Overwatch 2 has brought a variety of new content to the hero shooter, like new heroes, modes, and maps. In addition to all the new content, every hero from the original Overwatch has made the jump over, although some heroes have been altered to match the new 5v5 gameplay. Symmetra is a hero that thrives on defense, but she can be powerful against tanks with mitigation abilities.

You can see how all heroes, including this one, stack up in our Overwatch 2 tank tier list, DPS tier list, and support tier list. Where did your favorite land?

Symmetra overview

Symmetra is a close-range defensive damage hero. Armed with a beam weapon that increases its damage output over time. It has an alt-fire that shoots a 3D object that travels in a straight line. Symmetra can also place up to three small Sentry Turrets, which lock onto enemies, slowing them and dealing damage overtime. She also has a teleporter that disappears after a short period of time, which Symmetra and her teammates can use to travel between the two points. Her ultimate ability is a massive energy barrier that extends across the entire map, blocking enemies’ projectiles and attacks.

Symmetra abilities

Photon Projector: Short-range beam weapon with increasing damage.

Sentry Turret: Deploy a small turret that damages and slows enemies.

Teleporter: Create two temporary teleporters that enable instant travel between them.

Photon Barrier ultimate: Deploy a massive energy barrier.

Run them down

While Symmetra’s Photon Projector has an alt-fire that can cover distances, her bread and butter is its main fire, the beam. The beam deals a decent amount of damage, increasing over time to become deadly. While it has a short-range, the beam is effective because similar to Zarya’s weapon, it ignores many tanks mitigation. While it doesn’t go through shields, it ignores D.VA Defense Matrix, Sigma absorb, and Genji Deflect, making it a valuable weapon against these heroes. Unfortunately for the relatively squishy Symmetra, this does require getting close to enemies.

Getting a feel for the Sentry Turrets

Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets have over the years been constantly shifted via balance updates. In their current state, these can deal solid damage, but are typically more of a distraction for the enemy team and less of a threat. Since they aren’t as effective for damage, you need to be creative with your placements. Symmetra can throw these into place (and throw them through the teleporter as well) so you have a ton of flexibility when it comes to placement. One of the best places to put these is overhead a choke point that the enemy might come through, stacked together. Many Overwatch players seem to struggle with looking up–there’s a reason Pharah is as effective as she is–and putting the turret together increases your chances of getting a kill with them.

The big barrier is effective, if well placed

Symmetra’s Photon Barrier is primarily a defensive ultimate ability, probably a remnant of her time as a support hero. Symmetra can place a massive barrier wall that expands the entire map. The enemy team can walk through the barrier, but they can shoot through it. Your team can shoot through it, making it effective for holding a position. When it comes to picking the spot to place it, you will want to put it as close to your team as possible and as far from the enemy as possible, while still being close enough to shoot them. This can be a bit funky to figure out, but you want your team to be able to shoot the enemy team, without them being able to crossover. Another effective way to use it is to split a neutral objective, like Control Point, and have your team bob back and forth between the two sides of the wall. Since your team can always shoot through it, you can dip back and forth while taking down the enemy.

Other Symmetra tips

• Symmetra can teleport her enemies, sometimes while they are using their ultimates. This can be combined to get your ulting teammate in the middle of the enemy team.
• Symmetra’s turrets can’t take very much damage, but the cooldown is short, so throw those things out as often as possible.
• Symmetra’s turrets slow enemies and alert you when they are attacking, so they can be used to alert your team to a possible flank.
• The turrets can be attached to the objectives, like the Payload.