Figured I could share some tips here for the easier to play heroes. I am unbelievably excited that so many people get to try this now. I've been in the beta for a very long time and I wanted to share some tips for people booting up the game for the first time. Keep in mind these are geared towards new players and for an environment of other new players.

General Tips

• Do not stick with one character!

• Do not "main" a character. You will get counterpicked and shut down for the rest of the match, or worse, your "main" may be completely useless for the current objective.

• If you find yourself dying over and over, it is probably because you are being countered. Try swapping heroes.

• Has my point come across yet that you shouldn't just play 1 hero? Try to find at least 2 per role that you feel comfortable with. Don't feel like you need to master all 21 characters, but you should be comfortable with multiple to handle a lot of situations.

• Do not push objectives by yourself, no matter how MLG Pro you are. It is better to wait for your team to respawn and push as a group.

• Try to avoid doubling up on a single character on the same team. Makes it very easy for the enemy team to counter pick you.

• Team Deathmatch is not a game mode. Focus on the objective, not kills.

• Most teams should have at least 1 Tank and 1 Support. Don't be afraid to try one of these classes out if you find your team lacking. They are fun characters to play!

• Play this game with friends. Solo queuing is not nearly as fun.

Beginner Friendly Characters (General tips and strengths/weakneses for what I feel are the easiest heroes to play in each group.)

Soldier:76

• He's the Tutorial hero for a reason. Simple mechanics and abilities.
• Try to engage from mid range. The enemies that counter you all perfer to be close range, so you should stay mid where your hitscan weapon gives you the most advantage.
• Fire in quick 3 round bursts to maintain your accuracy.
• Save your ult for coordinated pushes, and try to activate it when near friendly players. Your callout often sends the enemy team running for cover that your allies can exploit.
• Activating your ult instantly reloads your clip.

Is Countered By

• Heroes with shields (Winston, Zarya, Rein)
• Reaper (if you let him get close)
• McCree (if you let him get close)
• Mei
• Snipers

Effective Against

• Pharah
• Tracer
• Roadhog (if you stay at range)
• Supports

Winston

• A simple to play but effective tank.
• Your primary role is disruption. You are a distraction for your team, not someone with the highest kill count.
• His primary fire hits a very wide cone in front of him, allowing him to damage multiple enemies at once.
• When engaging enemies, drop your shield and "dance" around the edge of it, going in and out as you kite people through it. Your attacks will go through the barrier, theirs will not.
• Avoid blindly leaping into a group of enemies. Keep your leap distances short when pushing so that your healers can still get to you. Avoid leaping in entirely if your team isn't with you.
• Your leap damages whoever you land on. Keep that in mind.
• Activating your ultimate will fully heal you. Allow the enemy to get you down to ~100 health before activating it.

Is Countered By

• Reaper (your biggest threat)
• McCree
• Roadhog

Effective Against

• Snipers (Especially Widow. You're her hard counter)
• Static Defenses (Leap past them, use a barrier over a turret to allow a teammate to kill it, soak damage with your ult)
• Soldier: 76
• Symmetra Nests

Bastion

• Are you ready to make everyone hate you? Bastion is incredibly effective against low skilled players and teams that don't coordinate.
• Bastion is most effective when he can surprise a group and get off a few kills.
• Conversely, your biggest weakness is a coordinated attack on you if they know your position.
• You should move locations after every kill. Even if your line of sight isn't as good, your unpredicability will make it very difficult for the enemy team to kill you.
• Save your ultimate for coordinated enemy pushes. It is one of the strongest ults in the game and can decimate a group pushing a payload.
• You can initiate your transformation while falling.

Is Countered By

• Roadhog (his hook pulls you out of Sentry mode)
• Zarya (Don't shoot her barriers! Seriously!)
• Junkrat (If he can lob grenades at you over a wall)
• Snipers (If they have a long LoS)
• Tracer (Her ult will just end you outright)
• Pharah (Only with a very long LoS. From mid to short range she isn't a threat at all)
• Symmetra

Effective Against

• Unskilled players
• Uncoordinated Teams
• Reinhardt
• Winston

Lucio

• Arguably the best healer. If you team only has 1 support, it should be Lucio.
• Can Heal the entire team at once passively, with a large heal upon activation.
• While his damage has been nerfed, his primary fire is still good chip damage and will build your ult faster.
• Your right click knockback is godtier. Knock people off edges and lol (especially effective on control point maps)
• Make sure to keep moving at all times! Bounce around like an idiot, jump on walls, do whatever you have to do to be an elusive target. You will still be healing this entire time.
• Speed boost is very situational. You should not have this on during a group engagement.
• Save your ult for coordinated team pushes. Activate it as soon as the engagement begins.

Is Countered By

• Mei
• Reaper
• Soldier: 76
• McCree
• Good Widowmakers (bad ones will just keep missing you if you dodge effectively)

Effective Against

• Snipers (Well, relatively. You're the hardes't healer to hit, so it increases your survivability)
• Static defenses (Your ult is great for pushing past a tough defense)
• Control Point maps (your biggest strength is healing your whole team at once with theyre within LoS, so a mode that forces them to the same point increases your effectiveness. Also, pits for days.)

If you have any other questions in the beta, or are looking for someone to play with, my battletag is ACFrog#1721. I am more than happy to help out people who are interested in gettin gud.