5 Overwatch 2 tips for Tank players

Overwatch 2 is Blizzard Entertainment’s latest and most electrifying first-person Shooter. An all-new competitive experience and heroes mean a revival in the competitive playerbase.

Overwatch 2 has three playable classes - Damage, Support, and the simplest of them all, Tanks. You have very little to do in this role. In most cases, you must pave the way for your team and take the brunt of enemy damage.

A tank is at the forefront of your team, and knowing how to play this role will lead to an easy victory. These characters create space for engagements, hold the line from oncoming enemy attacks and protect your teammates.

In Overwatch 2, all tanks have a few similarities, such as large HP bars and a protective element in their kit, such as Reinhardt’s Barrier Field and D.Va’s Defense Matrix. Tanks like Roadhog may also use regen abilities to quite literally tank damage.

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Five helpful tips to play better Tank in Overwatch 2

Tank heroes are eleven in number, with each hero employing a kit consisting of a protective ability. Each Tank, like the other classes, utilizes hitscan, projectile, or beam-based weaponry.

These heroes supervise the frontline, going head-to-head with opposing tanks and giving a tough time to enemy Damage and Support heroes. Playing Tank in Overwatch 2 is simple for the most part, as long as you perform your duties and mitigate damage.

When you pick a Tank role, your main goal is to understand which toolkit suits your current team composition and map. On that account, you should learn more than one tank to switch whenever the team or situation requires it.

Always read the circumstances of a match before sticking to a Tank hero, as understanding which skills and heroes will elevate your team’s performance makes winning just that bit easier.

Five useful tips to know if you play Tank in Overwatch 2:

Survivability

As a tank, surviving should be your primary goal. With only one tank now in the "balanced" team composition in Overwatch 2, you walk the thin line between absorbing hits and staying alive.

If the Tank gets eliminated early, you may put your team at a disadvantage and leave them vulnerable. In almost every fight, whichever team loses their tank first will probably lose the entire ordeal.

Without a doubt, you need to be controlling areas long enough without getting picked so that your team can capitalize on the objective or incentivize on getting kills. However, do not abandon your teammates or unintentionally play out of position. Do not be greedy, and always remember that you are the only tank.

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Dealing damage

With Tanks, most Overwatch 2 players will probably imagine tactics that include holding areas and mitigating damage. But most players might forget that Tanks can do a lot of damage, given the chance.

Almost every Tank hero has absurd damage stats and can take on a duel against any other class of hero and come out on top. Heroes like Zarya, Sigma, and Junkerqueen dish out a lot of damage and have the HP to sustain themselves on the battlefield.

Players need to know when to push to their advantage. Tanks are usually required to control areas, but in Overwatch 2, they are presented with the mechanics to take kills off the enemy if any of them are lurking out of position. This balanced play between your obligations as a Tank, and aggression will help pressure the opposition into the proverbial corner.

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Keeping tabs on teammate locations

Being informed of your teammates' whereabouts and what they are doing gives you a general idea of how to play around them. If any team member is getting bombarded by multiple enemies, knowing their positions can help you relocate to them faster and peel for them.

You can absorb the damage for them and relieve some of the pressure on them. But be wary of not straying from your original task of controlling crucial areas from now on.

Support heroes will always move around with a target on their backs, as they’re the easiest to kill and arguably the most important part of the team composition in Overwatch 2.

If you see your Supports under duress, do not hesitate to help them. Not only will they appreciate your efforts, they can also keep your team alive for longer.

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Intimidate your foes

Being a tank in Overwatch 2 may not only be physical, but it can also be a mental battle. As the name suggests, you are a Tank, so act like one. Make your presence felt and intimidate your opponent.

Seeing a good Roadhog or a crazy Sigma charge at you can be scary. Not only will instilling that kind of fear win you the mental battle, it can also be quite distracting for the rest of the enemy team.

Using your knockback abilities on the opposing team is also a surefire way to clear a path forward and control an area on the map. Doomfist’s Rocket Punch and Wrecking Ball’s Roll form are a few abilities that achieve knockbacks onto enemy heroes. These can be essential approaches to an offensive team push.

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Using your surroundings to your advantage

Tank heroes will most likely always be bigger than their cover. But they can take good advantage of corner coverage. You can use these spaces by incorporating them with your shield, providing better team cover, or perfecting an offense using surprise aggression - like waiting in a corner with Reinhardt and using your charge on an unsuspecting enemy hero.

Using your surroundings is the most practical method of absorbing enemy bullets and wasting their abilities. Do not linger on open ground, as you will be mowed down by the sheer DPS force of your rival.

Communicating and playing around with each other as a team is better, so correspond with your teammates on the map.

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Ramattra, the newest Overwatch 2 tank (Image via Blizzard)

As tanks, control the pace of your team and take hold of the objective before your enemy can. Engage with those heroes you are confident in defeating and mitigate as much damage as possible.

These are a few tips that can elevate your gameplay as a Tank hero. Expanding on these pointers and learning practical applications will help you rise through the ranks.