Orisa is a hero that is unique due to the fact that she can very easily be a stalwart for her team. With her Protective Barrier, she can place a shield on objectives to protect her team from enemy fire. This ability combos well with heroes that are traditionally more susceptible to damage like Bastion or Cassidy. Orisa can also use her Halt! ability to reposition opponents in order to initiate a favorable fight. She can also use this ability to snag mobile opponents like Sombra or Tracer out from around corners, forcing them into the open for her or her team to easily handle. However, just because she is a tank does not mean she can’t do damage. With her Fusion Driver, she can easily mow down opponents when they try and charge her. This deters them from initiating a fight on their terms, allowing Orisa and her team to have the upper hand. While Orisa may have a lot going for her, she is certainly not unbeatable. In order for players to better understand how to pick into this matchup, here are 3 Overwatch heroes that counter Orisa.
Orisa counter #3: Genji
Genji is a rather low-health hero compared to someone like Orisa, meaning that he can usually be taken out if he isn’t on top of his game. Because of that, Genji players need to always be vigilant and wait for the right opportunity to strike. That being said, the reason Genji is so strong in this matchup is because he excels at 1v1 combat, whereas Orisa wants to keep her distance and poke down opponents from afar. If her team is preoccupied, Genji can easily get past her Fusion Driver with his Deflect, allowing him to close the gap and look for a quick kill. He can also save up experience and use his Dragonblade ability to guarantee the kill on Orisa. Once Orisa is gone, Genji can easily continue his forward momentum and take out the rest of the enemy team.
One of the issues Genji may have against Orisa is that she is usually the frontline of her team. This means that she is not only the first line of defense but also that she will almost always be with her team. This poses a big issue for Genji. Because of that, he will need his team to initiate a fight that would take Orisa away from her team. Once she is away from her team she will have a much harder time dealing with Genji, giving him the perfect opportunity to pick up a kill and rejoin his team to push for an objective.
Orisa counter #2: Reaper
When players look for a hero that can easily shred through a tank, Reaper is usually at the top of the list. With his Hellfire Shotguns, he can easily get through Orisa’s defenses. Even if she uses her Fortify ability, Reaper should still have a good chance of picking up a kill. He can also easily make use of his Shadow Step to get around Orisa’s Protective Barrier. This means that he can initiate a fight that his team can easily win. If he chooses to be sneaky about it, he can warp behind his enemies and follow up with his Death Blossom. With no shield to protect them from the unsuspected attack, Reaper can easily get through Orisa and her team.
When playing Reaper in this matchup, he will have to be careful of Orisa’s Supercharger. While he can do a lot of damage at once, he can’t beat a full team with their defenses up. If he tries to either Shadow Step behind them or Wraith Form right in front of them while Supercharger is active, it could spell doom for Reaper and his team. Because of that, it is best to either wait out the ability or bait her into using it unfavorably so that he and his team can swoop in to secure the objective.
Orisa counter #1: Bastion
Bastion and Orisa are similar in one major way, they both want to keep their distance from opponents and stay protected behind a barrier. Because of that, it may seem like they would simply negate each other and look for other opponents. However, Bastion has a distinct advantage in this matchup. This is the fact that he can use his Configuration: Sentry to easily break down Orisa’s Shield. By sitting behind his team, he can support them from a distance. As long as he is far enough away from Orisa and has one teammate to support him, he will have no trouble dealing with a hero like her.
One pitfall Bastion players may have in this matchup is being left alone. Orisa can easily be bait so that his team can focus on her first. With her tanky nature, shield, and buffs, she can stay alive for quite a while as long as she has some support. However, if everyone is focusing on her, a hero like Sombra or Tracer can easily sneak up from behind and kill Bastion. Once he is gone, so is his team’s pressure and they can easily crumble. Because of that, it is best to not be too far from his team and have some protection.
