‘Overwatch 2’ best heroes for beginners

Here's who to start with

After many years of waiting, Overwatch 2 is finally here. It’s something of an oddity, serving as a straight sequel and also an iterative update to the first game. All of your favourite heroes are here, but things have been tweaked to offer up a brand new hero-shooter experience.

While Overwatch 2 will no doubt bring back plenty of veterans, it’s also a great time for new players to jump in. Problem is, Overwatch is complicated, and extremely daunting for someone learning the ropes. For one, there’s 35 Heroes to choose from, each with their own set of skills, abilities and attacks. If you don’t know your Support characters from your Tanks, it can be tricky to land on a main early on.

To help you out, we’ve picked three of the best heroes to use if you’re a beginner player in Overwatch 2. We’ll explain why each is a great choice to start off with, and offer some tips on getting ahead in those first few matches.

Best Overwatch 2 heroes for beginners

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Overwatch 2. Credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
Overwatch 2. Credit: Blizzard Entertainment.

With 35 Heroes to choose from in Overwatch 2, you’ll want to know which ones to choose as a beginner player. Thankfully, not all of the Heroes are unlocked from the get-go, so things are narrowed down slightly. Before we begin, it’s highly recommended that you play through as much of the tutorial content as possible. Not only will this help you learn the game, you’ll also be able to quickly switch between Heroes to try them out. With that in mind, here are the three best beginner heroes in Overwatch 2:

  • Torbjörn
  • Soldier 76
  • Mercy

Give any of these characters a try at the start, and you’ll likely find a play style that you’re into. Now onto why each Hero is a great pick for beginners.

Torbjörn

Torbjorn stands next to his skill info

Let’s start off with Torbjörn. Generally, Damage-class Heroes will be the easiest entry point for new players. Overwatch 2 can be played as a shooter, which is likely to be the most familiar play style for those trying the game out for the first time. Torbjörn has a rivet gun that can be used as a long-range weapon to deal huge damage. It’s not so good close-up however.

The main pull here is the turret skill, which allows you to drop a turret in key areas. It will slowly damage enemies and even rack up kills. You can also heal it with your hammer. It’s a fairly passive play style, in that you can concentrate on dropping turrets and then moving on. Once your Ultimate is built, you’ll unleash a spew of molten metal. Coating the ground near objectives is a great way to help your team push back the enemy.

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While you will absolutely be able to gain kills with the rivet gun, using Torbjörn will show you the importance of identifying areas where enemies are likely to gather and push through. With the right turret placement, you won’t even need to do anything to deal damage, allowing you to focus on repositioning and building your Ultimate.

Soldier 76

Soldier 76 stands next to his skills

There’s a reason Soldier 76 is the Hero used in Overwatch 2′s first tutorial. He’s extremely easy to grasp for those coming from a more traditional multiplayer background. He has a gun with primary and secondary fire, a sprint button, and an Ultimate ability that barely even asks you to aim straight.

Soldier 76 may not be the most exciting of the Heroes on offer in Overwatch 2, but he can really be a lot of fun. Use his sprint to reposition, get in and do damage with the heavy pulse rifle, and then heal using the biotic field ability. The helix rockets are particularly fun to use, and will teach you about how splash damage works.

Really, Soldier 76 offers an easy and genuinely fun loop, as you switch from primary and secondary fire while charging your Ultimate. Once you unleash it, any enemy in sight becomes a locked target. As long as you are aiming in there general direction, you will damage them. Give Soldier 76 a try to learn the pace of matches in Overwatch 2, and the importance of using all of the abilities and skills on offer to you to rack up kills.

Mercy

Mercy stands next to their skills

Now onto Mercy, who is a great choice for those looking to learn why Overwatch 2 actually isn’t really a shooter at all. You see, while shooter-style gameplay can be found in Overwatch 2, things are more complicated. There’s an undercurrent of complimentary play styles that make up a team, and Support characters are an extremely important and often overlooked one. Playing Mercy is a great way to learn how you can actually win at Overwatch 2, and even be the best player on the field, without focusing on attacking at all.

Mercy is a healer, and using their Caduceus Staff you can either heal players or buff them for damage. Mercy also has some of the most versatile movement options in the game, able to float around and lend support from up high. Oh yeah, and you can resurrect fallen teammates, which is extremely important. While Mercy does have a blaster, you’ll only really use it in a pinch.

Playing Mercy is all about moving around, managing the battlefield, and healing teammates that need it. Watch for pushes, and buff the damage of any teammates that are up on the frontlines. Once your Ultimate is charged, you can fly around, lending support quickly and safely. Note that you also have regenerative health, so dip in and out of battle, buffing and healing, to earn the most points. Your teammates will thank you!

That’s the best Overwatch 2 Heroes for beginner players. For more on the game be sure to check out our 4-star review. We say: ‘A bold reinvention, Overwatch 2 is fun to play and has a variety of smart tweaks that reinvigorate the game and package it up for a new audience.”

Elsewhere in gaming, Microsoft’s Game Pass service has been somewhat shrouded in secrecy regarding its financials – until now, anyway, as a document has revealed just how much money it generates a year.

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