[Top 10] Best Overwatch Heroes For Competitive Play

best Overwatch heroes, Overwatch competitive heroes, best heroes for solo carry, Overwatch competitive

Updated:

07 Oct 2022

The Trials And Tribulations Of Competitive Mode

Competitive mode for Overwatch is difficult yet exhilarating, but choosing the right hero for the right job is the most difficult part. Using this guide, you can determine which hero would best suit your play style based on the role you prefer.

10. Lucio

Lucio speeds into action with his famous speed boost ability

Lucio is a support hero who can do multi-target healing and speed depending on which mode he sets himself in. With a defensive sound barrier ultimate that grants his team shields that disappear over time, Lucio is one of the best support heroes in 2022 Overwatch.

His speed boost can be utilized to give your team an advantage right out of spawn. As soon as you begin the match, speed boost your team to get to the point quicker. The speed boost is extremely powerful because it makes your team move twice as fast as the enemy.

As for multi-target healing, there’s no downside to it. There’s never any harm in healing multiple targets at once, especially since Lucio can ride walls while doing it. With his speed and healing capabilities, he’s a fearsome support hero.

Lastly, his sound barrier gives him and his teammates a massive advantage since it counters enemy ultimates like Zarya’s. The shields he gives himself and his teammates give him the upper hand. It’s one of the best defensive ultimates in the game and definitely worth using in competitive mode.

What Makes Lucio Great For Competitive

High utility with his speed boost and multi-target healing
Ability to boop enemies off the map
Sound barrier ultimate is extremely powerful

See Lucio in action:

9. Cassidy

Cassidy holding his trusty revolver in front of the ruins on the map "Temple of Anubis"

Cassidy is a long-ranged DPS hero who is fantastic for competitive play. Not only does he counter other long-ranged heroes like Pharah, but he also has a powerful ultimate that forces enemies to retreat or find cover immediately.

His revolver gets the job done despite only having six bullets. The limited capacity is a setback, but not a massive one since Cassidy has two abilities that automatically reset his revolver. The first is his combat roll, and the second is his ultimate, Deadeye. The revolver is pretty hard to beat since it does high damage and can be reloaded with his different abilities.

There’s also the infamous flashbang, which is a stun grenade Cassidy throws at his targets. It’s controversial as stun abilities are highly discouraged in the Overwatch community. However, it does its job and gives gamers a meltdown in the process. Sounds like a win-win scenario.

Deadeye is his ultimate, which forces enemies to hide from Cassidy’s line of sight. His ult is very powerful and can even kill heroes with high health bars. It’s useful for most situations, and if it doesn’t kill anyone, it can still be used to force your enemies into a certain spot. Or, you can use it, then quickly cancel it so you get your ammo back in a timely manner.

What Makes Cassidy Great For Competitive

Long-range damage capabilities
Flashbang ability
His ultimate forces enemies to retreat

See Cassidy in action:

8. D.Va

D.Va out of her mech and injured after a grueling battle with the omnic threat in South Korea

D.Va is a tank hero that has a mech mode and a pilot mode. Her mech is what gives her so much power. The mech can do it all: fly, shoot cannons, self-destruct, use a defense matrix, and fire micro-missiles. Each of these elements makes D.Va an amazing pick for competitive. Thanks to her mobility, she can play any position in the game, whether it be on high ground, in the back, or in the front.

Her cannons don’t do high damage, but since they have infinite ammo, the damage builds up the closer you get to your target. These cannons, when combined with her micro-missiles, make her a deadly foe. Then she has her defense matrix, which can "eat" enemy projectiles, including their ultimates if they’re projectiles too. Defense matrix is one of the best abilities in the game for this reason: it can negate an enemy ult and change the game entirely.

The self-destruct is like Cassidy’s Deadeye. It forces enemies to flee and get away from the bomb site. Even if the powerful bomb doesn’t eliminate anyone, it’s still great for creating space and buying your team time to push in. Or, if you want to be strategic with it, you can throw the bomb on the point while the enemy's supports are boxed in. That gives them two choices: run toward you to escape the bomb, or die from the bomb.

What Makes D.Va Great For Competitive

Defense matrix ability can absorb enemy ultimates
High mobility
Her ultimate is very powerful and can wipe out an entire team

See D.Va in action:

7. Reinhardt

Reinhardt kneels with his infamous hammer resting by his side

There are very few situations where Reinhardt isn’t useful. Made up of German power and armor, Reinhardt is a massive shield tank hero that is almost always used in competitive. His hammer does high damage, and when combined with his high health, he becomes an unstoppable force. When combined with an Ana nano boost or a Mercy pocket, Reinhardt is one of the best tanks in the game.

His abilities aren’t too versatile, but they make his kit unique, and it makes sense considering his role in the game. His charge ability pins enemies to walls or can even take them off the map. Yes, taking an enemy off the map will kill you, but it’ll at least look cool and even out the team fight.

His ultimate pins enemies to the ground and does plenty of damage. Although, it can be blocked by other barriers. To get the most use out of Reinhardt, you’ll have to use your shield to protect your team and use your ult when the enemies are out of barriers. Using these strategies, Reinhardt is an extremely powerful hero for competitive play thanks to how much damage he can absorb for his team and how much damage he deals to the enemy.

What Makes Reinhardt Great For Competitive

His shield barrier is strong
His ultimate is very useful in team fights
High health makes him difficult to kill

See Reinhardt in action:

6. Tracer

Tracer riding a motorcycle through the streets of Havana

As annoying as Tracer is, she has her uses in competitive play. The stun abilities in the game counter her, but seeing as Overwatch 2 is removing plenty of those stuns, Tracer indirectly gets a buff. She’s perfect for eliminating supports, and in general, she’s irritating to play against due to her small size and constant damage.

Her pistols don’t have much ammo, but they have a fast reload speed and fire rate, making them frustrating for an enemy to deal with. On top of that, she can blink around the map. That makes her fast and annoying. To make matters worse, right when you think you can kill her, she’ll use her recall to heal and reset herself.

Tracer is difficult to eliminate, not too hard to play, mobile, and has a dangerous ultimate. Unless you’re looking for a team composition with a high damage rate, Tracer is the perfect pick. Not only is she fast and a flanker, but her ultimate also charges quickly as well. Her pulse bomb ultimate can stick to an enemy and instantly kill any hero that isn’t a tank. With her versatile kit and high mobility, Tracer is a fantastic competitive hero.

What Makes Tracer Great For Competitive

As a flanking hero, she can take out enemy supports
Her pulse bomb works well in combination with other ultimates
High agility

See Tracer in action:

5. Baptiste

Baptiste gets ready for battle in front of the map "Busan"

The higher you go in skill, the more useful Baptiste becomes. Bap is great for doing both high damage and high healing. His kit is almost always useful, and a good Baptiste can dominate a game.

Let’s start with the obvious: his immortality field is one of the best support abilities. It saves teammates from death and protects them from ultimates like Junkrat’s, Zarya’s, and D.Va’s. Yes, the field can be destroyed, but a well-timed field will do its job before the enemy even notices Bap put it up.

There’s also his high damage and healing potential. The healing grenades don’t require much accuracy, and they do solid heals. Or, you can fire Bap’s primary weapon in a 3-shot burst. Hitting headshots while using Bap’s weapon is deadly and can kill other supports in seconds.

His primary weapon is perfect when compared with his jump ability and his regeneration field. The amplification matrix ultimate only adds to his versatile kit by giving him and his teammates a huge damage boost whenever they shoot through it. This is perfect for choke points, or for high-damage DPS heroes like Bastion and Soldier 76.

What Makes Baptiste Great For Competitive

Versatile kit
High healing capabilities
High damage capabilities

See Baptiste in action:

4. Echo

Echo looks back at the ground as she soars through the air

Echo is a flying DPS hero who has been making more appearances than she has before. She’s not the best DPS in the game, but she’s powerful and useful for competitive for a few reasons. For one, her ultimate is unique, fun to use, and gives your team an advantage. Need more healing or protection? Your Echo can copy the enemy’s supports or tanks to give you what you need.

Of course, there’s more to a hero than just their ultimate, and Echo has a kit that grants her high damage and mobility. She can fly and hover, and she can also use sticky bombs and a focusing beam to shred targets. Her primary fire does a decent amount of damage, but when she combines her primary weapon with her abilities, she becomes a much better hero.

It takes strategy to play her. For example, you should save your beam until the enemy is low in health. The lower the enemy’s health is, the higher damage the beam does. The bombs are useful for getting the enemies low on health, but they are also useful for blocking off paths an enemy was about to go down. If you experiment with her kit, you can get effective results that make her a solid pick for competitive.

What Makes Echo Great For Competitive

High mobility
High damage
Powerful ultimate useful in team fights

See Echo in action:

3. Zenyatta

Zenyatta using his harmony and discord orbs

If you think Baptiste does high damage, then you’re in for a surprise when you realize just how much Zen can do to turn the tide of the game. With his discord orb, he can shred even the highest-healthed heroes in the game. With his harmony orb, he can heal his teammates. The best part? He can use both orbs at the same time.

Although he doesn’t have much in his kit and he’s very slow, his utility makes up for his weaknesses. As long as your team is willing to peel back to help you when you get attacked, then you should pick Zenyatta. He’s one of the best supports in the game because of how much he can impact a team fight.

A great strategy to use is to keep the discord orb on a target your team is trying to focus on. For example, an enemy Mercy. Not only does the discord orb make her more visible, but it weakens her as well. If you keep using this strategy and call out who you have your discord orb on, then you have a higher chance at winning the game.

Then there’s his ultimate, which is a defensive ult that can counter strong abilities like Zarya’s graviton surge. It doesn’t prevent instant-kill abilities (i.e. Tracer’s pulse bomb), but if your team is taking a lot of damage, his ultimate (nicknamed "trans" by the Overwatch community) can combat that and give you a massive advantage.

What Makes Zenyatta Great For Competitive

High utility with his discord and harmony orbs
Powerful defensive ultimate
Can defend himself well

See Zenyatta in action:

2. Soldier 76

Soldier 76's visor glows as he rushes into battle

The infamous DPS hero, Soldier 76, is a high damage character that can wipe out an entire team with his ultimate. His assault rifle does an insane amount of damage, and then, to rub salt in the wound, he has helix rockets he can use in combination with his rifle to do even more damage.

Soldier 76 is a versatile DPS hero who can heal, sprint, fire rockets, and use a tactical visor ultimate that’s pretty much just an aimbot. Soldier 76 can sprint to high ground, rain bullets and rockets down at the enemy team, heal himself, then sprint out. It’s the perfect setup, and when combined with a pocket Mercy, Soldier is unstoppable.

He counters popular heroes like Pharah, Echo, Cassidy, Widowmaker, Hanzo, and other Soldiers. Since he counters so many people and does such high damage, he’s a solid pick for comp. On top of that, he has his tactical visor ultimate, which tracks any enemy in his line of sight. Once you fire at the enemy you’re locked on, the bullets will automatically hit their shots, meaning it can potentially wipe out an entire enemy team.

What Makes Soldier 76 Great For Competitive

Very high damage capabilities
Biotic field can heal allies
Tactical visor ultimate can wipe out the enemy team

See Soldier 76 in action:

1. Zarya

Zarya flexing her muscles in her new Overwatch 2 suit

Zarya will remain one of the most recognizable tanks in Overwatch because of her ultimate. When I played competitive at a grandmaster level, Zarya players were in every game. Zarya has always been a popular pick, and for good reason. She has a powerful ultimate and overall kit that can protect her and her teammates.

Many Overwatch players call Zarya a DPS with a tank’s health, which is a great analysis of her damage capabilities. The higher she goes in energy, the more damage she does. She can shred through other tanks (especially D.Va) who don’t have a barrier, and she can block damage in the process.

Her ultimate and damage are the two things that make her a perfect match for competitive. Her ultimate, graviton surge, sucks in all the enemies around the projectile she fires out. From there, the enemies are at your mercy. Unless they have a Lucio or Zenyatta defensive ult, they’re most likely easy to kill. Combine graviton surge with ultimates like Junkrat’s, Tracer’s, and Hanzo’s to see the best results.