Are you new to Overwatch 2 and don’t know which Hero to use? Here are some of the best Overwatch 2 heroes for beginners.
Overwatch 2 has numerous Heroes to choose from. Each Hero has its own unique abilities and weapons that you can use throughout the match. Some Heroes fit better on specific maps, others work better when attacking or defending, and a few work well on different game modes.
The Overwatch 2 Heroes are divided into three roles; Damage, Support, and Tanks. Although the roles are pretty straightforward, they can still be confusing for new players because of all the different Heroes you can play.
With the game’s recent launch, the total Overwatch 2 player count has increased, and a large chunk of it are new players. This is why we’ve created this guide to help new players find the best Heroes to play.
Here is our list of the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners.
The 12 Best Overwatch 2 Heroes to Try for Beginners
Overwatch 2 is home to over 35 playable Heroes, divided into three different roles. In the standard game modes, each team has five players composed of a single Tank, two Damage, and two Supports.
In Overwatch 1, both teams used to have two Heroes for each role. However, Blizzard changed the total number of players in each team from six down to five with the launch of Overwatch 2. They did this in hopes of speeding up the gameplay and making it a more fast-paced environment.
This is why the entire meta was shaken up, and the Overwatch 2 tier list was re-arranged. With over 35 characters, it can be an intimidating task to choose just one. Don’t worry. We’re here to help. We’ve chosen the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners out of the 35 characters to guide you as you start your journey to climb the ranks in Overwatch 2.
We’ve decided to group the Heroes based on their roles so that you can quickly jump to the position you want to play.
Damage
First up, we have the Damage Heroes or the DPS. Their main job is to deal damage to the enemies. As a DPS, you’ll mostly want to focus on enemy squishies like Supports and their Damage Heroes. You need to utilize the space that your Tank creates for you and find those angles to take down the enemy healers and damage dealers.
Some Damage Heroes are also great flankers, hitting the enemies when they least expect it. You have to know how to properly position so that you aren’t caught off guard and killed by the enemy team.
Soldier: 76
The Best Overwatch 2 Damage Hero for Beginners to play is non-other than Soldier: 76. He’s one of the easiest Heroes in the game and has a very forgiving kit. He has some pretty well-rounded abilities and can fit numerous play styles.
His main weapon is the Heavy Pulse Rifle. It’s an automatic rifle with 30 ammo, is hitscan-based, and can fire up to 9 rounds per second. His Sprint ability allows him to run faster while moving forward, giving him some pretty great mobility. You can use this to move around the map quickly or get out of sticky situations.
Soldier: 76’s Biotic Field allows him and other allies within its radius to heal up. It’s a good ability with some decent sustain, allowing him to not overly rely on the healers. He also has his Helix Rockets ability that fires a burst of rockets that deals a ton of damage if they all hit the enemy. It’s a great finisher ability for low HP opponents.
Finally, there’s no ultimate in the game that’s easier than Soldier: 76’s. His Tactical Visor literally gives you aimbot and locks on to the enemy closest to your crosshair. There’s nothing else left for you to do besides spraying down with a complete magazine.
His kit is super easy to understand, and he’s incredibly easy to use. You simply can’t go wrong with picking Soldier: 76 as an Overwatch 2 beginner.
Bastion
Bastion is another solid pick. The walking mechanical robot can output an insane amount of damage and mow down the enemy team. The only downside with Bastion is that he isn’t too mobile and can easily be taken down when caught out of position. If you can stay behind your Tank, Bastion is one of the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners.
One confusing thing about Bastion is his different configuration modes. He has three main configuration modes, Recon, Assault, and Artillery. They all have different functions; the key to being an excellent Bastion player is knowing when to use them.
His main form is Recon. He is fully mobile and is equipped with a submachine gun for damaging enemies at medium range. Bastion can fire about 5 rounds per second with a 25-bullet magazine in Recon form.
Configuration: Assault is where Bastion deals most of his damage. He turns into a full-on tank equipped with a high-damage cannon. It has infinite ammo and fires 30 shots per second at the expense of having a slower movement speed.
Bastion also has a tactical grenade bound to his right click that can bounce off walls and explodes upon impact on an enemy or the ground. His ultimate is Configuration: Artillery. This lets Bastion transform into an immobile artillery unit that can fire up to three bombs dropping from the sky. It has a wide AOE and can cause some serious damage to a group of enemies.
Reaper
Next up, we have Reaper. Reaper is one of the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners if you like flanking. He’s currently one of the top Heroes in our Overwatch 2 tier list. He is perfect for newbies because of his relatively easy-to-use kit, with some sustain and excellent mobility.
Reaper’s main weapon are the Hellfire Shotguns. These are close-range weapons that have 8 ammo, spread 20 pellets per shot, and have a fire rate of 0.496 per second. It would be best if you learned how to play close to enemies as Reaper because his primary weapon has a very short range.
He has two mobility abilities. His Shadow Step basically allows him to teleport up to 35 meters away. This is a great tool that can help you with positioning for flanks. Reaper’s Wraith Form allows him to become an invulnerable shadow for up to 3 seconds. This is best used as an escape tool when you’re getting low on health and need to get back to your team.
Reaper’s passive is called The Reaping. It allows him to heal 35% of the damage he deals to enemies. This gives him great sustain as long as he can consistently deal damage to his opponents.
Finally, his Death Blossom ultimate allows him to fire his shotguns at an insane speed, dealing crazy amounts of damage to all nearby enemies. This can easily wipe out an enemy team when used correctly and can get you the Play of the Game by simply pushing a button.
Widowmaker
If you’re looking for a Hero that you can use to fully take advantage of all those hours you spent on aim trainers, then Widowmaker is the one for you. Widowmaker is one of the few long-range snipers in Overwatch 2 and is the perfect Hero for beginners.
She has a very basic kit. Her primary weapon is the Widow’s Kiss. This versatile sniper rifle can dish out insane damage when scoped in and fully charged. You can also use it in more close-range battles as an automatic rifle. It has 35 ammo and a 2.5x headshot multiplier, allowing you to one-shot most enemies when you’re scoped in.
She has the Grappling Hook ability that provides her a bit of mobility and gives her access to high-elevation areas, perfect for sniping. Widowmaker also has a Venom Mine, which is a trap that sticks to any surface. It triggers when an enemy goes past its area and deals a total of 75 damage over time.
Finally, Widowmaker’s ultimate is Infra-Sight. It provides her entire team with the location and health bars of all enemies for 15 seconds. This is useful when you’re trying to plan your next move or watching out for flanks.
Widowmaker is by far one of the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners. It’s perfect for players with an insane aim who want to stay in the backline sniping people out. Make sure to check out our Best Overwatch 2 crosshair settings guide if you want to find the perfect crosshair to use with Widowmaker.
Tank
Next up, we have the damage soakers from each team. The Tanks are the front liners and eat up the damage that the enemy throws at them. Their abilities are geared toward blocking projectiles, creating space, and forcing enemies to reposition.
As a Tank, you have to be defensive-minded. You need to lead the charge and set up your teammates, even if it means giving up your own life. Some Tanks can pull off some insane plays that can easily net them the Play of the Game.
Reinhardt
Our first Tank pick for the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners is Reinhardt. He’s fully padded out in iron-powered armor, complete with rocket-propelled charges and a large hammer to bop enemy heads. He also has a massive shield that you can use to protect your entire team.
Reinhardt is the game’s German brute. He’s one of the few melee-only characters in Overwatch 2 and uses his Rocket Hammer to deal damage in a wide arc. Reinhardt is the perfect Tank Hero for you if you can’t aim well. Simply swing your hammer when an enemy is close, and you’ll surely deal a lot of damage to them.
He has a huge shield through his Barrier Field. It has 1200 health and regenerates 144 barrier health per second after 2 seconds of not using it. It slows you down a bit, but you can always use your Charge ability to close the gap and try to pin enemies to a wall.
Charge can deal up to 225 damage to an enemy if you can pin them to a wall. The best part about it is that you can pin and damage everyone on the enemy team if you can time your Charge correctly.
Of course, Reinhardt also has a projectile by using his Rocket Hammer and slinging a flaming projectile. Fire Strike pierces and damages any enemies caught within its line of fire. Finally, Earthshatter is Reinhardt’s ultimate ability. He slams the ground with his Rocket Hammer, and everyone caught within its AOE gets knocked down and damaged.
Winston
Next up, we have another Hero that’s great for beginners who can’t properly aim yet. Winston’s main weapon is his Tesla Cannon which he created himself. It’s a beam-type weapon that automatically damages anyone within its frontal cone.
It deals 60 damage per second with a max range of 8 meters and 100 ammo. He can also use his Tesla Cannon to fire a medium-range beam after charging for a few seconds. When charged, the max range increases to 30 meters and deals 15-50 damage.
Winston’s shield is the Barrier Projector. It absorbs up to 700 damage before it is destroyed. Enemy bullets or projectiles can’t go through it, but allies can fire through it, making it quite strong when used correctly. Unfortunately, it can’t be moved once placed. It’s a great defensive tool, though.
His main mobility skill is the Jump Pack. He launches into the air and damages anyone he lands on. It has a 5-meter AOE and can be hard to land, especially on agile Heroes. If you manage to land on an enemy, you deal around 1-50 damage.
His ultimate is Primal Rage. During this time, Winston embraces his full-on animalistic nature and significantly boosts his health, armor, and melee damage. When Primal Rage is active, Winston has 850 health and 150 armor, deals 40 damage per melee attack, gains a 30% speed buff, and can use his Jump Pack more frequently.
Orisa
If you’re looking for a more heavy-hitting Tank Hero, you should give Orisa a try. Orisa’s primary weapon is the Augmented Fusion Driver. It has unlimited ammo but overheats if you use it too frequently. It fires 10 rounds per second and deals anywhere from 6-12 per shot. Augmented Fusion Driver also deals more damage the closer you are to enemies.
Orisa’s right-click is the Energy Javelin. It’s an arcing projectile that deals damage and knocks back enemies. Any enemies that hit a wall due to the knockback will also receive increased damage.
Before rushing in, make sure to use your Fortify skill which temporarily reduces the damage you take and cannot be affected by slows. Her Fortify can be used in combination with her Javelin Spin, which increases her movement speed, deals damage to enemies in front of Orisa, and knocks them back.
Finally, Orisa’s ultimate ability is Terra Surge. When Orisa uses Terra Surge, all enemies within 9 meters are slowed, damaged, and pulled in. You can charge the ult for up to 4 seconds or re-use the ability to end it early. Once charged or re-used, Orisa slams the ground with her javelin dealing massive damage to all enemies within the area.
Her ultimate is a huge game changer and can wipe out an enemy team or set up other ultimates from your team. Orisa is definitely a great Overwatch 2 Hero for beginners, especially if you like aggressive, tanky, or brute-type characters.
Roadhog
Our Final Tank pick for Overwatch 2 Heroes for Beginners is Roadhog. Roadhog is a chunky close-range damage dealer that can catch enemies off-guard through his hooks. He also has a great healing ability that allows you to get out of tricky situations alive.
Roadhog’s primary weapon is the Scrap Gun. It’s a shotgun with 5 ammo and spreads 25 pellets per shot. It can deal 1.98 to 6.6 damage per pellet or around 49.5 to 165 per shot. The Scrap Gun also has a projectile that launches a shrapnel ball instead of spreading bullets.
Take a Breather is Roadhog’s healing ability. He restores 350 health over time and gains 50% damage reduction for the entire duration. This is a great ability to use when you’re focused on by the enemy team or before retreating back to safety. It does have a 2-second animation, though, so be careful about stuns.
Next, we have Roadhog’s signature ability, his Chain Hook. Using the Chain Hook, you can snatch enemies from their team and bring them close to you to deal some damage. It has a huge hitbox, so don’t worry about being super precise. Your goal is to get clean hooks into Damage or Support Heroes so that you or your team can kill them. It’s a powerful tool if you can utilize it correctly.
Roadhog’s ultimate is Whole Hog. Once activated, Roadhog loads his Scrap Gun up with a ton of ammo and can crank out a flurry of bullets from it. Any enemies hit will get knocked back. It fires around 128 pellets per second, making it a deadly and useful zoning tool.
Support
Finally, we have the Support Heroes. Supports are the ultimate team players and do everything in their power to heal their team up. Excellent support players can singlehandedly win the game by keeping their team healthy. Unfortunately, they often go underappreciated because they aren’t as flashy as Tanks or Damage Heroes.
They do many things that don’t appear on the scoreboard but are essential to any team. Oftentimes, the support player determines how far a team will go. If you’re a team player, like healing allies, and like staying in the back line, then you should definitely try one of these Supports.
Ana
Our first Overwatch 2 Support Heroes for Beginners is Ana. Ana is another long-range sniper in the game. She uses her Biotic Rifle to deal 70 damage over 0.58s to enemies and dish out 70 healing over 0.58 to allies. It has 12 ammo and can be scoped in for better accuracy or hip fired for faster shots.
One of Ana’s best abilities is Sleep Dart. Using her sidearm, she fires a Sleep Dart that knocks an opponent unconscious. This puts an enemy to sleep for 1.5 to 5 seconds. However, if they receive damage, they will wake up 0.5s after. It’s a great ability that allows you to focus enemies down before they can even do anything.
Ana also has another healing and damaging skill in her Biotic Grenade. It’s an AOE grenade that heals all allies and damages all enemies within the area. It deals 60 damage and heals up to 100 health. It only has a 4-meter reach, but it’s a great skill that you can easily spam every few seconds because of its 10-second cooldown.
Finally, we have Nano Boost. Nano Boost is like steroids in Overwatch 2. It gives your allies a 50% damage buff, an additional 2500 health, and a 50% damage reduction. It’s best used on Tanks or Damage Heroes with ultimates ready to use.
Ana is one of the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners because you don’t have to worry much. Even healing your allies only requires you to shoot at them. You only have to worry about getting distance because she doesn’t have any mobility tools to help her escape trouble. Just make sure to use one of the best FPS mice so that you can consistently hit allies and enemies.
Moira
Moira is another solid pick, thanks to her insane self-healing abilities. She’s one of those Support Heroes that can instantly turn into a DPS when needed. She blurs the line between healing your team or healing yourself, but at least you can get the Play of the Game in the process.
Biotic Grasp is Moira’s primary healing and damaging ability. If you use left-click, it heals allies for 70 per second and lingers for 35 over 2 seconds. If you use right-click, it damages enemies 50 per second and heals you for 24 per second. As Moira, you need to know when to use your heals or try to damage enemies.
Moira’s Biotic Orb allows her to launch a bouncing orb that can either heal allies or damage enemies. You can only choose whether the orb heals or damages, but you can’t do both. It’s best used in tight spaces where it can hit multiple people.
Moira also has an invulnerable ability which is perfect for beginners. Fade is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card that Moira can use whenever she gets into a sticky situation. She gets a speed boost during this time and disappears from the enemy view.
Finally, Moira’s ultimate Coalescence is one of her most powerful abilities. Like most of her other abilities, it can heal and damage enemies. It’s a long-range beam that deals 70 damage per second, can heal allies for 140 per second, and heals herself for 50 per second.
Mercy
If you’re looking to be a full-on Support and keep your team healthy as much as possible, Mercy might be the Hero you are looking for. Most of her abilities heal or buff her allies, allowing her to stay in the back lines while still helping her team. The best part is that you don’t have to do much besides aiming and pressing a few buttons.
Mercy has two passive abilities, Angelic Descent and Regeneration. With Regeneration, she heals 22.5 health per second after not taking any damage for 1.5 seconds. With Angelic Descent, you can use the space bar to fly up in the air and take the battles to the sky.
Mercy also has two primary weapons. The Caduceus Staff is her main healing tool. Holding left click allows her to heal an ally for 55 per second, and holding right click buff an ally’s damage by 30%. On the other hand, the Caduceus Blaster allows her to fire at enemies dealing 20 damage per bullet with a total magazine of 20 and firing 5 rounds per second.
Of course, Mercy also has some mobility in her kit. When Mercy uses Guardian Angel, she flies faster toward an ally. This allows her to quickly administer heals or buffs, which is a huge lifesaver in crucial moments.
One of Mercy’s most powerful abilities is Resurrect because it can revive a fallen ally. Resurrect is crazy strong and can help you win team fights. It has a 30-second cooldown, so make sure to use it wisely.
Finally, Mercy’s ultimate is Valkyrie. Mercy gains the ability to fly, and all of her abilities are enhanced. It’s not the most powerful ability in the game, but when used properly with her other abilities, it can definitely swing the odds in your favor.
Brigitte
Our final pick for the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners is Brigitte. Brigitte offers a good mix between tanking damage for your team and healing them when they get low. She’s the full-on defensive Support who has no flashy skills but can do a little bit of everything.
She has a passive ability called Inspire that passively heals allies 15 hp per second within a 20-meter radius every time you deal damage to enemies. Brigitte also has a melee as her primary in Rocket Flail. It can strike multiple enemies with a single swing but only has a max range of 6 meters.
Brigitte’s primary healing ability is Repair Pack. Repair Pack heals an ally 110 health over 2 seconds. She has three charges always ready to use, each with a 6-second cooldown. This effect also stacks, allowing you to heal a single ally for up to 330 health over 6 seconds. It’s an easy-to-use ability, simply throw it at an ally, and they shall be healed.
If enemies are getting a little close and you need to create some space, you can use Whip Shot. Whip Shot throws Rocket Flail over a long distance, knocks back any enemies hit, and deals 70 damage to them.
If the heals aren’t enough support for your allies, Brigitte also has a Barrier Shield that has 250 health. She can also use Shield Bash and charge enemies to deal damage and knock them back. Brigitte can sort of act like a secondary Tank Hero, which is quite useful, especially since Blizzard removed one Tank slot from each team.
Brigitte’s ultimate is Rally. Rally allows Brigitte to move faster and gives nearby allies 15 overhealth per 0.5 seconds up to 100 total. Try to use it with other ultimates for some added value.
Conclusion
That ends our list of the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginners. Don’t worry about failing at first; we all have to start somewhere. Use your games to learn the different Heroes and maps in the game and slowly get better each day.
Who’s your favorite Overwatch 2 Hero to use? Comment it down below.
