There are some big changes to the battlefield in Overwatch 2, except for supports. Heroes of support are different. Since Overwatch 2 has a one-less-tank approach to combat, some support heroes aren’t as useful as they once were. Support heroes are much harder to make work.
Others, however, just find that these changes make them more unique and give them more to do. Her place in the meta is already secure despite only having one support hero at launch. Despite subtle changes to some favorite heroes’ kits-and to the game itself, the main thing to remember is that team composition is what makes a hero stand out. Some are better suited to rarer occasions, while others are more general. Here’s how Mercy and Lucio stack up against Kiriko and beloved Ana in Overwatch 2.
8. Mercy
Overwatch 2’s new structure would benefit Mercy the most from adjustments. Sadly, she’s the same Mercy as always, and in a setup with just one tank and an opposing team with more DPS, she doesn’t have much to do.
Mercy still heals well, and her attack buff comes in handy sometimes. It’s just a matter of keeping her alive long enough. Besides her automatic pistol, Mercy’s dash ability is slow and predictable. It’s possible to play Mercy behind a tank or reliable DPS in the right team comps–especially with friends you can coordinate with.
7. Zenyatta
Besides a new kick, Zenyatta needs more. In addition to Zenyatta’s Orb of Destruction, their setup lends itself well to strategic play. Originally, this ability was crucial for sapping tanks’ health, but Zen still had a decent attack and was able to heal allies. Even though they can’t do it as well as they used to.
Despite that, Overwatch 2 is a lot faster than its predecessor. It’s harder to maintain a line of sight to keep healing or debuffs on, so if you’re close enough to debuff someone, attack them instead. The tank needs to stay near the Zenyatta, and the healer needs to cover Zen’s own lack of healing options. Let your teammates pick Zenyatta first before you pick her.
6. Moira
In Overwatch 2, Moira occupies a strange spot. Her healing abilities are better than Zenyatta’s, and her DPS potential can hold her own without having someone take the brunt of an attack. One of Moira’s biotic powers lets her heal others while attacking enemies while regenerating her health. To avoid getting hit, use Biotic Grasp and an unpredictable movement pattern if you’re alone with a foe…
As long as they don’t figure out your pattern. Due to Moira’s slow movement and Biotic Grasp’s short range, she is easy to beat. Despite Overwatch 2’s larger, more open maps, her Biotic Orb ability has powerful healing and damage potential.
5. Brigitte
With good damage, protection, and healing abilities, Brigitte works well in Overwatch. In a fierce fight, Brigitte’s flail attack can heal nearby allies for a small amount of HP, but her dedicated healing ability is even better. You can charge it up to three times, and it has good range and heals a lot of HP. You’ve got one of the best medics on the field with Brigitte’s defensive shield and bash attacks.
The only thing holding Brigitte back is her speed. It’s a powerful flail. But Brigitte’s attack speed is slow, and she’s open to counterattacks even when she attacks. When she deploys her shield, her movement gets even slower, making it easy for enemies to flank her and beat her. Although Blizzard built Brigitte to be a DPS unit, she should always be near a tank.
4. Baptiste
To some extent, Baptiste seems like your average medic with a gun, just your average healer. Baptiste’s kit doesn’t have all the flashy support elements of some of the best support heroes, but it’s one of the most reliable sources of healing.
He can change the settings of the gun so it fires healing rounds instead of his main attack, a powerful biotic blast. Even distant allies can stay alive with his healing rounds, since they fly far and cool down fast. With his Immortality Field, allies can stay alive while inside the field for as long as they want. Additionally, he has an ultimate ability that boosts healing and damages projectiles. You can fight for ages with that and Immortality Field.
Although Baptiste is an excellent healer, none of his healing skills actually heal him, so he really needs someone else to do it for him.
3. Ana
Though Ana doesn’t have Baptiste’s healing prowess, she has a much broader range of abilities that cater to a variety of play styles. There’s nothing Ana doesn’t excel at when it comes to ranged. Whenever her shots hit their target, she can deal serious damage. She throws a healing grenade at allies, but it doesn’t just heal. In addition to boosting healing for those affected, Ana’s grenade damages nearby enemies and prevents them from healing for a short while. Rather than sprint, Ana gets a long-range sleeping dart.
It’s easy to see the downsides. Unlike other support characters, Ana doesn’t do well in close-range combat and requires more precision than you’d expect. Despite her weaknesses, she has a lot of strengths, not to mention the ability to stun most nearby enemies and escape if she gets cornered. Keep your eyes on the battlefield. You can’t stop a foe from finding your hiding spot and sneaking up on Ana.
2. Kiriko
As a support hero, Kiriko is tied with Lucio for the top spot in Overwatch 2. He has the same basic setup as Mercy, but it’s fine-tuned for Overwatch 2. Using kunai, Kiriko deals critical damage to foes. It’s okay to use her healing onafuda at short range since they don’t have a cooldown timer, but they work better at close range since they’re less likely to be reflected or destroyed.
With her climbing skills, you can keep up with speedy DPS units like Tracer and Genji. With Quick Step, Kiriko can instantly teleport to your target if they get too far away. Mercy’s dash is faster and more reliable, and it can also double as an escape.
As a result of Kiriko’s ultimate, allies move faster, and their cooldown times are reduced, although you have to be near allies to use this. Similar to Baptiste’s Protection Suzu, she creates a small zone of protection. In Overwatch 2, Junker Queen may be one of the most useful abilities depending on how prominent she becomes. In addition to healing Junker Queen’s wounds, Protection Suzu negates Ana’s anti-healing effect as well.
1. Lucio
Finally, Lucio’s setup shows why he’s still the top support character in Overwatch 2 as he was in Overwatch 1. He can switch between healing songs at will, changing from one that heals to one that speeds up movement speed, as long as he keeps line of sight with them. In this regard, Lucio is basically an all-purpose support character, helping your team reach their target quickly and keeping them alive while they fight.
In addition to amplifying the effect of the song he’s playing, Lucio has means of protecting himself and his team, even with its lengthy cooldown timer. The sound gun Lucio uses deals decent damage with a concentrerated blast, while his alt-fire mode knocks enemies back with a powerful wave.
In the game, Lucio’s ultimate is basic, but it’s also one of the most useful, as it gives allies extra health. Including Junker Queen, he’s one of the few characters who can do this.
