Overwatch 2: Counter List – How to Counter Every Hero

How to counter … ? This question arises for every player sooner or later in Overwatch 2. MeinMMO provides you with a handy list of which heroes are best against others.

What do I find here? We show you the 4 best counter-heroes for all 35 heroes and briefly explain why they are effective counters. Keep in mind that we explain here “Hard Counters”, those that are specifically effective against the playstyle of individual heroes.

Also note that a particularly skilled player cannot necessarily be countered by just one other hero. Practice plays a significant role.

The list is alphabetically ordered and based on external information from sources like RockPaperShotgun, observations from professional games, and personal experiences. You can also find more useful guides and tips on MeinMMO:

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Ana Counters

Genji
Tracer
D.Va
Widowmaker

Genji and Tracer are so agile that it is difficult for Ana to hit them. Both are flankers and can quickly maneuver around the enemy team to attack Ana. If your team does not react, she is quickly taken down.

Widowmaker usually wins sniper duels against Ana, as she can take the healer down with a headshot. D.Va can negate all of Ana’s abilities with her Defense Matrix and can even make her Ultimate nearly useless under certain circumstances.

Ashe Counters

Reinhardt
Widowmaker
Hanzo
Sombra

Hanzo and Widowmaker are the only heroes who can win a duel at Ashe’s preferred range or even beyond. A headshot alone can take the Outlaw down.

Reinhardt’s shield is a powerful tool against Ashe, as she cannot deal enough damage to break it. Sombra can quickly take out Ashe with a targeted hack before Ashe can react.

Baptiste Counters

Ana
Lúcio
Hanzo
Roadhog

Baptiste’s greatest strength is his Immortality Field. However, it does not prevent all damage but allows allies to drop to dangerous low health. Ana can prevent healing with her grenade, thereby paving the way for kills after the Immortality Field.

Hanzo applies so much pressure that Baptiste usually cannot withstand it. Particularly one Ultimate deals damage over time, causing opponents to die either after the Immortality Field or when trying to flee. Lúcio can easily push enemies out of the field and also knock them away from Baptiste’s Ultimate.

Since Baptiste has to get relatively close to the action to be effective, he can easily be hit by a Roadhog hook and killed with a combo.

Bastion Counters

Junkrat
Roadhog
Ana
Reaper

Since Bastion has a large body, he is an easy target for Junkrat and Reaper, who can kill him in seconds. The same goes for Roadhog when Bastion tries to attack him up close in his tank configuration.

Ana can easily put him to sleep in his configurations. Bastion loses even more of his already limited mobility when he changes his configuration.

Brigitte Counters

Bastion
Pharah
Zarya
Echo

All the heroes mentioned here have such enormous damage output that they can literally melt Brigitte along with her shield. They either stay far enough out of range or have too many hit points themselves, so Brigitte cannot use her self-healing or win the duel.

Cassidy Counters

Widowmaker
Hanzo
Baptiste
Winston

Cassidy is deadliest at short range, as his grenade deals significant damage. Widowmaker and Hanzo, possibly also Ashe, can attack from such great distances that Cassidy can hardly defend himself. It will be difficult for him to hit anything from this distance.

Winston can go on the offensive at any time with his jump. Baptiste prevents Cassidy’s Ultimate from getting a single kill.

D.Va Counters

Zarya
Roadhog
Brigitte
Kiriko

Against Zarya and Brigitte, D.Va’s Defense Matrix is useless. At the same time, both can endure long enough for the mech to be destroyed and the pilot to be taken out shortly afterward. With good movement, it is hard for D.Va to land enough hits in the duel.

Roadhog can hit D.Va with his hook even through the matrix and can pull her to uncomfortable positions with proper timing. Kiriko can prevent her teammates from dying from an exploding mech with a targeted throw of her ofuda, as the ofuda, unlike Baptiste’s field, fully protects for a second against damage.

Doomfist Counters

Reaper
Pharah
Echo
Roadhog

Doomfist’s greatest strength is his mobility. Both Pharah and Roadhog can prevent him from retreating after an attack. Doomfist is thus relatively vulnerable to damage.

Due to his bulky body, Doomfist is an easy target for the damage from Echo and Reaper, who can take him out even through his block. While Echo remains at a sufficient range, Reaper can excellently heal himself against Doomfist’s damage.

Echo Counters

Widowmaker
Soldier: 76
Ashe
Cassidy

Since Echo primarily gains strength through her flight ability, the so-called “hitscan heroes” are her strongest counters. Hitscan means: the shot hits exactly on the crosshair and does not lose height over distance.

If someone can aim well, they will hit the relatively immobile Echo in the air with every hitscan hero. Widowmaker has the additional advantage that her “stolen” Ultimate is relatively useless for Echo.

Genji Counters

Pharah
Zarya
Brigitte
Mei

Since Mei and Zarya use so-called “beam weapons”, Genji cannot reflect anything here. He even loses significant speed when Mei attacks him and thus loses his greatest strength while taking significant damage.

Similarly, Brigitte can block enough damage with combinations of her shield and flail, giving herself the opportunity to heal and kill Genji in the duel. Pharah generally stays out of Genji’s range and can even mess up his Ultimate with her knockback.

Hanzo Counters

Widowmaker
Genji
D.Va
Winston

D.Va, Winston, and Genji are among the famous “dive heroes,” whose strength lies in bursting into the enemy team. All three can apply pressure to Hanzo by closing the distance beyond what he is comfortable with. When they are right next to him, Hanzo has hardly any escape options.

Widowmaker is the only hero who can take on Hanzo at maximum range. However, since she uses a hitscan weapon while Hanzo uses projectiles that you, as a player, have to calculate, it is generally easier for Widowmaker to win the duel.

Junker Queen Counters

Bastion
Zenyatta
Lúcio
Ana

Junker Queen has virtually no defensive abilities. Bastion can easily destroy her in his tank configuration, especially in combination with Zenyatta. Junker Queen is powerless against his damage amplification.

Lúcio’s Ultimate is the only support ultimate that counters Junker Queen, as it does not heal directly, but grants a shield. Ana counters Junker Queen’s strongest survival ability, which is her ability to heal herself, with her own anti-healing.

Junkrat Counters

Pharah
Widowmaker
Kiriko
Lúcio

Pharah and Widowmaker can both stay out of Junkrat’s reach to take him out. If both target Junkrat, he cannot do much more than seek cover and avoid the fight.

Kiriko and Lúcio can both prevent Junkrat from wiping the team with a kamikaze tire using their abilities or ultimates.

Kiriko Counters

Roadhog
Sombra
Sojourn
Widowmaker

Kiriko can quickly teleport to an ally with her jump ability. Therefore, she needs to be taken out quickly with a burst of damage. Widowmaker and Sojourn are best suited for that.

Sombra can prevent a teleport or invulnerability with a targeted hack and then take out Kiriko. It works similarly with Roadhog’s hook, as Kiriko often needs to get close to her allies at the front.

Lúcio Counters

Moira
Lúcio
Torbjörn
Pharah

As strange as it sounds, Lúcio is one of the best counters for himself. Because of his wallride, the hero is a real nuisance. However, Lúcio’s own knockback can easily knock the skater off walls and make him vulnerable. The same goes for Pharah.

Torbjörn and Moira both have the advantage of not needing to aim accurately or only needing to aim roughly to hit Lúcio. Their attacks or Torbjörn’s turret negate his agility, leaving the healer with no choice but to flee if he doesn’t want to die.

Mei Counters

Pharah
Reaper
Kiriko
Zenyatta

Since Mei can only fire relatively slow icicles, Pharah generally has the advantage in a long-range duel. A skilled Reaper can also easily heal against her damage and quickly take her out due to her large hitbox.

Zenyatta easily counters Mei’s powerful Ultimate with his own and thus prevents team deaths. Kiriko can protect individual allies with her protective Suzu from being slowed, frozen, or killed.

Mercy Counters

Widowmaker
Roadhog
Reaper
Winston

Widowmaker and Roadhog can both kill Mercy with just one shot or combo, especially when the healer attempts to revive an ally dangerously. Moreover, Widowmaker can take her out with a targeted shot from the air if Mercy sticks close to Pharah or activates her Ultimate.

Winston and Reaper can both jump over the enemy team or teleport behind them to pick off the relatively defenseless Mercy from the backline. If allies are poorly positioned, Mercy has no chance to escape.

Moira Counters

Widowmaker
Ana
Sombra
Roadhog

Roadhog and Sombra can interrupt Moira’s powerful Coalescence with a hack or hook and even take her out shortly after with their tremendous damage. Usually, Moira doesn’t even have time to use her Fade to get to safety.

Widowmaker is a counter against many supports, as she can eliminate almost everything from a safe distance with a targeted headshot. Ana prevents Moira herself or her allies from being healed by the Ultimate with her grenade, briefly opening the opportunity for a counterattack for her team.

Orisa Counters

Reaper
Zenyatta
Reinhardt
Brigitte

Reaper is known as a tank killer, and Orisa, with her massive body, serves as a good target for his infernal shotguns. With Zenyatta’s amplification, she literally melts away, and the supporter himself is a considerable threat with his bullets.

Reinhardt can protect his whole team with his shield by simply blocking Orisa’s Ultimate. The same applies to Brigitte, but she only protects herself. However, in a 1v1, she can still pressure Orisa by dancing around her and healing from the damage taken.

Pharah Counters

Widowmaker
Ashe
Soldier: 76
Sojourn

Since Pharah wants to spend as much time in the air as possible but is relatively immobile there, hitscan heroes are strong counters to her – those heroes who hit exactly on the crosshair.

Soldier: 76 is particularly dangerous, as he can essentially guarantee a kill on Pharah with his “aimbot” Ultimate.

Reaper Counters

Ana
Zenyatta
Widowmaker
Pharah

Zenyatta can completely negate Reaper’s Death Blossom with his Transcendence. Ana can simply put a Reaper to sleep at the moment he activates his Ultimate. She just has to react quickly enough. This requires some practice in reading when a Reaper wants to trigger his Ultimate.

Because Reaper is strong only at close range, Widowmaker and Pharah can easily take him out. Particularly, since both have a better view of the battlefield from greater range, it is hard for Reaper to remain unnoticed.

Reinhardt Counters

Ana
Bastion
Junkrat
Reaper

Bastion and Junkrat have such a tremendous damage output that they can destroy Reinhardt’s shield in seconds. This renders his defense virtually useless, leaving his team unprotected against further attacks.

Reinhardt, being a massive tank, is also a good target for the tank killer Reaper. If he initiates a charge, Ana can simply put him to sleep with a sleep dart.

Roadhog Counters

Reaper
Ana
Zarya
Widowmaker

Reaper and Zarya are the only heroes who can take on Roadhog in close combat and only through their defensive abilities. They can deal more damage to the tank than he can to them.

Ana is extremely useful with her biotic grenade to nullify Roadhog’s strong self-healing. Widowmaker can easily land headshots on the cumbersome tank from a distance.

Sigma Counters

Orisa
Reaper
Zenyatta
Genji

Orisa can absorb much of Sigma’s damage and readily dismantle his barrier, thereby robbing him of his strong defense. Reaper, being a tank killer, is an excellent choice to take out Sigma himself.

Zenyatta specifically counters Sigma’s Ultimate, as he can prevent his own death and that of his allies. Genji is not a direct counter to Sigma but can outplay him by eliminating the team behind Sigma. Once his barrier is bypassed, Sigma can provide very little protection for his team.

Sojourn Counters

Zarya
Winston
Widowmaker
Lúcio

Zarya can use Sojourn’s consistent damage to empower herself, making her a threat to the enemy team. Winston’s bubble shield protects his entire team from Sojourn’s dangerous railgun, and he can even bring the fight to the soldier.

Widowmaker, due to her distance, is a strong counter that Sojourn can do little against, as her spread is too large. Lúcio is so agile that Sojourn must have near-perfect “track aim” to hit him in a duel. His Ultimate also protects his team from Sojourn’s Overclock.

Soldier: 76 Counters

Roadhog
Winston
Genji
Sigma

Roadhog and Winston both have too many hit points for Soldier to reliably kill them. At the same time, they can deal enough damage to the soldier that he almost always loses in a direct duel.

The same goes for Genji and his agility. Particularly when he manages to reflect the Helix Rocket, Soldier: 76 becomes history quickly. Sigma can block Soldier with his barrier or simply absorb his bullets.

Sombra Counters

Hanzo
Widowmaker
Junkrat
Roadhog

Hanzo and Widowmaker are equally susceptible to Sombra, but their abilities to reveal enemies and observe the battlefield make it more difficult for the hacker to carry out flanking attacks.

Junkrat can block side paths with his traps, so Sombra can either be stopped or at least forced to take long detours. Roadhog is too durable to be killed by Sombra instantly, and if she hacks someone else, it suffices for the colossus to turn to her to immediately eliminate her with a hook combo.

Symmetra Counters

Pharah
Winston
Tracer
Echo

Echo and Pharah can both eliminate Symmetra’s dangerous turrets and the heroine herself from a distance. Symmetra can hardly do anything against them. Tracer is too agile and small a target. If Symmetra does not hit a fully charged alternate fire in a duel, she will lose the encounter.

Winston can pressure Symmetra with his jumps and easily dismantle the turrets before they become too dangerous for him.

Torbjörn Counters

Pharah
Junkrat
Echo
Widowmaker

Pharah, Junkrat, and Echo can take out Torbjörn and his turret either from a distance or even around corners. The automatically targeting turret can do little, and Torbjörn cannot hit with his sluggish projectiles anyway.

Widowmaker is a general counter against heroes with little mobility and especially with a relatively large head, like Torbjörn has. Landing an instantly deadly headshot is easier for her here.

Tracer Counters

Roadhog
Brigitte
Junkrat
Winston

Roadhog and Brigitte can both take out Tracer with just one combo in less than a second. Even very skilled Tracer players have too little time to react here – unless they can predict exactly what will happen. And even then, it’s difficult.

Junkrat can litter the flanking routes used by Tracer with traps, forcing her to take detours, revealing herself through fire, or getting caught. Winston has the advantage that his beam weapon almost always hits the mobile Tracer when he just aims roughly.

Widowmaker Counters

Reinhardt
Winston
Genji
Wrecking Ball

Reinhardt and Winston are likely the strongest counters against Widowmaker, simply because of their shields. Even if Widowmaker can see her targets clearly, the shields prevent her kills. Winston can also get close to her with his jump attack, closer than she would like.

Genji and Wrecking Ball have similar advantages. Both usually reach Widowmaker before she can defend herself effectively, and nearby, she is nearly defenseless. Wrecking Ball’s great advantage is also his extremely small critical hit zone, which is non-existent when he moves quickly.

Winston Counters

Reaper
Roadhog
Ana
Junkrat

Reaper, Roadhog, and Junkrat all benefit from Winston’s enormous size, which makes him an easy target for their attacks. Roadhog and Reaper also have self-healing, Winston does not. They typically win in a duel.

Ana has the best tool with her sleep dart to make Winston’s Ultimate mostly useless – or simply put him to sleep while he is jumping.

Wrecking Ball Counters

Reaper
Roadhog
Bastion
Brigitte

Reaper, Roadhog, and Bastion have an easy time with Wrecking Ball due to their immense damage. He cannot do much but flee or take the damage, risking losing in a duel.

Brigitte and Roadhog also have the opportunity to either intercept the rolling hamster directly or prevent him from fleeing. His strong mobility is thus severely limited.

Zarya Counters

Bastion
Sombra
Zenyatta
Widowmaker

Bastion is the only hero in the game who can deal enough damage in a short period to kill Zarya despite her protective bubbles, without dying himself – provided you play well enough. Sombra can at least temporarily deactivate the shields, making her valuable.

Zenyatta provides strong damage output even as a healer and protects his team with his own Ultimate when caught in Zarya’s Graviton Surge. Widowmaker is only an indirect counter against Zarya, but since Zarya has little capacity to protect her team, the sniper has better access to all other opponents and easy kills.

Zenyatta Counters

D.Va
Junker Queen
Widowmaker
Genji

Since Zenyatta has a very compact model, D.Va can easily hit and take him out with her cannons. Furthermore, Zenyatta’s Ultimate is powerless against D.Va’s exploding mech, only the healer himself survives the explosion. His form and low health also make him an easy target for Widowmaker.

Junker Queen can completely prevent Zenyatta’s healing with her own Ultimate and also deals enough damage herself to kill the healer in case of doubt. Genji is simply too agile for Zenyatta to reliably win a duel.

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