Overwatch 2 has had a simultaneously successful yet rocky start, thankfully Blizzard was able to push out fixes for some of the more noticeable problems. And at the same time, they even announced a Halloween-themed update for their live-service game.
At that time one could expect the content patch to fix even more problems and likely balance some characters out. But there are characters who will likely remain on top even with a couple of added tweaks. The abundance of 35 playable characters certainly allows accessibility for all players.
Torbjorn
Whether it be Overwatch 1 or 2, Torbjorn is a character who has cemented himself in both titles thanks to his simplicity. Though simple doesn't necessarily mean mediocrity, as it is often Torbjon players who find themselves at the top of their team after each game.
Torbjorn's rivet gun comes in two modes, normal shooting which fires rivets that arc down, so players have to adjust for long ranges, and the short-range shotgun blast. A Torbjorn's main ability would be their automatic turret, which players should focus on keeping it active at all times. Their ultimate ability is great at clearing objectives, thanks to the lava the character spews that remains on the ground for a few seconds.
Pharah
The life of a Pharah player is relatively simple, their ability is all about staying in the air. Paired up with a healer who can travel with them such as Mercy, a Pharah can stay in the air and be practically unkillable, launching missiles at healers or tanks from a safe location.
In fact, there are only a few characters to counter a Pharah player. While Pharah does an amazing amount of damage from any range, the biggest downside would be the lack of variety in their skillset. Their secondary ability is a propulsion grenade useful for knocking enemies away. As for Pharah's special ability, she launches a barrage of missiles, though at the same time she becomes a stationary target that is easy to hit.
Baptiste
Baptiste is a support-type character who is altogether a well-rounded hero for players who are into dealing damage while reducing their own. He has a diverse skillset with unique abilities that make him practically essential to every team.
One such ability would be his deployable field, which makes any teammate who stands in its range invincible until the field disappears or is destroyed. Using the secondary action with his three-burst shot rifle shoots healing grenades useful for long range-healing. His primary ability is an effect that quickly heals everyone around him with the click of a button and, as one of the characters with the rarest Overwatch skins, it's hard to find a reason not to play him.
Brigitte
There are rarely characters in a game like Overwatch who are suitable for two roles at the same time but Brigitte can be classified both as a tank and a support character. With her trusty shield and mace at hand, Brigitte is great for engaging close-range enemies when pushing an objective.
Her mace has the unique ability to heal the immediate area when striking something. As for her shield, it can absorb up to 250 points of damage and regenerates fairly quickly. Her second ability is to throw up to three healing items at a teammate that heals over time. Generally, she's a simple-to-play healer with a lot of survivability but probably isn't the best to play when the other team is full of long-range characters.
Soldier 76
Solider 76 is a character known for having one of the best guns and weapons in Overwatch 2. His heavy pulse rifle is a powerful automatic weapon useful for melting down enemy shields and health bars. His unique ability also allows him to sprint, a feature not available in any other character.
With the secondary action, players could launch rockets from their rifles capable of instantly killing most of the attack characters in the same category as Soldier 76. Using their ultimate ability, players can instantly lock on to all enemies and shoot without worrying about missing and Soldier's only weakness would be his low health bar.
Cassidy
Cassidy requires players to have a higher FPS skill level, though when they do manage to successfully land a shot, they can expect to deal massive damage. As the character who arguably deals the most damage in the game Cassidy's revolver can leave an attack character half-dead with a single shot to the head.
As if he were pulled straight out of the best old-west video games, Cassidy's ultimate ability allows him to hone in on the heads of everyone within his vision, practically instant killing them if they don't get out of the way in time. He also has a sticky grenade that can automatically stick to an enemy up close. The problem with his ultimate would be that it is extremely noticeable when used, as in Cassidy starts glowing red, he walks extremely slowly, and the character yells out he uses it.
Roadhog
As a tank character, Roadhog has an abundance of health that makes killing him a chore. Though that often comes at the price that he will end up being the biggest target of the entire team. Thankfully, one of his two abilities makes it so that he can regain any lost health within 3 seconds.
Roadhog is one of the few tanks in the title that deals massive damage. With his shotgun-like scarp gun he could decimate foes in 2-5 shots, a task made easier when used in tandem with his chain hook that could pull enemies from far away. Added to the health ability and base health of the character, Roadhog is great for beginners and veterans of the game alike.
Junkrat
In every round of an Overwatch game, there is an objective to protect or capture, Junkrat happens to make both tasks easy just by simply spamming his frag grenade launcher. With it, opponents have no choice but to move away from an objective lest they get destroyed by the powerful force of each grenade.
Junkrat's launcher also has an arc when shooting, making it useful for shooting over walls, so enemies can't hit you. Along with that, the character has a mine they can manually activate, it could even be used to propel them upwards and into advantageous areas. A carefully placed steel trap can lock an enemy in place for a few seconds, preventing them from fleeing.
Reaper
Tanks are by nature annoying enemies to deal with, no matter the game. Whether they live or die can really determine how a game is going to go. And thankfully Overwatch introduced a character capable of eliminating tanks to prevent any stalemates, Reaper.
Though his personality is about the same as one of the worst anime character archetypes, the edge lord. Reaper has dual shotguns that can melt through health with no problem, which is good considering dealing damage heals him. One of his abilities allows him to phase out of existence, the perfect tool for fleeing when hurt. His ultimate ability is his biggest claim to fame, as the damage, he deals while spinning and shooting is most of the time enough to eliminate a whole team single-handedly.
Reinhardt
Reinhardt is all around the best hero when it comes to simplicity and supporting the team. As a tank he has staggering health, in fact, he has the most health in the game. That's not even mentioning the huge shield he could deploy that by itself already has 1600 health points.
One of his biggest abilities is to tackle an enemy and pin them to a wall, which is a move that basically kills every other character except fellow tanks. Though it's of course expected that with his only weapon being a sledgehammer his long-range usefulness isn't too impressive. He isn't completely devoid of long-range attacks, his secondary ability is to send arcs of flames tens of meters with a swing of his hammer.