Orisa is a hero who has been at both the top and bottom of the Overwatch 2 hero tier list. While sometimes she is a powerful oppressor bulldozing through everyone, other times her lack of mobility grinds her effectiveness way down. These days, she’s risen again to be quite a threat. To counter her effectively, you’ll need to understand her weaknesses and what will make even Orisa mains want to switch off the hero.
Here are the best counters for Orisa in Overwatch 2.
How to counter Orisa in Overwatch 2
To counter Orisa, you’ll want to capitalize on her lack of mobility and inability to block beam damage. This means the best heroes to counter her are those with high mobility and some form of beam damage. With the season nine changes, Orisa’s damage output is much stronger, as her projectiles are larger and more powerful. Yet, her Javelin still can’t block beam damage and she is still one of the bulkiest, slowest heroes.
Tank counters for Orisa in Overwatch 2
The best Tank hero counters for Orisa are Zarya and D.Va. Zarya’s beam is immune to the swinging of Orisa’s Javelin, and D.Va can easily outmaneuver Orisa with her movement abilities.
Zarya
Zarya is the go-to tank counter to Orisa. Her beam can deal damage even when Orisa uses her Javelin Spin to negate projectiles. The Russian weightlifter also has the advantage of being able to shield herself or a teammate being pushed by Orisa with a Bubble. In addition, since Orisa’s projectiles now do so much more damage, getting an Orisa to shoot a target with a Bubble can get Zarya up to maximum charge very quickly.
D.Va
D.Va’s ability to absorb Orisa’s primary fire with her “Bullet Matrix” is a godsend for teammates as they try to push forward. Being able to cop a few bullets while protecting your allies is an excellent way to give your team tons of room to make a move against fragile support and damage opposition. Her ability to escape dodgy situations with her Booster Jets also makes her an incredibly viable hero if things go wrong. Now you’ll escape Orisa’s “Terra Surge” ultimate with ease.
Damage counters for Orisa in Overwatch 2
The best Damage heroes to counter Orisa are Echo, Sombra, and Mei. Echo has a powerful beam ability, Sombra has excellent mobility, and Mei can separate Orisa from her allies.
Echo
Echo’s abilities can tear through an Orisa’s health easily. Since Orisa’s only mobility-based movement comes from her Javelin Spin, she’s going to be a relatively easy target to hit as an Echo.
Echo’s movement will be incredibly pesky for an Orisa to manage. Being able to outmaneuver an Orisa’s slower primary fire will be something to use to your advantage. Orisa’s Javelin throw isn’t going to be a concern as you’re zipping around above her. The Sticky Bomb ability is a perfect way for Echo to chip away at some of that pesky Orisa’s health. Pairing that with a focus beam, if you’re close enough, will do huge damage. Echo’s ultimate ability will also give you an entertaining Orisa-vs-Orisa matchup to see whose Javelin is the strongest.
Sombra
Sombra is a pest in general. Her ability to pop in and out of view is enough to drive anyone insane. And for an Orisa with slow-moving projectiles and little mobility, Sombra will wreak havoc. Orisa’s abilities can all be nullified by a Sombra hack, making Orisa mains shake in their boots as they stand in the open. Orisa has little protection and even less mobility without any of her cooldowns, so she is very vulnerable when she gets hacked.
Mei
Aside from the obvious, that Mei’s primary fire can go through Orisa’s Javelin, her wall is also great to force Orisa out of position and get her stuck. A perfectly timed Mei wall to separate Orisa from her team will allow Mei to burst her down easily. Combine a Mei wall with a Sombra hack and the Orisa will be sent to respawn in no time.
Support counters to Orisa in Overwatch 2
The best Support heroes to counter Orisa are Moira and Zenyatta. Moira’s ultimate and primary fire both ignore Javelin Spin, and Zenyatta’s playstyle lends well to staying protected against a charging Orisa.
Moira
Moira’s obvious strength against Orisa is that she has few abilities that will be stopped by Orisa’s Javelin Spin. In addition, her Fade ability allows her to easily escape from Orisa’s fire and ultimate if out of position. Coalescence is also one of the best ultimates against an Orisa. Since her mobility is so limited, Moira can easily burn her down right through any cool Javelin spins.
Zenyatta
Zenyatta might not do as much healing compared to the other supports. But his ability to Discord Orb an enemy makes killing a health-heavy tank easy. While this ability is essential in making a tank’s life hell, make sure you’re focusing Orisa’s teammates. Taking out her allies makes finally killing Orisa so much easier.
General tips on how to play against Orisa in Overwatch 2
Although Orisa boasts numerous strengths, her main weakness is she can’t shield herself or her allies in any way aside from using her Javelin. So if the team focuses on her, it’s difficult for her to survive unless she has backup.
Don’t focus on Orisa when she uses her Javelin Spin if you have a projectile-based hero since she won’t receive any damage. Avoid dealing damage to her when she has the Fortify effect activated (unless she’s very low on health). When she does, she gets a flat percent damage decrease and gains health. Following her season five mid-cycle patch buff to Fortify, the ability now reduces damage by 50 perfect, up from 40. Coupled with the season six patch, Fortify grants Orisa 125 health, up from 75, making it an especially useful tool in her arsenal.
She also has low mobility and slow projectiles, which makes focusing mobile enemies more difficult. With the recent incremental buff to her primary, increasing the falloff range to 20, up from 15, projectiles will still be slow.
However, definitely still avoid dealing damage to her in a straight line, or you’ll likely receive heavy damage from her and become her Javelin target of choice.
