Overwatch 2: Best Heroes for Beginners

Image Credit: Activision Blizzard

Human Made

Tyler is a psych graduate turned freelance writer and one of the newest additions to the HGG team. They currently write guides for a variety of gam... Read more

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

If you’ve never played a hero shooter before, Overwatch 2 may look a little daunting to play. With thirty-seven Heroes to choose from, all with different abilities and playstyles, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why we’ll be going over the best Heroes for beginners in Overwatch 2 to ensure you can find the right Hero for you!

Thankfully, Blizzard kept beginners in mind when creating Overwatch 2. There are plenty of Heroes that don’t require much aim or knowledge of the game to play well or have fun with. With that said, let’s get into our top picks!

Choose Your Role

Before you choose your Hero, you’ll first need to choose your role. In Overwatch 2, the main game mode requires you to choose from three roles: Tank, Damage, and Support. Tanks soak up damage and make space for the team. Damage does…well, does damage. Lastly, Supports heal and provide utility for the team.

Each role has a different playstyle, and you can always queue for all if you can’t choose which one to play. So, with our role chosen, let’s see what Heroes you might find enjoyable as a beginner.

Best Tank Heroes for Beginners

Orisa

Orisa is one the best Tank Heroes for beginners in Overwatch 2. As long as you’re getting healed, it’s incredibly hard to be killed as an Orisa. Her Fortify ability grants 40% damage reduction, and makes her immune to most crowd control, as well as headshots for 5 seconds. Likewise, the Javelin Spin ability destroys projectiles and blocks melee attacks for more survivability. Use these abilities correctly, and it will take the whole team to stop you.

Additionally, Orisa has one of the few stuns in Overwatch 2. The Energy Javelin ability stuns and knocks back its target, and the stun lasts longer if they’re knocked back into a wall. This means you can stun enemies for your team or interrupt some ultimates (like Reaper’s). Plus, it does a lot of damage, so it’s easy to secure kills with.

It’s hard to do bad on Orisa, and any beginner Tank player should give her a try.

Sigma

Sigma is another hard-to-kill Tank in Overwatch 2, and he’s great for beginners. What makes Sigma unique from other Tanks is that he can conjure a shield in front of him to block attacks for his team. By holding down the button, you can send the shield further away from you, creating plenty of space for your team. If the shield breaks, Sigma can use his Kinetic Grasp ability, stopping projectiles and converting them into shields for himself.

Much like Orisa, Sigma also has a stun. His Accretion ability summons a big rock that he can throw at enemies, knocking them down for a small amount of time. The rock also interrupts some ultimates so you always have a chance to save your team. Additionally, all of his attacks hit in an area of effect, so it’s really hard to miss shots.

Unfortunately, Sigma is locked for completely new players. You’ll have to play forty matches to unlock him.

Reinhardt

Between Overwatch 1 and Overwatch 2, Reinhardt has barely had any changes. He still does what he should — shield the team. Reinhardt has a large shield he holds out in front of him. He can fully cover most choke points and provide safe cover for his teammates to do their job.

What’s more, he has a rocket-powered hammer that he can swing around when he isn’t shielding his team. It does a surprising amount of damage and hits in a wide arc in front of him. There’s no better feeling than smacking around a Genji that was trying to kill your supports.

However, that’s not even the best part of Reinhardt. His ultimate, Earthshatter, is one of the best ultimates in the game. When used, Earthshatter will knock down all enemies in a cone in front of him, making them easy targets for teammates. A well placed Earthshatter is game-changing, and good Reinhardts are a god-send to any team.

Zarya

For a new player, Zarya is a nice first step into the Tank role. Zarya’s playstyle revolves around using bubble shields to either protect herself or allies. If enemies do damage to those shields, the damage is converted into charge for her weapon, increasing her damage. At full charge, she does just as much damage as any other damage hero, if not more.

Additionally, her ultimate, Graviton Surge, is one of the best ultimates in the game. Graviton Surge launches a black hole that pulls enemies in, making them sitting ducks. Be sure to combo Graviton Surge with other ultimates to decimate the enemy team.

Due to her playstyle, new players can get a feel for protecting allies, soaking up damage, and making plays, which is what the Tank role is all about.

Best Damage Heroes for Beginners

Soldier: 76

Soldier: 76 is one of the best Damage Heroes for beginners in Overwatch 2. He is all about running and gunning. His Sprint ability allows him to run for as long as he wants with no cooldown. If you find yourself in a bad situation, just run away! And if there’s nowhere to run, you can use his Biotic Field to heal yourself and allies.

Soldier: 76 is also the best choice to counter flying enemies like Pharah and Echo. His gun is hit scan, meaning there’s no travel time on the bullets. With Soldier: 76 and some aim, you can force enemies to switch Heroes or be shot out of the sky.

Have poor aim? No problem — Soldier’s ultimate, Tactical Visor, auto aims for you. For 6 seconds, you can unload into the entire enemy team without missing a shot. His simple yet effective kit allows you to safely learn the damage role without being punished for being new to the game.

Junkrat

Junkrat is a great hero for not only Overwatch 2 beginners, but FPS beginners as well. Junkrat’s whole goal is to fire grenades in the general direction of the enemy or at a choke point to deny entry. Barely any aim is needed, and you’ll more than likely earn yourself a random kill. Additionally, he has traps he can place down to snare enemy flankers.

A Junkrat on any team is bound to cause mayhem as you try to dodge random grenades while also trying to avoid dying to his teammates. He’s the perfect choice for someone wanting to sit back, spam grenades, and get a little smile on your face when you randomly take out a Tracer.

Unfortunately, Junkrat is another hero that is locked by default for new players. Luckily, you only have to play twelve matches for him to be unlocked.

Reaper

In my opinion, Reaper is not only easy to play, but is one of the best Damage Heroes in the game. His two shotguns deal crazy damage, especially to tanks. What’s more, Reaper heals for 35% of all his damage dealt. High damage and high sustain is a great combo for a beginner Hero.

Reaper also has some of the best movement abilities in the game. His Wraith Form gives him immunity to damage and a burst of movement speed. So, if you get into a bad situation, you can just Wraith Form back to your team. Additionally, he has Shadow Step to quickly teleport him anywhere within 35 meters.

Death Blossom, Reaper’s ultimate ability, transforms him into a spinning top of death. While it’s a bit predictable, you can teleport behind the enemy team and practically kill them all yourself. You can’t go wrong with choosing Reaper.

Torbjorn

Torbjorn is a Hero much like Junkrat in that you don’t exactly have to aim to be decent. Just like Junkrat, Torbjorn likes to spam choke points with his gun’s primary fire. Instead of grenades, he shoots molten bits of metal that deal insane headshot damage. Oftentimes you’ll score a kill from someone running headfirst into your shots.

What makes Torbjorn beginner friendly isn’t his spamming potential, however, but his ability to place a turret. His turret can be placed anywhere and has a pretty long range. Place your turret in the right spot, and you’ll shut down the Tracer trying to flank your supports.

Likewise, his ultimate is great for area denial. Molten Core spews pools of molten lava that deals a bunch of damage overtime. With it, you can cut off choke points or prevent enemies from touching a Payload.

Torbjorn might sound a little boring, but hitting a random headshot is priceless and will keep you coming back for more.

Best Support for Beginners

Moira

Moira is one of the best Support Heroes for beginners in Overwatch 2 — maybe even one of the best Supports to play in general right now. In my experience, a lot of new players struggle with playing Support because it’s never fun dealing with a Genji your team won’t do anything about. What makes her so great for beginners is that she can take matters into her own hands.

With Moira, you don’t have to rely on teammates to protect you. Her damaging abilities deal decent amounts of damage and require little to no aim on your part. Additionally, her Fade ability gives her movement speed and makes her invulnerable for a few seconds. It will be incredibly hard to kill you.

Let’s not forget about her support abilities. Her healing is some of the best in the game, only held back by its limited resource. You can recharge her healing by damaging enemies, so you’re encouraged to both damage and heal. Likewise, you can send out floating orbs that either heal allies or damage enemies. With Moira, you are always equipped to save allies or deal damage.

Moira is an incredibly fun Hero to play, and every new player should try her at least once.

Zenyatta

Zenyatta is the last Hero on this list that’s locked for new players. If you want to play him, he will be unlocked after completing twenty-five matches. However, it will be worth it for those wanting to play Support.

Much like Moira, Zenyatta is a Support who can heal and dish out damage. His primary weapon involves firing orbs at high speed into people’s faces, which do a lot of damage. Not only that, he can buff his allies’ damage on any target he wants with Orb of Discord. The orb can be attached to any enemy and increase their damage taken by 25%.

Similarly, Orb of Harmony can be attached to allies and heal them overtime as long as they stay in your line of sight. This means you can attach an Orb to an ally and go right back to dealing damage. As for other healing, his ultimate, Transcendence, renders Zenyatta immune to all damage and instantly heals allies around him for 6 seconds. The power of Transcendence is game-changing and can save your team from most situations.

Because of his playstyle, Zenyatta is perfect for those looking to still get kills while also helping the team.

Lucio

Lucio is one of the most fun Heroes to play in Overwatch 2, especially for beginners. Instead of individually supporting teammates, Lucio has two auras he can switch between: healing and speed. His healing aura slowly heals allies around him, while his speed aura increases the movement speed of his allies. That way you can focus on more important things, like trying not to die or 1v1ing the enemy Genji.

However, that isn’t the best part. Lucio also has the ability to wall ride. He can jump and ride on most walls, increasing movement speed. This increases the fun factor on Lucio, as you can just jump on a wall and do your thing while also supporting the team without any effort.

Additionally, he has a game-changing ultimate. Sound Barrier grants Lucio and his allies an extra 750 health that decays over time. With this extra health, you can shut down most ultimates in the game and render their damage useless.

Did I mention he also plays music in-game? If you’re looking for a chill hero to play, Lucio is your guy.

Mercy

Our last recommendation may look boring to play, but once you learn her style, you’ll realize just how fun she truly is. Mercy has been through a lot of changes, but this iteration is probably my favorite.

On the surface level, Mercy attaches a beam to allies that either heals or buffs their damage. Unlike Zenyatta or Lucio, she has to have her staff out in order to use these beams, so she can’t deal damage on the side. Additionally, she has the ability to revive an ally every 30 seconds. When used properly, it’s a game-changer for your team.

However, what makes her fun to play, in my opinion, is her Guardian Angel ability. This lets Mercy dash to any ally, regardless of whether they’re alive or not. What’s more, as you dash, you build up a meter that can be used to dash again either upwards or forwards. Once you get used to it, you’ll be flying all over the place.

Despite the learning curve of Guardian Angel, Mercy is probably the easiest of the Supports to play. I highly recommend a beginner to try her out as they learn how to play Overwatch 2.

Join the High Ground

And that wraps up the best heroes for beginners in Overwatch 2 — thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you have any questions or ideas, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more Overwatch 2 content.

Happy gaming!

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