Overwatch Guide: Heroes, Maps, Mechanics and More!

Whether you're trying out the free-to-play weekend on consoles or have been playing since launch and want to finally master the game's many maps and characters, we've teamed up with all-things-Blizzard sister site Metabomb in order to bring you all of the Overwatch guides that you might need.

We will be continually updating all of our guide content on MetaBomb in order to make sure it remains relevant to whatever the latest twists and turns of Overwatch's evolving metagame happen to be. We'll make sure that the links in this guide always lead you directly to the most recent version of each article, but we hope you'll come and say hello over on Metabomb as well, and let us know how you're getting on with the game. Have fun!

Overwatch Hero guides

Right now there are 23 heroes to play with in total, although Blizzard has strongly hinted that there'll be more to come in the months ahead. They're split into four distinct categories of Offense, Defense, Tank and Support.

We're in the process of updating all of these guides continuously over time, but we think should give you a distinct edge over the competition straight away. If you'd like to get a feel for each of these Hero's backstory, make sure you check out our round-up of Overwatch character biographies.

Offense Heroes

• Genji is possessed of exceptional mobility and damage output, but he requires ninja-like reflexes on the part of the player if he's to be played to a high standard. One for more experienced gamers we think - Genji guide
• McCree is Overwatch's rootin', tootin' cowboy character who packs a stun grenade and a pretty powerful pistol. As strong a duelist as you'd probably expect of this Hero - McCree guide
• Pharah prefers to do her thing from a position of height, using a jetpack to take to the skies, before unleashing unholy hell onto the enemy team via a barrage of rocketfire - Pharah guide
• Reaper is one of the strongest offense heroes in Overwatch right now, and favours flanking the enemy team in order to reap the souls of his victims - Reaper guide
• Soldier: 76 is the most traditional FPS hero that Overwatch has to offer, but he also packs a handy healing ability to help his team out - Soldier: 76 guide
• Sombra is the latest hero to be added to the game, and she's a character who specialises in opportunistic takedowns, as well as hero and health pack hacking - Sombra guide
• Tracer is Overwatch's postergirl and is capable of warping time and space in order to enhance her role as a burst-damage assassin. Twitchy but terrifying - Tracer guide

Defense Heroes

• Bastion is a terrifying turret on two legs, one that's capable of tearing through an advancing team when he's positioned well - Bastion guide
• Hanzo possesses some of the same sniping flair that Widowmaker enjoys (see below) but is equally capable at closer range combat too - Hanzo guide
• Junkrat favours throwing bombs, traps and mechanical contraptions around every map in order to frustrate the enemy's advance - Junkrat guide
• Mei takes a frosty approach to combat, slowing or stopping her enemies altogether so that her teammates have a much easier time of finishing the job off - Mei guide
• Torbjorn's defensive speciality lies in artfully positioning and then upgrading his defensive turret in such a manner that it picks off enemies before it's barely even been spotted - Torbjorn guide
• Widowmaker is the purest sniper hero in Overwatch and - left to her own devices - can single-handedly rip an approaching team to pieces - Widowmaker guide

Tank Heroes

• D.Va's mech suit provides a tremendous amount of mobility, and can also project a protective barrier that nullifies incoming projectiles - D.Va guide
• Reinhardt is an extremely traditional tank who projects an energy barrier to help his team advance safely. A superb choice for beginners - Reinhardt guide
• Roadhog might be a little lacking in the mobility department, but his incredible health pool and hook-shot ability make him a pretty tasty tank - Roadhog guide
• Winston combines protective barrier shields with strong mobility to assist his team while hassling the enemy back-lines - Winston guide
• Zarya converts incoming damage into raw energy that in turn increases the power of her weapon as she protects her team with shields - Zarya guide

Support Heroes

• Ana is Overwatch's first post-launch Hero and provides long-range healing support to her team via a rejuvenating sniper rifle - Ana guide
• Lucio blends speed and healing buffs in order to ferry his team around the battlefield or bring them back from the brink of death - Lucio guide
• Mercy can provide one of two distinct buffs to a single teammate: a heal over-time-effect, or an offensive boost that increases their damage output - Mercy guide
• Symmetra specialises in using various gadgets to empower her team's defensive capabilities. A Teleporter can be placed to bring allies back into battle quickly after death, while her turrets do a good job of chipping away at careless attackers - Symmetra guide
• Zenyatta flings magical orbs around the battlefield to either increase the damage a single enemy target takes, or restore the health of an ally over time - Zenyatta guide

Metabomb also maintains an Overwatch Tier List feature which ranks the heroes against one another on an ongoing basis. There's all kinds of imaginative alchemy driving that list, including the general early skill level of the playerbase and whatever balancing acts Blizzard has seen fit to make in recent weeks.

The ranking list will be updated on a monthly basis as the metagame evolves, and we look forward to reading your violent disagreement in the comments section whenever we do so...

Overwatch Map guides

There are currently a dozen or so maps available for Overwatch, spread across four different and distinct categories. Here's a quick look at how the different objective systems work across the entire pool of maps, along with a brief overview of each individual battleground

Assault

Assault maps tasks one team with attacking an objective in order to bring it under their control within a time limit. The other team attempts to stop them doing so. Pretty simple stuff really - Assault guide

• Hanamura is the colourful home of heroes Hanzo and Genji, and is jam-packed with clever corridors - Hanamura guide
• Temple of Anubis has loads of winding overpasses, tunnels and stairs - expect frantic firefights here - Temple of Anubis guide
• Volskaya Industries is a Russian industrial zone that's packed with plenty of wide open spaces - Volskaya Industries guide

Control

Control maps are best-of-three affairs where the two teams compete to take charge of control points which slowly become captured over time - Control guide

• Ilios provides a beautiful Mediterranean destination for plenty of sand, sea and...shooting - Ilios guide
• Lijiang Tower is located in China and has a handful of both interior and exterior points to fight over - Lijiang Tower guide
• Nepal is the very spiritual home of hero Zenyatta, and features three strategically very different - and challenging - objectives - Nepal guide

Escort

In Escort maps, the challenge is for one team to "push" - using their proximity - a Payload through each map's assorted checkpoints.

• Dorado's Spanish flavours are plain as day on Dorado, and this map provides plenty of fun for those brave enough to scout ahead - Dorado guide
• Route 66 is one of the most recent additions to Overwatch, and adds some Americana flavour to the game - Route 66 guide
• Watchpoint: Gibraltar is one of Overwatch's most iconic maps and is sure to satisfy your sniping itch - Watchpoint: Gibraltar guide

Hybrid

As the name suggests, Hybrid maps are a combination of two of the above objective types: Assault and Escort. First you must take a control point, then escort a Payload to its destination.

• Eichenwalde is a castle-themed battleground set within sprawling forests and appears to have a distinctly Bavarian flavour - Eichenwalde guide
• Hollywood is a sprawling film set that contains plenty of opportunities for ambushing your opponents - Hollywood guide
• King's Row will be a very familiar slice of London for those who enjoyed Blizzard's recent cinematic shorts - King's Row guide
• Numbani features plenty of ramps, sniping spots and shortcuts for those brave enough to scout ahead - Numbani guide