Find out the best and worst DPS heroes to play in our Overwatch 2 DPS Tier List for season 5.

A new season begins in Overwatch 2! The official patch notes for Overwatch 2 Season 5 introduced plenty of changes for Blizzard’s FPS, from tweaks to heroes’ abilities to matchmaking and competitive games’ updates. The launch of Overwatch 2 Season 5 also marks the return of the “On Fire” status, highlighting players who perform well in their games. Competitive Mystery Heroes are also back for a new season, letting players compete with a large range of heroes and no pre-definite roles.

To help you spend your matches On Fire and climb up the competitive ranks, here are the best and worst DPS heroes to play in Overwatch 2 Season 5.

Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS Tier List Season 5

S-Tier

If you are looking for the best DPS hero to win games in Overwatch 2 Season 5, the S-tier list gathers the best characters currently available in Overwatch 2.

Cassidy

Cassidy struggled to find his place in the Overwatch 2 meta, being either less powerful than similar hitscan heroes or overpowered and needing a nerf. It seems that Blizzard finally found a sweet spot with Cassidy’s kit, letting him shine as a hitscan hero and being able to throw his Magnetic Grenade at a longer range than before.

Mei

Ever since the release of Overwatch 2, Mei has been a good hero to play in competitive games. While she can no longer freeze her enemies, her overall kit hinders her opponents’ mobility, slowing them down long enough for her teammates to execute them. The release of Season 5 reduced the damage per second of her Endothermic Blaster but increased its slowing effect, making Mei more dangerous than before for her enemies.

Sojourn

Sojourn didn’t change much in the past few seasons, being a well-balanced hero that needs little to no adjustment. She benefits from good mobility and decent damage output at mid-range, making her a perfect match with Cassidy – or a decent counter against him.

Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS A-Tier Heroes

A-tier heroes are not in the current meta but still have what it takes to carry games in Overwatch 2. These characters are good in almost all situations and can help you climb the competitive ranks if played properly.

Tracer

Tracer misses the S-tier section of our Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS tier list mainly because of the recent buff provided to her main counter, Cassidy. Blizzard changed the spread of Tracer’s Pulse Pistols, increasing it by 15% after discovering a bug that made it smaller than intended. This change may reduce the accuracy of her main weapon, but Blizzard assured it would closely monitor this change to make sure it doesn’t impact her overall efficiency in battle. Tracer remains one of the best heroes to harass enemy backlines and secure an early kill, but make sure there is no Cassidy dedicated to hindering Tracer's efforts.

Hanzo

Hanzo is one of the best DPS heroes available in Overwatch 2. He benefits from great mobility, doesn’t need anyone else with him to survive, and can secure an early kill to give his team the upper hand. However, the recent changes brought by the release of Overwatch 2 Season 5 reduce his ability to one-shot his enemies, with the maximum damage from his Storm Bow being reduced from 125 to 120. While this may not seem like much, it means that Hanzo’s critical shots are now reduced from 250 to 240, preventing him from killing heroes that have 250 health with a single critical shot.

Ashe

Ashe is a decent hero able to deal damage from afar, either to pick on isolated targets or throw a grenade to wreak havoc on a frontline. While Ashe's ultimate ability, B.O.B., can be easily countered, it can kill low-health victims, contest a point, or make the enemy team use precious cooldowns they won't have for the next fight.

Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS B-Tier Heroes

B-Tier heroes are slightly less optimized than the ones from higher tiers of this Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS tier list.

Echo

Echo is a versatile hero able to deal damage at both close and long range, all while flying around. Her strongest ability is her ultimate allowing her to duplicate an enemy hero to copy their powers and either save her team or destroy her opponents. However, since hitscans are among the best DPS heroes to play in Overwatch 2 Season 5, it may be complicated for Echo to find her place in the current meta.

Reaper

Reaper is a real threat to all tanks, dealing massive damage and restoring his health before using his Wraith Form to escape back to safety. Blizzard recently tweaked Reaper’s Wraith Form to make it more similar to Tracer's Recall and Sombra's Translocator, preventing him from escaping mobility-locking effects such as Junkrat's Steel Trap, Sigma's Gravitic Flux, Zarya's Graviton Surge, and Cassidy's Magnetic Grenade.

Sombra

Sombra was among the best heroes to play upon the release of Overwatch 2, but the various nerfs she received made her less viable than before. Sombra remains efficient to counter specific heroes or disrupt the enemy team, but other DPS characters can have a bigger impact than Sombra.

Soldier: 76

Soldier: 76 is a reliable hero who can deal damage from afar while having the tools to survive on his own and escape dangerous situations. However, he is not in his best shape with the recent updates, despite Blizzard’s efforts to increase his damage. Soldier: 76 is not a bad pick, but other heroes are better balanced in Overwatch 2 Season 5.

Symmetra

Symmetra is a hero who shines in certain situations, especially thanks to her turret and her ability to track down her enemies. The damage from her turrets got reduced from 40 to 25 in the Overwatch 2 Season 5 mid-season update. To make up for this loss in DPS, the damage from Symmetra’s Photon Projector was increased and it grants her some shield bonus to let Symmetra survive longer while chasing down her enemies.

Torbjörn

Torbjörn can be really annoying for his enemies, as he can place his turret on one side and shoot his opponents from the other, trapping them between two sources of damage. Blizzard considered the damage from Torbjörn’s turret to be slightly too powerful, so they reduced its damage from 14 to 11 and increased its cooldown from 10 to 12 seconds. The secondary fire from Torbjörn’s Rivet Gun has a smaller spread than before and Overload now partially reloads ammo, allowing Torbjörn to remain effective against his enemies at all times.

Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS Meh-Tier Heroes

Meh-tier heroes are far from being trash picks, but the current Overwatch 2 Season 5 meta is not in their favor. These heroes could use a buff in the next patch notes but can still be decent if played properly.

Genji

Genji wasn’t one of the best heroes to play in Overwatch 2 Season 4, and the release of the new competitive season didn’t play in his favor. The Season 5 patch notes increased Genji’s ammo from 24 to 30, but this buff isn’t enough to help him shine and leave the depths of the Meh-tier section of our Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS heroes tier list.

Widowmaker

Widowmaker has always been a situational hero that can shine on some maps but ends up being useless on others unless played by a really skilled player. The recent changes brought to Widowmaker by the release of Overwatch 2 Season 5 make her less deadly than she used to be, reducing her scoped shot damage falloff to prevent her from killing her enemies with a single shot on maps with extremely long sightlines. While this change doesn’t make Widowmaker a bad hero whatsoever, it limits her impact on maps with lots of open areas where she used to shine.

Junkrat

Junkrat is a tricky hero. While he can be great on maps with a lot of closed spaces where he can throw his explosive projectiles and watch his opponents die one by one, he struggles on maps with larger roads and no narrow areas. The rise of hitscan heroes in Overwatch 2 Season 5 makes his ultimate ability RIP-Tire harder to land, as they can destroy it from afar. Junkrat is not a bad hero but lacks efficiency in too many situations to make him a reliable pick.

Pharah

While Pharah can be a great hero to win games in lower competitive ranks as opponents may struggle to focus her, she loses her efficiency in higher ranks. Since Cassidy is among the best DPS heroes to play in Overwatch 2 Season 5 alongside Sojourn, Ashe, and Hanzo, Pharah will easily be defeated by these better-balanced heroes.

Bastion

Bastion struggles to find his place in the current meta. While he is not a terrible hero by any means, his kit doesn’t align well with the ones of the best characters from this Overwatch 2 Season 5 DPS heroes tier list. Bastion can shine in some situations, especially if he has a support hero to help him out, but he may not be the best choice against better-balanced heroes.