How to Counter Every Overwatch 2 Character

Every hero has a weakness.
overwatch

Overwatch 2 is finally out for PC and consoles. There are tons of characters you can play as, and they all come with unique abilities. However, they’ve all got their own strengths and weaknesses as well. Here’s how to counter every character in Overwatch 2.

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Zenyatta

zenyatta in overwatch 2
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  • Widowmaker can snipe him very easily because of Zenyatta’s poor mobility. She generally won’t fall prey to his Discord Orb as well, since she’s usually in the back or in hiding.
  • Just like Widowmaker, Hanzo is another Overwatch sniper who can take out Zenyatta from long ranges. Zenyatta’s slow speed also makes him susceptible to Hanzo’s ultimate.
  • Zarya can remove Discord Orbs from her allies by using her barriers.
  • Torbjorn won’t be in much danger from the Discord Orbs since he isn’t really a frontline hero either. He can also refill any lost damage from the Orb with Molten Core.
  • Tracer is a very difficult character to hit with the Discord Orbs. Even if she does get hit, she can use her Recall ability to remove it.
  • Soldier 76 can hit Zenyatta quite reliably with his Helix Rockets. If he gets shot with a Discord Orb, the Sprint ability will allow him to hide and get it removed.

Mei

mei in overwatch 2
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  • Reaper can easily avoid Mei’s ice attacks by going into Wraith form. Even if he gets caught by her ice blaster, he’ll likely be able to out-DPS her before sustaining any serious damage.
  • Junkrat can use his mines to propel himself over Mei’s ice wall, and his Rip-Tire can ride up the wall as well. If he gets caught in her Blizzard attack, a Concussion Mine will allow him to escape quickly.
  • Pharah can dodge Mei’s attacks very easily by simply flying into the air and attacking with rockets from above.
  • Zarya’s Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier will protect her and her allies from Mei’s freeze gun. This will stop the freezing effect.
  • Widowmaker can snipe Mei from afar, and Mei won’t be able to get close enough to her to do much damage before she gets downed herself.
  • Lucio moves very quickly, allowing him to escape Mei’s freeze attacks. His Soundwave alternate fire can also knock her backwards.
  • McCree’s Flashbang can stun Mei long enough for him to dodge roll beside her and fan his Peacekeeper for serious damage.

Soldier 76

soldier in overwatch 2
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  • Soldier 76 won’t be able to out-DPS Bastion unless his health is already low.
  • Reinhardt’s shield will block all of Soldier 76’s attacks, making him vulnerable to other enemy assaults.
  • Zarya’s Particle Barrier can absorb the damage from Soldier 76’s Helix Rockets, and this will even buff her damage.

Hanzo

hanzo in overwatch 2
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  • Reinhardt’s shield is a big problem for Hanzo, and he can even use Fire Strike to attack him from afar. Getting close to Hanzo will make him vulnerable to attacks.
  • Winston can protect his allies from Hanzo’s shots with the Barrier Projector. He can also attack Hanzo very easily by leaping at him with the Tesla Cannon.
  • Genji can actually deflect Hanzo’s arrow shots, and he can perform double jumps to avoid the Scatter Shot ability.
  • Tracer is incredibly hard for Hanzo to deal with because his slow shots have trouble hitting fast targets. She can Blink in, drop a Pulse Bomb, and Blink away again.

Widowmaker

widowmaker in overwatch 2
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  • Tracer can be an annoying enemy for Widowmaker to hit. If Tracer gets in close and Blinks past the Venom Mines, she can stick a Pulse Bomb on her to get a kill.
  • Reaper can avoid Widowmaker’s traps by Shadow Stepping and entering Wraith form. Once he gets close, he’ll be able to finish her off quickly with regular fire.
  • Genji can flank Widowmaker by double jumping and climbing walls. If she tries to shoot him, he can deflect these shots back to her.
  • Winston has high HP, allowing him to tank a few shots from Widowmaker while leaping at her to attack.

Winston

winston in overwatch 2
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  • McCree can dodge Winston’s close range attacks by using Combat Roll. Even if Winston is in Primal Rage mode, McCree can still use the Flashbang to stun him.
  • Pharah can counter Winston’s close range attacks by staying in the air. If he tries to leap at her, she can use a Concussive Blast to knock him away.
  • Reaper can Shadow Step around Winston’s attacks, and can easily take him down with four or five good shotgun shots.
  • Lucio’s speed will allow him to move quickly away from Winston while still firing to him. His ultimate Sound Barrier will also protect his team completely from Primal Rage.
  • Zenyatta can hit Winston easily with a Discord Orb. This increases his damage taken by 50%, making him a very squishy target.

Lucio

lucio in overwatch 2
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  • If you have good aim, Pharah can continuously launch rockets at Lucio from above, and he won’t be able to counter effectively.
  • Zarya’s long range shots deal splash damage, meaning it’s a lot easier for her to hit Lucio and his team. Her Particle Barrier will also absorb his attacks and even buff her damage.
  • Soldier 76’s Biotic Field can mitigate a lot of the damage done by Lucio’s sonic projectiles.
  • If McCree can get close enough, stunning Lucio with a Flashbang and then fanning the hammer will take him out rather quickly.

Cassidy

cassidy in overwatch 2
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  • Bastion can make short work of Cassidy as he has poor mobility and will be unable to run quickly enough from Bastion’s fire.
  • Widowmaker can kill off Cassidy very easily from a distance. She can also take him out quickly if he uses his Deadeye ultimate.
  • Hanzo can be a pretty good counter to Cassidy as long as he keeps his distance. Cassidy doesn’t have great launch attacks and his poor mobility will make him susceptible to sniper shots.
  • Zarya’s Projected and Particle Barriers will protect her and her team from Cassidy’s sticky bomb ability. He also has difficulty escaping her Graviton Surge ultimate ability.

Torbjorn

torbjorn in overwatch 2
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  • Reaper can teleport away from Torbjorn’s turrets and flank him very easily. His powerful shotgun shots will take care of Torbjorn before he can hide.
  • Tracer is one of the few characters who can get behind Torbjorn’s turrets and mitigate the damage by using Blink and Recall. If she’s fast enough, she can take him out with a Pulse Bomb.
  • D.Va can activate her Defense Matrix and use boosters to charge towards Torbjorn while blocking all damage. Once she gets close to him, her fusion cannons will kill him easily. Her Self-Destruct ultimate will render his Molten Core useless.
  • Hanzo’s Dragonstrike can take out Torbjorn’s turrets. His slow mobility should also make him a good target for Hanzo.
  • Reinhardt’s shield will absorb all turret damage, and he can use Fire Strike to destroy them from a distance.

Pharah

pharah in overwatch 2
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  • Roadhog has high enough HP to withstand a few of Pharah’s rockets, and he can use his chain hook on her to bring her back to the ground.
  • Widowmaker can expose Pharah with Infra-Sight, and take her out easily from a distance.
  • Soldier 76 can counter Pharah’s rocket damage with his Biotic Field, and he can use Helix Rockets to deal good damage. If shes’s flying around too much, the Tactical Visor will optimize your shots.
  • If Pharah is constantly in the air, this will make her a very easy target for Bastion to shoot down.
  • D.Va can actually get close to Pharah by boosting upwards into the air. Once she gets close, her fusion cannons can pose a big threat to Pharah.

D.Va

d.va in overwatch 2
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  • Zenyatta can hit her very easily with the Orb of Discord, allowing you to dwindle her HP down quickly.
  • Mei’s ice blaster can counter D.Va’s Defense Matrix. Once you freeze her in place, she’ll be easy to hit because of her large hitbox.
  • By staying away from D.Va, Zarya’s particle shots can deal a lot more damage to her than D.Va’s own fusion cannons.
  • Roadhog can use the chain hook to bring D.Va in close, and then attack her with the Scrap Gun before she has a chance to recover or use the Defense Matrix.
  • Va has a large hitbox, making her an easy target for Junkrat’s grenade spam. The grenades from his Frag Launcher will bounce, so you’ll have a good chance of hitting her.

Junkrat

junkrat in overwatch 2
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  • Junkrat doesn’t have any air attacks, and his Frag Launcher has a low chance of hitting Pharah in the sky. She can make short work of him by launching rockets from above.
  • Reaper can get past all of Junkrat’s traps with Shadow Step and Wraith form.
  • Widowmaker is safe from Junkrat’s traps since she’s usually far away, and she can snipe him fairly easily.
  • Mercy can heal up any damage taken from Junkrat’s traps, and she can escape Rip-Tire with her Guardian Angel ability.
  • Zenyatta can counter Rip-Tire’s damage with his ultimate, Transcendence.

Mercy

mercy in overwatch 2
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  • Bastion can easily kill off any enemy being healed by Mercy. If she happens to fall within his line of sight, her low HP will not be able to withstand his shots.
  • Tracer can flank the enemy very easily. Once she gets past enemy lines, her first target should be Mercy.
  • Reaper will also have an easier time sneaking behind enemies and getting close to Mercy to take her out.
  • Roadhog can use the chain hook on Mercy whenever she’s using her Guardian Angel ability.
  • D.Va’s boosters will allow her to damage anyone in her path, so she can use it together with Defense Matrix to quickly get to Mercy.

Roadhog

roadhog in overwatch 2
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  • Zenyatta usually stays in the back, so it’ll be difficult for him to fall prey to Roadhog’s chain hook. Since Roadhog is a big target, Zenyatta can hit him with an Orb of Discord to make short work of him.
  • Roadhog has poor mobility, so Hanzo should be able to hit him with regular bow shots and his Dragonstrike ultimate.
  • Torbjorn’s turrets will take down Roadhog very quickly, and will at least deal a great amount of damage to him even if Roadhog manages to destroy the turrets.
  • Lucio can avoid the chain hook easily because of his high mobility. By using his speed aura, he can also help his team avoid Roadhog’s chain hook.
  • Mei can hit Roadhog easily with her icicle shots. Because of his poor mobility, she can also freeze him rather effectively.

Symmetra

symmetra in overwatch 2
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  • Pharah can avoid Symmetra’s turrets and her primary fire by flying in the air. She can also destroy teleporters from above.
  • Junkrat can take out Sentry Turrets quickly by lobbing grenades into each room and hallway. Since they bounce off walls, you’ll destroy the turrets very swiftly.
  • Zarya’s explosive charged shots will deal splash damage to all Sentry Turrets if she does happen to be ambushed by them.
  • Winston’s Tesla Cannon will automatically destroy Sentry Turrets if you hold down the trigger button when entering a room.

Tracer

tracer in overwatch 2
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  • Mei can use her ice wall to prevent Tracer from escaping. She can also survive Tracer’s attacks by simply freezing herself.
  • Soldier 76 can survive Tracer’s attacks by using Biotic Field, and take her out with a Helix Rocket if she gets too close.
  • Tracer’s high speed will usually cause her to fall prey to Junkrat’s traps before she even notices them.
  • Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets will damage Tracer and slow her down, making her much easier to hit if she gets caught.

Genji

genji in overwatch 2
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  • Pharah can outrange Genji easily by staying in the air. She can also avoid his deflected shots if she stays on the move.
  • Genji cannot deflect Symmetra’s Photon Beam, and he also has a harder time taking out her Sentry Turrets with his shurikens.
  • Mei’s ice blaster cannot be deflected by Genji either, so she can freeze him very easily.
  • Winston can protect himself from Genji’s shurikens with his shields. His Tesla Cannon also cannot be deflected.

Reaper

reaper in overwatch 2
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  • Pharah has the easiest time staying away from Reaper because she can launch herself into the air and fire rockets from above. She can also keep him away with her Concussive Blast.
  • McCree can cancel out Death Blossom by stunning Reaper with a Flashbang.
  • Lucio’s Crossfade auras can keep the entire team alive during Reaper’s assault. The Sound Barrier will also allow them to survive Death Blossom.

Reinhardt

reinhardt in overwatch 2
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  • Pharah can take out Reinhardt’s shield quickly by launching rockets at it. She can avoid all of his attacks except Fire Strike.
  • McCree’s alternate fire will wear down Reinhardt’s shield very quickly as well. If he can get behind the shield, a quick Flashbang will stun him, making him vulnerable. He can also use Combat Roll to escape Reinhardt’s Charge.
  • Junkrat’s Frag Launcher can fire grenades over Reinhardt’s shield. He can also escape Reinhardt’s attacks by launching himself into the air with his Mines.
  • Symmetra’s Photon orbs will also pierce Reinhardt’s shield, dealing damage to anyone taking cover behind it.
  • Tracer can dodge Fire Strike and Charge easily. She can also drop a Pulse Bomb on Reinhardt before using Recall to escape the situation.

Zarya

zarya in overwatch 2
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  • It’s difficult to hit Pharah with Zarya’s Particle Cannon. Pharah can also avoid damage from Graviton Surge by flying up into the air.
  • Zarya’s Particle Cannon doesn’t have enough range to hit Widowmaker, and she can pick her off from a distance.
  • Bastion can out-DPS Zarya very easily even if her Particle Barrier absorbs the damage and buffs her. Bastion should be able to kill her before she’s able to cause too much damage.

Bastion

bastion in overwatch 2
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  • Tracer can flank Bastion easily and drop a Pulse Bomb on him before using Recall to escape.
  • Similarly, Reaper can flank Bastion by using Shadow Step, and even enter Wraith form if he happens to get spotted.
  • Genji’s ability to get to high positions will allow him to flank Bastion, and he can use Swift Strike to take him out fairly quickly. Genji’s Deflect is also a huge, natural counter to Bastion’s bullet spam.
  • Junkrat can use Rip-Tire to climb walls and flank Bastion from behind.
  • Mei can protect her team from Bastion with her ice wall, allowing her allies to look for different paths to push forward.
  • D.Va’s Defense Matrix can block all of Bastion’s shots as she boosts her way towards him and destroy him with her fusion cannons.

Orisa

orisa in overwatch 2
  • Pharah can snipe her with rockets from the air, as Orisa doesn’t have a ton of good ranged attacks.
  • Ana can easily shut her down with her Biotic Grenade or Sleep Dart.
  • If all else fails, have the team focus on Orisa to take her down ASAP.

Doomfist

doomfist in overwatch 2
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  • Just like Orisa, Doomfist is great at putting pressure on the team, but doesn’t have a lot of ranged attacks. Having Pharah snipe him from range will usually shut him down.
  • Other long ranged attackers like Soldier and Widowmaker can also pick away at him from afar.

Junker Queen

junker queen in overwatch 2
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  • Junker Queen is yet another close ranged tank that can get shut down by Pharah with air rockets.
  • Ana can also shut her down with her Biotic Grenade and Sleep Dart.

Sigma

sigma in overwatch 2
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  • Sigma has slow reload and reaction times, which means heroes like Symmetra can burn through him pretty easily with her photon beam and turrets.
  • Sombra can also render him completely useless with hacks.
  • Finally, Doomfist is also great at breaking through his shields and putting pressure on the team.

Wrecking Ball

wrecking ball in overwatch 2
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  • Pretty much any hero that can slow or stop Wrecking Ball in his tracks will be effective.
  • Mei can shut him down with an Ice Wall.
  • Sombra can stop him in his tracks with a hack.
  • Bastion can simply melt his HP from afar.

Ana

ana in overwatch 2
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  • Ana continues to be one of the best heroes in Overwatch 2 period, and can be difficult to counter. You’ll want to use heroes who are quick, and able to infiltrate the backlines.
  • Genji and Tracer are good picks for dealing with Ana, as long as you don’t get hit by her sleep dart.
  • Sombra can also be effective, though her damage output won’t be quite as impressive as Genji and Tracer’s.

Sombra

sombra in overwatch 2
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  • Hanzo, Cassidy, and Ashe are solid picks for dealing with Sombra because of their one-shot abilities.
  • Widowmaker can also be a decent pick for headshotting Sombra.
  • Winston and D.Va are viable as well, since their primary fires have wide spreads, and can easily take her out of a hack or invisibility run.

Sojourn

sojourn in overwatch 2
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  • Pretty much any nimble or mobile DPS character will be able to deal with Sojourn.
  • Genji and Tracer make it hard for her to land her charged shot, and they can get out of her AoE as well.

Kiriko

kiriko in overwatch 2
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  • Torbjorn is one of the best counters, as his turrets are unaffected by her abilities, and his Molten Core ult can shut down her Kitsune Rush.
  • Pharah is also a good pick here, as Kiriko isn’t necessarily well-equipped to take out flying targets.

Brigitte

brigitte in overwatch 2
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  • Bastion is able to easily melt her shields from range, as Brigitte has no way to hit him from afar.
  • Junkrat can also destroy her shield with a few grenades.
  • Mei can stop her in her tracks with Ice Wall, preventing her from supporting her teammates.

Baptiste

baptiste in overwatch 2
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  • Widowmaker is one of the best DPS picks against Baptiste. While she can’t necessarily one-shot him like Zenyatta, he also has no way of responding.
  • Roadhog can yank him out of position easily with his hook.
  • Doomfist can close the distance quickly to pummel him down.
  • Sombra can also shut him down with her hacks.

Moira

moira in overwatch 2
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  • D.Va won’t necessarily be able to kill her, but her Defense Matrix can absorb Moira’s damage and healing orbs, and put enough pressure to force her to Fade.
  • Roadhog’s chain and shotgun combo is another tried and true method here, thanks to her relatively low HP and DPS.
  • Winston can harass Moira for days, forcing her to trigger Fade whenever possible and preventing her from actually doing any damage or healing.

Echo

echo in overwatch 2
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  • Echo is one of the harder characters to counter, simply because she’s so versatile, and has a lot of air presence. The best way to shut her down is with Widowmaker, Cassidy, and Hanzo who can snipe her down.
  • Soldier and Ana are also okay picks here, as they have the ability to shoot her down from the sky.
  • Finally, a well-timed hack from Sombra can prevent her from using her ult.

Ashe

ashe in overwatch 2
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  • Ashe has great damage output, but she can be nullified with shields. Reinhardt is a great defensive barrier against her in battle.
  • Genji does decently against Ashe, but not when she uses her dynamite. Tracer would serve as a much better flanker against her.
  • Moira can completely escape her dynamite burn with Fade, and because she’s so hard to hit, Moira can also drain Ashe pretty easily with good positioning.

And that does it for how you can counter every character in Overwatch 2. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on the game.


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Author
Zhiqing Wan
Zhiqing is the Reviews Editor for Twinfinite, and a History graduate from Singapore. She's been in the games media industry for nine years, trawling through showfloors, conferences, and spending a ridiculous amount of time making in-depth spreadsheets for min-max-y RPGs. When she's not singing the praises of Amazon's Kindle as the greatest technological invention of the past two decades, you can probably find her in a FromSoft rabbit hole.