Overwatch 2021 March Meta Tier List: Time to Force Brawl

The state of competitive Overwatch is in an interesting point at the moment. All the evidence points to a very settled meta with the same strong heroes that have been favored for the past four months. Echo and Mercy are still dominating the skies, Brig and Bap are locking down the heals, and Wrecking Ball is still one the best tanks to use in Solo Queue. But it looks like players have just decided to do their own thing and are finding plenty of success. Rush compositions are brute forcing their way into the limelight. Winston and D.Va are also getting their foot in the door, and players are happy to get back to their old Dive-comp roots. Quite frankly, the meta may actually just depend on the map type – the way Overwatch really should be played.

[Previous Tier List: February 2021]

Tier 1: Optimal Heroes with High Win Rates and Synergy

• Ashe
• Baptiste
• Echo
• Mercy
• McCree
• Sigma
• Tracer
• Wrecking Ball

Tier 2: Good Alternatives to Tier 1 and Still Viable Overall

• Ana
• Brigitte
• Hanzo
• Junkrat
• Lucio
• Mei
• Moira
• Orisa
• Reinhardt
• Torbjorn
• Winston
• Zarya

Well, there really isn’t any good reason why Reinhardt has bounced all way back up to the second tier. By all accounts Reinhardt should probably be all the way at the bottom of the tier list. Every prominent DPS character can put an absolutely beating onto the crusader. And yet he is one of the most played main tanks at every level, including professional play. It’s most likely the persistence of the entire main tank player base thats kept Reinhardt in the meta. More realistically it’s probably a combination of the nerfs from Wrecking Ball and Echo that have allowed Reinhardt to come back into the scene.

Then there’s the Orisa buff that no one was asking for, but players received anyway. Now Orisa can waddle forward into the middle of the team fight and tank head shots while fortified. A new brawl tank is interesting to see because now teams can opt for Rein/Orisa compositions on small control points. Seeing as teams forced that composition way before the Orisa buffs, expect to see plenty of the combo on the ranked ladder this season.

Tier 3: Good Situational Picks but Less Strong Overall

• D.Va
• Genji
• Pharah
• Roadhog
• Sombra
• Symmetra
• Zenyatta

Genji is a weird hero at the moment. Since his nerfs a few months ago, many players have found him to be pretty useless on most maps.However as Dive and Rush comps find their way back into the meta, Genji sits in an interesting position. Some teams may find success with Genji/Ana Dive variants if the Genji player is able to find the right targets. Or with Orisa, Genji players can build their ultimate quickly with a dash/Halt combo. But overall still feels like a bit of a force in most situations, leaving Genji on the sideline until further notice.

Tier 4: Difficult to Have Success Within the Current Meta

• Bastion
• Doomfist
• Reaper
• Widowmaker

While the Boston Uprising may have played Bastion on Havana during the Steel Series invitation, the turret character is still quite bad. The game is just a bit too mobile for Bastion to find that much value.  Yes teams can lock in a Bunker composition in a pinch, but at this point players have learned to navigate around it. Diving onto the Bastion is simple work for the majority of tank and DPS players.

Reaper may see an uptick in viability as Rush comps come back into the fray. His recent changes to his shotgun spread may hurt his up-close brawl potential, but he still is strong in those extended close-ranged fights. Though most players would rather play some McCree alongside Mei, Reaper isn’t a horrible alternative.

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Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment

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