Overwatch 2 Orisa guide – Tips, Strategies, Counters, and more

Orisa received one of the most impactful reworks of any character in Overwatch 2. With the shift in development philosophy from the first game and the change to 5v5, the Numbani-made Omnic needed a lot of changes so players would not constantly try to bunker behind her shield anymore. Here are some tips, strategies, and other information you should keep in mind for playing Orisa in Overwatch 2.

Related: Orisa rework in Overwatch 2 explained – abilities, ultimate, how to play

All Orisa’s abilities

Here are all of Orisa’s reworked abilities in Overwatch 2.

• Passive
  • Like all Tanks, Orisa can not be moved around easily by knockback abilities, and enemies generate less Ultimate charge from hitting her.

• Energy Javelin (Alternate fire)
  • Throws a spear that knockbacks and stuns whoever it hits, this also does more damage when you hit them into a wall.

• Javelin Spin (Ability 1)
  • Spins a spear in front of her that destroys projectiles while giving her a speed boost moving forward and knocking enemies back that she hits.

• Fortify (Ability 2)
  • Gives temporary health, increases damage resistance, slows, and makes it impossible to be affected by crowd control abilities.

• Terra Surge (Ultimate)
  • Spins a javelin around, pulling in enemies as she charges up an area of effect blast.

Orisa’s primary fire shoots out large projectiles that shrink as they travel. She also has a heat gauge that decides how long you can fire. If it overheats, it takes a couple of seconds to cool down.

How to play as Orisa

When you choose Orisa as your team’s Tank, you can think of her as a brawler who wants to initiate the fight and take the heat off her teammates. She no longer has a barrier she can deploy and bunker behind, so Javelin Spin is your only “shield” now. That being said, you want to use that to initiate fights and disrupt the opposing Tank, not necessarily hide and defend yourself behind it. Especially if the enemy team has Reinhardt, you can pick them up and move them out of position, leaving their team exposed. If there’s a pit, you can also dump enemies into these areas if you’re close enough. If you see a squishy enemy on their own, you can also use this ability to get close and corner them.

After you use Javelin Spin to initiate a fight, keep Fortify in your back pocket to help you survive longer into the fight. You do not have the mobility to escape fights, so you need to be the last one standing.

During these times, your Support should be providing healing and other boosts to you, and your Damage should be picking off enemies on the side or helping you finish off your target.

Use Energy Javelin if you need a stun. Remember that you have a pretty long-range stun on a cooldown here. If you see an enemy like Roadhog, Bastion, Cassidy, and Pharah using their Ultimate, you can knock them right out of it with a quick, accurate spear throw.

Good teammates to play with Orisa

Orisa in Overwatch 2 wants to get into as many battles and survive as long as possible, so you need reliable healing to get you out of a scrape when your Fortify is on cooldown. Lucio’s Speed Boost will come in handy, and Zenyatta’s Orb of Healing can give you the edge you need. An Ana or Baptise with good aim can also be keys to your success. We don’t recommend Mercy or Moira because Orisa will just lead them into danger. In the Damage role, any flanking heroes like Tracer, Genji, and Sombra will have less focus on them so they can do more.

All counters and who to counter with Orisa

Counters against Orisa include Reaper, Tracer, Genji, Sombra Bastion, Lucio, Widowmaker, and Pharah. These heroes can either outmaneuver her or overpower her from a distance. With no barrier shield to hide behind anymore, Orisa needs to get up in the face of her enemies. If they can keep their distance, you are at a disadvantage.

Good enemies to counter Orisa with include Reinhardt, Zarya, Doomfist, Cassidy, Mei, Soldier: 76, Symmetra, and Zenyatta. These heroes are either slow-moving enough for Orisa to rush in on, or she can take advantage of Fortify to outlast them in a fight.