How to play Hazard in Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2’s newest tank has finally arrived. Hazard is the 13th frontline hero to join the roster, and he’s an incredibly fun one with a kit that fans of dive compositions will enjoy.

Hazard’s biggest strength is also his downfall, at times: He needs to get up close to be effective. But when he does (and it’s rather simple to do), he becomes a force to be reckoned with for a large chunk of the roster that will be sent back to the spawn room.

Here’s how to play Hazard in OW2.

Overwatch 2 Hazard hero guide

Hazard is an aggressive tank that Blizzard describes as “a momentum-based blend between dive and brawl playstyles that will leave opponents running for cover.” He would be described as an off-tank, or offensive tank, in previous Overwatch metas.

Hazard abilities in OW2

Hazard’s primary attack, Bonespur, is a powerful force at close range with a massive drop-off in reliability at mid-range and further thanks to the fact that it’s a shotgun-like projectile with a ton of spread. You can still use it at range to do minor chip damage and charge your ultimate, but you really need to get up close and personal to make that happen.

That’s why Violent Leap is Hazard’s key ability. Using this, he jumps into the air a short distance (much shorter than Winston’s, for example), and can use a blade protruding out of his left arm to slash at enemies with knockback when triggering the button again.

Use Violent Leap to get in close to the enemy team, prioritizing supports for quick kills. When you slash and land, follow up with Bonespur attacks at close range, and then get ready to use Spike Guard. This button must be held down, and doing so will mitigate incoming damage while also auto-attack with spikes and hit any enemy within close range.

Spike Guard’s damage is nothing too powerful, but it has the ability to chip away at a squishy Damage or Support hero who are by themselves, especially if they’ve been hit by Violent Leap’s slash and a shot or two from Bonespur.

Arguably Hazard’s most useful ability, though, is Jagged Wall. This is a projectile that creates a big, spiky rock wherever it lands, dealing damage to any enemy it comes into contact with it. But it’s basically a Mei Ice Wall at the same time, meaning you can use it to wall off opponents from their team to isolate them for easy kills.

Jagged Wall can also be used by Hazard to create a platform for him to climb to high ground he otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach. With his Vault passive, he’s able to climb up short barriers and Jagged Walls while holding down forward and the jump button, catching heroes off-guard who think they may be safe up high.

Lastly, Hazard’s Downpour Ultimate will cast a purple area-of-effect in front of him, and after a short delay (not too short, though, because players can easily escape from it with a movement ability), it will immobilize enemies in place with purple spikes.

Downpour works best when chasing down enemies trying to escape, or in the middle of a team-fight as the tide-turning move that can win everything. Supports take priority again, but immobilizing an entire team for you and yours to follow up with massive damage is the key idea.

Best heroes to combo with Hazard in OW2

Hazard works best, like most aggressive tanks, with a healer who can stay with him and keep his health topped up. Mercy and Lucio are great for this, but so is Ana, as she can heal him from a distance with ease. Juno is also excellent thanks to her speed boost and ranged healing.

As an aggressive tank, aggro DPS heroes are also great to team with Hazard. Tracer, Genji, Reaper, and Pharah pair well with him, along with snipers like Widowmaker and Hanzo for damage from a safe distance.

Best heroes to counter Hazard in OW2

Hazard is completely outclassed by any ranged hero thanks to how strong he is up close and how bad his Bonespur is from afar. As for tanks, Reinhardt and Zarya seem to handle him pretty well, while Ana and Zenyatta create big problems for him thanks to their debuff abilities.