If you’re checking out Overwatch 2 for the first time, or just looking to try out a new character, we’re sure to have a recommendation for you!
Damage - Mei
Mei is not only a sweetheart, but also terrifying in combat! Her Endothermic Blaster can pump out tons of damage and slow enemies, or fire super sharp icicles that deal tons of damage from long range. Mei’s ability Cryo-Freeze allows her to become invincible and heal herself, giving her great sustain and allowing her to stay in fights for a long time. Her other ability, Ice Wall, creates a huge wall of ice (shocker!) that can be used to trap an enemy in with your team, protect against an ultimate or block a line of sight. Mei’s Ultimate ability, Blizzard, allows her to throw her drone companion Snowball into the fight and create an AoE field that freezes enemies, allowing them to be picked off with ease. This ability can easily swing a team fight in your favor!
Mei is super easy to pick up, as her weapon doesn’t require great aim and her abilities allow her to stay alive for a long time and be very impactful in team fights. A lot of the skill in strong Mei players is about how you use your Ice Walls, so be sure to practice this skill! Here’s a guide from a top Mei player on how to effectively utilize them.
Damage - Soldier: 76
Soldier: 76 is one of Overwatch’s easiest characters, and is the character featured in the game’s Tutorial. His Heavy Pulse Rifle is a hitscan weapon that deals a moderate amount of damage per bullet, and has a long range. His alternate fire launches Helix Rockets, a large projectile that does a lot of damage on impact. Soldier: 76’s abilities are Sprint and Biotic Field. Sprint allows Soldier: 76 to run faster, giving him a ton of mobility and the ability to reposition around the map often. Biotic Field allows Soldier: 76 to place down a healing beacon, giving him a consistent form of recovery and also allowing him to heal teammates in necessary situations. However, Biotic Field has a very long cooldown, preventing Soldier: 76 from just camping around his healing station. Soldier: 76’s Ultimate ability is Tactical Visor, which gives him an aimbot for his primary fire - this is an incredibly strong ability for killing low HP ‘squishy’ heroes in the backline, such as Supports.
We recommend Soldier: 76 for new players as his gameplay is quite simple - with decent aim, any player can feel a considerable impact on the game when choosing this character.
Tank - D.Va
D.Va is a fan favorite for her incredible wit and charm, but she’s also super accessible and really enjoyable to play as. D.Va’s primary fire has infinite ammo and fires lots of low-damage pellets at once, which can feel low-impact from far away but when focused on an enemy, this can do a ton of damage. Her secondary fire is mapped to Defense Matrix, one of her most powerful tools - this allows D.Va to delete or ‘eat’ bullets and projectiles within a field in front of her. This is a huge tool for protecting your teammates from incoming fire, or blocking heals from reaching enemies. It can even eat certain ultimate abilities, such as Mei’s Blizzard or Zarya’s Graviton Surge. D.Va’s mech has boosters that allow her to fly in the direction she’s facing, as well as Micro Missiles to deal extra damage to targets she chases down.
When D.Va’s mech is destroyed, she doesn’t die - D.Va herself is launched out of the mech as a basic character with just a pistol. If she can build up enough Ultimate charge in this form, she can use Call Mech, which allows her to summon another mech. However, when in her mech, D.Va can also use her Ultimate ability, Self-Destruct, allowing her to detonate the mech and summon a new one once it explodes. This can be used in a team-fight when at low health to get a new mech quickly and create some space around the objective, or you can use the boosters to throw the exploding mech into a group of enemies for huge damage.
D.Va is a ton of fun and might just be our favorite character in Overwatch 2, given she used to be a professional gamer! She’s simple to pick up but very strong even at the highest levels of Overwatch 2 gameplay, due to her ability to survive for a long time, create lots of space in fights, and protect teammates with Defense Matrix.
Support - Lúcio
The famous music producer Lúcio is one of Overwatch 2’s easiest Support characters to pick up. Lúcio’s weapon, the Sonic Amplifier, blasts large round projectiles with a short range. His secondary fire creates a big sound blast that knocks back enemies - perfect for knocking opponents off of ledges! Most of Lúcio’s kit is based around his mobility, however: his passive ability allows him to ride on walls, making him super slippery and difficult to kill. Lúcio can switch between two songs, either healing allies around him or speeding up their movement. He can also ‘amp up’ these effects, increasing healing or making himself and his allies move even faster. Lúcio’s Ultimate ability, Sound Barrier, gives himself and all nearby allies a huge amount of temporary overhealth, allowing them to survive opposing Ultimates or stay on an objective longer.
Lúcio’s kit is not super complex mechanically, with most of the skill required being in choosing when to switch between healing or speed, as well as making great use of his ability to ride along walls. Lúcio might be one of the most fun characters in the game, and is definitely one to check out if you’re new to Overwatch 2.
Support - Mercy
Mercy is an incredibly beloved character in Overwatch 2, and for good reason - not only is she super iconic with a ton of gorgeous skins, but she’s also really fun to play! Her weapon can heal or damage boost allies, with a pistol as a secondary weapon for tough situations. Mercy’s ability Guardian Angel allows her to fly towards a teammate, while her other ability Resurrect allows her to revive a teammate with full health. This allows her to be a very mobile Support that can easily turn the tide of a team fight with a clutch revival! Mercy’s Ultimate ability, Valkyrie, allows her full flight and lets her target multiple allies with her enhanced healing or damage boosting beams, while giving her a greatly increased fire rate with her pistol.
Mercy is super easy to pick up, but has a high skill ceiling. Movement is what sets apart a beginner Mercy and a top level Mercy - learn those Guardian Angel techs to improve!
Those are our 5 recommendations of characters to try out in Overwatch 2! Who do you main? Which characters would you recommend to new players? Let us know in the comments!
