Overwatch 2 is out now in beta form; if you fancy some 5v5 PvP competitive esports level gameplay, you’ve come to the right shooter.

We here at Kakuchopurei have prepared a guide for you in case you’re brand new to the scene. In fact, even if you’ve played a lot of Overwatch since 2016, there are a good number of changes and tweaks in part 2, chief of them being the new five-players-per-team rule. Of course, if you want to find out how to participate in the beta, head here.

Want to skip right to the best heroes to use in Overwatch 2? Check out our tier list.

Disclaimer: this guide is still a work-in-progress since we are playing a beta. Unless they’re mentioned specifically, all Heroes in the game are identical to how they played in part 1. 

Overwatch 2 General PvP Guide

-This is a 5v5 game now. A team now comprises of 2 Support, 2 DPS, and 1 Tank. Work with that dynamic after playing a few Unranked matches, or else you’ll eat more Ls than Ws.
-Teamwork is key. Certain heroes synergize better with one another: Zarya’s Ultimate and Junkrat’s Ultimate do go hand-in-hand as the former pulls everyone in one spot while the other deals huge damage in an AoE radius.
-The best DPS heroes to start with: Soldier 76, Junkrat, Sojourn.
-The best Tank heroes to start with: Reinhardt, Winston, Orisa.
-The best Support heroes to start with: Mercy, Lucio. All the listed heroes here have straightforward playstyles: help teammates, kill enemy team, get around quick, stay together.

Overwatch 2 Hero List & Changes

Here’s a breakdown of the heroes available in the beta, and what their major changes are.

Sojourn

The new heroine in the Overwatch roster. She is a DPS character who moves really fast and cover tons of ground.

• Her primary fire is her Railgun, which shoots rapid fire projectilies that generate energy on impact. This primary fire is good for chipping enemy health.
• Her secondary fire is a high impact shot that consumes stored energy. She gains energy from the left click of the mouse button and fires powerful shots with the right click.
• Her Power Slide is a ground slide that can cancel into a high jump. Perfect for getting onto nice vantage points for shooting from afar and sniping. Even greater for escaping from threats and enemy mobs.
• Her Disruptor Shot launches an Area of Effect energy shot that slows and deals damage to enemies within the bubble.
• Her Ultimate is Overclock, where her Railgun energy auto-charges for a short duration. Her charged shots during this period pierces enemies.

Because of her left click then right click playstyle, Sojourn is a great DPS character for shooter fans who like to alternate between machine gun fire and sniper shots. She also can escape from danger pretty fast.

Doomfist

The New Mumbasa warrior is now a Tank, completely different from his Overwatch iteration.

Doomfist will retain his fast-paced mobile lethal brawling style even in his newly-appointed Tank role. Here’s the breakdown:

• Doomfist’s health is now 450 thanks to his new role.
• Hand Cannon ammo recovery increases to once every 0.4s. Damage reduced from 6 to 5 per pellet.
• His new move Power Block protects him from frontal attacks. Blocking heavy damage empowers Rocket Punch. Empowered Rocket Punch travels faster, further, and deals more damage.
• Rocket Punch max charge time is reduced to 1s, and its Impact damage reduced to 15-30. Wall slam damage reduced to 20-40.
• Seismic Slam now launches you like Winston’s leap. On landing, it deals damage and slows enemies.
• His Meteor Strike Ultimate now adds slow effect to all enemies it hits. The outer ring damage is reduced to 100-15, and its activation time is reduced to 0.5s.
• He has no Uppercut.

Doomfist mains will need to change up their playstyle to use this new Tank version.

Orisa

Orisa is still a Tank, but has been given a revamp.

Orisa has struggled with brawling and toe-to-toe engagements in the past. Her new tweaks and reworks in Overwatch 2 will make her playstyle more adaptable to PvP team fights.

• Augmented Fusion Driver now rapidly fires large projectiles. They start large and shrink down as they travel. The attack uses a heat mechanic instead of the usual ammo/reload system.
• Energy Javalin is a new move that makes Orisa launch a javelin at an enemy to stun and knock them back. It’s more effective if the enemy hits a wall.
• Her skill Fortify now also gives her 125 temporary health. It’s also slowed by 20% while active, and reduces heat generated from firing by 50% while active.
• Her new Javelin Spin spins her javelin to destroy projectiles, push enemies, and increase forward speed.
• Her new Ultimate Terra Surge sweeps in enemies and anchors down, gaining the effects of Fortify and charging up a surge of damage. You can use Primary Fire to unleash the surge early.
• She doesn’t have Protective Barrier, Halt!, and Supercharger anymore.

Bastion

Bastion is still the DPS turret section character we all know and love, but he has gone through numerous changes.

• Self Repair is now gone.
• He can switch between Recon (regular form) and Assault mode (tank form). Assault mode lets Bastion move and now has a cooldown.
• He has a new alt-fire attack, the A-36 Tactical Grenade. It fires a bomb that bounces off walls and explodes when it hits enemies or the ground. Grenade launcher, basically.
• His Ultimate makes him go into Artillery mode, firing up to three powerful shells that rain down on targets.

Sombra

The “Boop” lady is a better DPS than before.

• Her Hack now affects enemies a second shorter; 8 seconds to be exact. It still disrupts enemy abilities and exposes their location to Sombra and her team.
• Hacked enemies also take 50% more damage from Sombra.
• She can Hack while being in Stealth mode. She will partially be revealed for half a second, but she won’t be out of Stealth completely.
• Sombra’s Ultimate EMP now deals 40% damage to enemies within its radius, in addition to disrupting barriers.

Reinhardt

• Reinhardt now has two charges in his Fire Strike projectile.
• He also has more control during his Charge attack, and can even cancel out of it

Winston

• Winston’s Tesla Cannon has a secondary fire mode: it can charge up and release a ball of focused electricity.
• Otherwise, Winston plays the same as he did in part 1.

Zarya

• Zarya’s Particle Barrier and teammate-targeted Projected Barrier are on a shared cooldown. This means she can apply back-to-back bubbles for herself or for teammates when needed.

Mei

• Mei cannot freeze her opponents with her Endothermic Blaster. Her gun still deals damage and slows enemies though.
• Mei’s Ultimate Blizzard will completely freeze opponents instead.

Cassidy

• The cowboy formerly known as McCree has no Flashbang stun anymore. He now has Magnetic Grenade which homes in on nearby enemies and stick to enemies, dealing additional damage on explosion.

Brigitte

• Brigitte’s Shield Bash no longer stuns enemies. It knocks them back and deals damage instead.