Summary
Season 9 ofOverwatch 2marks a significant turning point, debuting massive changes that are fundamentally impacting the game. This includes increased health pools for all heroes, a passive ability for tanks and DPS that grants self-regeneration outside of combat, and a unique damage passive that disrupts the effectiveness of healing. With thelatestOverwatch 2patch notesgoing live on February 21, it’s quickly become apparent which heroes are performing well and which are struggling.
The differences between Season 9 and Season 8 are stark, despite being back-to-back seasons.Overwatch 2’s recent overhaul has significantly shifted the balance to favor damage heroes. While tanks still have opportunities to excel, some are finding it necessary to adapt their strategies to counter the new passive, with many tanks finding the new style un-fun.For instance, playing corners or staying in line-of-sight of their supports has become more important than ever due to how strong some characters are now. For Supports,
S-Tier - Dive Meta Regulars and Reliable Ranged Heroes Are Dominant
Though a player’s rank and skill can often alter how well certain heroes perform, these S-tier characters are consistently good options this season. WhileZenyatta recently received a nerfto his Snap Kick and his overall health, his 20% damage output with Orb of Discord is still more than enough to burn an enemy team. Surprisingly, reminiscent of a 2020 meta, Lucio and Zen have surfaced as a powerful combination due to their Dive abilities.
In the hands of a coordinated team, this duo is incredibly lethal, especially when matched with a tank that has a fair amount of self-sustainability. Speaking of tanks, Sigma might not be the first pick for this support pairing, but his barrier and sustainability allow him to shine against comps requiring strong area control.Across the board,Sigma is hardly ever a throw pick.
Damage heroes such as Tracer and Ashe are hard meta due to the increase in projectile size. WithTracer’s buff increasing her to 175 hpand a self-regeneration passive, her flanking potential has drastically improved. Additionally, Ashe’s long-range pressure and burn effect from her dynamite have made her a great pick for triggering the DPS passive.
Lucio and Zen have surfaced as a powerful combination due to their Dive abilities.
A-Tier - Great Alternatives to the Best Season 9 Heroes
Supports such as Ana, Kiriko, Moira, and Baptiste are all decent picks, though their raw healing output is now greatly mitigated by the DPS. Regardless, Biotic Grenade, Protection Suzu, Biotic Orb, and Immortality Field are unique tools that can turn any fight.In the past, Kiriko was consistently S-Tier, but now that she’s no longer able to two-tap headshot other squishes, her assassin play style is far less viable. Furthermore, the buff to the projectile size of her kunai may have resulted in an unintentional nerf from Blizzard, since players are reporting that headshots are registering as body shots.
With a larger health pool, the aforementioned DPS heroes such as Widowmaker, Mei, and Torbjorn have found themselves flourishing.Mei and Torbjorn are both able to face tankan incredible amount of damage, whereas Widowmaker’s scoped falloff damage increase has made her a more prominent threat. Combined with her increased health pool, and ability to regain health after five seconds of not taking damage, her presence is all the more meaningful on maps with long sightlines.
Widowmaker’s projectile size was modified to a smaller 0.05-meter projectile during the February 21 hotfix. Before this, her larger projectile allowed her to reliably hit more shots. However, she is continuing to benefit from the overall projectile size changes.
Dive tanks like Winston, Wrecking Ball, and D.Vaare finding it easier to engage and disengage with the enemy team this season. Because these three have cooldowns that allow them to engage in a noncommittal manner, they’re able to open up more angles and positions for their DPS to find a pick. With Lucio’s speed boost and Zenyatta’s orb, this combination can quickly snowball into several eliminations.
B-Tier - Solid Heroes That Experienced Players Can Find Success With
Brigitte is strong due to her tankiness and Inspire, making her solidly B-tier this season. Damage dealers like Cassidy, Bastion, Hanzo, Reaper, and Genji have the opportunity to excel, but they don’t necessarily have what it takes to be A or S-tier by themselves. Nonetheless, in a synergized composition, Bastion’s ultimate, when paired with Graviton Surge, orGenji and Ana’s Nano Blade combo, should not be underestimated.
Ramattra, Doomfist, and Orisa are each strong in their own right, though for different reasons. Orisa is one of the most difficult tanks to melt due to her ability to cycle her cooldowns. With last season granting her zero damage fall-off, and the new projectile sizes, she’s a force to be reckoned with. Ramattra behaves similarly, though his ultimate ability is typically better for map control. Unfortunately, while once higher in the tier list,Doomfist is currently hard-counteredby Zenyatta, Sombra, Ana, and Cassidy.
Orisa is one of the most difficult tanks to melt due to her ability to cycle her cooldowns.
C-Tier - Niche Overwatch 2 Heroes That Cannot Be Used in Many Situations
The C-tierheroes ofOverwatch 2Season 9are currently in an uncertain position because they do best in more niche situations. Echo and Pharah are primarily good picks on maps with open spaces, and when the enemy team lacks hitscans. Symmetra thrives in enclosed spaces, such as Lijiang Tower’s Night Market and Garden maps, though her two-way teleporter can be a game-changing flank strategy on maps like Eichenwalde or Hollywood.
Tanks like Junker Queen and Zarya are also more situational, though this doesn’t mean they can’t carry a team when in the right hands. Rush characters like Junker Queen are currently inferior to heroes like Ramattra due to her smaller health pool. With Zenyatta’s existence and the DPS passive,Junker Queen can no longer play as aggressivelyas she used to.
Zarya is in a rather similar condition as Junker Queen since they are both more dependent on running Rush, which isn’t faring as well as Dive this season. At the moment, she gets more value from putting her Particle Barrier on teammates rather than herself.
D-Tier - The Worst of Hero Choices in Overwatch 2 Season 9
SinceJunkrat was performing poorlyat the beginning of Season 9, the recent patch notes took care to increase the damage output of his Concussion Mine while also putting it on a slightly quicker cooldown. Unfortunately for Junkrat mains, this may not have been enough, since his one-shot combo is far less reliable after the health pool increases of each hero. With hitscans dominating matches in Season 9, the demolitionist is having a hard time finding his place.
Mercy, Lifeweaver, and Illari have all been dealt a bad hand when considering survivability and utility. The three have unique advantages but are currently outclassed by the meta supports. To illustrate, Mercy’s damage boost and raw healing output don’t align well withDive characters like Tracer, Sombra, or Wrecking Ball. Lifeweaver is mainly known for his massive healing output, but healing in Season 9 is less impactful than it used to be. In a similar vein, Illari’s healing pylon is less useful than before because of the DPS passive. Additionally, because her rate of fire is slow it affects her time to kill.
Mercy, Lifeweaver, and Illari have all been dealt a bad hand when considering survivability and utility.
Even thoughRoadhog’s Take a Breatherrecently received a buff that reduces his damage taken by 10%, he’s still touted as a massive target for DPS to feed off. For instance, Sojourn benefits greatly from Roadhog and Mauga due to the free rail charge percentage she gains. In a meta where speed and damage output are key, the two burly tanks often find themselves lagging behind. Additionally, Reinhardt is also in a bad place. Not only do his health and shield get melted fast, but he can no longer kill a squishy withback-to-back Fire Strikesafter the latest patch.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
