Overwatch 2 Best Tanks (All Tank Heroes Ranked)

 

The concept of being a stalwart tank has been a staple in the Roleplaying game genre since the dawn of Dungeons and Dragons in the 80s, yet when translating their core design into a first-person shooter, many players new to Overwatch may find the role confusing. Moreso now as the existing tank guides from the original Overwatch are outdated with the introduction of the 5v5 game mode.

After reading all of the skills of tanks and queuing up, players will find the tanks to come in flavorful varieties. From high DPS output tanks such as Junker Queen and Zarya to “Dive and Disturpt” tanks like Winston and Wrecking Ball, the role that tanks play does not follow typical RPG meatshields.

This article will cover the role and power rating of all tanks in Overwatch 2. The list is subject to meta changes, however the top tanks will be relevant, regardless of meta, so long as they won’t be heavily reworked.

The role that tanks play can be broken into 5 categories and will have an overall score:

Survivability - The sum total of defensive capabilities.

Damage - Although tanks generally deal less damage, they still need to dish out damage to exert pressure so that enemies will think twice before charging to the backline squishies.

Utility - A broad term meaning the amount of crowd control, stuns, displacements, AOE shielding, etc. that allows teamfights to extend or to aid a teammate.

Mobility - The ability to charge through or escape an unfavorable encounter.

Teamfighting - How well a hero performs on the battlefield. This stat factors in the hero’s kit, ultimate abilities, and playstyle in a combat scenario

Besides the scoring system, tanks have another role of being a sort of “Leader” in the battlefield. They facilitate when a team should push or retreat as they are the hardest to take down while usually having the most amount of crowd control. Once a tank falls, it opens an opportunity for the opposing team to push, and to retreat for the defending team.

A short disclaimer, all tanks are viable and just because some tanks are rated low on the list, only means that they aren’t the best option to climb on ranked. For unranked games, you can select whichever tank you want and I personally find Overwatch the most fun by playing or playing with off-meta tanks especially in open queue with a 3 tank 2 support lineup.0

10. Doomfist

Doomfist Overview

For the players willing to invest their time and effort into mastering Doomfist, he’s a hero for the one tricks and YouTube montages due to his high skill ceiling and satisfying dive playstyle. Once a DPS hero a long time ago, Doomfist being placed into the tank role, which creates some interesting mechanics, yet his kit and playstyle are suited to the role that tanks play, making him at the bottom of the list.

Doomfist is the definition of a feast or famine hero, he will either be top fragging and pushing to the enemy’s spawn point, or struggle to push enemies off a key location, which is by design. His kit rewards one trick and is unforgiving to new players.

Doomfist’s abilities:

Hand Cannon (Primary Weapon): 4 magazine shotgun that fires with a broad spread.

The Best Defense (Passive): Whenever Doomfist deals ability damage, he generates temporary overhealth.

Rocket Punch (Alternate Fire): Doomfist launches forward and punches enemies in front of him. Can be charged for greater damage and distance

Power Block (Left Shift): Protects Doomfist by reducing incoming frontal damage by 80 percent. Lasts 2 seconds

Seismic Slam (E ability): Doomfist leaps forward and smashes the ground

Meteor Strike (Ultimate): Doomfist leaps into the sky and crashes down, dealing heavy damage in a broad area

Read Doomfist’s abilities in further detail: https://overwatch.fandom.com/wiki/Doomfist

Playstyle

Doomfist is extremely ability-dependent. Understanding his cooldowns and appropriately cycling through his abilities separates an average Doomfist from a great one. The biggest mistake players commit is burning through all of Doomfist’s abilities and being caught by an enemy.

The optimal playstyle consists of jumping in, dealing damage, and knocking enemies back while gaining overheal from his passive, followed by finishing low-HP targets with his shotgun, then holding up Power Block until his cooldowns are back to engage further or group up with his team.

Strengths

Excellent diving kit that works well with any dive team configuration, especially when combined with a Genji, Sombra, Tracer, or Kiriko. However, compared to meta tanks like D. Va and Roadhog, Doomfist's power level and difficult to execute kit make him unsuitable for competitive play unless the player is a one-trick pony.

For casual play, Doomfist is extremely fun to play as he has three mobility abilities in his kit. Taking down enemies by utilizing the environment is immensely satisfying as well.

Weaknesses

Aside from his difficult kit and low damage output and survivability, Doomfist has plenty of counters. Some examples are: Sleep Dart, Protection Suzu, Javelin, Sigma’s Rock, Junkrat’s Trap, Brigitte, etc. The long list of counters is attributed to his one-dimensional playstyle and predictability.

Doomfist Review

• High Skill Ceiling

Players wanting to master Doomfist will need to put in a few hundred hours.

• Best Kit Suited to Dive and Disrupt

3 abilities made for moving around the map, one of which can stun and deal meaningful damage.

• Horizontal and Vertical Mobility, With Escape and Defensive Tools on a Tank

Jump, punch, and use your ultimate to make yourself elusive. Add an 80% damage mitigation ability on top of that.

• High Risk, Medium Reward

His low survivability and predictable playstyle make him vulnerable to higher skilled players, particularly Ana, where a sleep dart and a coordinated team will send him back to the respawn room.

• Underwhelming and Inconsistent Performance

Doomfist’s performance depends on the map, and the skill level of the enemy team. Making his performance dependent on factors beyond his control.

Tank Score:

Survivability 1 / 5

Damage 1.5 / 5

Utility 2 / 5

Mobility 5 / 5

Teamfighting 2 / 5

Overall score - 2 / 5

9. Junker Queen

Junker Queen Overview

To exert pressure on the map, tanks need to deal meaningful damage to discourage the enemy team from ignoring them and sprinting to eliminate the backline. Junker Queen is the embodiment of that philosophy.

Junker Queen is a formidable “Off-Tank” who thrives as a self-healing DPS in disguise, especially in prolonged fights. Her gameplay functions similarly to static, offensive-based immobile tanks like Roadhog or Zarya, yet her damage output is only enough to chunk enemies, and not solo kill them outright.

Junker Queen’s Abilities:

Adrenaline Rush (Passive): Heals Junker Queen when enemies are wounded.

Scattergun (Primary Weapon): Shotgun with a six round magazine. Deals about 106 damage per second.

Jagged Blade (Alternate Fire): Junker Queen a blade and can recall it. Deals damage in both instances and inflicts wounds that deal damage over time. When stuck to an enemy, can be recalled to pull the knife and enemy towards Junker Queen.

Commanding Shout (Left Shift): Grants a 30 percent movement speed buff to yourself and nearby allies. Restores 200 HP to self and 50 HP to allies. Excess HP turns into temporary health.

Carnage (E ability): After a windup, swings a giant axe and attacks enemies in front, inflicting wounds.

Rampage (Ultimate): Charges forward and attacks all enemies in front of her, inflicting wounds and preventing healing.

Read Junker Queen’s abilities in further detail: https://overwatch.fandom.com/wiki/Junker_Queen

Playstyle

Similar to immobile tanks such as Reinhardt and Zarya, Junker Queen is an oppressive bruiser who thrives on close range combat by dishing out her abilities and healing, similar to Reaper. Her passive ability regenerates herself based on the source of the wound damage dealt, usually healing 15 HP, 40 HP, or 100 HP over 3 seconds, depending on whether melee, Jagged Blade, Carnage, or her Ultimate hit enemies, respectively.

In practice, Junker Queen’s damage is lackluster and only enough to force the opposing team to respect her lethal close-range threat. In lower ranks or casual play, the opposing team rarely does this, which makes for fun, drain-tank gameplay. Coupled with a low health pool of 420 HP, she can be bursted extremely quickly while not having enough healing output from her passive.

Strengths

Junker Queen is one of the few tanks who can burst a 200-HP target by hitting her Jagged Blade, pulling the target close to shotgun or Carnage range, and bursting it. This allows Junker Queen to function as an Off-Tank or pseudo-DPS, effectively becoming a tankier but less damaging Reaper.

Her ultimate is surprisingly powerful and often underestimated by many players. being one of the game's two only heroes who can use anti-heal, or "Anti," while dealing significant 100 damage over 3 seconds and healing for the same amount. Junker Queen has the foundation to be a meta tank one day but is held back by her lackluster damage, survivability, utility, and close-range nature. At the very least, Junker Queen is incredibly fun to play in casual matches.

Weaknesses

As mentioned above, her low numbers make Junker Queen’s overall threat level quite low. Other static tanks bring more of everything to the table, such as Zarya or Reinhardt.

With the addition of Kiriko, her ultimate applying anti and her wound-reliant playstyle became less valuable, as Kiriko can cleanse the damage over time and apply anti to her teammates with a basic ability.

Similar to Roadhog’s weakness, a well-placed anti and a coordinated offensive can and will shred her low HP pool to bits. With a low skill ceiling as well, Junker Queen sadly isn't suited to climb the ranked leaderboards so far.

Junker Queen Review

• A DPS in Disguise

Junker Queen players often find themselves at the top of the scoreboard in damage dealt, eliminations, and mitigated damage.

• Close Range “Drain Tank”

Her playstyle relies on dealing wound damage to enemies in order to heal and exert pressure. This can backfire against skilled opponents.

• Commanding Shout Provides Great Utility and AOE Survivability

Movement, self-healing, and team healing make this her best ability.

• Front-to-Back and Dive Playstyles are Viable

Similar to Reinhardt, Junker Queen has a lethal close range and a mobility tool to follow or start a dive.

• Does Not Fulfill the Tank Role Well

Meta tanks are the defensive anchors of their team, and sadly, Junker Queen falls short of the tank meta requirements.

Tank Score:

Survivability 1.5 / 5

Damage 2.5 / 5

Utility 2 / 5

Mobility 3 / 5

Teamfighting 3 / 5

Overall Score 2.5 / 5

Read the rest of the article here: https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/overwatch-2-best-tanks