing him to get in the face of opponents and take the battle to them. Teammates love his ability to create space allowing for heroes such as Widowmaker and Pharah to dish heavy damage while enemies are distracted by the huge gorilla in their face.
You Will Enjoy Playing As Him If: You enjoy getting in the face of enemies and punching them. Winston is a master of jumping into the action and causing mayhem in melee range.
