Hello, heroes! Librarian Husky here, ready to break down the latest updates and tier shifts for Overwatch 2 Season 11. This season has brought some exciting changes that are shaking up the meta, from buffs and nerfs to your favorite tanks, DPS, and support heroes to critical tweaks in gameplay dynamics. Whether you’re grinding ranked or just here for some insights, I’m here to give you a full rundown so you can dominate the battlefield with the best picks this season!

D.Va’s Return to B Tier

D.Va is back to B tier with her recent Season 11 buffs, specifically to her weapon spread and damage boost, which helps with her burst. Aaron Keller mentioned that D.Va’s win rate has increased since the patch, hovering around 50% to 55%.

Doomfist’s Struggles

Doomfist is doing okay, but he is honestly struggling a bit and has taken a big hit this patch due to the meta development. His effectiveness heavily depends on the enemy team’s composition, and Cassidy’s hinder grenade remains a significant threat.

Challenges Against Flyers

It’s tough for Doomfist to handle the rise of flyers like Ekko and Pharah, which limits his options. He can’t do much against them, which is why I’d place him in C tier as a niche pick. His viability really depends on the opposing hero choices.

Junker Queen’s Improvements

For Junker Queen, the Season 11 buffs have breathed new life into her. Her knife pulls are now more effective, and the knockback resistance for tanks is helpful. The wind-up time for Rampage has also improved, making it less likely to get interrupted randomly.

Dealing with Cassidy’s Hinder Grenade

Cassidy’s hinder grenade has become easier to play around, as he can no longer just throw it and accidentally stop you. With Roadhog being played less since his nerfs, overall, Junker Queen feels much stronger this patch.

B Tier Heroes: Malga and Ramattra

I’d place her now as a fine choice in the B tier. Malga remains untouched and is an easy fallback choice for players to pick and get instant value in many tank matchups. Combined with strong synergy with Pharah and Venture, which we saw in last month’s OWCS patch, Malga is a solid A-tier hero at the moment.

Orisa’s Decline

Orisa’s ability cycling was heavily nerfed in Season 10, and I placed her in D tier back then. In Season 11, she got one second back on her javelin spin, but compared to her A-tier days, she’s still at a net loss of two seconds without a defensive ability. This leaves her with a large vulnerable window.

Orisa’s Challenges in Season 11

As a tank with her size and hitbox, this vulnerability means Orisa has to take cover more often, making her lose space. For those two seconds every 15 seconds, she’s quite squishy. To me, she remains one of the toughest tanks to play right now, keeping her in the D tier.

Matchup with Roadhog

Additionally, one of Orisa’s best matchups was Roadhog, but with Roadhog getting nerfed, I don’t see many situations where you’d need to swap to her. In ranked play, I think Ramattra is a more balanced choice, solidly fitting into the B tier.

Ramattra’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Ramattra is sturdy and reliable, able to buy time for his team thanks to his block. Higher-level players can take advantage of this in most cases. However, his solo carry kill potential has dropped significantly since Season 9, as many heroes now have over 250 HP. This means he requires four punches and a melee instead of just three punches to secure a kill.

Comparison with Malga

Additionally, Malga is currently a better brawl option and much easier to play, which makes Ramattra quite unpopular among players at this time. Malga’s effectiveness in brawls further highlights Ramattra’s decline in popularity.

Reinhardt’s Buffs and Performance

Reinhardt has received buff after buff, making him a strong hero overall. He dominates players in the lower ranks and remains effective even in higher ranks. However, despite his big strengths, there are times when Reinhardt struggles against specific strategies and maps, especially when facing hold-shield comps or heroes like Pharah-Mercy, Tracer, or Malga.

Reinhardt’s Reliability and Matchups

Reinhardt has become slightly better in the Kiriko matchup since Kiriko’s cleanse no longer wakes targets from Earthshatter, making his ultimate more reliable. Overall, Reinhardt remains a solid choice, especially with these recent improvements, though his viability can still be map and comp-dependent.

Reinhardt and Ramattra’s Current Power Levels

I think Reinhardt is somewhat similar to Ramattra in terms of brawl power level at the moment. Their effectiveness largely depends on the player’s skill and comfort, which places them both around B tier. Roadhog, who was once problematic due to his survivability, has been toned down with the Season 11 patch.

Roadhog’s Nerfs in Season 11

Roadhog’s headshot damage reduction for tanks and his 50% damage reduction from Take a Breather made him extremely tough to kill. However, with his recent nerfs—50 HP loss and a reduction of his damage reduction from 50% to 40%—he drops from A tier to a respectable B tier. He remains a solid pick to punish mistakes in ranked play.

Sigma’s Stability in the Meta

Sigma continues to be a staple, remaining in A tier patch after patch. He doesn’t feel too frustrating to play against and still offers strong damage, which is now more effective against armor. Sigma’s shield and his absorption ability help mitigate a lot of damage, and he also benefits from a 25% damage reduction when necessary.

Winston’s Position in the Dive Meta

Winston stays in the A tier as a solid dive tank. His ability to quickly engage and disrupt enemy backlines makes him a strong choice for dive compositions. Additionally, the increase in playtime for poke tanks like Sigma complements Winston’s role in certain matchups, further solidifying his place in the meta.

Impact of Mid-Season 10 Changes on Tanks

The armor changes in mid-Season 10 have made previously tough matchups, like D.Va, less difficult. Roadhog isn’t played as much right now, which also helps. Ana’s synergy remains strong, and there’s not much to add that wasn’t already covered previously. Overall, these adjustments maintain balance within the tank role.

Wrecking Ball’s Effectiveness

Wrecking Ball is hard to gauge accurately because he’s primarily played well by a select few players. I mentioned him being a sleeper pick in the last tier list, and my view remains unchanged. His mid-Season 10 buffs, especially the grapple retraction, have significantly strengthened his kit.

Wrecking Ball’s Current Meta Status

With the grapple retraction allowing for quicker pile drives and easier disengaging to health packs, Wrecking Ball can better sustain himself and help his team. His ability to grant adaptive shields was highlighted at DreamHack last month, showcasing his effectiveness at high levels. I’d place him in B+ tier, though for dedicated Wrecking Ball players, he might even feel like a Giga meta pick.

Zarya’s Current Standing

Zarya’s place in the meta is relatively stable, though her effectiveness fluctuates depending on the matchup and team composition. Her ability to absorb damage and return it with her bubbles makes her a consistent pick, especially when played in the right hands.

Zarya’s Dependence on Composition and Map

I think Zarya’s effectiveness is highly dependent on the composition. From my experience, she relies on specific strategies, such as bubbling Pharah’s barrage or Winston’s engagements. Aaron Keller mentioned Zarya is performing well, averaging a 50-55% win rate across all ranks, but she remains map-dependent due to her limited range and specific playstyle.

Zarya’s Role in Brawl Strategies

Zarya’s strength lies in brawl compositions, but it can be hard to justify choosing her over other brawl tanks. She is a feast-or-famine hero: if you can build up energy and you’re on a short-range map like Flashpoint, you’ll find success. However, against popular tanks like Winston, the matchup can be challenging unless you lean into counter-swapping strategies.

Ash’s Strengths as a Hitscan Option

Ash is currently a great hitscan option for several reasons. First, Sojourn was nerfed, creating more opportunities for Ash. Second, Ash can help slow down airborne threats like Pharah and Echo. Third, her Dynamite is strong, especially after the mid-Season 10 armor changes. It now deals its full 145 damage, only losing five points against armored targets, compared to the previous 30% damage reduction.

Why Ash is Rising in Popularity

With Sojourn’s nerf and the armor adjustments, Ash is seeing a rise in playtime. Her ability to control space, deal consistent damage, and apply pressure through Dynamite makes her a versatile pick in the current meta. Whether dealing with flyers or tanks, Ash’s kit offers solutions to a variety of challenges.

Ash’s Strengths and Utility

Ash’s Dynamite applies the DPS passive for 7 seconds, making it even more powerful. Bob also applies the DPS passive and acts as another free player on the field, providing extra utility. With her Mythic skin and versatile kit, she stands firmly in A tier.

Bastion’s Limitations

Bastion remains too dependent on having the right composition built around him, which has been a recurring issue every season. As a result, he stays in C tier. His effectiveness relies heavily on team coordination, which limits his broader appeal.

Cassidy’s Tweaks in Season 11

Cassidy received some adjustments in Season 11. His flashbang, though limited in range, is back and hinders opponents, making it predictable for both him and his enemies. High Noon is deadlier now with increased movement speed at the end, though it comes with reduced damage reduction. Despite this, he remains S tier due to his lethality at close to mid-range and the flashbang keeping certain tanks in check.

Why Cassidy Will Stay S Tier

Cassidy’s shots remain lethal with the double headshot damage breakpoint, and unless his HP is nerfed from 275 to 250, he’ll stay in S or A tier. A reduction in HP would be a decent nerf without turning his weapon back into a water gun. His utility and damage output are simply too strong to ignore.

Echo’s Position in the Meta

I would argue that Echo is now higher in the meta because she can contest Pharah quite effectively, especially if players haven’t mastered the new Pharah movement reworks. Instead of mirroring Pharah, you can play Echo to mark her, as it’s difficult for Pharah to land consistent body shots against Echo. Echo’s faster fire rate lets her chip down Pharah while staying high enough in the sky to avoid threats like Tracer and many tanks. She doesn’t rely on Mercy, making her viable in various compositions, and her Duplicate ultimate remains a powerful tool.

Genji’s Current Standing

Genji likely sits in B tier for me. He struggles to contest enemy DPS like Pharah, Echo, or mobile heroes like Tracer, leaving him mostly focused on hunting backlines and building up for Blade. The OWCS showcased how powerful an all-in strategy with Malga can be, and Genji fits into that composition. His synergy with dive heroes like Winston is well-established, and paired with Ana’s Nano Boost, Genji remains a fine option in B tier.

Hanzo’s Niche Role

Hanzo feels more niche right now, likely sitting in C or D tier. It’s tough for him to maintain consistent impact in the current meta, especially with so many high-mobility heroes and fliers dominating. Though he can be effective in the right hands or specific compositions, he struggles against popular picks.

Hanzo’s Struggles in the Current Meta

While Hanzo can still be effective at tank busting with Storm Arrows in certain maps, such as King’s Row third point offense, he struggles compared to other DPS options. It’s challenging to mark airborne threats like Pharah and Echo, and hitscans like Cassidy or Ash are generally easier to rely on for consistent damage. Hanzo can no longer one-shot a 250 HP hero, which is a relief, but he may need more power elsewhere to avoid returning to the frustrating one-shot meta.

Junkrat’s Decline in Effectiveness

Junkrat was better in the previous patch, especially with his primary fire returning to 125 damage, allowing him to kill 250 HP heroes with two direct hits. The armor changes also helped him, but the rise of Pharah and Echo has made Junkrat a much weaker pick. His viability heavily depends on whether the enemy DPS are playing flyers or not, placing him in C tier.

Mei’s Balanced Position

Mei is currently in the middle of the pack, sitting comfortably in B tier. Her Icicle received a damage buff, but its projectile size was reduced. This change isn’t as noticeable for high-level players with strong aim, keeping her relatively balanced. Mei remains a solid pick for players who can maximize her utility and damage output.

Mei’s Role in Brawl Compositions

Mei’s recent DPS buff helps her poke down enemies, allowing her to find opportunities to wall off opponents and create plays in brawl compositions. Brawl is particularly strong when paired with Malga and other similar choices. Given her utility and damage potential in these compositions, B tier seems to be where Mei belongs for now.

Pharah’s Dominance in the Meta

Pharah has solidified her place in the S tier meta, especially after her rework about 4 months ago. Several factors contribute to her dominance. First, players have adapted to her new playstyle. Second, her power was demonstrated in high-level play at the OWCS DreamHack finals, causing her pick rate to skyrocket. The armor changes benefit her burst damage, allowing her rockets to deal 115 damage instead of 84. Additionally, the tank headshot damage reduction buff didn’t affect her as she doesn’t rely on headshots. With a 58% win rate, according to Aaron Keller, Pharah is incredibly strong right now.

Reaper’s Viability Across Ranks

In a vacuum, Reaper is a solid pick, especially in lower ranks. His high HP pool, lifesteal, and escape tool make him very serviceable. However, his effectiveness in higher ranks is more situational and depends on the meta and team compositions, but he remains a reliable option in most cases.

Reaper’s Niche Role in Brawl Compositions

I’d argue that Reaper is too niche and needs a perfect brawl composition to truly complement him. His solo flank style isn’t as effective, especially with other heroes excelling in that role. Smarter players can easily predict and counter his playstyle. While Reaper received buffs in Season 11 to counterbalance armor changes, I believe he remains highly dependent on composition synergy to thrive.

Sojourn’s Decline After Nerfs

Sojourn has dropped significantly in power since her nerfs, and this might be a controversial take, but I believe she is in C tier this patch. While she received one nerf and three buffs in Season 11, the nerf to her railgun is incredibly impactful. Her railgun shot is now 23% weaker, and this affects her core gameplay loop. The damage reduction disrupts the key breakpoints that once allowed her to secure kills efficiently.

Impact of the Railgun Nerf

The railgun nerf affects Sojourn’s ability to consistently hit the damage thresholds needed for important kills. Previously, a fully charged railgun shot would allow her to threaten enemies every 5-10 seconds. Now, that damage output has been diminished, resulting in missed opportunities to finish off targets that she would have been able to eliminate before.

Sojourn’s Nerfs and Impact on Her Performance

The nerf to Sojourn’s railgun is massive. While her primary fire rate increased slightly, allowing her to spam SMG shots a bit quicker on tanks, the rail shot can now pierce targets. However, in practice, it’s rare for enemies to line up perfectly for consistent pierces. Overclock‘s energy charge rate increased, but it was already fast, and this doesn’t drastically change her performance. You might often have to sit at 100% charge with no one in your line of sight, making the buff situational at best.

Sojourn’s Current Standing in the DPS Meta

All in all, there are better DPS options right now. According to Aaron Keller’s data, Sojourn is currently the worst performer in the DPS category, with a 44% win rate. Historically, Sojourn has never had a great win rate because lower-ranked players tend to miss railgun shots, making her less effective. Her strength mostly showed in high-level play, but even there, she’s now outclassed.

Soldier: 76’s Balanced Role

Soldier: 76 is a jack of all trades. He holds good positions with Biotic Field, consistently peppers enemies with his fire, and can apply the DPS passive. While he doesn’t excel in any one area, he doesn’t fall short either, making him a solid middle-ground option. For me, Soldier sits comfortably in B tier, offering consistent but unspectacular value across the board.

Sombra’s Performance Across Different Ranks

I believe Sombra is in a place where she can be extremely oppressive but also underwhelming, so I’d place her in the middle, at B tier. Her effectiveness depends on the composition, particularly if you’re using her to counter tanks like Wrecking Ball or Doomfist, which is where she shines in ranked play. However, her flanking assassin style doesn’t hold up as well in high ranks, where Tracer is often the better option for taking off-angles and controlling the map.

Sombra in Professional and Lower Rank Play

In professional play, Sombra excels with coordinated hacks and all-in strategies, making her far stronger. But in high-ranked solo queue, she drops back down to B tier, and in metal ranks, she rises again as many gold players struggle to deal with her spawn-camping tactics. On average, I’d place Sombra in B tier for her versatility across different skill levels.

Symmetra’s Buffs and Rising Status

For many tier lists, Symmetra has been stuck in C tier—the niche tier—but I’m finally bumping her up to B tier. Her buffs this patch don’t entirely solve her identity issues, but they certainly help reinforce a particular playstyle, giving her more consistent value in the current meta.

Symmetra’s Durability and Buffs

Symmetra received a notable buff with an additional 25 HP, which improves her durability and allows her to lean into the brawl beam style more effectively. The charge-up rate of her beam is now 25% faster at each level, making her incredibly lethal at close range much quicker. If you’re unprepared, you can be taken down very fast. However, she still depends on her team composition and the enemy’s setup, as she ideally needs resources to charge off enemy shields. With these changes, I’d confidently place her in B tier.

Torbjörn’s B Tier Position

Torbjörn also sits in B tier this patch. The armor changes in mid-Season 10 helped his Cheeto burst, and his turret acts like an additional player on the battlefield. Molten Core remains an excellent zoning tool. However, Torbjörn struggles against airborne heroes, which are more prevalent now. He’s still a solid pick as long as you’re focusing on pressuring grounded enemies.

Tracer’s Decline in Dominance

Tracer is no longer as dominant as she used to be, primarily due to the armor changes, which hurt her Pulse Pistols‘ damage output. While she doesn’t typically focus on tanks, the rise of Brigitte and Ana makes life more difficult for Tracer. Additionally, with more teams running airborne heroes, she finds herself in B tier, no longer the top threat she once was.

Tracer’s Position in the Current Meta

Tracer struggles to mark airborne heroes effectively, which is one of the reasons she’s no longer in S tier. Cassidy remains a strong counter with his flashbang, making her engagements more difficult. Tracer is now in A tier, still a great pick due to her high skill ceiling and unique abilities. She works especially well in combination with Winston in dive compositions. From my experience, as a support player using Ana, Tracer is still a constant threat. If I miss my sleep dart, she can quickly close the distance and finish me off.

Venture’s High Potential but Situational Playstyle

Venture is in a spot where they can be incredibly strong but also limited depending on the situation. When the team sits back and pokes, an enemy Pharah can slowly chip away at them, so Venture players must be crafty with their Burrows and pick the right moments to go all-in. You need to be cautious and check for abilities like Cassidy’s flashbang or Ana’s sleep dart before committing. While Venture isn’t a generalist DPS, they have high potential with some reasonable downsides, making them a B+ tier hero with strong design.

Widowmaker’s Consistency in Ranked

Widowmaker sits comfortably in the middle of B tier. She’s fine in ranked play, but her effectiveness is heavily player-dependent. Her ability to hold positions and create pick opportunities remains valuable, though her consistency can vary based on the player’s skill and map awareness.

Widowmaker’s Situational Impact

If you’re landing headshots and feeling confident, Widowmaker can absolutely dominate lobbies. However, her effectiveness heavily depends on the map and available sightlines. On maps where sightlines are limited, her value drops significantly, which is why she remains in B tier.

Ana’s Return to A Tier

Ana is back in A tier for several reasons. First, Kiriko was slightly nerfed, giving Ana more opportunities to shine. Second, Winston’s resurgence brings strong synergy with Ana. The mid-season 10 armor changes also made her shots more effective, increasing from 49 to 70 damage and allowing her damage over time to ignore armor. Flyers must respect Ana’s long-range damage, as she can pressure them without damage falloff.

Ana’s Synergies and Defensive Potential

If you have a Pharah on your team, Nano Boosting her can be a solid strategy, and Ana can pocket her from a safe distance. Additionally, the traditional Ana-Brigitte pairing is effective again, as armor is stronger against Tracer. Tracer’s reduced presence allows Ana to generate more value, as she isn’t being flanked and killed as often. From my experience, dealing with Pharah as Ana is preferable to handling Tracer, though that may be subjective.

Baptiste’s Role and Effectiveness

Ana’s current position in the meta makes her a reliable pick, with strong synergies and defensive capabilities. Now, let’s move on to Baptiste, another support hero whose place in the meta deserves attention.

Baptiste’s Steady Role in the Meta

I believe Baptiste remains solid at B+ tier. He fits into many compositions that require significant healing resources, and as a hitscan support, he can output a lot of damage, which is especially useful for keeping airborne threats in check. Baptiste hasn’t seen any major nerfs or buffs recently, and other heroes haven’t shifted his role much, so he’s remained consistently in this tier for a while.

Brigitte’s Defined Role in the Current Patch

Brigitte’s role has become more defined in this patch, especially with Ana being played more frequently. She plays a core role in compositions like the Ana-Brig-Winston dive, where her team goes all-in to quickly shut down poke damage. While she struggles against flyers and long-range threats, Brigitte is still a solid B-tier hero when played in these compositions.

Arari’s Surge to S Tier

Arari has made a significant leap from low tier to S tier in ranked play, thanks to a few key changes over the past two months. First, the 25% headshot damage reduction that applies to tanks doesn’t affect Arari, as her base headshot multiplier has always been 1.5x, making further reduction unnecessary. Second, the Season 10 armor changes directly buffed her burst damage. Before the patch, her headshots dealt around 79 damage to armored targets, but now they deal 107.5 damage per hit, greatly improving her effectiveness.

Arari’s Role and Buffs in the Current Meta

Arari’s slight five damage reduction hardly affects her overall performance. As a hitscan, she is effective at applying pressure to airborne heroes like Pharah and Echo. In this patch, Arari received a minor buff, with Outburst’s damage increase being marginal. However, the pylon change significantly solidified her identity. The pylon now heals teammates more while healing Arari less, making the solo off-angle playstyle less ideal.

Optimizing Arari’s Playstyle

What’s been most effective is playing behind your tank with the pylon nearby. The pylon pumps out more healing to your team, and with its increased durability at 125 HP, it allows Arari to stay in range to support the tank. Arari can then pound the enemy tank, benefiting from the armor mechanics and headshot passive. Once the tank fight is won, Arari can take angles with the pylon and clean up the remaining enemies.

Arari’s Success Backed by Data

The data from Aaron Keller supports Arari’s dominance in this patch, making her the clear winner. Her rise has been an interesting development. As for Kiriko, her reign in S tier is over, though she remains a strong A-tier pick despite the minor nerf to her Swift Step.

Kiriko’s Adaptability in the Meta

I’ve definitely been punished by Kiriko’s playstyle post-Season 11 in situations where I wouldn’t have been before. But she’s still doing all the classic Kiriko things we know and love! She can contest high ground, heal bot when necessary, save teammates with Suzu, and even headshot for that sweet burst damage. Her adaptable playstyle keeps her a solid A-tier pick—no other support can really match her versatility.

Lifeweaver’s Comeback

Okay, hear me out—Lifeweaver is actually a solid B-tier hero right now. The OWCS showed some really strong spots for him, especially with that Pharah and Malga synergy, which are super common. And with Arari rising in popularity, Lifeweaver’s biggest weakness (lack of damage pressure) is covered. So yeah, I genuinely think Lifeweaver deserves to sit comfortably in B tier.

Lucio’s Slight Drop in This Patch

Lucio is still a great hero, but I’m dropping him to B+ this patch. It’s not because Lucio himself got weaker (don’t worry, his kit is still baller), but the meta just isn’t favoring him right now. He can’t contest those DPS flyers like Pharah, and if they’re dominating a lobby, it’s tough to stay effective unless you’re fully synced with your team. You might end up swapping to someone like Arari or Ana to help pressure those high-flyers.

Lucio’s Synergy and Flexibility

When making your picks, it’s ideal to first synergize with your team, which is something Lucio excels at. He can easily slot into any composition, whether it’s brawl, poke, or dive. After establishing that synergy, you can start adjusting picks and swaps based on what’s not working. However, with Pharah being so strong in this patch, if no one on your team is countering her, Lucio might be swapped out for a hitscan support to better deal with that threat.

Mercy’s Niche Role in the Meta

Mercy is currently sitting in C tier for me, more of a niche pick now. While you might see a surge in Mercy players due to the pink Mercy BCRF charity campaign, competitively, she’s weaker. First, the Sojourn pocket isn’t as lethal anymore due to nerfs to her rail shots. Second, Pharah-Mercy isn’t what it used to be post-Pharah rework, as Pharah can no longer maintain high altitude consistently. Instead, she plays a more grounded, poking style. Mercy is still decent with Pharah, solid with Echo, and works well with Ashe, but overall, she’s less impactful than she once was.

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