simpleek

Last year I picked up Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch and joined the millions of people who fell in love with this widely popular online multiplayer game. It became the game to play with my friend whenever we had our gaming sessions every other weekend. With currently 26 characters to choose from, Moira being the newest and latest character to join the roster, players are bound to find one or two they really enjoy playing as. After spending more time playing the game and almost trying every single character available, I can confidently say I have found the ones I’ll gravitate towards each and every time.

1. Pharah. It probably shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that this Egyptian soldier would be in my number one spot. From the moment the character selection screen appeared, I found myself kind of drawn to Pharah’s super cool combat armor. Her armor comes equipped with a jump jet and she uses a rocket launcher as her main weapon in a fight. I think Pharah is one of the easier characters to play as when you’re just starting out. I never really had a hard time figuring out her controls to launch her in the air or time her ultimate ability Barrage just right to take out as many of the opposing fighters in the map. Pharah also says one of the coolest lines in the game when you unleash Barrage, “Justice rains from above!” I have nothing but an immense amount of respect for this woman who lives by a code of honor and justice.

2. D.Va. I honestly had a rough go playing as D.Va initially. As one of the more popular characters to come out of Overwatch, from the many fanart dedicated to D.Va to plenty of fans cosplaying as her at conventions, this South Korean former pro-gamer turned mech pilot is certainly adored and beloved by the online community at large. When I finally had the opportunity to try the character out myself in an online match I…sucked. I struggled to figure out how to use D.Va effectively and never quite made her look like the badass she’s made to be. I had so many issues controlling the direction D.Va’s mech would go when I launched her Boosters ability, or felt incredibly clumsy switching between the many abilities D.Va could use. I almost instantly died in every match when I played as D.Va. But lately things between me and D.Va have been getting better.

In the last few games I played with my friend, I made it my goal to switch to a different character with the intention of consciously learning and mastering every control and ability a character had. D.Va has been among the ones I made a real effort in mastering her combat and specialty, and oh boy, it has been so on from the word go! I finally fully understood why D.Va is a favorite and I actually started having fun playing as her without worrying about the controls. Everything started becoming more intuitive and effortless. I conquered her Boosters ability and managed to knock my enemies down. I positioned myself in the right spots to do some major damage with her mech Self-Destruct ultimate and racked up some serious kill counts in the process.

While I still haven’t mastered all of D.Va’s abilities, like her Defense Matrix, I have become an instant D.Va fan through and through. Besides, D.Va speaks to me on a fashion level with her pink and super cute, but fierce, bunny emblem on her suit.

3. Reinhardt. This hulking suit of metal and armor is a surprising choice for me. Since Reinhardt is a tank character, I usually don’t play a lot of those kinds of characters in most of the games I’ve played. I’m the kind of player who likes to use ranged characters over the ones who like to get up close and personal to the combat ahead. But when my friend suggested I try Reinhardt, she advised me to make sure I utilize his Barrier Field every chance I got in a match. The times I played as this German soldier usually meant I was on defensive duty and I really relished it. My stats at the end of each match always scored me high in defensive points. It also made me feel good to be able to help and defend my fellow players on my team, while they brought the hurt and fury to the opposing team.

Like D.Va, I still have a lot to learn and master with Reinhardt. My melee game could definitely use work when I’m swinging Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer or trying to time his ultimate Earthshatter better to take out more of my opponents. But at least if anyone on a team needs defending, I’ve got it covered as Reinhardt.

Who are your top Overwatch characters to play as?