'Overwatch' Uprising Strategy Guide: Team composition tips to master the PvE gameplay mode

If you're an Overwatch fan who still hasn't tried the Uprising mode in the newest event — you're sorely missing out. In many ways, it's similar to Mass Effect: Andromeda's wave-based cooperative multiplayer, but with that characteristic, colorful Overwatch twist.

If you're venturing into the "all heroes" variation, you might be looking for a strategy guide on which characters you should pick. After all, a four-person composition is totally different from the standard six-person one — and dealing with waves of computer-controlled enemies is nothing like taking on a team of six actual players.

Good news: We've got you covered. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you figure out the ideal team composition for Overwatch Uprising. 

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: General team composition advice

In general, you'll want to keep to the standard Overwatch composition that balances tanks, healing and damage. However, it seems that characters with rapid-fire weapons who can be relatively self-sufficient in a pinch do best — heroes like Soldier: 76, Orisa and Bastion.

Unlike regular Overwatch modes, in Uprising mode you'll be fighting against huge volumes of relatively weak characters, so heroes that excel at taking out single targets aren't as useful as they normally would be. Sorry, that means you, Hanzo and Widowmaker.

In terms of healers, I've personally found that Mercy works incredibly well in the Uprising mode. Her damage boost beam is perfect for when an enemy Bastion pops up and needs to be dealt with immediately; her resurrection ability is perfect for getting downed allies back on their feet quickly; and her regenerating health makes her pretty survivable. That said, as someone who plays Mercy a ton, I'm a bit biased. 

Here are some specific team compositions that I've found work pretty well — along with some strategies to maximize their effectiveness.

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: Orisa, Bastion, Mercy and Reinhardt

If you want to just steamroll through the normal and hard difficulties, this team comp is the way to go. You'll essentially just use Orisa's and Reinhardt's barriers to protect a damage-boosted Bastion while he mows down oncoming stampedes of Omnics — and it is glorious. 

And, if a Bastion or explodey balloon bot gets too close, Reinhardt can simply charge at them to get them away.

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: Orisa, Bastion, Mercy and Soldier: 76

This is almost identical to the last team composition, but swapping Reinhardt for Soldier: 76 tips it to the offensive side of the scale. You'll have a much easier time melting enemies from afar, but everyone will be a hair more vulnerable now that Reinhardt isn't there with his shield.

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: D.Va, Sombra, Bastion and Lúcio

In the Uprising mode, Sombra is a total powerhouse. Her hack ability completely disables enemies, which makes the tankier Omnics way easier to deal with. Using her EMP ultimate can render an entire group of enemies defenseless, freeing the rest of the team to melt through them in an instant. However, Sombra doesn't do quite as much damage as someone like Soldier: 76 or Tracer, so she'll need the others to help follow through on her hacks.

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: Reinhardt, Junkrat, Torbjörn and Ana

The funny thing about the Uprising mode is that several characters who people like to mock — like Junkrat, Torbjörn and Bastion — really excel.

Junkrat's bombs and mine ability are great for clearing out hordes of weaklings, but direct hits with his grenades can melt through tankier enemies pretty quickly too. Reinhardt's role here will be to protect the payload from oncoming attackers that Torbjörn will be fending off, dropping his shield only to smash through enemies that get a little too close.

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: Orisa, Symmetra, Bastion and Mercy

This is kind of a weird one, but if you want to spice things up a bit, give it a go. In Uprising, Symmetra  can take the role of the behind-enemy-lines flanker who melts and harasses attackers before they even have a chance to make it to the payload. Her insta-locking beam makes tearing through weak enemies a breeze, and her energy balls can make a respectable dent in several tankier enemies at once.

Enemies will also focus on destroying her turrets before coming after heroes, so they're a helpful distraction that leave you an opening to destroy them before they damage you.

Since Orisa and Bastion can probably hold their own most of the time, Mercy can get a little gutsier and alternate damage boosting and healing on Symmetra as needed.

Overwatch Uprising strategy guide: Winston, Soldier: 76, Ana and Orisa

Since Winston automatically targets several enemies at once, he can melt through groups of Omnics really quickly, and his dome-shaped barrier can protect the payload from every angle. However, since he's not great at range, he'll need Soldier: 76 and Orisa to help shred tougher enemies from afar.

More Overwatch news and updates

For more on Overwatch, check out the rest of what Mic has to offer. Here is a full explanation of the different types of health in Overwatch, the latest rumor of a Terry Crews-voiced Overwatch character, an update on that Mei ice wall exploit, a hilarious video of a play of the game involving the jump pad on Oasis, a roundup of the best Overwatch plays of the week, our definitive ranking of every Overwatch hero and a giant Overwatch FAQ for beginners.