The best counters for each Overwatch damage hero

Although Overwatch 2 players may complain about certain heroes being too strong or not easily countered, the developers have generally been great at responding to player concerns, stiff metas, and overtuned characters.

Damage dealers, or DPS heroes, are varied in their means and methods of attack. Some are precision fighters who excel at landing individual shots, while others specialize in the chaos of area-of-effect attacks. To effectively play against an enemy team, it’s important to be able to counter-pick against their two DPS heroes to single out their weaknesses.

Here are the best counters for each Overwatch 2 damage hero.

Ashe

Ashe is best described as a pseudo-sniper. While not quite as sniper-focused as Widowmaker, Ashe is best at mid to long-range and benefits from good aim and a steady hand. She has a little more self-defense potential than Widowmaker and can be a great addition to a team, but she also shares some weaknesses with the spider-themed sniper.

Fast, mobile heroes that fight in close range, like Genji and Tracer, can pose a threat to Ashe, mostly because they’re difficult for her to hit when they get up close. Widowmaker will win in a sniper duel against Ashe nearly every time, making her a more effective option for a raw sniper battle. Kirko and Zarya have abilities that cleanse the burning effects of Ashe’s Dynamite. While Ashe’s B.O.B. ultimate is powerful, it can be completely nullified if slept by Ana.

Bastion

If your team finds itself under siege by a Bastion, the best strategy is to swap to burst damage heroes with high AOE, like Junkrat or Pharah, and try to attack him from several angles. Bastion has strong sustained single-target damage, but he can’t counter threats from multiple directions at once and he can’t move while in turret form, which means that AOE burst like Pharah’s rockets and Junkrat’s bombs are very good against him. Genji and Tracer are both effective at capitalizing on Bastion’s small range of movement. Ana can sleep Bastion to shut him down completely, and Zarya and Orisa both have abilities that nullify the effectiveness of his heavy burst damage.

Cassidy

Cassidy’s high-damage precision attacks are deadly in the hands of anyone with decent or better aim, and his stun can shut down many dive heroes’ backline attacks. In a world of cybernetic enhancements and futuristic weapons, it turns out that the classic gunslinger still holds his own.

Reinhardt’s massive shield creates a nearly impenetrable wall that prevents all of Cassidy’s damage from landing on the enemy team. He’ll have a tough time outmaneuvering a Rein shield. Winston also has a big bubble shield, and can easily jump far out of Cassidy’s ideal range. Genji can deflect even the most well-placed Cassidy shots and also his High Noon ultimate, while Ana can sleep him out of it. The Cassidy mirror matchup is also a great option, down to whoever is better at landing headshots or grenades.

Echo

Echo joins Pharah as one of the few heroes who can truly fly. Soaring high above the battlefield means she avoids many of the projectile and AOE-based attacks of other characters, but she really struggles against hitscan characters.

Ashe, Cassidy, and Widowmaker are all glaring weaknesses for Echo, as she can be plucked from the sky at a moment’s notice. Soldier: 76 is also great against her because his weapon is excellent for tracking, enabling him to follow Echo along as she flies and glides. Winston can pressure Echo into the air by jumping near her, and Zarya’s bubbles will absorb all of Echo’s damage.

Genji

Along with Tracer, Genji can be one of Overwatch‘s most annoying fighters. His fast, high-damage attacks and extreme mobility make it easy for him to dive in and out of the enemy team, taking out backline players before they even know what hit them. When dive compositions were popular in the Overwatch League, Genji ruled the roost as one of the most popular heroes.

Instead of trying to attack Genji with precision weapons, the best way to take him down is to employ auto-locking beam-based weapons. Characters like Symmetra, Moira, and Winston have beams that automatically lock on to the nearest hero as their primary fire, which makes it easier to keep up with the cyborg samurai. Zarya is also somewhat helpful, but her beam doesn’t auto-lock, which can make it harder to target a fast-moving Genji. He also can’t deflect these weapons, making them doubly effective. Characters like Mei can slow down his mobility, making it that much easier for a backline of DPSes to finish him off. Ana can sleep him during his Dragon Blade.

Hanzo

Like Genji, Hanzo is also characterized by his high mobility, but attacks with precision-based bow-and-arrow shots. He’s a sniper, but his arrows are projectiles, meaning that they’re subject to distance falloff and other factors. To compensate for this, his headshots deal a significant amount of damage if they land.

Hanzo has a difficult time landing precise arrows on highly mobile heroes like Wrecking Ball, Genji, and Lucio. D.Va can eat his Dragonstrike and other arrows with her Defense Matrix. Widowmaker is a better raw sniper than Hanzo, so she will win the long-range battle every time.

Junkrat

Overwatch‘s resident master of chaos is excellent at making life hard for everyone else. His bombs deal a lot of damage if they hit a hero head-on, but they’re not designed for precision fighting. Instead, Junkrat is at his best when he’s using his bombs to displace and disrupt enemies, causing a lot of AOE damage in the process. His arsenal is great for wearing down tank shields and keeping enemies out of narrow areas.

Overwatch 2 heroes with a faster fire rate than Junkrat will usually win against him in a raw battle. Heroes like Cassidy and Soldier: 76 can damage him consistently and quickly before his bombs go off. Highly mobile heroes like Wrecking Ball and Lucio can avoid his traps and grenades. Brigitte and Lifeweaver each have enough self-sustain to survive Junkrat’s attacks.

Mei

Mei’s biggest weaknesses are her mobility and range. While her icicles can snipe far-away targets, they’re far less effective than many tools of other heroes. She performs terribly against airborne heroes like Pharah, Echo, and D.Va. In addition, D.Va can eat Mei’s Blizzard ultimate, primary fire, and maneuver around her ice wall. Kiriko’s swift movement allows her to avoid getting trapped in Mei’s icy contraptions.

Pharah

While Echo is Overwatch 2‘s flying precision fighter, Pharah is more akin to an airborne Junkrat. Her rockets fly true and deal AOE splash damage to those on the ground, keeping her high above the fight in most cases. While her flight potential is not infinite, it’s long enough to get decent mileage out of a teamfight, and good Pharah players know where to touch down to avoid being attacked in the interim.

The best way to deal with a Pharah is to use a hitscan character. The usual choices are Soldier: 76 and Cassidy, but heroes like Widowmaker and Ashe can also be used, depending on personal preference. Baptiste is the most effective support hero against Pharah because his primary fire acts as a hitscan damage weapon. D.Va’s Defense Matrix is one of the best ways to protect your team from Pharah’s Barrage.

Reaper

Reaper can easily shred through the high health pools of Tank heroes thanks to his close-range shotguns. His teleport allows him to get to high ground and strategic vantage points easily, and he can move swiftly in and out of team fights and individual skirmishes.

Reaper is locked into close combat. Because of this, any heroes that can do significant damage at long range, like Widowmaker, Pharah, Echo, Ana, and even Junkrat, can neutralize him without putting themselves in much danger. Echo and Pharah’s flight helps even more, as there’s no way Reaper can reach them while they’re in the air. Beware, though—Reaper can quickly teleport to a far-away fighter’s location (as long as they’re on the ground), which twists the fight in his favor. Zarya’s bubbles are perfect for preventing Reaper’s damage from bursting down her or her teammates.

Sojourn

Sojourn’s primary fire is still considered a projectile, so heroes with tight and precise movement, like Genji, Tracer, and Lucio can avoid her fire fairly reliably. This changes, though, when she uses a railgun shot, so be careful. Winston and Mauga can forge Sojourn to play far away and up close, which is difficult for a hero whose primary area of expertise is mid-range.

Soldier: 76

Soldier: 76’s abilities, while useful, are fairly basic: he can provide limited healing to allies in a small AOE, and he can dash to get in and out of fights quickly. He deals mostly in sustained damage thanks to his autofire heavy pulse rifle.

While Soldier: 76’s rifle can be strong if he hits all of his shots, it loses to burst fire that can defeat him faster than his sustain. Burst fire can also knock him out of his AOE heal and essentially render its restore useless. Characters that are helpful in this regard include Junkrat, Roadhog, and Cassidy. Ashe wins against Soldier: 76 at long range and can pump out just as much damage. Ana and Lucio have Sleep Dart and Sound Barrier, abilities that can counter Tactical Visor.

Sombra

Sombra is a unique combination of DPS and support. While she’s classed as a damage-dealer and can’t outright heal her allies, her ability to hack enemies to turn off their abilities makes it easier for her teammates to land the final blow.

While Sombra counters a lot of other characters because of her hack, she’s not invulnerable herself. She does little damage on her own, so will lose against heroes with powerful targeted burst damage like Pharah, Junkrat, and Hanzo. Mei can catch her out in a vulnerable place with nowhere to throw her teleport, while Ana can sleep her just before she gets a hack off. Kiriko’s cleansing Suzu will remove Sombra’s Hack and Virus from any enemies.

Symmetra

Symmetra has gone through a lot of changes since Overwatch‘s initial release. As it stands now, she’s a damage hero whose beam auto-locks onto nearby enemies, dealing steady sustained damage as long as they remain in range. Other important aspects of her kit include Sentry Turrets and a Teleporter.

To deal with Symmetra, choose burst fire that can out-damage her beam: Junkrat, Pharah, and Echo make great counter choices. Pharah and Echo are especially good against Symmetra because it’s more difficult for her to reach them with her beam. AOE-based burst can also destroy her turrets, which makes it harder for her to control narrow hallways and catwalks. Winston is great for jumping toward Sentry Turrets and demolishing them. Winston and Mauga have mobility that allows them to jump right past Symmetra’s ultimate shield.

Torbjörn

Torbjörn’s turret is a deadly force to be reckoned with, and you’ll have to take it out to be able to focus on killing the hero himself.

Though Torbjörn has his place in teamfights, mostly in defensive positions, his turret is his main source of power, and he has to stay near it to be most effective. He’s not meant for direct combat and will lose to most heroes if engaged directly. Junkrat is great at destroying the turret quickly. Ashe’s ability to play above ground will save her from most sticky situations in Torbjörn’s ultimate, while D.Va can simply fly out of it.

Tracer

Tracer can quickly jump in and out of fights and has a lot of chase potential, continuously tormenting slower and less mobile heroes. Because of her speed, she’s also got less health than the average damage character, which can be taken advantage of.

Turrets are a Tracer’s worst enemy, so Symmetra and Torbjörn are an absolute pain to deal with. Winston’s mobility and auto-locking weapon make it easy to pursue a speedy Tracer, and Mei can also catch Tracer away from her team with nowhere to go. Moira’s orbs will auto-lock onto Tracer and whittle away her HP, while Brigitte is bulky and self-sufficient enough that Tracer won’t be able to take her down alone.

Widowmaker

Widowmaker is Overwatch‘s classic sniper, dealing out high damage from far away. Her effectiveness almost entirely revolves around having great aim.

Since Widowmaker is the best outright sniper in the game, trying to counter her with other snipers just won’t work. Instead, try using sneaky, highly mobile heroes like Genji, Tracer, and Sombra to get behind her and distract her from lining up her shots. Zenyatta is one of the only heroes that might be able to go toe-to-toe with her snipe shots if he puts a Discord Orb on her. D.Va and Winston can both venture up to where Widowmaker is positioned and force her away from her setup.