Overwatch Stadium: Best Tank builds for the new mode in 2025

The Tank Overwatch role is receiving a lot of appreciation from the community in the Stadium mode, thanks to the many ways players can transform their favourite heroes between rounds to adapt them to their team’s needs or in response to the enemy’s strategies. Overwatch 2 is also receiving a rare period of positive feedback from the community, thanks to the many changes the developers implemented to bring fun back to the game.

So far, the best Tank characters are Reinhardt, Junker Queen and Orisa. If you’re taking your first steps into the Stadium Mode, Orisa is the character with the easiest build process and gameplay loop. Reinhardt can be as easy with his barrier-focused setup as a damage dealer that only a master can manage. With many moving parts, Junker Queen is a hero for the more knowledgeable players who can manage cooldowns, flanks and the many different situations that a mode like Stadium offers.

While there are no publicly available stats to prove which heroes are the best, this top list is based on extensive community testing as of May 2025, along with the author’s own experience and judgment. With over 2,000 hours in Overwatch and coverage of the game since its launch, the author’s picks draw from deep familiarity with its mechanics and meta and are thoroughly informed and tested. These are the best tank characters for Overwatch Stadium right now. 

Why Orisa: We picked Orisa for beginners as she can sustain much damage and provide a solid pivot for the rest of the team to orbit around.

Orisa is a great character for beginners of the Tank role in Stadium. Her abilities revolve around damage reduction and crowd control, the basics of the Tank mission in an Overwatch game. For Powers, we recommend starting with Hooves of Steel to gain shields equal to half the damage taken. This requires a very defensive use of Fortify, so commit to the ability when the opposite team is going for big damage. Ride With Me gives your teammates sustain and overhealth to support your team, while Factory Reset reduces the other cooldowns during Fortify. For round seven, we chose Shield Divergence to insert a barrier into the mix that the other team is not ready for.

The first item to be prioritised from round two onwards is Charged Chassis to get more overhealth while in Fortify. As does solar regenerative energy, Biolight Overflow plays an essential role in this. Then get Bloodbound for more health and Lumèrico for more armour. The key to success here is to not overextend looking for kills, prioritise staying alive and in the objective while creating opportunities for your DPS to finish off low health enemies..

Why Reinhardt: Reinhardt is one of the most malleable characters in Stadium, so he’s perfect for climbing the ranks and switching from defensive to offensive-focused builds.

Reinhardt in Overwatch Stadium can become an immovable Bulwark with a thick barrier or a deadly brawler with an unstoppable hammer. There’s even a build to make him fly during his Charge, but it’s more for fun than for ranking up. We recommend starting with his defensive build to get to know his unique positioning style at the front and switching to a more offensive build. Start with Wilhelmwagen to heal while behind the barrier, then get To Me, My Friends! to heal your allies behind the barricade and top it off with Amplification Barrier to transform your shield into an Amplification Matrix. 

Overclocked Barrier will make you stronger, Crusader Hydraulics will make you more resistant, and Meka Z-Series will boost all your defences. Infusion Generator is the first Epic Item to prioritise, followed by Phoenix Protocol to get your barrier back a lot faster. Bloodbound is optional, but can be helpful to prevent flanks. In time, you can substitute barrier-oriented Powers with Firestrike or hammer-focused ones, applying the protection logic learned so far and adding offence and area denial.

Why Junker Queen: With many cooldowns and resets to keep track of, Junker Queen is not for those looking for simplicity, but if you know how to make her work, no Tank oppresses the enemy like her.

If you like close-quarters combat and living on the edge, then Junker Queen is the Character for you in Overwatch Stadium. Her survivability depends on the damage she can deal through her abilities, so her build goes all in to boost her DPS output and her survivability on the front line. A good starting power for JQ is always chop chop. Always have carnage available and start getting life steal from your enemies. Let’s Go Win will reward you with another charge of Commanding Shout on kill while Reckoner’s Roar transforms Shout into an area damage ability. For round seven, we suggest Bloodcrazed recoup some life using Carnage and Rampage.

In the items department, we’re going all in on Ability Power to maximise damage and healing. Start with Energised bracers or Nano-Cola for raw power, then get the Bigger Magnet to pull your enemies closer. After that, Booming Voice will grant more power and the ability to get the Shout’s benefits through walls. Mark of the Kitsune will enhance damage and healing, while Champions Kit will take your Ability Power to the next level. Manage your cooldowns, hit your Throwing Knives, and you’ll be unstoppable.

There are many ways of being the frontline in Stadium Overwatch mode, and each of the three tanks we’ve outlined in this guide has a unique style that allows for sustainment, DPS, and survivability. We picked Orisa for beginners and focused on a single aspect of her kit to enable consistency and be a solid pivot around which to revolve. Conversely, Reinhardt is the perfect blank canvas for intermediate players to evolve their mastery over time. Junker Queen rounds up this list with an intensive but rewarding playstyle that yields many results in the hands of a veteran.