Best Overwatch Characters to Play in 2021

Overwatch is an exciting game with lots of powerful heroes to choose from. Each hero has their own unique feature that makes them stand out from the rest, and the most powerful heroes change from time to time as the meta evolves. Also, some heroes are particularly more devastating in some maps than they are in others. New heroes are introduced into the game from time to time, but we haven’t seen any new heroes since April 2020, when Echo was released. Here are the best Overwatch characters to play in 2021!

If you’re a new player or haven’t played Overwatch in a while and you’re looking to pick up your gamepads again, you may be asking who the best Overwatch characters are to play right now. Usually, the best Overwatch characters or heroes are graded from tier 1 to tier five according to their current strength and impact.  This is the current ranking that determines the best Overwatch characters to play in 2021:

•  Tier 1: Zarya, Wrecking Ball, McCree, Mercy, Zenyatta, Tracer
• Tier 2: Echo, Reinhardt, Widowmaker, Sigma, Ana, Baptiste, Sombra, Brigitte, Ashe
• Tier 3: Roadhog, Lucio, Hanzo, D.VA, Mei, Winston, Lucio, Symmetra
• Tier 4: Orisa, Soldier 76, Moira, Reaper, Junkrat, Genji, Pharah, Doomfist
• Tier 5: Bastion

Choosing from the strongest tiers, here are some of the best Overwatch characters to play in 2021 and why you should choose them.

The Best Overwatch Tanks to Play in 2021

Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball has been in his best shape for the past few months. While other Tanks are having a hard time due to recent nerfs that have stripped them of some of their strengths, Overwatch players have learnt to maximize the power of the hamster. This new interest has made Wrecking Ball one of the best heroes dominating the current meta.

As a Tank, Wrecking Ball has perfected the craft of creating space and disrupting the enemy’s frontline and backline. Although his boop strength underwent a recent nerf, he still remains the most picked at Grandmaster rank.

The downside of playing Wrecking Ball is that he performs best on specific maps, and his skills get better with time. However, if you master the use of this hamster, you’ll testify that there’s hardly any Tank that is currently as deadly as he is.

Zarya

Zarya shares a formidable synergy with Wrecking Ball. Just like the bond she previously had with Winston, Zarya can give Wrecking Ball all the bubbles he needs as he advances into the enemy line. Not only that, her ultimate ranks among the strongest and most powerful in the entire game. Combining her strong abilities with Tracer’s Pulse Bomb or a Minefield from Wrecking Ball is a sure way to shoot your team to victory.  When fully charged, Zarya also wreaks a great deal of damage. When in this glowing mood, Zarya is a beast that no one wants to challenge on the battlefield.

Best Overwatch Damage Characters to Play 2021

Tracer

Whenever Tracer is functioning at her maximum capacity, just know that Overwatch is in a good spot. Her energy-based time bombs make her one of the best Overwatch characters to use in wreaking pure havoc across the battlefield. Add to that her twin pulse pistols and rapid-fire banter and you’ll find her one of the most enjoyable heroes even! She can teleport to any direction in a blink, rewind back to previous health and location, and take enemies by storm.

Tracer’s strength has been consistent for a while, and her best teammates who enable her, are also currently in form. While sharing a great synergy with Zenyatta and Wrecking Ball, Tracer is also a lethal lone ranger. She isn’t the type to always bother healers and tanks because she has her way of remaining strong while chaotically disorienting the enemies.

McCree

Even after all this time, he’s still one of the best Overwatch characters to play.  Armed with his Peacekeeper revolver, McCree has a bullet for every enemy, premade with their names crested on it. He is Tracer’s perfect partner on the battlefront, and just like Tracer, he is self-sufficient and doesn’t deplete resources. His target precision is second to none, and he can sense and escape from danger with the speed of light.

Best Support Heroes to Play 2021

Zenyatta

Zenyatta still remains one of the strongest characters to play in Overwatch. Using his orbs of discord and harmony, he easily multitasks between healing his teammates and placing a target on any problematic enemy that needs to be eliminated immediately.

As long as Zenyatta has his eyes on a wounded teammate, his orb of harmony can project as far as 40 meters to restore their health, giving them a whopping 30 health per second. In the same vein, keeping his eyes on an opponent, and extending his orb of discord, increases the damage the enemy receives by 25%. Even when in a state of transcendence when it can’t use these powers, Zenyatta still remains immune to enemy strikes and returns with a bang bursting with excess health for himself and his teammates.

Learn more about Overwatch: Who is the Best Overwatch Player of All Time?

His incredible killing powers makes him a threat to many tanks. However, his lack of mobility and inability to protect himself become a significant limitation on the battlefield. The enemies know this, so he will always be a prime target. That notwithstanding, as long as the squad rallies around him, as much as he sticks his neck out for them, the entire team is on their way to victory.

Mercy

Of course, everyone knows that Mercy is one of the greatest healers in Overwatch. Like a guarding angel, her eyes are always on her teammates– healing, strengthening and resurrecting them with the miraculous beams of life sprouting from her Caduceus Staff. Like a double-edged sword, Mercy also uses this same sword to amplify damage by more than 30%.

Right now, Mercy has a strong Synergy with Zenyatta, and unlike Zen, she can quickly fly away from danger. So even the most tactical Tracer or Wrecking Ball would have a tough time trying to pin her down.  She boosts Zen’s damage, protects him as he takes those damaging shots.

So, here you have them, the six best Overwatch characters to play in 2021. Choose these heroes now if you’re aiming to destabilize the enemy team and clinch the victory.