Best counters for each Tank Hero in Overwatch 2

The mid-Season 11 patch for Overwatch 2 brought a ton of major buffs to Tanks, and players have been struggling to figure out how to counter them effectively – especially with Mauga having such high survivability.

So, here’s how to counter all Tanks in Overwatch 2, how to deal with counters if you’re playing as a Tank, and what Heroes Tanks counter as well.

Counters for every Tank in Overwatch 2

Tank Hero	Counters
D.Va	Tank: Doomfist, Roadhog, Zarya DPS: Reaper, Symmetra Support: Brigitte, Moira
Doomfist	Tank: Roadhog, Orisa DPS: Cassidy, Mei, Pharah Support: Ana, Brigitte, Lucio
Junker Queen	Tank: Wrecking Ball, Sigma, Orisa DPS: Cassidy, Soldier 76, Pharah Support: Ana, Baptiste
Mauga	Tank: D.Va, Sigma DPS: Bastion, Genji, Venture Support: Ana, Kiriko
Orisa	Tank: D.Va, Zarya DPS: Echo, Pharah, Sombra, Support: Ana, Kiriko, Zenyatta
Ramattra	Tank: Doomfist DPS: Bastion, Sombra, Tracer Support: Ana, Kiriko, Zenyatta
Reinhardt	Tank: Ramattra, Mauga DPS: Mei, Pharah, Reaper Support: Ana, Brigitte, Illari
Roadhog	Tank: Junker Queen, Orisa DPS: Pharah, Reaper, Sombra Support: Ana
Sigma	Tank: Zarya DPS: Sombra, Symmetra, Tracer Support: Lúcio, Moira
Winston	Tank: Roadhog DPS: Mei, Cassidy, Reaper Support: Ana, Brigitte
Wrecking Ball	Tank: Roadhog DPS: Mei, Torbjorn, Sombra Support: Ana, Brigitte
Zarya	Tank: Reinhardt DPS: Ashe, Echo, Pharah Support: Zenyatta, Lucio

Overwatch 2 Hero counters explained

D.Va

• Tank: Reinhardt, Roadhog, Zarya
• DPS: Reaper, Symmetra
• Support: Brigitte, Moira

Heroes that can disable D.Va’s Defense Matrix will render her defenseless, and some counters can even take advantage of her slow pace when her Boosters are in cooldown. Sombra can hack her abilities away and make her an easy target, or Roadhog can use her Chain hook with little chances for her to fly away.

Zarya is D.Va’s hardest counter, because she has no way of defending against the beam, plus Zarya can get to incredibly high amounts of damage. This will quickly get D.Va out of her mech and render her pretty much useless.

Doomfist

• Tank: Roadhog, Orisa
• DPS: Cassidy, Mei, Pharah
• Support: Ana, Brigitte, Lucio

Doomfist relies on his high mobility to be effective, so any Hero that impedes this will be a great counter to him. Roadhog’s hook and Orisa’s Javelin are great examples of this, but you can also use Ana’s sleep, Lucio’s boop, and Cassidy’s grenade to have a similar effect.

One of Doomfist’s hardest counters is Mei because she can use her gun to slow him and her wall to stop him in his tracks.

Junker Queen

• Tank: Wrecking Ball, Sigma, Orisa
• DPS: Cassidy, Soldier 76, Pharah
• Support: Ana, Baptiste

Heroes that can stop Junker Queen’s combos or negate her Adrenaline Rush will disable Junker Queen’s roll. Since this character hasn’t got a shield of her own, abilities such as Ana’s anti-nade can completely negate the much-needed healing she gets from Commanding Shout.

Junker Queen thrives at close range, so make sure to either use Heroes that can do massive damage to her from range so it’s difficult for her to close in. Soldier 76 and Cassidy are fantastic options, but Pharah also excels against her because Junker Queen doesn’t have anything to deal with someone in the air.

Mauga

• Tank: D.Va, Sigma
• DPS: Bastion, Genji, Venture
• Support: Ana, Kiriko

Mauga’s Cardiac Overdrive is what makes him so strong, as he can outheal quite a few strong abilities in the game as long as he’s doing damage. As such, it’s important to use characters that do high damage like Bastion and Genji to cut him down quickly.

Ana is one of his best counters because of her anti-nade, as it’ll negate any healing he gets. Alternatively, D.Va and Sigma are good picks because they can eat any damage he tries to do.

Orisa

• Tank: D.Va, Zarya
• DPS: Echo, Pharah, Sombra
• Support: Ana, Kiriko, Zenyatta

Since Orisa’s abilities focus on deflecting projectiles or shielding herself against damage, she’s usually a difficult target for DPS characters. But, her slow projectiles make her vulnerable to fast-paced Heroes, so characters such as Echo, Pharah, D.Va, and even Zarya can profit from her low mobility.

Zarya is one the best picks against her because she can do damage to her even when she spins her Javelin. Her damage output is also high enough that she can get Orisa down quickly, even when she turns golden.

Ramattra

• Tank: Doomfist
• DPS: Bastion, Symmetra, Tracer
• Support: Ana, Kiriko, Zenyatta

Ramattra is very similar to Orisa and Sigma with his high burst damage and good defensive cooldowns, but he suffers a bit when it comes to mobility. As a result, Heroes that counter him are those that can easily push him away or outmaneuver him.

Doomfist is is hardest counter because he can push Ramattra away from the team, and he can cancel out his ult effectiveness too – which is arguably Ram’s strongest ability.

Reinhardt

• Tank: Ramattra, Mauga
• DPS: Mei, Pharah, Reaper
• Support: Ana, Brigitte, Illari

Reinhardt struggles against Heroes who can do high burst damage from a distance, like Pharah and Junkrat, and he doesn’t do well against many ranged characters.

Pharah is arguably his hardest counter because he has no way to reach her. If you stay away from Rein, especially by just staying in the air, he’s powerless against you. Pharah also doesn’t have a damage dropoff, so you can be pretty much as far away as you want as long as you hit your shots.

Roadhog

• Tank: Junker Queen, Orisa
• DPS: Pharah, Reaper, Sombra
• Support: Ana

Roadhog’s strength lies in his ability to survive for a long time, so using Heroes that shut this down is the most effective way to counter him.

Junker Queen and Ana are two of his best counters because of Junker Queen’s Ultimate and Ana’ anti-nade, as they both stop him from using his Take a Breather and heal. Alternatively, you can also make sure you’re using DPS with high burst damage like Pharah or Tank busters like Reaper to chunk his health down quickly.

Sigma

• Tank: Zarya
• DPS: Sombra, Symmetra, Tracer
• Support: Lúcio, Moira

Sigma has low mobility, so using quick Heroes like Tracer to shut him down is the most effective way to counter him. Sombra is another fantastic DPS to use against him because she can shut down his abilities and make him vulnerable.

He has the same weakness as D.Va in not having an effective defense against beams, so Symmetra and Zarya are both quite hard counters to him. He also can’t get away from Symmetra’s turrets properly, so she can trap him.

Winston

• Tank: Roadhog
• DPS: Mei, Cassidy, Reaper
• Support: Ana, Brigitte

Winston has the biggest hitbox in the game, so using characters like Reaper and Roadhog to do massive damage to him is the easiest way to counter him. He also relies on his high mobility to get value, so Roadhog’s hook or Ana’s sleep are great ways to stop him in his tracks and make him vulnerable.

His hardest counter is Reaper, because he struggles to get away from the high damage. Mei is also a great pick against him because of her ability to slow Heroes and cut down on map space with her walls.

Wrecking Ball

• Tank: Roadhog
• DPS: Mei, Torbjorn, Sombra
• Support: Ana, Brigitte

Wrecking Ball is another Tank that relies on high mobility to get value in fights, so characters like Mei, Roadhog, and Ana can put a stop to him fairly easily.

Sleep and Hook can pull Ball out of his grapple, while a Hero like Mei can use her slowing ability with her main attack to make it difficult for Ball to get away. Her wall is also an excellent tool in making sure he isn’t able to swing around map obstacles, or they can trap him.

Zarya

• Tank: Reinhardt
• DPS: Ashe, Echo, Pharah
• Support: Zenyatta, Lucio

Zarya lacks mobility, but she tends to tank damage really well and has the potential for the highest DPS output in the game. She’s really strong against Heroes like D.Va and Sigma who can’t block her damage.

Because of her low mobility, though, Heroes like Echo and Ashe counter her well as characters who can deal damage from afar. Reinhardt is the best tank to use against her because she can’t get past his shield, and he can get up in her face and take her down quickly.

How to deal with Tank counters

Your best option to deal with Heroes that counter you as a Tank in Overwatch 2 is to play around why they counter you in the first place or to switch the Hero you’re playing.

For example, if you know that Reaper counters you as Winston but you don’t want to switch just yet, make sure that you’re not getting too close to him. Winston has really good mobility, so this should be possible if you manage your cooldowns well.

The other option, of course, is to just switch your Hero. If someone is doing a good enough job of countering you, it could spell a loss, so the easiest method is to switch to a Tank that can deal better with what they’re throwing at you.

Best Tanks to use against all Heroes in OW2

• D.Va: Pharah, Bastion, Orisa
• Doomfist: Ramattra, Wrecking Ball, Genji
• Junker Queen: Roadhog, Mauga, Zenyatta
• Mauga: Reinhardt, Winston, Cassidy
• Orisa: Wrecking Ball, Ana, Mei
• Ramattra: Reinhardt, Pharah, Brigitte
• Reinhardt: Zarya, D.Va, Brigitte
• Roadhog: Wrecking Ball, Winston, Lucio
• Sigma: Doomfist, Bastion, Reaper
• Winston: Genji, Widowmaker, Ana
• Wrecking Ball: Zenyatta, Widowmaker, Cassidy
• Zarya: D.Va, Sigma, Orisa

If you were wondering which Heroes Tanks themselves counter, you can refer to the list above. This is a guideline for the kinds of Heroes you are more likely to succeed against with the given Tank you’re playing.

Overwatch 2 has a massive roster of Heroes, and understanding counters can be a complicated process. But, if you know the basics, it’s a great way to start understanding how you should be playing your character and how you can win your next Competitive match.