Even though we didn’t get any new heroes at the conclusion of Season 30, this ranked season still had significant updates which changed the meta. Double shield is back, but there are several combinations of Overwatch tanks that can thrive based on the situation.
This season, we have some heroes who stayed at the top of the charts, as well as some familiar newcomers. If you’re looking to climb the ranked ladder in Season 31, here are the best heroes to improve your chances of winning matches!
Best DPS for Season 31
With the return of double shield, some players may opt to play behind cover, while inflicting damage on the enemy shields. Heroes like Ash, Soldier 76, and Junkrat work great for this style of play. However, we’re seeing many of the top players shift toward playing above or beyond the shields in Season 31!
Echo
Echo has fantastic mobility, high burst damage, and an ultimate that may still be considered broken. The hitscan heroes listed above can still give her trouble, so it’s best to stay close to building edges when flying around the map.
In Season 31, Echo has the ability to quickly eliminate an opposing squishy to turn the fight into a 5v6 early on. Even without a Mercy pocket, the damage potential is still insane if you play your sightlines correctly.
Finally, Echo has some great options to copy with her ult, as you’ll see with the rest of the list. She’s truly spoiled for choice in this regard and can typically build up 2 ultimates in her Duplicate form.
Tracer
Tracer has been a fairly consistent option for a long time in Overwatch. In Season 31, she can be effective at flanking around the shield battle and being a general nuisance in the back lines.
What makes Tracer interesting is that she can get value without getting solo kills. She can either do chip damage to draw attention away from the frontlines, or she can confirm kills after her team has gotten an enemy to low health.
Finally, Tracer has one of the fastest building ults in the game. You’ll need plenty of practice to get consistent at sticking people with the Pulse Bomb though!
Best Tanks for Season 31
This season, many of the tanks are viable options for ranked. The community is running everything from bunker to brawl to dive comps. That said, if you are looking for consistency, these are the best tanks to pick for Season 31 of Overwatch!
Sigma
Even though Sigma isn’t as OP as he was around launch, he’s still a very strong tank. As with any shield tank, one of the keys to mastering Sigma is shield management. Make sure to use Sigma’s shield to block enemy cooldowns instead of just taking needless poke damage.
Sigma has great damage potential with his Hyperspheres, especially if you can maintain the 22 meters max range. His ult is slow to build, but can single-handedly win team fights (or pull enemies off an objective to win in overtime).
As for the rest of his kit, Kinetic Grasp is great for absorbing projectiles when his shield breaks, but make sure to understand what enemy abilities can still damage you. Final tip: stop throwing the Accretion Rock at shields! Save it to interrupt high-value ults and abilities.
Roadhog
Hog hasn’t received an update since April, when Blizzard increased his damage per projectile. He’s one of the most straightforward tanks to play, but you have to keep a few things in mind to be effective.
The first thing to understand is when to use primary vs secondary fire. Primary should be used at all close-range fights, but make sure you are at the minimum projectile explosion range for his secondary – 8 meters – to maximize his damage.
Roadhog’s play style lends itself to quick picks. Target squishy characters, secondary fire to deal some chip damage, hook them to close range, and finish them off with a primary shot to the head.
Best Supports for Season 31
While some people confuse Supports with ‘Healers’, they have some of the most unique kits in the game for buffing your team strength. To me, supports are just DPS characters who possess an interesting method of increasing the sustain of their team.
Brigitte
Brig needs to be played in more of a bodyguard, slow-burn fashion vs her brawling days. With her base health being cut by 25% since launch, she is definitely more fragile than her glory days.
Brig really shines in comps that play grouped up or when she can sit back to protect a more vulnerable main support. She is one of the best counters to diving characters and will pair really well with a Zen or Ana. Use Whip Shot to keep your inspire uptime high while maintaining distance.
When you build Rally, that’s the time you and your team can go aggressive since it will be very difficult to die. The operative word here is difficult – make sure to keep an eye out for when your armor is about to be depleted!
Baptiste
Bap is having his moment in Overwatch Season 31. His Immortality Field is essentially a second ultimate which can be used in every team fight. Even with the reduction in minimum health, the ‘lamp’ is still one of the most powerful cooldowns in the game.
Additionally, Baptiste does a great for burst heals. It’s tough to hit flying characters, like Echo, so you’ll need to communicate with your team to ensure they are in your line of sight.
His weapon damage is nothing to write home about, but he does turn into a legit DPS when shooting through his window ultimate. Remember, Amplification Matrix can be used to zone the enemy team toward or away from a choke as well!
Overwatch Season 31 Meta
As with any meta, you can still run your hero of choice even if they aren’t considered strong in a particular season. It’s helpful to have a solid rotation of heroes for each character type, so look into picking up some from this list if you haven’t already!
Here’s a quick recap of the best heroes to use in each category this season:
- DPS – Echo + Tracer
- Tank – Sigma + Roadhog
- Support – Brigitte + Baptiste
Who are your top picks for Season 31 of Overwatch? Join the conversation in the comments section, below!
That’s All For Now
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