Overwatch 2 is out, bringing with it the extensive collection of character skins from the original game. Anyone who played Overwatch should still have their old outfits, but newer players could easily get overwhelmed by the wealth of choices. Complicating things further, they all have different prices, and some are only available in time-limited store bundles. If you have a favorite hero you’d like to dress up, here’s a quick guide to the best skin for every hero in Overwatch 2.
Important Note: Normally, an article like this would be subjective, and based entirely on personal taste. That’s not true in this case, because my opinions are always 100% correct.
Overwatch 2 Best Tank Skins
D.Va (Shin-Ryeong): She has a lot of creativity in her skin options, since she gets different outfits for herself as well as her mech. Most of them are variations on different paint jobs, or different varieties of mech. None of them, however, are quite as impressive as this Halloween skin: a walking temple and the fox spirit that inhabits it.
Doomfist (Formal): He’s got a few creative skins, but none of them are as striking as his formal wear. It fits: the man talks like Senator Armstrong. This skin isn’t actually available right now, so maybe the simpler Kiniun look would do instead. It’ll be cheaper.
Junker Queen (Beast Hunter): The new heroes only have a couple skins. This is the best of the lot for Junker Queen, playing into her brutal nature while staying different from her original look. This is only an Epic quality skin; her Legendary skins are actually less interesting than this one. Plus, this skin is earnable in the Battle Pass. Buyer beware.
Orisa (Forest Spirit): Orisa’s baseline centaur-robot design is already pretty cool, so a good skin is just a bonus. She has several great candidates, but none of them can beat Forest Spirit in both style and thematic cohesion. Sure, Demon is cool, but Orisa is supposed to be a nice girl. The Sanye skin is also worth mentioning as a decent pick – it’s store-only like this one, but it’ll be cheaper while remaining creative.
Reinhardt (Lionhardt): When you play Reinhardt, you want to be the big hero, and no skin is bigger or more heroic than Lionhardt. It’s got everything: huge lion, gold plating, purple for a dash of royalty. The helmetless look, while impractical for battle, shows off his noble facial hair/scar combo, completing the look.
Note: This is one of the few “best skins” I actually own, which is unfortunate, because I hate playing as Reinhardt. The skin came out of an Overwatch loot box instead of something for a character I actually use. This is your reminder that while the Battle Pass is pretty crappy, the previous system with loot boxes was only slightly less crappy.
Roadhog (Butcher): I usually don’t go for skins that get too far away from a character’s basic style, but my love for Diablo prevents me from choosing anything else. He even gets a little red Diablo potion to drink with this skin! It’s close enough to Roadhog on its own, I think. The guy’s barely human to begin with.
Sigma (Talon): When Sigma was revealed, the designers said they didn’t give him shoes since it added to his “escaped asylum patient” look. That’s messed up. Let the man wear some damn shoes. Indeed, this is his only skin that includes shoes (Scuba has flippers). “Talon” refers to the evil organization he was once a part of, but if being evil means you’re allowed to wear shoes, I say go for it.
Winston (Explorer): Winston is a strange character to make skins for. He’s already pretty wacky, so he can’t get much wackier. I like the Explorer look as a subversion of a wildlife safari, with a nice mustache. The Tactical skin, a military monkey, is also worth mentioning, since it’s a free reward in the current battle pass.
Wrecking Ball (High Roller): With Wrecking Ball, a lot of the ball designs are too basic to be worth mentioning. That, or they’re too much: Jack-O’-Lantern is cool, but it turns the hamster Hammond into a weird sack. I settled on High Roller as good value for the price, an epic skin with a unique feature: the hamster gets to wear sunglasses.
Zarya (Totally 80’s): It’s tough to find a good Zarya skin. Her weightlifting and goth outfits are too simple to be legendary. Her Barbarian look is great, but doesn’t mesh with her playstyle of “big laser beam”. The 80’s look is the best blend of style and lasers, but if it’s too garish for you to stand, I’d recommend a calmer skin like Midnight.
Overwatch 2 Best DPS Skins
Ashe (Gangster): All of Ashe’s Overwatch 2 skins are great. She’s like the reverse of Zarya. I settled on Gangster as being the closest to her actual character, with just a hint of Carmen Sandiego.
Bastion (Steambot): As a transforming robot, Bastion has a lot of cool options for skins. They even change the look of his bird friend! I went with Steambot, which dramatically changes his appearance into something straight out of Bioshock, with a dove companion to boot. Others worth mentioning: Rooster is a less pricey skin with ornate patterns on his plating and a big cock, and Overgrown is a rustic skin based on his character movie that only costs 200 Legacy Coins at the moment. That seems awfully low, so buy now if you want it in case it’s a mistake.
Cassidy (Mystery Man): “The man with no name”, so to speak. Cassidy is similar to Ashe in that you can’t go wrong with his design: whichever version of “cyber cowboy” you choose, it’s all good. Mystery Man is the darkest of dark outlaw suits in Cassidy’s closet, but its counterpart Vigilante is also of note: the same, but eye-searingly yellow.
Echo (Moth): I was strongly considering Camo or Stealth because those hide Echo’s weird fake-human face, but the appeal of Weird Robot Bug is too powerful. It’s got some Midsummer Night’s Dream energy to it.
Genji (Baihu): Blizzard would probably like if I said their new Mythic rarity Cyber Demon skin was the best, but it isn’t. It’s a weird mishmash of colors. Its robot face can apparently open into a skeleton skull, which is interesting but still kind of random. No, for me it’s Baihu: the endgame armor set compared to default Genji’s starter gear. Blizzard is probably okay with this pick as well, since they’ll be charging a premium for it whenever they put it in the store.
Hanzo (Lone Wolf): Hanzo has a lot of modern-style skins befitting his background as the son of a wealthy crime family, but those don’t suit a smelly guy like him. For him, it’s gotta be Lone Wolf for that Warcraft Hunter lifestyle. He even gets a unique Ultimate with wolves instead of dragons, complete with voiceline!
Junkrat (Bilgerat): Junkrat has skins to suit all tastes, from the classic jester, to the spooky scarecrow, to some weird Oompa-Loompa thing with an exploding doughnut. It’s all good, but I went with the pirate style: lots of great detail, and it’s pretty close to his actual character anyway.
Mei (Chang’e): Mei is an odd character for Overwatch. She’s not a soldier or violent criminal, just a climatologist working to protect the environment. But since she’s an FPS character, her main activity is to shoot piercing ice bolts through people’s eye sockets. That means her skins tend to be light-hearted costumes (firefighter, beekeeper, ice cream vendor) that don’t mesh with the murder. Instead, here’s Chang’e: goddess of the moon. It’s the prettiest, and you can call her headshot kills divine wrath. (Snow Plum is a good, cheap alternative.)
Pharah (Asp): Pharah’s rocket-propelled flight suit is a good look on its own, and most of her skins lean in to the concept in different ways. Many of them take a more tech-heavy approach like Mechaqueen, or a lower-tech version like the classic astronaut Orbital. My preference is Asp: a royal Egyptian armor straight out of an episode of Ancient Aliens. It’s a stunning look, although an eye-catching suit may not be ideal for avoiding sniper fire.
Reaper (Mariachi): Reaper is one of the edgiest characters ever designed, so it’s good to pick a goofy skin for him. Blackwatch Reyes, which is cheap at the moment, is especially good. It turns the phantom soul-stealing executioner into “some dude”. That one’s not the best, though, since Reaper’s edginess does lend itself to some cool skins. The best balance between edge and clown is Mariachi. It’s still cool, while also including a whole-ass guitar on his back.
Sojourn (Captain Chase): As a new character, Sojourn doesn’t have as many skins as the others. The best look for her at the moment is Captain Chase in a cool blue. It’s not especially Legendary, though. Better to wait for Blizzard to give her better skins before buying this one.
Soldier: 76 (Grillmaster: 76): One of the main heroes from the game’s introduction, Soldier: 76 has tons of skins already. Most of these focus on his cyber warrior aspect, or his military career and Call of Duty-inspired playstyle. Then there’s Grillmaster: 76, which is neither. It’s almost too much: The tongs. The can of “diet heals”. Socks with sandals. “Raise the steaks”. An honest skin for an honest character.
Sombra (Cyberspace): Sombra’s skins tend to be variations on the tech-whiz look. Cyberspace is the pinnacle of that style, with all the glowy bits you could ask for. Face Changer is worth mention, too, with a mask that changes every time you look away, but it’s better not to hide the character’s expression after all the effort Blizzard put into modeling them.
Symmetra (Oasis): Did I say something about not hiding the expression? Well, forget that. Oasis is Symmetra’s best skin, easily. Her skins are all either too basic (Architech, which looks like Star Trek bridge crew) or too much (Devi, blue skin with a wreath of human skulls). Oasis is like an elite version of her normal gear, like Genji’s Baihu. It’s not available right now, though, so a nicely colored Epic skin should do as well.
Torbjorn (Magni): A lot of Torbjorn’s skins are low-tech themed. Pirate, viking, lumberjack. They look nice, but it’s weird when his playstyle is to build an automated sentry turret. This skin, based on the Warcraft king of the dwarves, is a reasonable compromise. Besides, if you’re paying $20 for a skin, you ought to get a golden crown.
Tracer (Punk): Despite being the game’s cover girl, Tracer’s skins are a little unsatisfying. Most of them are minor variations on “jumpsuit”. Punk is a good look that differs enough from the jumpsuit to be worth the Legendary tag, even if it does ape Zarya’s style a little. If pink-punk is too much, there’s Ultraviolet. The Epic skin Lightning is pretty good, too, but that’ll be a $5 shop skin.
Widowmaker (Noire): Widowmaker’s best skin is Noire. Nothing else comes close. All the others are too wacky and ornate for a cool sniper. The only way to get Noire is by pre-ordering the original game, which is no longer possible. Sorry.
That’s not useful information, is it? I guess Huntress and Black Lily are pretty good too.
Overwatch 2 Best Healer Skins
Ana (Night Owl): Most of Ana’s skins are pretty good, capturing that cool sniper look that Widowmaker so often lacks. Many of them feature Young Ana, which are stylish, but do a disservice to Battle Grandma Ana (and don’t mesh with her voice). Night Owl is cool and plays into her sleep dart ability, but Shrike is also notable for being a cheaper outfit that comes with a full mask anyway.
Baptiste (Funky): Most of Baptiste’s skins play up his cyber-warrior nature, similar to Soldier: 76, but it just doesn’t feel right for a dedicated healer. This Overwatch 2 Funky style is more like it – he even has a whole lava lamp strapped to him. Throw out his Immortality Field and call it a disco. If you do want to go cyber, consider Camouflage or Wasteland instead. They’re both pretty detailed for Epic skins.
Brigitte (Sol): If you’re playing Brigitte, you want to be Joan of Arc, and that means Sol. As Reinhardt’s squire, the same outfit principle applies to her. Shieldmaiden is also valid.
Kiriko (Hinotori): Kiriko’s so new that this is the only Overwatch 2 skin of hers that’s worth calling Legendary. It’s a little weird to convert her into a robot girl, but it’s a decent look that took some effort. Sukajan, a casual look, is worth mentioning as well. It’s a poor Legendary, but you can get it for free by “watching” six hours of someone streaming the game on Twitch.
Lucio (Equalizer): Lucio has an odd collection of skins. Most of them are sports-themed. Hippityhop and Ribbit, which give him a deadmau5-style frog head, are popular for good reason, but I don’t like hiding his face. This new Equalizer is a decent upgrade to his default kit: you can see the sound levels fluctuating on his audio pants. Auditiva is also worth mentioning. It’s only Epic, but it comes with sunglasses.
Mercy (Winged Victory): The premier Overwatch healer, Mercy has lots of skin options based on how much you hate your own teammates. The purest angel-like skin is probably Winged Victory here, but many of Mercy’s skins are great. Mage is a nice magic healer look, and Imp is great if you like healing but wish it weren’t so Good-aligned.
Moira (Moon): Despite being an evil scientist, her abilities feel like Warlock spells. A magical skin goes well with her playstyle, and this Bowie-style moon magician is a good blend of sorcery and evil. (Banshee is also a good fit, but let’s not get too crazy, now.)
Zenyatta (Djinnyatta): Robots get all the best skins. Zen looks good as any of the mythological figures he has access to. Djinnyatta is my preference, since it’s mystical without completely covering his face, and also lets him have a robo-beard. That feather might make him easier to see behind walls, though. Consider your fashion priorities carefully.
There are a lot of characters in this game, aren’t there?
Final Thoughts
Even though there are a lot of cool skins in Overwatch 2, its free-to-play model makes it very hard to get any of them. Overwatch 2‘s best skins, including most of the skins listed above, can only be purchased with 1900 Overwatch Credits. These are earned at the rate of 60 per week, so players will be able to afford one after grinding for 32 weeks (about 8 months). Otherwise they’ll cost $20.
Hopefully, this deranged pricing scheme is part of a good cop/bad cop routine, in which Blizzard looks like the good guy after easing up on the ludicrous currency grind in a week or two (“We hear your feedback”). Otherwise, I would not recommend buying any of these skins I’ve hyped up, ever. If you really want a nice skin for your character, take a look at the Epic skins first: several of them are as good or better than Legendaries.
