Overwatch 2 has various characters with unique toolkits and abilities across three roles; Tank, Dps, and Support. Tanks are the bulky frontline of their team, helping to absorb damage, create and hold space, and defend their squishy allies from the opposition. In Overwatch 2, constant Hero balance changes make some Tank picks more viable than others, with this ladder constantly changing each season. If you need help finding your footing in the Tank role, we’ve got all you need to know. Here are the best Tanks in Overwatch 2 as of Season 4.
11. Roadhog
Roadhog was an absolute powerhouse before his major nerfs at the end of Season 2. This was primarily thanks to his one-shot hook kill combo, which could take out most full HP squishy DPS and Support characters. This combo has since been removed from Roadhog, which has left him in an odd spot as he awaits a further rework from the devs.
Roadhog can still work in a few niche situations, particularly on Ilios Well, where he can use his Hook to secure environmental kills instead of pulling the enemy towards him to finish at close range. Despite this, Hog has numerous struggles, such as a lack of shield due to previously operating as a flanking off-Tank in Overwatch 1 and securing fewer picks to enable his team now that his one-shot combo has been removed. Hog also has a more than beefy hitbox and can be quickly taken down by Ana’s Anti-nade plus focus fire, which unfortunately makes him a huge walking target and Ult battery for the enemy team.
10. Doomfist
While the most skilled, high-ranking Doomfist mains can undoubtedly still make him work, Doom is quite a niche dive-Tank that doesn’t do much to benefit or provide for his team in most opportunities. Instead, he relies on diving in to disrupt the enemy team and secure kills himself.
Currently, Doomfist is quite good regarding Tank vs. Tank brawls but is ruthlessly countered by enemy Support and DPS Heroes, who can bait out and negate his abilities, leaving his toolkit feeling relatively lackluster and hard to utilize in close matches.
Kiriko can Suzu Doomfist’s Punches, Brigitte can stun him once he’s dived in and then whip shot him back thanks to the new Rally rework, Ana can Sleep Dart and Anti-nade him, Sombra can hack him to stop his mobility in his tracks and leave him vulnerable in a moment of focus fire, and Zenyatta can place discord for his team to mow Doomfist down in seconds.
Consistently playing against endless counters can feel like an uphill battle. In many scenarios, you’ll be better off playing a Tank with more survivability or who can provide more assets to their team.
9. Zarya
Zarya may have been a beast on the Tank roster upon Overwatch Season 2 release day, but nerfs and balance changes throughout the following seasons have seen her fall off quite a bit. Zarya’s utility revolves around her allies quite a lot, which means that unless she can coordinate very well-timed bubbles with her allies to set up plays and hold team fights. However, she’s relatively weak when it comes to frontline brawls against the enemy Tank.
If you’re not winning team fights, maintaining high energy, and building Graviton Surge in reasonable time, it’s probably best to switch her out for another powerful frontline Tank, such as Reinhardt, Ramattra, or Orisa.
8. Junker Queen
Junker Queen has improved from her awful state in Season 2 but still struggles significantly against numerous enemy team compositions. Junker Queen has the lowest health bar out of any Tank yet relies on close-range brawling to provide utility for her team. This means she’s quite punishable and easy to focus and counter when she initiates fights, is vulnerable to ranged Heroes, and if she’s failing to initiate team fights every few seconds, she’s not doing her job as a brawl Tank.
To get value from Junker Queen, you must consistently hit targets with your knife and axe, which can be tricky to do without putting yourself in a bad position. She has one of the best Ultimates in the game, but playing her only for her Ult is less than ideal.
While she’s generally a difficult pick right now, the Junker Queen + Lucio combination pick still works quite well on some maps, with Lucio speeding her in and out of fights to help increase her survivability, so this is your best bet at making her effective in close-range quarters.
7. Winston
Winston is a capable dive-Tank that can be a solid choice when it comes to targeting and harassing enemy Supports and Snipers, and his Bubble can be used to benefit a very aggressive, dive-oriented team. Unfortunately, there’s only a handful of maps where Winston excels as a strong pick due to the demand of teamwork and ability resources he will need to get things rolling, and he doesn’t pair as well with allies who don’t have the mobility and aggression to follow up with him.
Winston’s damage is also relatively lackluster, making it challenging to secure picks independently without teamwork and communication.
In most scenarios, the other dive-Tanks, such as D.Va, or Wrecking Ball, can do the same job of diving and disrupting squishes without as much crucial healing needed at the time, thanks to Ball’s buffed adaptive shields, and D.Va’s defense matrix and they generally do more damage on a solo-dive.
6. Orisa
Orisa is a solid overall Tank pick who can pull off various assets with her abilities. Her Fortify gives her defensive strength and allows her to get aggressive when pushing in and taking space; her Javelin throw is a great crowd control ability that can be used to stun enemies out of devastating Ultimates and cooldowns, and her Javelin twirl can be used to both absorb damage and push enemies back.
Orisa benefits significantly from using natural cover between cooldowns, as she is most vulnerable to ranged, high-damage heroes and spam comps. She can become overwhelmed if found out of position or when her cooldowns have been baited out, so cooldown management is essential. However, if you can use the map to force close-range combat through choke points or enclosed areas, Orisa can be devastating, as she has a solid damage output.
5. Sigma
Sima received a slight nerf to his Accretion at the beginning of Season 4, effectively removing his one-shot rock combo. However, this isn’t a massive hiccup for Sigma, as although the damage to his Accretion has decreased, the stun duration has increased, with Sigma remaining one of the most capable Tank picks in the game.
Sigma can absorb damage with his Kinetic Grasp and convert it into temporary Overhealth, hold defensive space with his Barrier, poke to deal damage with his Hyperspheres, and use his Accretion to stun enemies for your teammates to follow up on. Sigma does exceptionally well on any poke map where he can rotate cover. His strong toolkit makes him a jack-of-all-trades Hero without being too overpowered in one specific area.
4. Reinhardt
Reinhardt also received a minor nerf at the beginning of Season 4, taking a small chunk out of his base HP and Armor. Much like Sigma, this doesn’t actually affect Rein too much, and is more like a small slap on the wrist, due to his numbers proving he was overperforming in Season 3. Rein is still very strong and capable on most maps, and an absolute force to be reckoned with on his most-suited maps.
Rein is still one of the best tanks in Overwatch 2 for those who like a brawl-Tank frontliner, as his walking shield helps him to easily take space and initiate fights, and his hammer swings can do pretty hefty damage, especially in enclosed areas. Rein is also great at defending squishes from threats and soaking up damage to benefit his team
3. Ramattra
Ramattra is easily one of the best Tanks in Overwatch 2, with a unique Hero kit that equips him with tools and abilities for a variety of situations. His primary fireworks at a distance, allowing him to poke and deal damage at range, as well as close-range burst damage.
With knowledgeable cooldown management and tactical switching between Primary and Nemesis forms, Ramattra can be an absolute beast and pick up a lot of momentum for his team, as his Barrier and Nemesis Block allow him to absorb damage and then get up close and personal to initiate brawls and pick off squishes.
2. D.VA
D.Va is a brilliant Tank pick when all her assets are used to maximum capacity. When playing D.Va, you’ll need to constantly keep on your toes and be ready to adapt to any situation, such as diving in and using your Defense Matrix to absorb damage for an ally stuck in enemy fire, chasing enemies of high ground, and using her mobility to follow up on fleeing opponents to secure kills.
D.Va fits various team compositions and is excellent at punishing enemies out of position, as wait as baiting and absorbing cooldowns to gain Ult Charge. D.Va doesn’t have a lot of unfavorable matchups, which allows her to be quite a nuisance and is incredibly strong to use once you’re able to play her to a decent level and make the most of her toolkit.
1. Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ball, aka Hammond, received some significant buffs in Season 3 that took him from being a niche Tank pick to an absolute monster on almost any map in the game. Hammond has some of the best mobility in the game, which allows him to engage and disrupt the enemy as a speedy dive tank, booping people back with his Grapple and Fireball and using his Piledriver to slam people up in the air to set up kills or secure picks.
When Hammond works with his team, he can set up plays and force the enemy out of position for his teammates to kill. His new Adaptive Shield buff gives him extreme survivability, allowing him to get in and out of the enemy lines with no problem, and Minefield is a brilliant area-denial ability that can be used to hold space or force the enemy back in overtime – plus, you can build it very quickly once you get rolling. Despite being quite tricky to get the hang of, this little hamster is a mighty force to be reckoned with, and you should find it reasonably easy to get value from Ball once you’ve got the basics down.
That does it for our rank of the best Tanks in Overwatch 2. While you are here, you can check out more content about the game by looking at our guide about the best Supports and exploring any of the relevant links below.
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