Top 3 Illari Counters in Overwatch 2

Being such a new hero, at first finding the top 3 Illari counters in Overwatch 2 was difficult. And for some, it still might be.

She can be rather tricky to deal with, since killing her doesn’t stop her from healing with her Pylon. That, and the fact that she acts as another damage role makes her oppressive to play against. 

But Gamelevate is here to help with this list. Here, we will go over one hero from each role, damage, tank, and support.

Then, we’ll give our reason for putting them on this list as well as a little incentive to try them out in your next Illari matchup.

Soldier: 76

Soldier: 76 is a straight-up classic hero. Back from the game’s origin, Soldier was an oppressive force to deal with.

While he may not be as strong today as he was in the past, when it comes to certain match-ups, he is still a force to be reckoned with. Luckily for him, Illari is an enemy he thrives against. 

First is Soldier’s basic attack. It does an incredible amount of damage at any distance and is a great hitscan ability for when Illari is in the air for her ultimate or when using her Outburst.

Once Illari can no longer threaten his team with her damage, taking a point will be much easier.

Another huge plus is his Biotic Field. Illari can only one-shot kill every few seconds because of its charge. And she has to aim very carefully to even attempt a headshot. So as long as his Field is in place, his team should be safe. 

But perhaps Soldier’s most powerful ability against Illari is his Helix Rockets.

Not only can it kill a low-health enemy with ease, but it can also take out a Healing Pylon to stop it from healing Illari’s team. Soldier: 76 should be a huge consideration for any game against a hero like this one.

Orisa

Next we have Orisa, who, as far as tanks go, is one of the top 3 Illari counters in Overwatch 2. Now, many people may think this spot belongs to D.Va, since she can eat Captive Sun, but Orisa is far more versatile in this matchup. 

D.Va might be able to eat Illari’s ultimate, but she would have to be in the right place at the right time in order to get it.

It might not be hard, but it can be a coin toss since she would need to predict where Illari is aiming. Orisa, on the other hand, has some easier ways to stop a Captive Sun. 

With her Energy Javelin, Orisa can not only take Illari out of the air, but it completely stops her ultimate.

This means that Illari gets no chance to even use her air time to get any advantage. It may even have the chance to push her off the map or off of a key point. 

Another huge advantage is her Fortify. Tanks already take reduced knockback, but with Fortify, Orisa can gain some extra health when face-to-face with Illari.

And since it completely negates any knockback, there is no worry of being pushed away from a fight.

This gives Orisa the chance to keep pressing on Illari and take her out. 

Hopefully, this changed your mind and you’ll give Orisa a try in your next Illari game over D.Va.

Lifeweaver

Last, but certainly not least, is Lifeweaver. While he may seem like an odd pick for one of the top 3 Illari counters in Overwatch 2, trust us, he deserves to be here. In this matchup, his power lies in his versatility. 

Lifeweaver can easily outheal most of Illari’s damage with his Healing Blossom, allowing him to keep his team’s health high enough to burst into a fight at any time.

He also has his Thorn Volley, which gives him the chance to get in some damage where needed. But more importantly, it is great at taking out Illari’s Healing Pylon.

With no Pylon, and its fairly long cooldown, it will take some time for her to become reliable again for consistent healing. 

His Life Grip and Tree of Life serve similar purposes in this instance, which is protecting his allies from Illari’s Captive Sun.

Weaver can use his Grip to pull an ally away from the center of this ultimate. It would be best to pull a key teammate from its range, so they can regroup as fast as possible and retaliate.

But his Tree of Life is the far more useful ability for this. 

Captive Sun doesn’t deal a whole lot of damage upfront, it takes time and attacks for the Sunstruck ability to activate.

So if Lifeweaver puts his Tree down once Illari takes to the air, it gives allies a bit of bonus health to survive the attack.

Then, for those hit by the attack, by staying in range of the tree, it keeps healing allies for some time. Which is usually enough to keep them with a high life total to turn the tides once Illari is out of gas. 

The wrap up

Hopefully, this article on the top 3 Illari counters in Overwatch 2 was useful. There are certainly some other picks out there for those looking to get fancy.

But these 3 are some of the most reliable heroes to pick in this matchup.

If you still want to try and find some new secret tech on your own, use this list as a guideline to know what Illari is weak against and show up your enemies.