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Overwatch is hugely popular, but getting into the game now with the release of Overwatch 2 might be a little daunting for newcomers. Because the sequel is largely the same as the original game, for beginners it can feel like they’re playing at a major disadvantage. Not only do they need to focus on learning the individual maps and objectives, but it can be overwhelming to be faced with the sheer magnitude of the character roster.
While Overwatch 2 doesn’t give you full access to every hero right off the bat, there are still 15 total that are unlocked automatically when you boot up the game for the first time, so knowing who to choose turns into something of a blind guess if you don’t know anything about the characters.
Some are easier to play than others, however, which, when selected, leaves new players more open to learning other elements of the game. If you’re having a hard time getting into Overwatch 2 as a newcomer, try using the automatically unlocked characters below while you learn the ropes and get your proverbial sea legs.
More Overwatch 2 guides:
How to Unlock the Founder’s Pack | How to Unlock Role Queue | How to Unlock Every Character | Can You Fix “0 Players Ahead of You” Error? | Does it Have Crossplay and Cross-Progression? | How to Merge Accounts | Which Characters are Unlocked and Free? |
Support Characters
The role of a Support character is to keep other teammates alive and buff their attacks. Different characters have different support abilities, but that’s generally the goal when playing Support. While it might be tempting to try and head straight to the objective alone, it’s always best to team up with other players so that they can deal the damage and that you can aid them.
Because of their more passive role in combat, Support characters are great for newcomers to Overwatch 2. They allow first-timers the ability to see the ebb and flow of battle and how different players work up close so if you’re struggling to get a solid grasp of the game as a whole, it’s a good idea to start with one of the following Support heroes:
Mercy
Mercy is the healer when it comes to Support characters. Her main “attack” is to constantly heal her teammates with yellow beams by holding RT. Switching to the blue beams with RB, however, boosts the targeted character’s attack stat making them much more lethal on the field. When pairing up with a tank, Mercy can help drastically turn the tide in battle or assist in locking down an objective point from attackers. Because her healing and buffing beams don’t require a lot of precision, she’s also a good pick for anyone new to first-person shooters.
Her other abilities all work in tandem to make her the best healer on the field. Using her LB ability will instantly allow her to fly toward teammates, putting them in range of healing and buffing. Using her LT ability allows her to instantly revive a dead teammate nearby her to put them instantly back in the action.
Although it’s one of the weakest weapons in the game, Mercy is also able to pull out a sidearm by hitting right on the D-pad to use in combat if things get too hot and she’s backed into a corner.
Mercy’s Ultimate ability, Valkyrie, allows her to fly quickly to her teammates and enhances each of her skills drastically.
Moira
Moira plays very similarly to Mercy in that her main goal is to keep the health of her teammates high, however, unlike Mercy, Moira has a lot more offensively-focused abilities. Pulling RT sprays health to whoever is in her crosshairs, but pulling LT saps health away from enemies and adds it to her health pool. She’s an offensive healer that, while unable to buff her teammates’ attacks, can turn the tide when paired with a team that has a low overall health pool.
In addition to spraying health and sapping it away, with RB, Moira is able to shoot giant balls of healing and leaching that bounce around the combat arenas for several seconds. They’re extremely useful for healing up a large group of teammates or dealing devastating damage to a grouped-up squad of incoming attackers. By hitting LB, Moira can also do a quick teleport where she becomes invincible and disappears for a second in order to reposition.
Moira’s Ultimate ability, Coalescence, fires a giant beam of healing when positioned towards her allies and damage when pointed at enemies.
Damage Characters
The goal of Damage characters is to deal damage and help secure objectives. They tend to have smaller health pools, but when paired with a good healer and when taking care of threats quickly, it doesn’t always matter. Damage characters are the most common character class in Overwatch 2, so there are a lot of options when it comes to picking who to play as.
Some Damage characters are more straightforward than others which makes them ideal for newcomers. If you feel like you’ve got a solid grasp on the characters below, it’s not a bad idea to switch things up and try out the abilities of more difficult characters.
Soldier: 76
If you’ve played any competitive first-person shooter in the last decade, you should be fairly equipped to handle playing as Solider: 76. He’s got a pretty standard loadout with an automatic rifle as his main weapon and shoots a small barrage of exploding AoE missiles when pulling LT.
His LB is a standard sprint that allows him to reposition or get back into the fray of battle after a death with relative ease. Although his typical-FPS-loadout makes him a good pick for newcomers, his RB lays down an AoE heal effect that can restore his health as well as the health of the rest of his team.
Solider: 76’s Ultimate ability, Tactical Visor, allows him to automatically target enemies within range for a short period of time, making it easy to dish out devastating damage and rack up eliminations.
Reaper
Similar to Soldier: 76, Reaper’s loadout is pretty standard. He wields two one-handed shotguns meaning that he’s absolutely lethal when in close range. Although he can’t do much from a distance, his RB ability, Shadow Step, allows him to perform a slow-moving teleport to a targetted location that, while leaving him open for several seconds, can get him in close to enemies to deal massive damage.
His passive ability is that he gains small boosts in health when dealing damage. If he ever gets himself in a little too much trouble, hitting LB turns Reaper into Wraith Form which allows him to temporarily move faster and take no damage, but comes at the cost of not being able to shoot.
Reaper’s Ultimate ability, Death Blossom, shoots his dual shotguns in a large area dealing major damage to all those around.
Tank Characters
Tanks have the most health out of any characters on the field which also makes them the biggest targets. Their role is to essentially be a decoy bullet sponge while Damage characters get in close to take out threats. That said, they’re also capable of dealing massive damage to enemies with their powerful abilities.
Players taking on the Tank role tend to be leading the charge, so it’s best to stick with Damage and Support characters while you learn the ropes, but if you feel you’ve got a solid enough handle on Overwatch 2, then start by using the following Tanks:
Orisa
Orisa’s main way of damaging enemies is by using her Augmented Fusion Driver with RT which essentially works like a chaingun. It doesn’t need to reload but if it overheats from too much use, it’ll take a second before she’s able to fire it again. Her other main damaging attack is her Energy Javelin which is used with LT that allows her to throw a javelin into an enemy, knocking them back and dealing damage.
While she can output plenty of damage, Orisa’s fortification abilities make her a force to be reckoned with. Fortify is one such ability that, after hitting LB, gives her a temporary health boost and reduces the amount of damage that she takes and the amount of heat buildup in her gun. Javelin Spin creates a temporary protective shield in front of her that blocks incoming projectiles and knocks nearby enemies back a few feet.
Orisa’s Ultimate ability, Terra Surge, has her sweep enemies into a single location with her javelin and hit them with a powerful surge of energy,
Winston
Winston is most effective when in close combat with enemies. His main way of attacking, the Tesla Cannon, shoots out a short-range AoE electrical attack that doesn’t have much range to it but deals heavy damage when up close. Holding LT allows him to fire a more concentrated bolt that has a little more range.
If your enemies are a little too far to deal effective damage, hitting LB sends Winston flying in the direction he’s facing, closing the gap and dealing some AoE damage to all those around. Hitting RB will have Winston drop a bubble shield which is good for securing the area around an objective from incoming attackers.
Winston’s Ultimate ability, Primal Rage, gives him a temporary major health boost and allows him to deal heavy melee damage.
