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Overwatch has 21 distinct heroes that not only appear different, but function with their own weapons and abilities. Naturally, their strengths and weaknesses result in a metagame that is based on counters not too different from rock, paper, scissors. Anyone who enjoys winning should always be conscientious of the composition of both teams as countering heroes makes victory much more easily achievable, although skill is an equally important factor.
Below, we will go over all 21 Overwatch heroes and how they match up against the rest of the roster.
Bastion
Capable of becoming a dangerous turret, Bastion performs best next to cover while on Defense. He's known for tearing players to shreds when uncontested, commonly leading to Player of the Game highlights. He can be countered with pop shots from around a corner by a small handful of heroes, or can be quickly taken down in close to medium range by Genji's Deflect.
Role: Defense
Difficulty: 1/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- D.Va
- Lucio
- Mercy
- Reaper
- Winston
Weak Against:
- Genji
- Hanzo
- Junkrat
- Pharah
- Widowmaker
D.Va
D.Va pressures the opposing team with infinite ammo and surprisingly high mobility. She performs best in an offensive role due to her lack of damage mitigation when compared to other Tanks, although her sustain based on the Call Mech mechanic is formidable. Her Boosters can get her into the face of stationary heroes in a heartbeat, and at chokepoints her Self-Destruct can be a game changer if used at the right time. She is countered by a few heroes that are capable of slowing her down and surviving her consistent but low damage throughput.
Role: Tank
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 3/3
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Strong Against:
- Hanzo
- Soldier: 76
- Torbjorn
- Widowmaker
Weak Against:
- Junkrat
- Mei
- Roadhog
- Zarya
- Zenyatta
Genji
Genji is highly adept at quickly getting behind an enemy team's front line and slaying their vulnerable key targets. He requires careful movement and excellent timing to be effective, making him one of Overwatch's most difficult heroes to play as. He is a hard counter to stationary heroes, but can be taken down consistently by heroes with high control and/or sustain.
Role: Offense
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 2/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- D.Va
- Roadhog
- Torbjorn
- Widowmaker
Weak Against:
- Mei
- Pharah
- Tracer
- Winston
- Zarya
Hanzo
Genji is one of two snipers in the game, both of which are strong at locking down captured territory. He is best at finishing off damaged heroes, but can also do well at picking immobile heroes from around corners. He is best countered by heroes that can get in his face and exploit his slow movement.
Role: Defense
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 2/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- McCree
- Pharah
- Torbjorn
- Zenyatta
Weak Against:
- Genji
- Mei
- Reinhardt
- Tracer
Junkrat
Junkrat might not be a handsome fellow, but he is excellent at holding down an area with explosives and traps. He is also good at dealing area of effect damage to clumped up heroes, similar to Pharah. He is most easily countered by team compositions that are fast and spread out, resulting in reduced effectiveness of his play style.
Role: Defense
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- D.Va
- Reinhardt
- Soldier: 76
- Symmetra
- Torbjorn
Weak Against:
- Hanzo
- Lucio
- Tracer
- Widowmaker
- Winston
Lucio
Equipped with rollerblades, Lucio is a fast-moving support hero that can increase the effectiveness of team members around him with faster movement speed and health regeneration. He is best paired with close-ranged heroes that he can stand near while supplementing them with outgoing damage of his own. He is best shut down by Roadhog's Chain Hook and Mei's control.
Role: Support
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- D.Va
- Hanzo
- Junkrat
- Reaper
Weak Against:
- Mei
- Roadhog
- Tracer
- Pharah
- Widowmaker
McCree
McCree is an expert at the art of the duel. He likes to head off the beaten path and challenge enemies with his Flashbang to hammer shot combo. Because of his ability to stun and maim opponents quickly, he is great for taking out assassination-type heroes that require more time to unload their damage, as well as tanks that aren't being supported. He tends to get blown away by stationary heroes, though.
Role: Offense
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- Genji
- Mei
- Reinhardt
- Roadkill
- Tracer
Weak Against:
- Bastion
- Hanzo
- Widowmaker
Mei
Mei is an unsuspecting hero that can be a pain to deal with. Her ice-based area control is among the best of the game. Her Endothermic Blaster and Blizzard allow her to freeze opponents and then deliver devastating headshots. She can be a great stationary and Support killer, but is destroyed by high burst damage and should Cryo-Freeze when engaged with one of her counters.
Role: Defense
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- Hanzo
- Lucio
- Symmetra
- Torbjorn
- Widowmaker
Weak Against:
- Genji
- Junkrat
- McCree
- Pharah
- Reaper
Mercy
Mercy is the dedicated healer of the game. She flies around using her wings and quickly heals or increases the damage output of other heroes. She can play a pivotal role in just about any line-up, particularly due to her high impact ultimate that resurrects all friendly heroes nearby. She has surprisingly high damage output, but loses most 1v1 battles. Although she doesn't necessarily counter other heroes, her heals frustrate heroes that have low damage output. She can be taken down readily by sniper fire.
Role: Support
Difficulty: 1/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- D.Va
- Reinhardt
- Roadhog
- Soldier: 6
- Zarya
Weak Against:
- Hanzo
- McCree
- Widowmaker
Pharah
Pharah best serves as an offensive area of effect damage dealer. She is most effective when flying high above the action and pummeling enemy heroes with rockets. When in the air, she counters a few heroes who have no defense against airborne enemies, especially when they're clumped up with other heroes on an objective point. She is also great at taking pop shots at turrets. However, when in the air she is vulnerable to Roadhog's Chain Hook and well aimed ranged attacks.
Role: Offense
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- Junkrat
- Mei
- Reaper
- Torbjorn
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Weak Against:
- Hanzo
- McCree
- Roadhog
- Soldier: 76
- Widowmaker
Reaper
Reaper is the master of the shotgun. He likes to get in close and assassinate soft enemies such as support and snipers, which he doesn't necessarily have to run up to thanks to Shadow Step. He has a hard time against against the air superiority of Pharah as well as the effective distance of some enemies, though.
Role: Offense
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 2/3
Strong Against:
- Hanzo
- Mercy
- Widowmaker
- Zenyatta
Weak Against:
- McCree
- Pharah
- Soldier: 76
Reinhardt
Reinhardt is the best Tank hero for leading an attack. He can put up his Barrier Field and create breathing room for teammates to push forward and conquer territory, which is a pain to deal with for the stationary heroes of the game. He has surprising offensive capability in the right hands thanks to Charge and Fire Strike. He is countered by heroes that can get in close and dish out high burst damage as well as the demolition capabilities of Pharah and Junkrat.
Role: Tank
Difficulty: 1/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- Hanzo
- Torbjorn
- Widowmaker
Weak Against:
- Junkrat
- McCree
- Mei
- Pharah
- Reaper
- Zenyatta
Roadhog
Roadhog is a massive, self-sufficient tank that can shut down several of the most difficult to handle heroes in Overwatch with his Chain Hook to Scrap Gun combo. These heroes include Pharah, Tracer, and Genji, as well as Support heroes such as Mercy. Unfortunately, his range is poor and he's a huge target which results in deaths from stationary heroes.
Role: Tank
Difficulty: 1/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- D.Va
- Genji
- Mercy
- Pharah
- Tracer
- Zenyatta
Weak Against:
- Bastion
- Hanzo
- Mei
- Torbjorn
- Widowmaker
Soldier: 76
Soldier: 76 is the traditional run and gun style hero of Overwatch. While he might be simple, he is very effective against turrets as well as being a hard counter to an airborne Pharah. However, he simply doesn't have the defensive capabilities to survive burst damage from the game's greatest assassins.
Role: Offense
Difficulty: 1/3
Popularity: 2/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- Pharah
- Roadhog
- Torbjorn
Weak Against:
- Hanzo
- McCree
- Reaper
- Widowmaker
Symmetra
Symmetra is one of the most unique heroes in the game. Although she's classified as Support, she's more of a hard utility Defense hero, capable of greatly enhancing the potential of any team she's on. Her Sentry Turrets and Photon Projector punish the greatest assassins of the game. However, when her turrets are destroyed and she doesn't have a teleporter up, she is dead weight. So, heroes that excel at taking down her turrets and zoning her tend to hard counter her.
Role: Support
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- Genji
- Reaper
- Tracer
Weak Against:
- Junkrat
- Pharah
- Winston
- Zarya
Torbjorn
Torbjorn locks down an area with his turret and Rivet Gun, both of which are capable of stopping even the most hardened heroes. Due to the moderate health of his turret, he works best against teams that don't have high health heroes that can lead a push against him. He is a great counter for assassins with low health pools that need to get in close, while he struggles against supported tanks and snipers.
Role: Defense
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- Genji
- Mercy
- Reaper
- Symmetra
Weak Against:
- Hanzo
- Reinhardt
- Roadhog
- Widowmaker
- Winston
- Zarya
Tracer
Tracer is the quickest hero in the game, capable of being a real menace to peace. She is an expert at flanking teams and picking off low health pool heroes before retreating. She makes short work of stationary and Support heroes, but struggles against duels with several other Offense heroes and Tanks.
Role: Offense
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- Hanzo
- Mercy
- Torbjorn
- Widowmaker
- Zenyatta
Weak Against:
- McCree
- Pharah
- Reaper
- Roadhog
- Soldier: 76
- Winston
Widowmaker
Widowmaker is the premier sniper of Overwatch. She performs best when at high elevation behind cover where she can take pop shots at enemy heroes, especially stationary and Support targets, and disappear to a new spot to remain untraceable. Many heroes have a hard time of dealing with her, but she is hard countered by a small group of mobile heroes that enjoy surprising her.
Role: Defense
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 3/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- McCree
- Mercy
- Soldier: 76
- Torbjorn
- Zenyatta
Weak Against:
- Genji
- Reaper
- Tracer
- Winston
Winston
Winston is a disrupting force that can quickly jump into the face of an opponent despite his large size. He is great for facing off with stationary targets and assassinst, although high burst damage tends to take him down before he can retaliate.
Role: Tank
Difficulty: 2/3
Popularity: 2/3
Strong Against:
- Genji
- Hanzo
- Torbjorn
- Tracer
- Widowmaker
Weak Against:
- McCree
- Mei
- Reaper
- Zenyatta
Zarya
Zarya is the least popular tank, but that doesn't mean she isn't effective. She walks a fine balance between front-line tank and utility by providing shields for both herself and comrades. With good timing of her shields she can square off with just about any hero in the game, making her an effective presence on the battlefield. When played poorly she has a hard time against most heroes due to her shield mechanic, although Reaper tends to be the most difficult for her to deal with due to her immobility and lack of equal firepower.
Role: Tank
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- Torbjorn
- Tracer
Weak Against:
- Bastion
- Reaper
Zenyatta
Zenyatta is notoriously squishy and difficult to play, so he's uncommon to play against. That said, a good Zenyatta can make short work of tanks and turrets. He provides great utility for his comrades with moderate health regeneration and a damage debuff for enemies. A charged Orb of Destruction can devastate foes from afar. Unfortunately, there are a few heroes that can one-shot him with a single well-aimed shot.
Role: Support
Difficulty: 3/3
Popularity: 1/3
Strong Against:
- Bastion
- D.Va
- Reinhardt
- Roadhog
- Torbjorn
- Winston
Weak Against:
- Genji
- Hanzo
- Tracer
- Widowmaker
