A total of 21 heroes are waiting in Overwatch, Blizzard’s hero shooter, so it’s easy to lose track of things. To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, we’ve created this Hero List where you can quickly get an overview of all heroes and be directed to important posts, guides, and articles.
This post will be updated over the coming weeks and months as new articles or characters become available.
Offensive Heroes
The heroes in the “Offensive” category primarily deal damage and quickly eliminate opponents in Overwatch. They are essential for winning gunfights and putting constant pressure on the enemies.
Genji
Genji is a ninja, and that’s how he should be played. He can precisely eliminate enemies from a long distance, as long as they are not moving. Otherwise, he has to rush into close combat and use the opponent’s weapons to eliminate them.
The embodiment of the western hero is McCree. Whether from a long distance or in close combat, he is a true threat with his revolver. Anyone who gets too close to him will be eliminated by a precise flashbang, and his signature phrase “It’s high noon…” announces the imminent doom of the entire enemy team.
Pharah doesn’t need to be precise when firing her rockets from the sky, which damage everything within a large radius. If you enjoy hovering “above it all” and raining death on your enemies from above, Pharah is the perfect choice.
Countless shotguns, a sneaky teleport, and his unbeatable ghost form define Reaper, who glides across the battlefield like a shadow, mercilessly blasting enemies in close combat. As he gains new life energy from kills, he can stay in the fight particularly long if mastered.
Veterans of other shooters may quickly bond with Soldier: 76. His assault rifle makes short work of most enemies, and thanks to his permanent sprint, he is always quick to the action. As an ultimate, he has an aimbot – what more could you want to bring death and destruction to the enemies? Oh yes, rockets. He has those too.
Tracer may be the face of Overwatch, but she is not exactly suitable for newcomers. With her low HP, she can die very quickly, but skilled players can achieve devastating results with her teleportations, especially targeting the “backliners” of the enemies.
Heroes in the “Defensive” category are well-suited for holding control points or preventing the enemy from advancing. Here, you will find snipers and “builders” who can secure entire areas of the map, making life hell for the attackers.
Bastion
Hated or loved. Bastion is very polarizing. The old Omnic can switch between a mobile and a stationary form. In mobile form, he can move freely, but in stationary form, he has a powerful machine gun that can wonderfully protect chokepoints and control points.
Hanzo
If modern weapons don’t appeal to you and you prefer using a bow, then Hanzo is made for you. With this sniper, you need to take distance and the trajectory of the arrow into account, but you can shoot over walls. Thanks to reconnaissance and multi-shot capabilities, even numerous enemies can be quickly overwhelmed. Additionally, he can climb walls to escape many enemies at the last second.
With “explosions,” everything about Junkrat is essentially summarized. He fires grenades, can place a mine that he can manually detonate, and set a bear trap so that no one can escape the deadly radius of his explosives. His ultimate is a controllable tire that – as one would expect – explodes upon contact with enemies, leaving only corpses behind.
Mei is like the “frost mage” of the team. She can freeze enemies with her ice beam, build protective (or obstructive) walls, and encase herself in an ice block when in danger. However, she lacks damage output, which makes her better suited for defending and supporting other heroes who benefit from frozen targets.
If you don’t want to shoot yourself, then you choose Torbjörn. The supposed dwarf builds turrets that can tear apart enemies with low HP in just a few seconds. Additionally, he can strengthen the team with armor, which he creates from the scraps of defeated enemies. He is not defenseless though, dealing solid damage at medium and close range.
Widowmaker is the “cliché sniper” who can take out even the strongest heroes with just 1-2 headshots. To secure herself from ambushes, she has a poison trap and can use a grappling hook to scale heights if needed. As an ultimate, she provides the whole team with vision over enemies for several seconds – even through walls and obstacles.
No team can exist without a proper tank. In Overwatch, these characters absorb the majority of damage and protect their allies from death, while using stuns and restrictions to present enemies like a platter for the rest of the team to deal with.
D.Va
D.Va is considered a more offensive variant of a tank. She excels at breaking through or flanking enemy formations with her boosters while dealing high damage in close range with her infinite shotguns. And when the situation gets too dicey, D.Va simply jumps out of her mech and lets it explode in a massive blast, leaving no stone unturned.
The German knight Reinhardt is the epitome of a tank. With hammer and shield, he can protect allies from major damage and, thanks to his simple gameplay, is also suitable for newcomers. Whether for attack or defense, Reinhardt always makes a good impression.
The jack-of-all-trades in Overwatch is Roadhog. This bulky tank not only has massive health points but can also deal high damage with his shotgun and heal himself when needed. As if that weren’t enough, he can also pull enemies closer with his hook so they are right within range of his shotgun. Roadhog is a good addition to almost any team.
Unlike the other tanks, Winston is significantly more mobile and can damage multiple enemies at close range with his electric weapon. Areas are temporarily protected by a shield dome, and distances are easily traversed by jumping. If you enjoy “letting the monkey out” and swinging wildly, you will be happy with Winston as a tank.
Zarya is the only character in the game who can temporarily make others invulnerable. She can also apply this ability to herself to survive particularly dire situations and increase the power of her laser weapon, which can also fire explosive projectiles when needed. As an ultimate, she creates a gravitational vortex that gathers all enemies in one spot, allowing the rest of the team to easily take them out.
Support Heroes
The heroes from the “Support” category are responsible for healing the team or providing other tactical advantages that the whole team can benefit from. In every game mode, it is advisable to have at least one supporter so that the team doesn’t run out of steam.
Lúcio
Lúcio is currently considered the strongest character in the game, if not the most effective healer. His group healing is permanently active but can be swapped for a speed boost if desired. He can also slide along walls, allowing him to strike from unexpected positions and push opponents into abysses with his sound blaster. No matter the game mode, Lúcio is always a welcome presence.
The embodiment of a guardian angel is Mercy. She can either heal individual team members with her staff or massively enhance their dealt damage. She can quickly cover distances, as she can easily fly to friendly heroes. If she is the last survivor, she can simply revive all fallen friends, allowing the battle to continue immediately.
Symmetra is the only support hero who cannot heal. Instead, she provides the entire team with shields, effectively granting additional health points. Chokepoints are secured with up to 6 small turrets, and as an ultimate, she offers the feared teleporter, through which allies can immediately return to battle after dying.
Zenyatta is considered an offensive supporter because he can heal allies but also weaken enemies so they take more damage. He can also deal decent damage himself when firing several of his orbs of harmony simultaneously. Especially tricky situations are countered with his ultimate, which makes him immune and massively heals all friends nearby.
New Heroes?
There are already rumors of new heroes in Overwatch. No wonder, Blizzard has announced that they will continue to develop additional heroes and maps for the game, which will then be available for free. Furthermore, Blizzard has already confirmed that there are currently 2 heroes in development, which only fuels the rumor mill further.
Sombra
Sombra is Pharah’s mother and was supposed to be dead a long time ago. Rumors say she is a support sniper who assists the team from a great distance.
Overwatch 2 is a hero shooter by Blizzard and the evolution of the first Overwatch. Now in a free-to-play variant and with some modifications to the original ga...
