Overwatch · 11:23pm Feb 19th, 2018
Obvious disclosure, this blog has nothing to do with MLP. It’s not a story so it doesn’t violate site rules and it’s something I’ve felt like writing and y’all are my audience for my creative output. If you don’t like Overwatch and/or don’t care what I have to say move along, I’ll try to have a new chapter of something soon.
I love Overwatch.
I’ve divided the heroes into four tiers. (This is meant for competitive play only, in quickly play, play who you want, that’s why it’s there.) The obvious caveat is that skill level matters. Any hero is useful if played well and all heros are useless if you’re not playing to their strengths. Also I’m aware that there are a few odd, super specific team comps that you might play in a six stack under certain conditions. This is meant to be a more general list.
(I play on console,I’m aware that on PC mechanics are slightly different)
Tier One: Heroes who are useful on any map and pretty much any team comp
D.va: A mech that doesn’t need to reload and when it’s destroyed she turns into a below average long range damage dealer with an ult that can obliterate enemy teams caught unaware. Yeah there’s no situation where you don’t want Hannah Song charging into battle alongside you. This list isn’t in any particular order but if it was there’s a reason D.Va is at the top; Defense Matrix. Pound for pound Defense Matrix is the most powerful ability in the game. There’s very little it can’t eat, and that includes ults. Graviton Surge? Fuck you Graviton Surge. Justice Rains from Above? Good thing I’ve got an umbrella. Whole Hog? I love me some BBQ. And you’ve got it pretty much all the time, if you use it carefully. She’s a close range brawler more than a bodyguard, but those boster rockers allow her to close the distance on anything she wants.
Tracer: Overwatch’s very own lesbian covergirl. She does one thing and one thing well. Tracers destroys enemy backlines. The most mobile hero in the game Tracer is capable of wrecking a havoc that can cause even veterans to toss their controllers in frustration. If she has a weakness it’s that she doesn’t partner up with anyone very well, but when you’re that good you don’t need to. She’s less useful on defense then she is on offense, but the drop off is not so severe that you should hesitate to pick her.
Moria: Overwatch’s newest hero has quickly become it’s number one healer. It’s tempting to play her as a DPS who off heals, but that’s not her best use. Her healing ball heals 300 while her damage ball only does 200 damage, you do the math. With fade she’s able to both close distances and disengage at will and Coalescence is great for both initiating and ending a team fight. Her lock on makes her a nightmare for enemy flankers and though you should never try to duel a tank, you’re always a good partner to help a teammate in a duel of their own.
Lucio: The great thing about Lucio is that even a bad Lucio is pretty useful. Since his healing is a passive aura all you have to be able to do is stand near people and you’re helping. He’s also the only character capable of ferrying those big slow moving tanks back to the fight. Lasly people tend to underestimate how powerful his sound gun is. Though hard to aim and unsatisfying to hit things with it packs a punch.
Reaper: Reaper is the ultimate lone wolf hero. With a passive self healing and the ability to wrath form his way away from danger Reaper doesn’t need any help from anyone, like Tracer. He’s capable of dueling any hero in the game and doing it well. His teleport is perfect for getting to those sneaky flanking routes and above the fight so he can drop down with a devastating death blossom. He’s useless at long range, but no ones perfect.
Roadhog: In the early days of Overwatch Roadhog was the solution to all problems. Need a tank to soak up damage, well 600 health and 300 hp every 8 seconds will do that. Flankers giving you problems? Hook and a headshot takes care of that. Enemy team entrenched? Hook and/or whole hog can dislodge a chokepoint. Since the damage nerf he’s not quite as utilitarian, but there are very few situations where he can’t help a team.
Soldier: Soldier is the generic FPS character of Overwatch’s wacky roster. He’s got a rifle perfect for medium range engagements, he can heal himself and others to a limited extent, and his helix rockets make quick work of most things he can line up in his crosshairs. In short he’s perfectly average, but that mediocrity makes him endless adaptable.
Zenyatta: The Omnic monk is the gameplay opposite Moria. Zen is DPS who off heals. But like Moira he does both things well. Because he only needs line of sight to heal his teammates he’s perfect for healing fast moving characters like Tracer and Genji. His obvious weakness is his lack of mobility. And he can’t solo heal the way a Moria and Lucio can, but that’s nitpicking. In the right hands he can destroy anything that comes after him. That glowing discord orb is a neon FOCUS THIS sign and his Ult can heal his whole team through most things.
Zarya: Has anyone ever complained about having a Zarya on a team? Of course not. The russian weightlifter is pretty much everyone's favorite teammate and it’s not just because everyone wants that easy Graviton Surge combo wombo. A fully charge Zarya beam is on par with the most powerful weapons in the game and her bubble can save teammates from most deaths. With a partner? Both using her shields to stay alive and kill whatever gets in their way, she’s pretty much unstoppable.
Tier Two: Heros who are viable on most Maps and Comps
Bastion: This is a controversial pick I know, but hear me out. Sentry mode Bastion has the highest DPS output in the game. Yes, he works better if the team comp is built around him, (this keeps him out of tier one). And yes he’s more useful on defense than attack. But a Bastion on the payload is not a bad way keep up a sustained push. He works best with a healer, but he can self heal. Also he’s pretty much guaranteed to be the focus of an enemy team leaving ample time for your flankers to catch them unaware.
Reinhardt: The thing keeping Rhien out of the top tier is that you need teammates willing to work with you. He posses the best shield in the game, 2000 points of sheer movable blocking power and his charge is the ultimate engagement starter. But if your team doesn’t follow you in, or use your shield, then you’re just a big target. Catchphrase!
Junkrat: Also called Spam Rat because you don’t have to see your target to hit them. Despite it’s maligned-ness, spamming a choke point is a viable Junkrat strategy. And even with the damage drop off from his mines, he still charges his ult very quickly and it’s a devastating ult. His mine jump makes him more mobile than he first appears, but he is slow and he has trouble hitting a moving target.
Pharah: Like Lucio Pharah has one ability that is unique amongst the heroes of Overwatch. Her Jet pack allows her to engage from distances and heights other characters just can’t and that allows her to present a singular difficult obstacle. But Playing Pharah is all about effective distances. To close and you’re fish food, and too far away you’re easily ignored and there are some maps when that distance is nigh impossible. She’s better on attack than defense, but useful in both.
Mercy: Oh my dearest Angelica how could they do this to you? I understand the rationale for the nerf, but boy Jeff and the Overwatch Gods really knocked her out of Tier 1 with that last nerf. She’s still a viable healer, as she’s the only healer who can heal a target through focused attacks for a sustained period of time. And even nerfed, her Ult is a great way to force your team to group up and push. But Rez leaves you vulnerable and imobile which takes away some of its utility. Still a pretty good choice and everyone loves having a healer.
Sombra: I don’t see a lot of Sombra and that’s a shame cause played right she’s just as disruptive as a Tracer. Hack is the only ability in the game that can render other characters practically useless. Her translocator is the ultimate disenage and hacking a health pack can tilt the balance of a map. Because she’s more disruptive than offensive she needs to be with teammates who can capitalize, which keeps her out of Tier 1, but make no mistake, Sombra is almost never a bad pick.
Genji: Genji is a cyborg ninja, basically the wet dream of little boys everywhere. If only he didn’t need healing ALL THE GODDAMN TIME! But seriously the think that keeps him out of the top tier is, there are a number of matchups were Genji is at a marked disadvantage. Much of Genji’s utility is derived from his deflect. With it you can force opponents to stop shooting you, and if they don’t they’re in for a bad time. EXCEPT, Zarya, Symmetra, Mei, Moria, Winston can’t be deflected. And with the lowest health pool in the game, he’s especially vulnerable to splash damage from Junkrats and Pharahs. He’s not a bad pick, played well he’s as disruptive as anyone. But if you’re facing a team with two or more of the above heros you’re probably in for a rough day.
Tier Three: Specialist (Only if the Map and Comp call for it)
Symmetra. The most obvious of the specialist. On Defense for assault maps and the first point of hybrids her teleporter is pretty much a must have. Her turrets function as both an early warning system and immobilized fast moving flankers. Her beam can reach serious levels of damage output and her shield is an underrated disengage tool. On the second point of Assault Maps her shield can buy your team precious seconds to take advantage of the respawn advantage. But outside of those situations, it's hard to get value out of her. I’ve always maintained that if an enemy team is bad enough to let you set up turrets on the payload then their just not a very good team anyway, and I’m usually right. And when the payload is continually moving further away, teleporters become less useful. Also a well coordinated push in renders her turrets useless.
Mei: Mei doesn’t have a defined role the same way most heros do. She’s not beefy enough to be a tank and doesn’t do enough damage to be a DPS. Her freeze is devastating, but for larger targets you need a partner to make it work. Her wall is obnoxious but it is one of the few abilities that can hurt your team if your not careful. But with her alternate fire she can snipe and brawl competently, and her self healing allows her to operate independently. In the right situation she’s very usefull.
Ana: Before the nerf to her damage she might have moved up to tier two, but with her damage outpoint reduced she’s not a very competent duelist and with the speed boost taken away from her Nanoboost she’s pretty much only good for healing tanks . That sniper rifle is hard to aim, which means that if your team is filled with squishies and flankers you’re of limited use.
Widowmaker: Widow is the hero with the biggest drop off correlated with skill level. A good Widow can be devastating, but a bad Widow means you may as well be playing five on six. She’s a lot more valuable on PC but the mechanics of a controler combined with the speed of Overwatch hamper her on consoles. She requires long sight lines and vantage points to be at her best and some maps are better than others at that. Her ult is also the only one that doesn’t directly impact the health pools of anyone, but it charges quickly.
Winston: Winston is a dive comp specialist. His tesla gun doesn’t do enough damage to allow him to duel and his shield is the weakest of the shields and has a long reset time. But if you need someone to engage and disrupt quickly, Winston is your ape. Outside of that it’s hard to get value from him that you can’t get elsewhere. He can clear an area with his ult though.
Orisa: Orisa has a shield like Rheins, a turret like Bastion, a mini grav surge like Zarya and an ult like half of Mercy’s. Unfortunately the above characters all do those things better. She’s not useless, used well, in conjunction with other heroes she’s a force, but can’t be automatically plugged in anywhere.
Mcree: McCree is another example of a hero whom some things well but nother great. He can snipe a little bit, and his stun/fan the hammer combo allows him to brawl, but he’s basically a long to medium range threat and if that’s what you need, you’re better off with Soldier or a Genji.
Tier Four: Heros Probably not worth playing.
Doomfist: Confession; I love playing Doomfist. He’s fun, landing a fist of doom on an opponent is oh so satisfying. But Doomfist is a close quarters brawler who’s limitations mean that if you want to get in people’s face there are better options. Because he’s so reliant on one ability, and he can burn through an ammo clip on a timer it’s too easy to find yourself all alone with only a melee strike to your name. Reaper, Tracer, Reinhardt, D.va all brawl better. And since the delay on Meteor Strike make it suitable for area control only there’s limited value to his ult.
Torbjorn: See above with regard to other heros doing the job better. It’s not that he’s a bad character, it’s that his value comes from his turret, and if you want turrets Symmetra is a better option. Yes Molten Core is pretty much a no button, but that’s not enough to make up for the fact that Teleporter is way more useful and that the limitations on where turrets can be placed (the ground only) mean that a halfway decent opposition should be able to make quick work of it.
Hanzo: Ah the chorus that follows Hanzo Mains everywhere, Please Switch! There’s a pretty simple reason for this, on balance Widow is a better sniper. There’s only two offensive snipers and Hanzo loses the head to head. Widow has better range and more damage. Hanzo may be more mobile, but mobility in a sniper is like a Mini Cooper with a tow hitch. I’ve seen Hanzo’s play well and scatter arrow is frustratingly obnoxious, but there’s a better sniper and better ground characters available. Sorry Hanzo.
Disagree? Come at me.
Every time I play a game, someone almost always picks either hanzo or widowmaker. They can be great if you manage to get into a groove with them, but otherwise we end up losing most of the time. I can confirm how good lucio and zarya are ( I tend to main them) and regardless of the map I stick to them unless it’s quick play
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Yeah. The problem is that the mechanics of fps games are often "killing enemies is how you score points". Combine that with the idea that playing a damage dealing hero is an obviously engaging way to play and it's easy to see why some players just want to shoot things and don't want to be bothered working with a team. Playing a sniper allows them to do that while maintaining the illusion they are helping.