zedrin-maybe:

Here’s another little Overwatch guide, this time for the tanks.

Because if I get one more team thinking Roadhog can solo tank, I’m gonna scream.

First up: there’s essentially two kinds of tanks: main tanks and off tanks. Some characters can be both, some can only be one. A main tank is a tank that’s meant to block or absorb damage first, and their primary goal are tanky things like crowd control and blocking. An off tank is more meant to pull the enemy out of position, and provide a mixture of damage and defenses, and just provide a bit of HP to your overall health pool. Most comps want two tanks for this reason (usually one main and one off, though this can vary), but some can get away with just one.

Winston:
Winston was the star of competitive play for a while, which revolved around dive. Dive is still effective, but even outside of that Winston can play as an enforcer-like character, jumping to allies when an enemy tries to move on them. His bubble is brittle and is meant to give you just a brief moment of respite–don’t place it at chokes, use it to interrupt initiations or buy you precious seconds. When played more as an enforcer, in poor situations he can solo tank, such as if your entire time is running highly mobile DPS and no one wants to switch to someone that pairs better with Rein. In spite of his flimsy barrier, he actually qualifies as a main tank in dive

Winston doesn’t tank by shielding, but rather by making himself seem like a threat so your DPS can do their jobs. His ult should be used as a bait and switch. One strategy can be: don’t over-commit to a fight and hint that you have it ready: pretend to run away instead, and pop it on them when you’ve made them over extend. (And of course it also is a great emergency button.)

Winston is a good choice when the composition is focused on mobility, such as in dive, as well as a great counter to Symmetra, Genji, and Widowmaker. He works best if your comp doesn’t depend on having a clear front line.

Good with: Dive comps, countering snipers / symmetra, comps that don’t need a clear front line
Likes: Naturally mobile teams, pouncing on squishy targets that get separated from their pack, making the enemy team turn around
Pairs well with: Zarya, DVa, Genji, Lucio

Reinhardt:
Reinhardt is the classic tank. The biggest tip with him: remember your shield is more important than getting a pick off. You need to be ready to advance forward and trust your team will be behind you. Don’t drop your shield for a firestrike unless you know your team will be fine, and don’t charge in to an entire pack of enemies. Your charge isn’t on short enough of a cooldown to act as both an initation AND an escape tool.
You’re the epitome of a main tank. Your team’s job is to follow you, so make sure they’re with you and advance. Use your ult when barriers won’t block it and try to secure kills–this creates an opening where you actually CAN dive in, and remember it goes under carts. While your hammer is strong, make sure you have a few DPS to help as well as it won’t be enough to wipe every target you hit.
Just don’t let your shield fully break, it’ll take longer to recharge.
Reinhardt is a great tank when you need a defined front line on your team (such as if your team includes units like Junkrat, Roadhog, Soldier, Bastion, or McCree). His shield also can block some elements like Roadhog’s hook.

Good with: ranged comps, tightly packed comps, low mobility comps. Always a safe pick
Likes: Mobility buffs, ranged allies to cover
Pairs well with: Zarya, Roadhog, Soldier 76

Roadhog:
Roadhog is an offtank and is the most DPS oriented tank. He can no longer can 1-shot combo a majority of the cast, but he’s still excellent with the right teammates. Orisa’s HALT can be combined with his hook for almost guaranteed grabs, and with an ounce of additional fire from a single other ally, you can destroy almost any target you grab. His self healing provides damage resistance and makes him one of the most effective duelists in the game as well. His lack of shields means he absolute should NOT be your primary tank.

His ult does high damage and absolutely shreds barriers, so he can act as a solid barrier buster if you need.

Roadhog is an excellent choice if your damage output isn’t high enough, but you only have one primary tank (sometimes he can work with 2 other tanks. Triple tank is still possible to run.) When able to fight, he blocks dive attempts and breaks barriers. Just don’t try to pick him as your only tank, you’ll make your team sad.

Good with: Bulky comps, comps with more reliance on self healing, deathball-like comps
Likes: Mobility, high heals per second (like Moira), upsetting nemy’s position, countering dive
Pairs well with: Orisa, Zarya, Moira, Lucio

DVa:
DVa is a fairly aggressive tank who, like Roadhog, errs a bit into DPS, though not as much. Her change to her defense matrix, and addition of more ranged power has given her a little bit of shield busting ability, and allows her to dive much like Winston does. She is an off tank and a dive tank, and can also act as a bit of an enforcer for clutch defense matrixes on your squishier allies, if you use it sparingly. However, as its duration is so short, she’s better suited as a secondary tank in most cases.

Her ult can act as an emergency button, but is also effective if the enemy has a lot of defenses that need to be cleared.

DVa is a good choice when you need to bust specific defenses, or when you need to counter burst damage or aerial units like Pharah, but is best selected if the role of main tank is already fulfilled in some way.

Good with: dive, anti air, when you need plays that rely on ults to push through
Likes: skirmishing Pharah, Solider, Tracer, Moira, fighting spam / burst damage tactics, countering snipers / projectile ults (McCree, Soldier)
Pairs well with: Winston, Zarya (don’t DM when barriered!), Lucio

Zarya:
Zarya theoretically can act as a main tank but she often plays as secondary, using her bubbles to amp up the shielding the main tank can provide.
When charged up her damage is insane. For this reason she’s good against comps that recklessly throw out damage, granting her free charge.
Her ult is one of the strongest in the game, and takes a long time to charge. Unless the enemy has something at their dispersal to negate it, it often guarantees several frags, especially when paired with an offensive allied ult (like Junkrat’s. Just don’t use tactical visor–that’s better saved for when the enemy actually has mobility).

Zarya is a good choice if you need a second tank, if the enemy’s tactic is suppressive fire (free charge for you!), or if you need a main tank but you don’t have a composition that’d favor a barrier like Rein or Orisa. She absolutely needs to be able to see her allies in the fight however–if you’re at the front line and your allies are shooting over your shoulder, it becomes much more difficult to maintain your charge.

Good with: Deathball comps, dive comps, closer ranged comps (both with and against)
Likes: Fighting against spam, setting up ults for allies
Pairs well with: Winston, Reinhardt, squishies that need to get in and get out

Orisa:
Orisa has become popular with the advent of Moira, and following her barrier buff. She has the longest range of the tanks and can operate much like a turret. Her damage output is fairly respectable.

The barrier buff has managed to make her into a main tank. She also has great synergy with quite a few other heros: a Torbjorn or Bastion work nicely with Orisa, while Roadhog (and any other unit with a skillshot projectile, like helix rockets) can time their skillshots with HALT for guaranteed hits.

Her ult ups your entire team’s damage, but this is particularly effective for smashing through barriers as well. Try to pair it with another ally’s ult, like a tactical visor. While she’s not always an explicit answer to a specific threat, she’s an attractive option if your team would synergize well with her.

Good with: stationary defenses, ranged oriented comps, comps with a clearly defined front line
Likes: Maps with pits, helping counter dive
Pairs well with: Torbjorn, Bastion, Roadhog and other allies with skillshots