The Arsenal: The Heroes of Overwatch

Welcome to The Arsenal, where the best weapons and items from across media are put on display. In this entry, we’re looking at the best weapons used by the various characters in the popular hero shooter, Overwatch, and determining which ones are the best fit for different categories. Also, we are only looking at characters playable in the main game, so characters currently being tested on the PTR won’t count here. (Sorry Orisa.)

(You'll be in the action soon enough.)

What different niches can be filled by these (currently) 23 heroes and villains? Let’s find out.

Here is The Arsenal of the Heroes of Overwatch.

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Best Melee Weapon – Genji’s Dragonblade

Even in a first-person shooter, melee weapons can still carve out their own niche, literally in this case. Genji’s Dragonblade katana is so powerful, the game only lets him use it as his ultimate and when he draws his sword, he is an almost unstoppable fighting force. He can take down most opponents with only one or two strikes and his agility and quick reflexes only aid him in quick kills while wielding this blade.

Best Pistol – McCree’s Peacekeeper

It may have the smallest clip compared to other pistols, holding only six shots, but this revolver is an example of quality over quantity. One well-placed headshot can down most foes and even body shots can still do heavy damage because of the power behind each of these bullets. McCree can even fan the hammer to quickly unload all his current bullets into a target, which is great for shredding targets up close. If your aim is on point, using the Peacekeeper will make taking down targets look easy.

Best Shotgun – Roadhog’s Scrap Gun

Two characters best known in this game for wielding shotguns are Reaper and Roadhog and of those two, Roadhog’s Scrap Gun is the more versatile of the two. The Scrap Gun holds the same amount of shots as Reaper’s one of Hellfire Shotguns, but it can be loaded with just about anything. He reloads the gun by opening it, shoving a handful of scrap metal pieces inside, then closing it up, so he technically doesn’t have to use bullets. Also, when he uses his ultimate, Whole Hog, he attaches a grinder to the gun, which turns it into a machine gun, rapidly firing scrap metal to damage and push away enemies.

Best Automatic Weapon – Soldier: 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle

With the variety of different weapons that the characters in Overwatch use, only a few characters have a primary weapon that could be considered automatic, with characters like Bastion, Sombra, and Tracer being some of the ones that come to mind. Perhaps the best automatic however would be Soldier: 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle. This gun carries heavy damage with a decent rate of fire and its alternate fire allows it to fire Helix Rockets, explosive shots that travel quickly and deal a high amount of damage.

Best Thrown Weapon – Ana’s Biotic Grenade

From McCree’s flashbangs to Junkrat’s traps to Genji’s shurikens, there are a lot of thrown weapons used by the characters in Overwatch, but perhaps the most versatile one would be Ana’s Biotic Grenade. As a support character’s item, the Biotic Grenade is more than a weapon for dealing damage. It will burst heal any allies caught in its blast radius and also increase any healing they get for a short time afterward. Meanwhile, for enemies, in addition to damage dealt, it also prevents damage from healing up for a short time.

The healers can’t save them then.

Best Sniper Rifle – Ana’s Biotic Rifle

Along with the Biotic Grenade, Ana has another strong support tool with the most unique sniper rifle in the Overwatch roster and possibly one of the most unique in all of gaming, the Biotic Rifle. Unlike other snipers, Ana can’t get headshot kills with her gun, but in addition to damaging enemies, Ana can heal her teammates by shooting them. Used with the Biotic Grenade, Ana’s rifle can bring her allies back to full health with just a couple of shots and she can use her scope to focus on a target when she needs more accuracy.

Best Non-Firearm Long Range Weapon – Hanzo’s Storm Bow

Hanzo stands out from the crowd by using a bow and arrows when almost everyone else in the roster uses some kind of gun, but his skill with it shows that he can keep up just fine. As one of the (currently) few snipers in the game, Hanzo needs pinpoint accuracy to score a kill and it shows when that accuracy is there as the arrows can hit hard and do a lot of damage. Hanzo even has a few trick arrows to use. The Scatter Arrow can split into several different arrows and ricochet off of surfaces and the Sonic Arrow allows him and his teammates to see approaching enemies, even behind walls.

Best Explosive Launcher – Pharah’s Rocket Launcher

Junkrat may be the character known for being obsessed with explosives, but the slot for this category goes to Pharah with her rocket launcher. While the grenades that Junkrat launches can bounce off of walls, the rocket launcher encourages more accurate shooting. The rockets do a lot of damage even to surrounding targets and they can push targets back, making it a good zoning tool as well and with Pharah firing from the skies, she has a good view of the battlefield to shoot them off.

Best Heavy Weapon – Zarya’s Particle Cannon

Of all the large or heavy weapons that are used in the game, the most versatile one would be Zarya’s Particle Cannon. If you’re strong enough to wield this monster of a gun, it allows the wielder several options in combat. It can fire a beam of energy or explosive blasts of energy for offense or project barriers around yourself or allies for defense. With Zarya’s Ultimate, the cannon can shoot out a gravity bomb that can suck in opponents into one central area. If we take Heroes of the Storm into account, it can also shoot a different gravity bomb that can repel enemies from a central area.

Best Energy Gun – Symmetra’s Photon Projector

Given the setting, several weapons could count for this category, but after Zarya’s Particle Cannon (which is already listed above), perhaps the best fit here would be Symmetra’s Photon Projector. While it’s debatable if Symmetra’s other abilities are linked to the device, the actual weapon packs a decent amount of power. After taking some time to focus on an enemy, the Photon Projector does continuous damage to them as long as Symmetra is close to them. She doesn’t even have to aim because the beam from the weapon follows the target. As an alternate fire, she can charge up a ball of energy to fire off. It does a lot of damage, but it moves slowly enough that someone paying attention can easily walk out of its way, so it is best used when teammates are firing in the same direction.

Best Unique Weapon – Mei’s Endothermic Blaster

This category covers weapons that don’t function like any of the others and can’t easily be categorized with other kinds of weapons. In that regard, Mei’s Endothermic Blaster is one of a kind among the cast of Overwatch. This gun’s primary fire is basically a freeze ray, doing damage to opponents while freezing them in place in ice, but this gun has many other features as well. With its alternate fire, it can create large icicles and shoot them off towards a target, which works especially well if that target was just frozen still. Then, with a press of a button and a pull of the trigger, the blaster can also generate walls of ice that block all projectiles and damage and keep enemies away.

Best Gun Turret – Bastion’s Configuration: Sentry

While Torbjorn and Symmetra are known for their turrets, special mention in this category was given to the character in this roster who can actually turn into a turret. When Bastion switches into Configuration: Sentry, he becomes a large stationary minigun that can fire several bullets at a rapid speed. In this mode, he can dry up a tank’s shields and health in a matter of seconds and weaker targets can get shredded in seconds, especially if they are up close. He can also rapidly switch out of Sentry mode if he needs to move and repair himself to recover from damage taken.

Watch out for surprise Bastions hiding around corners.

Best Healing Device – Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier

Setting the offensive capabilities to the side, Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier may not be the quickest acting healing device, but it is possibly the most effective. While set on his healing boost song, Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier gives off an aura that heals a steady amount of damage to multiple allies at once. He doesn’t have to do anything other than stand near his allies for the healing to take effect, so he can attack and heal at the same time.

The healing effect continues if Lucio’s teammates are close enough to hear his music and he can even increase the volume of his music (with his ability Amp It Up) to increase the amount of damage it heals for. Finally, with his Ultimate, Sound Barrier, Lucio uses the device to generate a large amount of sound shields for his teammates and while they don’t last long, they work for withstanding an enemy assault in a pinch.

Best Power-Up – Ana’s Nano Boost

Ana once again makes a contribution to The Arsenal with her power-up Ultimate, the Nano Boost. Using a wrist-mounted dart launcher, Ana can super-charge one of her teammates, dramatically increasing their attack power (and at one point, their speed). This could allow a strong teammate or one about to use their Ultimate to charge in and take down a large chunk of the defending team, potentially fueling a push towards an objective or stopping one from the opposition.

Few things strike fear into an Overwatch player like a nano-boosted Genji using his Dragonblade.

Best Power-Down - Zenyatta's Orb of Discord

From the best power-up to the best power-down, we now take a look at the best item for weakening someone, Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord. After Zenyatta shoots this out, the opponent it gets attached to takes more damage from any attack that hits them. Teammates can then use it to focus on and quickly take down a problem target. While the orb itself doesn’t do any damage and returns to Zenyatta if nothing is done with it, it is a powerful tool for those that can utilize its strength.

Best Armor or Worn Weapon – D.Va’s Mech

 To some D.Va’s mech may only loosely count as armor, but it encompasses her body and protects her from damage, so here, it technically counts. Aside from providing protection, her mech is also equipped with Fusion Cannon shotguns, boosters for short flight, her Defense Matrix Shield which can essentially delete projectiles that hit it, and has a self-destruct button which can blow away any enemies in its vicinity. D.Va can even summon a new mech using a wrist device after her previous one has taken enough damage or she used its self-destruct feature. This thing is a powerhouse.

And as some added perks, her emotes show that it’s also equipped with a music player, a link to whatever game account she uses so she can play video games on the go, compartments for snacks and drinks, and there is probably a video camera somewhere in there; how else would she livestream her battles?

Best Shield – Reinhardt’s Barrier

While a few characters, most notably tanks, use a shield of some sort, none are as useful or as highly regarded as Reinhardt’s barrier. When activated by this futuristic knight, this energy shield can take up to 2000 points of damage, easily the most of any shield currently in the game, and allies can shoot through the shield, making it a good rally point for teams to make a good play. It also regenerates its energy whenever it’s not in use, so if it breaks, Reinhardt just needs to wait a few moments before he can go back to the front lines to protect his team. It doesn’t protect against everything however and it won’t stop inattentive teammates from running through the shield and getting blown up afterwards, but other shields have the same problem.

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What did you think of these picks? What is your favorite Overwatch weapon? Who else do you think has an arsenal worth watching? Make your voice hear in the comments below. Thanks for coming!