As an experienced Overwatch 2 tank player, I‘ve climbed to Grandmaster rank focusing on tank roles. With over 300 hours played in competitive mode, I want to provide definitive expertise guiding you to tank success as the meta continues evolving.
Below is my deep dive analysis into every tank‘s strengths, playstyle synergies, optimal damage mitigation tactics and recommendations on mastering each to drive winning results for your teams.
Critical Tank Role Responsibilities
Before detailing individual heroes, as a competitive Overwatch shotcaller, I must stress a tank‘s core responsibilities that enable victories, regardless of particular picks. Keep these principles always in mind.
Mitigate Damage – Use barriers, shields and defensive abilities to block huge burst damage, crowd control effects and lethal enemy ultimates that would quickly eliminate squishier teammates. Negating said game changing cooldowns wins big fights.
Create Space – Apply pressure and disrupt enemies to force reactions opening safer territory for your damage heroes to unleash destruction. Draw attention and resources to relieve pressure on the rest of your team.
Control Engages – As the tip of the spear for your team, dictate the terms of engagement and retreat. Call when to push aggressively with support and peel back to reset at optimal timing to conserve your advantage through a map or match.
Now understanding the tank role‘s overarching duties, let‘s explore how each Overwatch 2 option excels specifically at fulfilling these responsibilities.
Overwatch 2‘s Best Main Tank – Reinhardt
In my extensive experience organizing team strategies, no tank provides more universally critical and consistent frontline utility than Reinhardt and his massive Barrier Shield. He epitomizes traditional main tanks.
The simple act of holding forward ground with his shield raised enables the entire friendly team to pour damage through rectangular cover. This basic technique forms the foundation of most structured attacks.
Being able to reposition Barrier Field fluidly responding to enemy movements and projectiles provides unmatched protection for fragile damage and healer heroes who would perish rapidly exposed. A well piloted Reinhardt is ananchor every balanced composition benefits from greatly.
But he contributes more than just his signature defense. By patiently biding his time to strike with devastating Earthshatter stuns on multiple clumped opponents, Reinhardt decisively defines game winning teamfights at critical moments.
Finally, while steadily zoning space with his shield, Reinhardt builds ultimate charge swinging his flaming Rocket Hammer into the fray consistently. This supplementary damage stacks up substantially over drawn out objectives.
In coordinated play, Reinhardt will always see substantial play. His kit uniquely empowers teammates to pop off, which is a tank‘s ultimate purpose. For these reasons, he tops my list as the most reliable main tank.
Overwatch 2‘s Most Disruptive Tank – Doomfist
When seeking a divergent aggressive option to really throw opponents off balance and open opportunities through unrelenting disruption, Doomfist proves most oppressive, especially tormenting fragile backline heroes.
Doomfist‘s strength flows from engagement initiative. A masterful early Rocket Punch surprise attack on vital healers in the enemy rear lines forces their entire team to scramble reactively trying to peel and reestablish disrupted positioning.
Creating this level of disruption requires considerable skill though. Unlike main tanks who slowly march troops forward, Doomfist must carefully choose opportune moments to ambush opponents overextending or rotating. Identifying and isolating these vulnerabilities is an art form.
The devastation you enable for your team by eliminating healers, scattering the enemy, and drawing away protective cooldowns like Ana‘s Sleep Dart cannot be overstated however. These open windows cascade into fight victories.
Doomfist truly distinguishes himself after escapes however. Resilient pilots use Seismic Slam and Meteor Strike to rapidly re-engage from unexpected angles and push disruption sequences to game breaking extremes.
Overall in matches where standard static front to front collisions stall out, leveraging Doomfist‘s talents punching holes in enemy lines pays immense dividends towards tilting their delicate arrangements.
Overwatch 2‘s Most Imposing Tank – Roadhog
Tasked with stalwartly protecting your team‘s vulnerable backline heroes, no tank strikes sheer intimidating fear into enemies better than Roadhog. His damage threat presence passively gives your team tremendous breathing room.
The foundation of Roadhog‘s fear factor lies in his infamous Chain Hook ability. Capable of assassinating 80% of the entire hero roster alone when executed properly, facing that looming threat keeps most opponents honest.
Aware of Roadhog‘s destructive pick potential, rival flankers and dive tanks hesitate overextending to threaten your supports, limiting their aggression substantially. Simply holding hook angle sight lines generates free defensive space.
Factor in Hog‘s devastating 600 health pool and built-in Take a Breather heal which can basically restore half his impressive max health total, and only the most reckless dare challenging him 1v1. He essentially zones entire areas by existing.
With opponents actively avoiding encounters out of respect for his hook, feel free bullying aggressive tanks yourself trying to walk past, hooking them out of position for focused elimination. Then an uneasy stalemate ensues where Roadhog‘s team freely operates and the enemy chokes. Ultimately this untenable situation forces them to overextend into further picks.
No other single tank footprint claims real estate and gets into enemies head with fear like a master Roadhog watching your team‘s flanks. Let him enable your backline to operate safely while you clean up any bold enough to approach.
Overwatch 2‘s Most Self Sufficient Tank – Zarya
When unsure of teammates capabilities or wanting to take matters into your own hands regardless, mighty Zarya shows tremendous 1v1 potential through barrier dancing and lethal high charge Particle Cannons with no team reliance whatsoever.
The basic loop involves shield baiting opponents to attack into your Particle Barrier which feeds energy into your cannon before aggressively pushing them with boosted beams when sufficiently charged. Most enemies melt rapidly under this barrage.
Combine Zarya‘s self barrier with Projected Barrier allies to gain even more charge during chaotic skirmishes and she quickly achieves overpowering damage levels able to shred through full health tanks within seconds at high intensity.
Meanwhile both barriers absorb huge damage that would otherwise eliminate squishier heroes. Expert Zarya players maximize projected barrier timing on allies actually taking fire to exponentially scale cannon damage and save lives simultaneously.
With practice gradually mastering beam tracking aim, heavy cannon charging through courageous aggression, and finally Gravitation Surge spiking at critical moments, Zarya assumes complete control over skirmishes.
And since all this power stems directly from her personal kit, she remains self enabled without relying on teammates much at all. For this independent reliability, master Zarya.
Overwatch 2‘s Most Agile Tank – Wrecking Ball
When discussing categories of strengths, Wrecking Ball‘s unprecedented mobility and resulting relentless disruption reign supreme. No tank shakes up map dynamics as drastically moment to moment.
At a high level, this constant disruption keeps opponents perpetually confused and on the back foot. They can never settle securely into formation because a speeding Ball suddenly disturbs their backline again, forcing another scramble to resecure threatened positions.
In organized play, leveraging these openings generated for your team to decisively engage upon and overwhelm opponents before they regain footing is absolutely mandatory. Follow up immediately on Ball‘s harassment and snowball every misstep.
Defensively, Ball also uniquely peels from unconventional angles at unmatched speeds. When your backline gets pressured, he rapidly intervenes unlike plodding grounded tanks, knocking threats away and outnumbering isolated dive heroes.
Truly masterful Balls exploit environmental verticality and obscure rolled paths to repeatedly drop onto groups, chaotic Elims scattering healthier teams helplessly trying to shoot the nimble disruptor barely on screen.
Overwatch will continually be defined by fights over space. Wrecking Ball‘s dominance and denial of real estate through sheer quickness and disruption makes him essential learning.
Supplementing Team Composition Weaknesses With Tank Hero Counters
When forming team lineups, identify potential weaknesses amongst your damage and support choices to fill strategically with appropriate tank abilities that cover these vulnerabilities. Draft responsively.
For example, fielding double sniper picks like Ashe and Widowmaker provides immense shield break and pick potential but remains susceptible to explosive diver kills on the fragile heroes. Picking protective tanks mitigates this.
Roadhog uses Take a Breather‘s immense healing and threatening Chain Hook to control flank routes whilst D.Va contests aerial space with Defense Matrix, intercepting airborne aggressors trying to reach your backliners. Their presences enable fragile carries to keep firing comfortably.
On the other hand, owning CQC brawlers like Reaper and Mei means your composition wants to force short range fights but struggles pushing past ranged poke damage before closing distance. Solution? Bolster engagement tools.
Here Reinhardt and his vast barrier led charges facilitate bull rushing teams relying on range while Zarya‘s Projected Barriers extend your sustainability getting onto ideal ground for close in fights your team excels at. Advance together behind their cover then watch Mei and Reaper shred anyone near.
Carefully rounding out team deficiencies throughAdaptive and responsive tank drafting gives your most potent damage dealers sufficient resources to pop off. Identify areas needing shoring up then provide appropriate ability support.
Overwatch 2 Tank Hero Mastery Process
Whichever tank hero resonates with your personal playstyle, completely unlocking their elite potential requires considerably narrow focus grinding games exclusively on that chosen character for an extended duration. But the specialization pays off.
Slowly ramp up difficulty learning basic mechanics against AI before transitioning into casual Quick Play modes familiarizing yourself with basic interactions on both friendly and enemy compositions. Gradually intensify competition into ranked.
Here your knowledge and experience piloting intricate tank abilities against lethal human opponents expands greatly. Expect many painful lessons. But carefully reflect after each loss on how you could have mitigated the decisive fight losses by using your kit better and work to correct those weaknesses next game.
Additionally, study professional tournament VODs carefully watching truly expert tank mains demonstrate refined ability timings and positioning on your hero. Then implement these learned tactics into your own play. Slowly greater understanding will develop.
Overwatvh mastery is a journey of incremental growth through practice, mistakes and adaptation. Stick with your chosen tank applying lessons learned and continue building excellence through ever sharpening game sense. In time, wield your hero to carry games.
Thank you for reading my competitive guide! Feel free to DM me or check back often for more advanced Overwatch 2 content! I wish you best of luck climbing ranks with the tank that clicks most. See you on Ilios!
