The tank is now one of the more crucial roles to play in Overwatch 2, given that each team can only have one in their composition. Because of that, the designated role has giant shoes to fill to soak up damage and prevent their teammates from going down. With the new meta slowly forming, who is considered to be the best tank heroes in Overwatch 2?
The Best Overwatch 2 Tank Heroes
In most cases for Overwatch 2, these heroes are perhaps the most versatile in terms of damage mitigation. They can cover most situations if you find yourself going against certain team comps.
Reinhardt
The giant German tank with the giant Rocket Hammer has been one of the more balanced and versatile heroes, even during the first Overwatch game. He has a kit that can complement the majority of the cast. Despite Reinhardt having low range because of his primary attack being a melee, he makes up for it with his strong Barrier Field that, when deployed, blocks all incoming projectiles for a good amount of damage. It can defend multiple bodies behind it, being good for providing cover for his teammates as they fire through it.
His lack of ranged attacking, other than using his Fire Strike, is that he excels at pushing and holding objectives. Enemies will more often than not have to split up or burst down his shield to get a successful push towards him. Even then, people have to respect your space if you play as him because he can incapacitate anyone with his Charge or his Earthshatter ultimate. On top of being a bruiser up close, he also provides excellent crowd control when he needs to.
D.Va
Everybody’s favorite e-Sports player is also quite the force to be reckoned with. While D.Va might not be as versatile as a Reinhardt, she excels at negating most projectiles that are hurled at her or her nearby teammates. Her Defense Matrix can eat up even the deadliest abilities like a Pharah Rocket Barrage or Bastion’s turret mode bullets. Of course, you have to take the duration of it into consideration. It only lasts for a couple of seconds, providing burst damage negation.
As a tank, she also can provide some decent damage, especially when opponents get closer. Her Fusion Cannons on her mech have infinite ammo, so she can constantly pepper down opponent HP bars to prevent any passive healing or at least soften up for her teammates. Pair that with her Micro Missiles and she can definitely help in maintaining DPS where it might fall.
Finally, if you want to create a large area of denial, she can send her mech to Self-Destruct, which is her ultimate. She’ll eject from her Mech, followed by a 3-second detonation time where any opponents in the line of sight of the explosion will most likely be killed.
When out of her Mech, D.Va utilizes her pistol which does surprisingly decent damage, although the projectiles shot have some travel time. She’s most vulnerable when outside of her Mech, so you want to try to land as many shots so you can Ult back into a new Mech.
Junker Queen
The newly released Junker Queen is a brute of a tank who, in some cases, might be a hybrid character. Sure, she can sustain herself because of the healing from DoT damage, but she can also perform her Commanding Shout ability. Not only can she make herself harder to kill, but also gives her teammates a sizeable amount of extra health they can utilize to fight longer before needing to retreat.
Think of Junker Queen like a better Roadhog. You have the shotgun and self-sustenance. You just have to actively be attacking, dodging enemy fire, and taking decent aggro. Unless the team absolutely guns you down, you’ll be in their face, withering down HP like a DPS, having the survivability of a tank, and the healing capabilities of a decent healer.
Zarya
Zarya is a much more niche pick when it comes to picking a tank. She’s somewhat of a support and DPS character with the right setup. Her whole kit revolves around the barrier mechanic and powering up her Particle Cannon. The more damage her barriers take, the more her Cannon is charged. The higher the charge, the higher damage output the Cannon will have.
She has to be played in a way where you have to bait out opponents to attack you. You almost have to anticipate when you or a teammate will receive damage. The damage mitigation is nice, but it also rewards you not with survivability, but lethality. A fully-charged Zarya can destroy a team in a matter of seconds if they simply feed her more energy. Not to mention, the more hits landed and more energy charged, she’ll get her ultimate in no time.
Zarya has one of the best synergetic abilities in Overwatch. A well-placed Graviton Surge can be absolutely devastating if paired with something like Hanzo’s Dragonstrike, Junkrat’s Rip-Tire, or just anything with deadly AoE to take down multiple foes at once. The point is, you’ll know a good Zarya when you see one because she can hard-carry a team or be their downfall. The skill ceiling is high for her.
Overwatch 2 is currently in its second beta which includes console players this time. The full game will be released on October 4, 2022 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
