BlizzardOverwatch 2’s new Perks system gives your characters extra buffs and abilities to earn mid-game, but you’ll need to know which ones are the best if you want to take your hero to the next level.
The Perks fundamentally changed Overwatch forever, giving players more opportunity to alter their approach mid-game. From Minor Perks that offer passive bonuses, to game-changing Major Perks that completely alter a hero’s playstyle, they can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Since perks were first introduced to the game, devs have rolled out plenty of changes to them, meaning you might have to adjust your tactics with some of your mains. So, whether you’re looking to climb the Competitive ranks or just dominate Quick Play, here are the best Perks for every hero.
Best Perks for all characters
Support
| Hero | Best Minor Perk | Best Major Perk |
|---|---|---|
| Ana | Biotic Bounce: After exploding, Biotic Grenade bounces and explodes again for 50 damage and healing. | Shrike: Using Nano Boost also casts it on Ana. |
| Baptiste | Field Medicine: Immortality Field restores 80 health to nearby allies and 40 health to Baptiste when destroyed. | Assault Burst: Regenerative Burst grants Baptiste 20 percent attack speed for four seconds, but no longer instantly heals. |
| Brigitte | Barrier Restoration: Shield Bash grants 30% movement speed for 1.5 seconds and bashing an enemy restores 100 Barrier health. | Quick Fix: Repair Packs instantly heal an additional 35 health to critical health allies. |
| Illari | Rapid Construction: Healing Pylon builds 300 percent faster and its cooldown is reduced by 1.5 seconds. | Sunburn: Outburst ignites enemies, dealing an additional 70 damage over three seconds. |
| Juno | Familiar Vitals: Pulsar Torpedoes lock onto allies 35% faster. | Locked On: Reduce the cooldown of Pulsar Torperdoes by 1.5 seconds for each enemy hit. |
| Kiriko | Urgent Care: Healing Ofuda projectile speed is increased by 50% when seeking critical health allies. | Shuffling: Swift Step can be used again within four seconds of its initial cast. |
| Lifeweaver | Cleansing Grasp: Life Grip cleanses negative effects. | Lifeweaving: Rejuvenating Dash adds 20 healing to your next Healing Blossom within three seconds. |
| Lucio | Beat Drop: Amp it Up is active during Sound Barrier. | Noise Violation: Crossfade’s range is increased by 150 percent while Amp It Up is active. |
| Mercy | Winged Reach: Guardian Angel’s range is increased by 30%. | Chain Boost: Secondary fire links to a second nearby ally. |
| Moira | Uprush: Fade’s jump height is increased by 50 percent. | Ethical Nourishment: Biotic Orb’s first 50 healing is instant on each ally it encounters. |
| Zenyatta | Ascendance: Activate and hold Double Jump to hover for up to three seconds. | Duality: Zenyatta heals Orb of Harmony targets for 20 percent of his damage dealt to Orb of Discord targets. |
BlizzardWhen it comes to Support heroes, there are some truly powerful Perks to choose from. In most cases, our picks for the best options are designed to address a well-known weakness. For example, Ascendance gives Zenyatta an extra bit of mobility to help him rejoin the fight quickly after dying, while Lifeweaver’s Lifeweaving lets him heal slightly more as long as he stays on the move with his dash.
In other cases, Perks can double down on a hero’s strengths and make them even more formidable. Re-Boots makes buff Juno’s already impressive movement and makes her virtually impossible to hit, while Shrike makes up for Ana’s lack of mobility, making her harder to kill when the enemy least expects it.
Of course, you can swap and change depending on your preferred playstyle with that character. Our Lucio focuses more on his healing capabilities, but if you prefer terrorizing a team’s backline and getting kills, then Accelerando is a must-use.
Damage
| Hero | Best Minor Perk | Best Major Perk |
|---|---|---|
| Ashe | Rapid Fire: Unscoped shots gain 30 percent increased attack speed, but deal 15 percent less damage. | Viper’s Sting: Hitting two consecutive scoped shots on a target deals 25 extra damage and reloads two ammo. |
| Bastion | Smart Bomb: A-36 Tactical Grenade’s self-knockback is increased by 25 percent and no longer damages you. | Self-Repair: Press E (R1 or RB) to rapidly heal yourself. |
| Cassidy | Quick Draw: Fan the Hammer shots are individually controlled and can crit for 50 percent more damage. | Gun Slingin’: Critical Hits with primary fire reduce the cooldown of Combat Roll by three seconds. |
| Echo | Friendly Imaging: Duplicate can also target allies. | High Beams: Focusing Beam eliminations reset Flight’s cooldown. |
| Freja | Tracking Instinct: Critical health enemies are revealed to you. | Ready to Hunt: Updraft grants a temporary free use of Quick Drift |
| Genji | Dragon’s Thirst: Dragonblade swings gain 30 percent lifesteal. | Meditation: Regenerate 25 health per second while Deflect is active. |
| Hanzo | Scatter Arrows: Storm Arrows split into three new projectiles on their first ricochet and bounce two extra times. | Dragon Fury: After hitting an enemy with primary fire, gain 25 percent attack speed for one second. |
| Junkrat | Nitro Boost: During RIP-Tire, use (LSHIFT) to gain a quick boost of speed. Doing so reduces RIP-Tire’s damage by 50 percent. | Frag Cannon: Frag Launcher’s projectile speed is increased by 40 percent, but its max ammo is reduced by one. |
| Mei | Biting Cold: Secondary fire hits slow enemies by 20% for 1.5 seconds. | Cryo-Storm: Cryo-Freeze slows and deals 70 damage per second to nearby enemies. |
| Pharah | Drift Thrusters: Pharah can move while Barrage is active. | Fuel Stores: Jet Dash grants 50 percent fuel. Maximum overfuel is increased by 100 percent. |
| Reaper | Soul Reaving: Collect Soul Globes from dead enemies to restore 50 health. | Dire Triggers: Use (RMB) to fire a volley with long range accuracy from both Hellfire shotguns. |
| Sojourn | Extended Mag: Maximum ammo increased by 15. | Dual Thrusters: Power Slide gains an additional charge and its jump height shifts to lateral movement. |
| Soldier: 76 | Field Emergency: Biotic Field’s healing is increased by 100 percent on critical health allies. | Agility Training: Sprint’s speed is increased by 20 percent and reload can be performed while sprint is active. |
| Sombra | CTRL ALT ESC: Teleporting with Translocator while at critical health initiates passive health regeneration. | Viral Replication: Hitting a hacked enemy with Virus spreads Virus to enemies within 8 meters. |
| Symmetra | Sentry Capacity: Sentry Turret gains an additional charge. | Perfect Alignment: Primary fire’s range increases by 15 percent with each additional charge level. |
| Torbjorn | Fully Loaded: Activating Overload fully refills Rivet Gun’s ammo. | Anchor Bolts: Deploy Turret’s throw range is increased by 50 percent and it can now attach to walls and ceilings. |
| Tracer | Blast from the Past: Pulse Bomb’s radius is increased by 50 percent. | Flashback: Recall restores all Blink charges. |
| Widowmaker | Focused Aim: Scoped shots charge 50 percent faster during Infra-Sight. | Deadly Deux: Venom Mine gains 50 percent increased damage and a second charge, enabling two active mines at a time. |
Every DPS Perk is useful in one way or another, but there are some clear standouts that are a no-brainer if you’re running that character. Anchor Bots lets Torbjorn attach his turret to walls and ceilings, opening the door for smarter players who can catch the enemy team out.
Meanwhile, CTRL ALT ESC and Viral Replication is another strong combination for Sombra, allowing her to play more aggressively and have more uptime. One of the DPS’ biggest drawbacks is that her kit encourages her to stray away from her team, these options can help her put a lot more pressure to the backline and finish off kills in the fight.
If you’re a Pharah main, our picks for her solve two of the main issues the character faces. Drift Thrusters ensure she’s not a sitting duck while unleashing a Barrage, and Fuel Stores keep her in the air where she’s most useful for longer.
Tank
| Hero | Best Minor Perks | Best Major Perks |
|---|---|---|
| D.Va | Extended Boosters: Hitting an enemy with Boosters increases the duration by 0.5 seconds. | Shield System: Convert 150 health to shields. Defense Matrix restores shields based on 25 percent of its damage absorbed. |
| Doomfist | One-Two: Hitting an enemy with Rocket Punch reloads all Hand Cannon ammo. | Seismic Empowerment: Hitting three or more enemies with Seismic Slam empowers Rocket Punch. |
| Hazard | Off the Top: Violent Leap’s Slash deals 30 percent more damage to enemies above 250 health. | Anarchic Zeal: Spike Guard’s spikes gain 25 percent lifesteal. |
| Junker Queen | Battle Shout: Commanding Shout fully reloads Scatter Gun and increases allied reload speed by 50 percent. | Deep Wounds: Scattergun hits extend your wound durations on those enemies by .25 seconds. |
| Mauga | Two Hearts: While on an objective, Mauga counts as two heroes and regenerates 20 health per second. | Combat Fuel: Critical hits grant Mauga two temporary overhealth on Cardiac Overdrive’s next use, up to 100 overhealth. |
| Orisa | Heat Dissipator: Primary fire critical hits refund heat. | Charged Javelin: Hold (RMB) to charge Energy Javelin, increasing its speed and knockback pierces enemies at full power. |
| Ramattra | Prolonged Barrier: Void Barrier’s duration is increased by 25 percent. | Nanite Repair: Ramattra is healed for 50 health per second while within Ravenous Vortex. |
| Reinhardt | Crusader’s Resolve: While using Barrier Field, your passive health regeneration triggers 50 percent sooner. | Shield Slam: While Barrier Field is active, use (LMB) to damage and knockback enemies. |
| Roadhog | Scrap Hook: Chain hook hits reload two ammo. | Invigorate: Take A Breather rapidly increases Roadhog’s movement speed by 30 percent. |
| Sigma | Kinetic Cycle: Absorbing projectiles with Kinetic Grasp also reduces Accretion’s cooldown. | Levitation: Activate and hold Double Jump briefly to levitate upward. |
| Winston | Heavy Landing: During Primal Rage, Jump Pack’s damage and area increase by up to 75 percent while airborne. | Revitalizing Barrier: Barrier Projector heals allies within it for 30 health per second. |
| Wrecking Ball | Steamroller: Roll impacts deal 100 percent more damage to tanks. | Transfer Efficiency: Reactivating Adaptive Shield reduces its cooldown by 1.5 seconds per ally affected and ally health gained is increased by 33 percent. |
| Zarya | Jump-ups: Secondary Fire’s self-knockback is increased by 75 percent. | Energy Lance: Particle Cannon’s energy beam pierces enemies while over 50 energy. |
BlizzardTanks are the focal point of any team, so it’s no surprise that the role has arguably the most powerful Perks in Overwatch. Mauga is already an absolute menace when pushing the other team, so Two Hearts and Combat Fuel encourage him to keep up the pressure by healing on objectives and earning overhealth for every critical hit.
Orisa also benefits greatly from her options, as cooling her weapon down with Heat Dissipator massively improves how long she can sustain her primary fire. This allows the tank to deal much more close-range damage before having to retreat, while Charged Javelin provides a more powerful long-range attack.
Meanwhile, if you’re a Reinhardt player, we recommend doubling down on shield-specific Perks. Crusader’s Resolve improves Rein’s survivability with a welcome healing buff whenever he pops his barrier, while Shield Slam means can still attack while blocking incoming fire.
For more on Overwatch 2, be sure to check out how to get Galactic weapons, as well as all the things that will be coming to the game in Season 17.
