How to Counter Tanks in Overwatch 2

With there being three different roles in Overwatch 2, it’s a given that every role will have its own counter strategies. However, the rank role is perhaps the most tricky to counter, especially with Overwatch 2’s three tanks and two support meta that seemed to plow through the entire team really easily. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean tanks are impossible to counter.

There are a couple of tips you need to keep in mind when attempting to counter a tank in Overwatch 2. You have to identify and focus on their weaknesses, target their supports first, use crowd control abilities as much as you can, and finally try to use heroes that are able to deal high damage to enemies. Of course, to pull all of this off, coordinating with your team is also a must.

We’ll be going through various tips you can use to counter tanks in Overwatch 2 efficiently.

Tip #1: Identify the Weaknesses of Enemy Heroes

The first thing you need to do to counter not just a tank hero specifically, but any hero in general, is to know what the weaknesses of that specific champion are. Although there are certain features that every tank hero shares, each hero also has unique mechanics that make them strong or weak against specific strategies.

Take Reinhardt for example. Although he’s extremely powerful when going against any hero head on, if you were to flank him then he would be unable to properly defend against you. An even better strategy would be to attack him from both sides to make for a pincer attack. After all, he can only defend one side with his shield, right?

Just like this, other tank champions have weaknesses too. Winston is weak against heroes that are constantly healing like Reaper, while D.Va does her best fish out of water impression as soon as her mobility is taken away from her. Go through the weaknesses of every tank hero and try to capitalize on them.

Tip #2: Target the Supports First

A tank that’s being constantly healed by a Mercy or Zenyatta is MUCH more difficult to take out than a tank that’s standing there alone. It’s a well known strategy to always go for the enemy tank hero’s support if you want to have any chance of winning the fight.

Why is this? Well, when you take a tank’s already high health and add in a support hero’s constant healing, then you don’t need a calculator to come to the conclusion that it would take way too long for the tank’s health to be depleted. What’s worse is that if you’re playing as a hero who deals low damage, then you might not be able to take the tank out at all in this scenario.

Because of this, you should take out the enemy tank’s support first, which would either cause the tank to back out or be vulnerable to taking damage they can’t heal instantly from. That’s what you have to capitalize on.

Tip #3: Try To Use Crowd Control Abilities

Most tanks in Overwatch 2 have huge hitboxes, which make them easy targets for crowd control abilities. Abilities that stun, root, and knockback enemy champions, when used correctly, can be your best assets when dealing with these types of tanks.

Let’s go through a scenario as an example. Reinhardt is charging toward you while you're playing Mei. What do you do? You freeze him using your ice abilities, of course. If you’re an Ana in this scenario, then you make him fall asleep by using your dart ability. There are so many examples of this. 

You can use Lucio’s knockback to make knock back Roadhog to stop him from chaining you up, or to knock Winston out of his shield. You can even use the abilities of tank champions to counter other tank champions. All it takes is for you to be a little creative with your abilities.

Tip #4: Use High Damage Heroes

If you’re playing as a DPS and you notice your team is struggling with the enemy tank heroes, then it might be a good idea to play as a hero that is able to dish out some major damage. After all, the best way to quickly dispose of a tank’s high health is by ensuring the damage being dealt to them is high as well.

With every tip we’ve mentioned this far, having a high damage hero by your side will increase the chances of every strategy working by a lot. Whether it be capitalizing on the tank hero’s weaknesses, taking out the support and then going for the tank hero, or using crowd control abilities to stop the tank hero in their tracks, the best way to finish them off will be to deal high amounts of damage to them.

This tip works the best against heroes that, although having a high amount of health, don’t have any abilities that give them barriers or shields. Two examples of tank heroes of this type are Roadhog and Junker Queen.

Tip #5: Coordinate With Your Team

Finally, countering tank heroes is a team effort, as there’s only so much you can do alone. By coordinating with your teammates and working together to utilize all four of the abovementioned tips, your chances of successfully winning against any tank hero will increase by a lot.

For example, say you have one teammate pick a hero like Tracer or Genji to flank the tank, then have two or so other teammates pick heroes that deal a high amount of damage to finish the tank off. To make it easier, you can pick a tank of your own and maybe have a support hero that has some good crowd control and healing abilities.