We often use Terms like Off Tank or Flex Support and sometimes it can be difficult to know exactly what heroes fit into what role or even what that role is. Here is my attempt at listing out every hero in their relevant sub roles alongside a very brief description of what the role means.
I should mention this is obviously all my opinion, some of these roles can be very similar in nature or indeed very broad, many heroes do fit multiple roles and this is made with the 2-2-2 PC game in mind. Also feel very free to disagree.
Key:
P - Hero fits well into multiple roles but this is generally their primary or best role
S - Hero fits well into multiple roles but this generally a secondary or weaker fit
H - Tends to fit this role better higher up the ladder than lower down
L - Tends to fit this role better lower down the ladder than higher up
i - Footnoted
anyway onto the roles…
Tanks
Main Tank: Anchor hero the team plays around, primary creator of space mostly through dmg absorption, forward pressure and/or disruption.
- Hammond P
- Orisa
- Reinhardt
- Winston
Flex Tank: Sacrifices some team wide tanking ability for a more varied kit. Often built to do both traditional tanking tasks (dmg absorption, disruption, peeling, etc.) and doing dmg.
- Dva P
- Hammond S L
- Sigma
- Zarya S
Off Tank: Tank that overlaps in role with DPS and has high dmg and kill potential as well as more limited tanking capabilities.
- Dva S
- Roadhog
- Zarya P
Supports
Main Support/Main Heals: Primary duty is to heal and/or provide utility across the entire team. Often the largest overall source of healing.
- Ana L
- Baptiste
- Brigitte
- Lucio H
- Mercy L
- Moira
Flex support/Off Heals: Tends to have more focused utility and/or dmg value than healing or is used as more of a pocket healer than working team-wide.
- Ana H
- Brigitte
- Lucio L
- Mercy
- Zenyatta
DPS
Brawler/Impact DPS: Tends to have very high upfront dmg but often lacks mobility or range or reliability with it. Best used as a frontline direct dmg threat or to rapidly break enemy defenses
- Bastion
- Junkrat
- Hanzo S
- Reaper
- Symmetra
- Torbjorn P
Sniper: Operates at longer ranges than any other hero (without relying on mobility) with the potential to one-shot opposition from any distance.
- Ashe H i
- Hanzo P
- Widowmaker
Ranged DPS: Like Snipers they operate well at extended ranges but tend to sacrifice some of that additional range for better options and reliability up close.
- Ash
- McCree
- Mei S H
- Soldier 76 ii
- Torbjorn S
Flanker/Mobility DPS: Uses movement to get around and flank the enemy, jump around a fight, lurk or ambush, rapidly acquire a advantageous position or otherwise out maneuver the enemy.
- Doomfist
- Echo
- Genji
- Pharah
- Reaper L
- Sombra S L
- Symmetra iii
- Tracer
Utility DPS: Tend not to have the highest or most reliable dmg but make up for it in valuable utility that often allows unique options for the team or strong shutdown potential.
- Echo iv
- Mei P
- Sombra P
- Symmetra
i- Ashe’s role as a Sniper requires Mercy’s Dmg Boost, she cannot really operate as one without it so true Sniper Ashe is rare.
ii- 76 could fit in many other DPS roles due to a very versatile kit. However he is poor in most of those roles and Ranged DPS is his best fit so he is exclusively listed there.
iii- Sym is a terrible candidate for mobility DPS ,however her biggest utility is to move her team around quickly which is in a way mobility. As a result I listed her as a mobility DPS but honestly she isn’t.
iv- Echo’s ult provides great utility through directly stealing it, swapping roles, doubling on ults etc. Her standard kit however is not that of a utility DPS.
Edits, basically changed some of the Primary, Secondary, High, Low listings and some grammar