The Heroes in Overwatch are really well balanced right now, which is good, and also different from the past couple seasons. Now at the start of season 9, picking the right Hero to play is really more about how well the map works for that Hero, and the team composition you build around them. That being said, there are some heroes that are better on MORE maps, are MORE reliable, or are REALLY good in certain situations right now. Those are the heroes I’ll be talking about here. This guide is geared towards beginner, intermediate, and some advanced players. This guide isn’t going to contain epic Overwatch League strategies, or require an extremely high level of team communication to pull off. This is what’s going to be most viable in most situations for diamond and below players -- although much of this could apply to master level players too because it deals with the fundamentals of certain Heroes. The Best Heroes to Play Right Now DPS: All DPS heroes can be strong picks right now, choosing the right one depends mostly on the map and/or the enemy heroes your're playing against (any Heroes countering you?). Tracer, and Junkrat (technically a defense hero) are the most reliable right now for easy playability, lots of damage, and good functionality on almost all maps But there are two DPS Heroes that stand out to me as really powerful right now IF you take a little extra time and effort to play them well: Doomfist, and surprisingly Sombra (technically defense as well). Sombra She recently received a major buff to her hack speed and she can be a seriously annoying, disruptive beast right now. I’ll admit, I’m still not used to playing against Sombra, and I panic when she steals my abilities or makes the Rein in front of me drop his shield with her hack. Sombra’s hack ability is so fast now that she can cloak, and then hack and kill “squishy” heroes (low hp/no armor) before they even know she’s there! Doomfist Doomfist made the list again this season simply for his ability to jump in, uppercut, and then smash you in the face out of nowhere. This insta-kill potential is still so valuable because those first kills or “picks” that tilt the advantage in your favor until the enemy respawns is often what determines entire games. Both Sombra and Doomfist do require a good amount of skill, positioning, timing, and awareness to excel at, but they have really awesome DPS potential right now at the start of season 9. Support: Gone are the days of the Mercy must-pick (thankfully). Now, choosing the right support Hero depends more on WHO you're healing (dive? Snipers? Quadtank?), WHERE you're healing (across the map? At the choke?), and the situation (speedboost needed? Crowd control anti-heal 'nade?)... Zenyatta …But Zen is usually a great choice because he can just do so much damage and healing at the same time, while simultaneous allowing his teammates to melt enemies with his discord ability. Moira Moira is also solid, and she’s a great alternative when playing against “divey” heroes like Tracer, Winston, or D.Va who can really mess with Zen. Moira’s healing abilities can feel amazingly OP in certain situations: like in crowds, confined areas, or at choke-points Tank: This category has seen the least amount of change from last season. D.Va and Winston are really strong. Reinhardt with Roadhog and the appropriate dps (like McCree) shooting from behind his shield is still strong. And sadly Zarya is still more of a niche tank: shes good in certain situations like getting a huge wipe with her ultimate ability. Really none of the tanks could be considered “weak” right now, and they still have the ability to shape the engagement of a team (when played right). Meaning that they should allow for everyone on the team to do they jobs to the fullest potential. What matters more is the combination of tanks you’re choosing. Oh and triple tank is still very much a thing (as long as two are off-tanks) especially to get past tight choke points where you need more damage sustain. Defense This category more than any other depends on the map, the team around you, and the ability of the player. All of the defense heroes feel really hit or miss right now: they could be MVP of the match or be the focal point of your whole teams tilted rage when you lose. Bastion That being said, I think Bastion is awesome IF and only if you have a shield-tank on your team, AND you two stick together. Bastion has so much easy to access potential when you and your teammates are working together to unleash it. Final Thoughts Trying to “main” a Hero is pretty difficult right now. And I think this is what Blizzard was going for. There has recently been a lot of buzz about Blizzard banning “1 tricks” (players who only play one hero exclusively), and as heroes become more developed and refined it’s more and more necessary to play different heroes in different situations. So remember to consider your overall team composition and the map when selecting your hero this season. Brigitte is not yet available yet outside of the PTR (let alone in Competitive mode). It'll be interesting to see how she changes things up when she is available to play. And one other tip for competitive play: it really helps to team up with one or two other reliable teammates at or above your skill level. When you solo-queue (and I do this all the time) you leave so much of your team up to tilted, uncooperative chance... Best of luck with Season 9! I hope you set goals and meet them!
