Overwatch received a brand-new lease on life thanks to its latest and possibly its biggest update in the past 10 years. The Reign of Talon update saw the addition of several new characters, namely Domina, Emre, Mizuki, Anran, and Jetpack Cat. This update also brought major changes to gameplay and character selection.
It introduces the idea of sub-roles, like Bruiser for Tanks and Flanker for Damage. Sub-roles dictate what the character specializes in; it provides characters with an extra passive, like Flankers receiving 75 more Health from Small Health Packs.
The introduction of new heroes and a sub-role system significantly impacted the game's meta. It completely changes how most characters feel and perform, essentially making some previous D-tier characters feel S-tier.
| Tier | Heroes |
|---|---|
| S-Tier |
|
| A-Tier |
|
| B-Tier |
|
| C/D-Tier |
|
List of Sub-roles
Tank:
- Bruiser: Reduces critical damage received by 25%. While at critical health (50% or below), they gain increased movement speed (+20%).
- Initiator: Staying airborne for at least 0.8 seconds lightly heals them (75 HPS for 1 second).
- Stalwart: Reduces knockbacks and slows received by 40%
Damage:
- Recon: Detects enemies below 50% health through walls after damaging them for 5 seconds.
- Flanker: Health packs restore +75 more health (Small packs = 150 HP, Large packs = 325 HP).
- Specialist: Eliminating an enemy increases reload speed by 33% for 3 seconds.
- Sharpshooter: Critical hits reduce movement ability cooldowns based on 0.75% of damage dealt.
Support:
- Medic: Healing allies with their weapon also heals themselves for 25% of the healing dealt.
- Survivor: Using a movement ability activates automatic passive health regeneration.
- Tactician: Can gain up to 25% excess ultimate charge, which carries over after using their ultimate ability.
S-Tier
S-tier characters are universally good in the current patch. They can fit in most team comps and perform extremely well thanks to the sub-role changes. These have the highest win-rate across games and are widely praised by the community.
|
Role |
Hero |
Sub-role |
|
Tank |
Sigma |
Stalwart |
|
Tank |
Zarya |
Bruiser |
|
Tank |
D.Va |
Initiator |
|
Damage |
Sojourn |
Sharpshooter |
|
Damage |
Ashe |
Sharpshooter |
|
Damage |
Tracer |
Flanker |
|
Damage |
Bastion |
Specialist |
|
Damage |
Vendetta |
Flanker |
|
Support |
Kiriko |
Medic |
|
Support |
Lúcio |
Tactician |
|
Support |
Jetpack Cat |
Tactician |
A-Tier
Strong overall picks that perform consistently well in most games, but fall short in some regard. In some situations, it can be S-tier but still great picks.
|
Role |
Hero |
Sub-role |
|
Tank |
Domina |
Stalwart |
|
Tank |
Junker Queen |
Stalwart |
|
Tank |
Ramattra |
Stalwart |
|
Tank |
Winston |
Initiator |
|
Damage |
Freja |
Recon |
|
Damage |
Cassidy |
Sharpshooter |
|
Damage |
Soldier 76 |
Specialist |
|
Damage |
Genji |
Flanker |
|
Damage |
Venture |
Flanker |
|
Damage |
Anran |
Flanker |
|
Damage |
Symmetra |
Specialist |
|
Damage |
Emre |
Specialist |
|
Support |
Illari |
Survivor |
|
Support |
Zenyatta |
Tactician |
B-Tier
Viable in the current meta. Requires specific team comps to maximize viability. Meta picks can hard counter characters or significantly outperform characters in this tier.
|
Role |
Hero |
Sub-role |
|
Tank |
Mauga |
Bruiser |
|
Tank |
Orisa |
Bruiser |
|
Tank |
Reinhardt |
Stalwart |
|
Damage |
Echo |
Recon |
|
Damage |
Sombra |
Recon |
|
Damage |
Pharah |
Recon |
|
Damage |
Reaper |
Flanker |
|
Damage |
Mei |
Specialist |
|
Support |
Ana |
Tactician |
|
Support |
Baptiste |
Tactician |
|
Support |
Juno |
Survivor |
|
Support |
Mercy |
Medic |
|
Support |
Moira |
Medic |
|
Support |
Wuyang |
Survivor |
|
Support |
Brigitte |
Survivor |
|
Support |
Mizuki |
Survivor |
C/D-Tier
Niche picks with extremely situational utility or character kits require significant skill to play effectively.
|
Role |
Hero |
Sub-role |
|
Tank |
Hazard |
Stalwart |
|
Tank |
Wrecking Ball |
Initiator |
|
Tank |
Doomfist |
Initiator |
|
Tank |
Roadhog |
Bruiser |
|
Damage |
Widowmaker |
Sharpshooter |
|
Damage |
Hanzo |
Sharpshooter |
|
Damage |
Torbjorn |
Specialist |
|
Damage |
Junkrat |
Specialist |
|
Support |
Lifeweaver |
Medic |
