The Best Overwatch Ults

Man, isn't Overwatch great? The hype with this one is strong, to be sure. It's not wrong, either. Overwatch is fun to watch, play, talk about, and even to write about. That in mind, my week's been mostly internet free, so I'll refrain from most of my more complex ideas about this game and do a fun list. Sound fun?

Please note that the criteria for these ults is a mix of my personal favourites and how good they actually are. I'll be taking into account how they help the team, you yourself, how coordinated your team must be, and most importantly the number of scenarios the ult is good in. And more personal stuff like how satisfying they are, how fun it is to use, and of course my personal opinions. That in mind, here we go!

This list was written as of July 17, 2016. Please note that any updates and new heroes after this point cannot be taken into account.

21. Zenyatta: Transcendance

Poor, poor Zenyatta. Considered to be basically the worst hero by many, his ult doesn't exactly help matters. Zenyatta floats up in the air and creates an area where your teammates will be healed rapidly. Zenyatta himself is invincible. Few issues here. First, Zenyatta can't do anything while in his ult besides move. That's bad, as you're down a team member. And second, it forces your team to clump together, making them easy pickings the second the ult ends. Alas, despite a good concept, this ult falls flat. Zenyatta really needs more. I feel bad for the guy.

20. Winston: Primal Rage

And here's another ult that I feel is supremely underwhelming. Winston's a good hero most of the time, and great fun to play, but his ult has a few too many shortcomings to be of much use. Winston gains health up to 1000 and goes on a rampage, only using melee attacks for the ult's duration. Issues I have with this ult are that you just can't do enough to be of much use most of the time. Your attacks don't do much damage and knock enemies out of range, meaning cliffs are your only hope of eliminating enemies. It's a good disruptor, but Winston does that well enough already, and he has less options in this ult. It requires a good team to back you up, something solo queue can lack. It's not a bad ult, per se, but it has too many annoyances for me to enjoy it more.

19. Tracer: Pulse Bomb

Wait, wait, WAIT. Put down the pitchforks, Tracer fans. Her ult is this low mainly because of how it interacts with her kit. Tracer is a backline harasser, and this ult fits well. She throws a sticky bomb out, which explodes after a short fuse. Issue is that the ult in a vaccum isn't very good. The bomb has such a short radius that it is unlikely to hit someone if you miss, and it usually only takes out one target. That said, it's not at the bottom because it does fit her kit quite well. The ability to blink in, take a single target out, and rewind away is quite useful, and the ult is a good addition to her kit. It's just not a good ult by itself.

18. Symmetra: Teleporter

This is an ult that provides great utility. In literally 1 scenario. Defending point A in capture point mode. A teleporter is useless at point B, and it's not quite as good on a moving payload. Basically, this ult is simple and tremendously useful when the time is right. Problem is, time's almost never right.

17. Roadhog: Whole Hog

The placement of this ult is really moreso based on my personal preferences here. Roadhog blasting enemies with a constant stream of shrapnel sounds cool, and yeah, it's effective, disruptive, and great at capping points. I just don't like using it much. I dunno, it's just not very satisfying to me. There's no big hit, just a lot of small ones that never feel substantial. Use this one to your heart's desire if you like. I'll stick to the ol' hook-shotgun combo.

16. D.Va: Self Destruct

Oh, D.Va. How.... meh you are. It shows in her ult as well. Blowing her mech up dealing massive damage all around can be quite effective indeed. The issue is how easily it can be avoided. All you have to do is hide behind a wall, any wall, and it is 100% negated. It is crazy easy to dodge this ult if you know what you're doing. The saving grace it has is that it will force enemies to scatter, something very helpful. But otherwise, it's very tricky to use.

15: Hanzo: Dragonstrike

"Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!" is a battlecry feared by many. And it lives up to it's name... just not how people expect. It is not an ult you just throw out and kill enemies with, contrary to popular internet knowledge. It is instead more useful as a way to force enemies out, get them off a point. It's also quite useful if you can use it stealthily, aiming from a wall the enemy doesn't expect. Regardless, this ult doesn't like up to the potential the internet says it has, but it is still quite useful indeed.

14. Lúcio: Sound Barrier

Man, I wish this ult could be higher. I absolutely love playing Lúcio, and his ult is one of the best in the game for me. In a group. Here's the issue. Lúcio giving his team around him a sheild to push or defend points with has fantastic utility, great flexibility. If my team is coordinated there is almost no scenario where I don't want Lúcio backing us up. As those of you who solo queue know, coordination online is a rare beast. Often it's next to impossible to get your team to get near you to make this it truly effective. So just know that if that wasn't an issue this ult would be much, much higher.

13: Bastion: Configuration: Tank

Ahhh, Bastion. The salt powered robot has an ult that some consider underwhelming or just not as good. Me? Oh man, this ult's fun. I could go over how vulnerable Bastion can be, how this ult runs in opposition to his playstyle, yada yada. Letting out a battlecry of Tw-tweet Tw-eeeeeeeet and storming across the battlegrounds as a motherfreaking Tank never gets old. The fun factor is high in this one, and it's sure to be an ult I'll continue enjoying for a long time.

12. McCree: Deadeye

It's High Noon........

I swear, that is the single scariest sound in Overwatch. It's the right mix of menacing, threatening, and the ult is as deadly as it sounds. This ult isn't as infallible as some will say, with it actually requiring a good amount of skill and timing to pull off effectively, and frankly I'm terrible at it. But oh man, a good McCree is terrifying if they use this ult right. Whether to just pick off a single target or to wipe a team, rest assured that if you're in the line of fire, it's all over.

11. Pharah: Barrage

Pharah's ult is an ult that once again is hard as heck to pull off. This time, however, I'm not completely terrible at using it! Pharah lays down some JUSTICE and as the name implies, barrages her enemies with rockets. This ult causes serious damage, and thanks to Pharah's incredible mobility she can hit you from almost anywhere. And that's also it's main weakness. If you use this ult in the wrong spot, you're a stationary target in midair and you're toast. I like this ult quite a bit because it's impossible to mindlessly pop off and use effectively. You have to think, wait, and strike at the right moment. A good mix of power and skill.

10: Reinhardt: Earthshatter

The German tank comes smashing into the top 10, and with good reason. This ult is simple, yet so, so effective. Reinhardt smashes his hammer down and knocks down all enemies in front of him. Those enemies are now yours to gleefully beat down on and destroy. Not much else to it. Simple, fast, effective, deadly. Now if only I could get my teammates to actually get behind my shield...

9. Torbjörn: Molten Core

Honestly, I swear Torbjörn shouting “Molten Corrrreeeee” is more effective than the actual ult itself. What this ult provides more than anything else is area control. No way enemies are gonna walk into a level 3 turret, and this lets you zone and control the paths of your foes, an often underrated aspect of competitive games. Torbjörn also powers up and becomes an effective disruptor, with a rapid fire gun and massive amounts of armor. This ult just provides so much all around utility, and is a great addition to the Swedish engineer's kit.

8. Reaper: Death Blossom

Ah, the good ol' blossom of death. Teleport in, press Q, and watch the bodies drop. Nah, it's not quite that simple. Death Blossom, if played well, is in my opinion the single best method to wipe a team completely and utterly. If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan of ults that require plenty of skill to use well. A bad Reaper will walk in and ult. A good reaper will teleport to the left, wait for enemies to clump, then jump down from a roof and ult them. That is what makes an ult interesting and fun to pull off.

7. Junkrat: RIP-Tire

Besides being an excellent pun, RIP-Tire is an ult to be feared. A rolling, lethal bomb, if you hear “FIRE IN THE HOLE” it's good cause for panic. And once again, you can't just mindlessly let it rip. It can be destroyed, so careful positioning is required. And besides all that, it's just so much fun. An effective clearer, killer, and all out powerful move to be sure.

6. Soldier 76: Tactical Visor

Aren't aimbots great? As long as it's a game mechanic. The Tactical Visor ensures every single shot you fire will find its mark, and it can be quite deadly. But often what it's more useful for is that if forces enemies to take cover lest you mow them down. It either gives you many kills OR helps your team push forward. I can't turn down an ult that useful.

5. Mei: Blizzard

Well, now Blizzard's just stroking their own ego, naming an ult after themselves. But in all seriousness, this is one of the few ults I am flat out scared of. I know that if I'm caught in it, that's basically it for me. It not only provides a great offensive tool, it can also block entrances and zone enemies out. It's probably the ult that has the most varied use in the game, and only further cements Mei's reputation as a troll of epic proportions.

4. Genji: Dragonblade

Everyone's favourite overplayed cyborg ninja comes slashing in with my favourite ult of the offensive characters. Genji drawing his dragonblade and going to town is quite a striking image, but there's more to it than mindless slashing. What makes this ult effective is that Genji still has access to his reflect and dash while using it. That means he can still defend himself and has access to great mobility. Used well, a good Genji can and will destroy with this ability. Not much else to say.

3. Zarya: Graviton Surge

My favourite tank and character comes in with my favourite tank ult. “Fire at will” is an excellent way to describe this ability, because that's exactly what one needs do. What I love most is that it works great even in a crazy disorganized team of random players. You fire it off and the team basically gets a big “SHOOT HERE” sign. Disruptive, effective, and easy teamwork. What more could you ask for?

2. Widowmaker: Infra-Sight

I have never once been in a situation where this ult is not useful to EVERYONE. A wall hack on a lower charge time that everyone gets? Yes please. Rushing the point? Pop it and make sure enemies aren't hiding. Defending? Pop it and check for flanks. Just died? Pop it, and your team gets a buff from halfway across the map. This ult is fantastic.

1. Mercy: Resurrect

No other ult could possibly get this spot. Reviving dead teammates is immensely useful, and truly what can help your team going. Completely negating everything the enemy team just threw at you is in my opinion the single best ability you could ask for. It keeps rushes, defences, flanks, alive and kicking. It keeps your team going, and momentum is the single most important thing to maintain here. Heros never die, indeed.

So, did you agree? Of course you didn't. Shout at me in the comments about how wrong I am if you'd like, and I hope you enjoyed this. Have a nice day, and thanks for reading.