In 2016, Blizzard released another groundbreaking MMO game that has received both critical and
financial success – Overwatch.
A first person shooter, the game has a large roster of characters for players to choose
from, all with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, leading many to ask the age old question
– which character is the best?
Well, there’s been a ton of debate.
So naturally, we’ve put together a list on these characters, and there’s a lot to
consider.
We tried to combine characters abilities in the game with overall likeability in order
to place them in order.
Since the tiers often shift, we’ve tried to not lean too heavily on those stats, but
have taken those who appear in the top two tiers when it comes to discussing popularity
and power.
Its important to take into an account that everyone plays differently, and sometimes
the best character isn’t who people claim is the strongest or most powerful, but the
one who suits how you play – a skilled player can do a whole lot when they’re fighting
on their terms.
That being said, lets jump into our list of the top 10 overwatch heroes.
10 Mercy In a recent video released by Blizzard featuring
game director Jeff Kaplan, Kaplan stated that Mercy is the games most played hero by far.
This is because this support hero is incredibly useful; her resurrect ability brings back
a dead ally and restores them to full health, and her Valkyrie ability allows Mercy to fly,
along with giving her other abilities a bit of a boost.
Some have argued that she’s an over powered character, with the latest update as of this
recording toning down the impact of Resurrect while also making her “more manageable”
in her Valkyrie state.
Regardless, ever the guardian angel, it looks like Mercy’s popularity shows no sign of
slowing down
9 Widowmaker Widowmaker is a LETHAL assassin – her Widow’s
kiss is a versatile sniper rifle that also works within medium range.
She can use venom mines that trigger from motion and release poison gas.
Her grappling hook is adored by many and makes for a speedy getaway, and her infra-sight
makes tracking down your enemies significantly easier for the whole team.
So what’s not to love?
She’s got a difficult past to boot, having been kidnapped by Talon operatives and transformed
into the super assassin she is now – which, in the process, broke her will, suppressed
her personality and reprogrammed her as a sleeper agent who then killed her husband
under their orders.
8 Lucio Lucio is a DJ and a freedom fighter, and is
incredibly fun to play.
A support team member, his goal in and out of battle is to bring people together, having
done so in his home of Rio de Janeiro when he led his community to fight back against
the oppression of the Vishkar Corporation.
In battle, he uses his Sonic Amplifier to knock his enemies back with blasts of sound
and sonic projectiles, he energizes himself and his team with music and can create a sound
barrier that protects him and nearby allies by creating personal shields.
7 Winston Winston is a giant kind gorilla – a genetically
engineered super intelligent gorilla, that is – and a tank character in the game.
Back in the day, Winston was one of the gorillas who was part of an experiment at the Horizon
Lunar Colony – they were all genetically enhanced to help test the effects of prolonged
habitation in space.
Winston showed a lot of promise, and excelled, to the point where he was taken on as an assistant
to one of the scientists there, named Dr Harold Winston.
Then things got all Planet of the Apes, the gorillas led an uprising, and Dr Harold Winston
was killed.
His gorilla assistant took on his name, built a rocket and flew to Earth and joined Overwatch,
who represented everything he admired about humanity.
In battle, Winston utilizes many of his own inventions, including his electrifying Tesla
cannon, his jump pack which lets his soar into the air, and a barrier protector that
acts as a portable shield for him and his allies.
In addition to that, hes also got an ability called Primal Rage, which makes him next to
impossible to kill and lethal as hell.
6 Symmetra Symmetra is a character who is utterly deadly
when used by a skilled player.
She had a 58.02% win rate back in 2017, the highest of all characters.
In addition to that, Symmertra has been revealed by Blizzard in their spin off comics to be
autistic – Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan confirmed in a letter to a fan that, I quote,
“Symmetra is autistic.
She is one of our most beloved heroes and we think she does a great job of representing
just how awesome someone with autism can be.”
5 Moira A support hero, Moira is one of the newer
heroes added to Overwatch -at the time of this recording that is – and she’s an
Irish geneticist whose is also a leading member of Talon.
Jeff Kaplan has called her a ‘hybrid’ hero – she’s a healer, but can also dish
out a massive amount of damage.
Naturally a character with that much power is also quite difficult to use in order to
balance her out.
All that being said, her backstory makes her even more fascinating – she’s a controversial
and absolutely brilliant scientist who managed to figure out a way of creating custom genetic
programs that alter DNA on a cellular level, which has the potential of allowing humans
to alter DNA to overcome diseases and disorders.
Of course this raised a lot of ethical questions, and threatened to ruin her career – so she
started working in secret for Overwatch, and later, was rumoured to be working for Talon.
4 Genji Genji is yet another case of a character who,
when played by a skilled individual, can be utterly deadly.
He’s an Offense type, has some of the best mobility in the game and has high single target
damage.
I mean, he is a Japanese cyborg ninja after all.
His backstory makes him even more endearing – transforming from slacker to superhero,
Genji was attacked by his brother Hanzo when their family, the Shimada crime family order
his death.
But luckily he was saved by Overwatch and rebuilt as a Cyborg.
A character who works best when isolated, he’s agile and melee oriented, and was once
seen as overpowered – as a result, he had a bit of a makeover when players complained
that he was unbalanced, with Blizzard reducing the power of his abilities.
3 D. Va Most of D. Va’s popularity stems from the
fact that she’s a gamer girl - once was a professional Starcraft player, but now a
mech pilot, D. Va is the youngest member of the roster.
But don’t let her age fool you – she’s consistently a bundle of whoop ass, and has
managed to dominate tier rankings quite often.
Her role on a team is Tank, and causes some pretty severe damage when up close.
She’s not restricted to her mech suit either – if using the self-destruct special, D.
Va can still navigate on foot, and although significantly less powerful without her suit,
she’s still more than capable of wielding her pistol well.
In addition to this, the character’s emotes have gained her some popularity.
One in particular feature D.Va playing video games, eating doritos and drinking mountain
dew.
What’s not to love?
2 Reinhardt Reinhardt Wihelm is a Tank character who lives
by a code of valor, justice and courage.
He’s a 61 year old German soldier who was one of the earliest members of Overwatch as
part of their original trike team.
Eventually forced into retirement, Reinhardt couldn’t sit idly by as Overwatch started
to fall into corruption.
He eventually put his battle armour back on, and even now in his elderly days, he still
fights by his code in the name of defending the innocent and bringing better days.
Equipped with a rocket hammer and an impressive barrier field, Reinhardt’s knockback damage
is also impressive, and he’s an accessible character to play with regardless of your
experience with the game.
Another reason why he’s a fan favourite is due to the voice actor who plays him – Darin
De Paul.
1 Tracer Tracer may not be the most powerful character
in the Overwatch roster, but she’s definitely adored by fans of the game.
Maybe it’s the British accent, or her charming sense of humour, or her ability to time travel
and recuperate health during gameplay.
But regardless, Tracer is an example of a character, who in the right hands, can be
exceptionally useful in a team if played skilfully.
She’s also pretty much the poster girl of the game, and on the diversity front, Blizzard
got a ton of hype over the discussion of her sexuality, which was revealed in the Overwatch
comics.
Regardless, this pilot adventurer was the first character Blizzard had developed for
the game in order to test the gameplay mechanics, and that in itself is pretty darn special.
There we have it friends!
What other characters do you think should have made this list?
Let us know in those comments below.
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